Facials can be great if you find a good esthetician to work with, but honestly, all the amazingly good ones that will make you look 20yrs younger, refreshed, relaxed and are on the hot, popular celebrity list are out of everyone’s price range. And they always want you to come back every 4-8 weeks. Sometimes at $100/£100 or more a visit it isn’t always affordable unless you sacrifice something else. Then again, I have a friend who does because that’s her “thing.” She doesn’t have cable TV and justifies it as simply trading one expense for another.
Nonetheless, when I was in the US back in February, I was looking and feeling beyond exhausted and my skin was dry and flaky. I went to Sephora looking for something – but I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted – until I came across these sheet face masks. Because ones from Korea seem to be the best (right?) I purchased one from Boscia (below) and one from Karuna.
There were over a dozen to choose from, including Farmacy, Dr. Jart+, Tony Moly, and Sephora’s own line. At an average of $8 each, how bad could they be?
In full disclosure, I had one gifted to me by a friend when I lived in Scotland as I was generally feeling like crap and going through a few things at the time and it was a nice little “I’m thinking of you.” I never used it because to me, the packaging was sceptical! (I’m a marketing/designer person’s dream, as I really do, unfortunately, buy things based on packaging.) It’s still in my drawer of beauty “stuff” but, I digress…
In the US, I spent the next day in a robe with my hair up, attempting to fit a sloppy, gooey sheet on my face and set the timer on my phone. Fifteen minutes later, I peeled it off, hopped in the shower, and went about the rest of my day (not wearing any makeup). My skin certainly felt softer, but I didn’t immediately notice a difference until I went to meet friends for lunch. Every. Single. One. commented on how amazing my skin looked (especially after such a long flight), what did I do, etc. And over the next few days, my skin didn’t seem to suffer any adverse effects such as spontaneous or random breakouts. Win.
Fast forward almost 10 months and at Sephora last week, I stocked up on more Karuna (Sephora was out of the Boscia one) and two Sephora branded ones. But the minute I got back to the UK, it seemed everywhere was carrying them! Boots, in Biggleswade no less, not only has its own brand in about 5 formulations, but also Garnier, Masque Bar, FaceInc, and the ones with the “sceptical packaging!”
On closer inspection, the “sceptical packages” reveal they are made by a UK company called 7th Heaven – and believe it or not – they aren’t tested on animals, are vegan/vegetarian-friendly, and have that cruelty-free bunny logo! For £1. Yeah, £1. ASDA has them too. For reals. I purchased 2 to try and dug out the one my friend gave me. (If given a choice, I do try and purchase cosmetics and similar items that are cruelty-free when I can if they aren’t ridiculously more expensive than other more mainstream products.)
So, moral of the story, is run, don’t walk to your nearest shop/online and get a few face masks for when you want a cheap fix to feel better about yourself. The more expensive ones may be worth a try too, but again, the average price is about $8/£8 per mask or get like 100 of the 7th Heaven ones at £1 each that aren’t tested on animals. It may be the perfect thing for a Sunday night in order to start your week fresh!
Covered in Dog Fluff 