My beauty diary 2-step Winter Bright Pack

This pretty sheet-set ended up in my shopping-cart a while ago. I have been trying a My Beauty Diary 2-step pack before (here), and the words 'Winter Bright' got me in...

Moisture and hydratation has been highly needed this long-lasting winter. I made a photo beginning winter of my hairline for the Phylia [de M] hairgrowth project and a second one last week: Conclusion is that my hair grew and got somewhat restored, but my skin has a bit more redness. It's still quite good after enduring the longer winter-weather, but not as smooth/calm as pre-winter.

That means I have to up my mask-routine a bit more. Something that targets especially for winter could be up for some soothing & brightening.

Shortly, an overview of the Steps:

1: Just like the previous My Beauty Diary 2-step system, it has a sheetmask in one compartment; an Olive Leaf mask. The smaller compartment contains Shea Butter creamy gel.

2: Ingredients of the Olive Leaf Mask:




Ingredients of the Shea Butter Creamy Gel:

 
3. How to use: similar to other (MBD) sheetmasks. The cream should be applied afterwards.

4. Date of production for controlling freshness.

Swatch of Step 2: the Shea Butter Creamy Gel

It has a lighter, fresh consistency which reminds me of Japanese Toner/lotion formulas

Step 1, the Olive Leaf sheetmask, is of a similar shape as most of My Beauty Dairy sheetmasks so I haven't made a photo of that one.

VERDICT:

• The Olive Leaf Sheetmask is quite drenched with liquid, being a moisture-bomb skins often needs for colder winters
• step 2: Shea Butter Creamy gel feels like a normal moisturizer instead of gel, but a thinner one.
• this time I really like an extra cream afterwards for extra hydratation
• Calming effect: yes...my redness around the nose reduced
• Brightening? I think so: my skin looked more translucent, moisturized & calmer afterwards
• lasting effect: until 3 days afterwards I had calmer, better skin with the same skincare regime
• scent sheetmask: somewhat fragant of a enhanced olive flower (bit chemical, but still fresh)
• scent Shea butter cream: neutral, fragance-free

CONCLUSION:
I really like this mask and wanna repurchase 2 or 3 more.

Availability:
I'm glad Sasa still has them for $ 1.70 per piece (here)

My Beauty Dairy 2-Step America Soothing Pack

I love my sheetmasks...I once learned that sheltering the skin from the outer elements while doing a masks enhances it's effectiveness, and sheetmasks have this element included by covering the face with a cloth.

My Beauty Diary has already been one of my favourite brands. Trying out their 2-step system was on my wishlist, and I picked the America variety as I normally need soothing and calming the most during this time of year.

There are other continents represented with their properties as well: eg. Africa being hydrating, Asia being brightening and Europe being clarifying.

I can understand why Asia would be connected to brightening (as brightening and having lighter skin is high on most Asian skincare-user's wishlist) but I wonder why America got soothing. Perhaps Obama being reelected and trying to sooth the world economy into better states?

Sasa explains it that the ingedients connected to being soothing are found in (North-)America: "marigold, cotton, mimosa, echinacea plant and Crafts essence". But, the cheaters, there is also "organic bamboo water from the mountains of Asia" being found in there. 

So what is so 2-step about this system. Simply, you use the sheetmask first, and apply their taylored face-cream afterwards.

The quality of their sheetmask is like most of the MBD varieties: although I found that it tore quite easily when I tried to place it differently on my face.

sheetmask: nothing unusual

The second step, applying facecream, wasn't the most handy way for me: (Uhoh)

step 2: cream pours out when making a small tear...not too handy

I think this step is not really necessary when having done step 1 (the sheetmask). I found my face to be calmed and hydrated enough. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful step for the dryer skintypes out there.

VERDICT:

• designed for soothing? Yes, it has a calming effect on the skin and didn't irritate it (and I'm quite sensitive on the field of skin lately)
• scent: a bit of a mild chemical cucumber...I almost wanted to say "an American cucumber" as I smell this type of "cucumber"-scent a lot in American body-products. It is really light and not obtrusive. However, the people looking for a fragance-free mask will probably have to skip it.
• anti-ageing? Not really. Although lessening irritation can also qualify as "youth-defending". However, priorities have to be made with skincare and if your skin gets red/irritated, then diminishing that element is often more important than anti-ageing. However, there are products on the market that do both, such as Ren Hydra-Calm Youth defending serum
• 2 step necessity? Not really to me, but I use the moisturizer separate from the sheetmask and try to remember to make a really tiny tear.
• Hydrating properties of sheetmask? plenty serum/liquid. The mask is still moisturizing enough after 20 minutes of use.
• Size Sheetmask? It is on the smaller side on the width of the face. I'm from North-Europe and I wonder if broader face-types can fully cover the whole width of their face.

CONCLUSION:

It's a lovely mask and it's quite soothing. It's scented lightly. I personally think the 2-step is a bit gimmicky, but the extra face-cream (somewhere between lotion and cream) is nice and penetrates easily. I think the quality of the sheetmask itself is a bit thin and I think it could have been designed a bit wider for the Asian market. Nevertheless, I think My Beauty Diary has delivered a wonderful mask that keeps it's promise of soothing, and the names attached to the use to the continent is really cute.

AVAILABILITY:
I bought my package on sasa (here) for $18.70

Cosmetic newbies

I bought some new cosmetic things:

My Beauty Diary Rose & White Peony Brightening Mist

It's from the same company that makes the infamous sheet masks. I figured out that I might like their spray too. Until now, I do: it's quite neutral but still lovingly hydrating.

And one of their masks too: The France Apricot masks...these are so dewy and lovely. (both are from sasa)

I also bought this:

Yep, from strawberrynet...

And it is?

Edward Bess compact (cream) rouge in Island Rose.

Gosh, I have read so many raves on this product. I was looking for a lighter cream pink blush for the summermonths and initially I wanted to go for Bobbi Brown cream pot in Pale Pink based on someone's gorgeous makeup, who is a brunette as well (I first thought pale pink was just for blondes).

I saw in a review (here) that this one is quite similar so I went for Edward Bess instead. This one is cheaper via strawberrynet (with my discount € 20  and BB is € 25 in our shops). Also, I remembered one reviewer saying this one is travel-friendlier in size, and that is true as well. I also prefer Edward Bess as a brand because his ingredients are more naturally based. And this one got high reviews as the hybrid product it stands for: normally the hybrid lip/cheeks only work well on one part, either cheek or lips, but the raves said and showed it performs good at both tasks...

gonna find out for myself...;)

Also, the shop had a massive action going on (buy something via your mobile get a Calvin Klein lipgloss and buy something before a certain date get a Lancaster Lipstick, both by choice:

The Lancaster CM46 is a sheerer fushia pink with a blue-toned glimmer: really lovely for cooler complexions and the Calvin Klein LG 13 has the most perfect golden shimmer:

Kind of a face & lipstick haul this time....

BeautyDIY Green Tea Brightening Eye Roll

I was really looking forward reviewing the BeautyDIY Green Tea Brightening eyeroll I've been finding quite effective , weren't it the fact that sasa.com doesn't sell it anymore.

I will still write something about it: it is sold at those blogger-website based sites and I expect to have some readers in Taiwan so I'll give it a short review. 

It has been quite effective in the morning for rolling away the worst of puffiness. Some mornings are not that gorgeous in waking up when you had a smidge of eyemakeup that you missed cleaning the night before, or sometimes your eyes get puffy without an obvious reason.

Working the entire face with the Clarisonic while cleansing gives the whole face a circulation boost which benefits the eyes as well. However, for the specific area and semi-massage the metallic roller-ball of the BeautyDIY is quite effective.

Main ingredients according this person:
green tea, seaweed extract, cucumber extract, soy extract and other natural plant ingredients, fresh beauty fluid (<- yeh, somewhat vague, right?)

The liquid inside is cooling but not too hindering cooling. You will feel it for approximately 25 minutes. Sometimes I apply a creamy eyecream over it, because the tonic-like liquid is not moisturizing.

Verdict:

• the roller-applicator is handy in giving a lymph-draining massage (for Dummies)
• the liquid is tonic-like and feels cooling for 25 minutes, and helps in depuffing the area
• as for the Brightening on long term: not sure, but I feel the area is a bit lighter too
• it's not moisturizing: for moisturizing you need to layer a cream/serum eyecream over it
• it used to be easily to get: but sasa.com removed it from it's site. Some blogger-sellers have it but I won't give links before I'm sure if they deliver.
• I prefer it over the popular Garnier eyeroll (tinted): I feel the green tea and other ingredients give a better effect in depuffing

Conclusion:

I really like it and it's effective enough to roll away the biggest puffiness.

Mini Review of My Beauty Diary Hello Kitty Honey Strawberry Mask

This week I finally got my highly anticipated collector's item in the world of sheet masks: The My Beauty Diary Hello Kitty Honey Strawberry Mask.

 I do not have to say why I bought this set of masks in the first place: Kawaii factor!

I might be a grown up person but Hello Kitty makes my heart melt a little.

I also noticed that I enjoy a couple of the sheet masks from My Beauty Dairy. And the idea of using a mask with honey extract that is often really good for sensitive skin, and strawberry that has brightening properties was something that appealed to me.

The packaging of the masks is so cute, with the beehive-esque exterior and the strawberries, bees and Hello Kitty decorated on them.

How does the mask preform:

First I like to say that I have used this mask today for the first time, so I cannot say too much about the long term effect.
But I really enjoyed this mask a lot for a couple of reasons:

• The masks really hydrates the skin a lot: 

This morning I woke up with semi-dehydrated skin. A couple of nights ago I finished my Antipodes Joyious oil (blogged over here) and I did not have any skincare oil for nighttime use ready for hands. So my skin was a bit dryer than usual. Not extremely dry, but not plump either. Well, that is often a sign that it would be good to add some moisture in a more concentrated way, such as a serum or a mask.
The effect after 10 minutes was a plumper skin that looked more hydrated than before...so yey, results!

• It has soothing properties.

I have a tendency to have blotchy skin. Right now I am not completely flawless, but after the mask I noticed that the honey essence (or another ingredient in the mask) had a beneficial effect on getting my skin less blotchy. I needed less makeup, so that is a big plus in my book.

•  It had a brightening effect on my skin

  As I wrote before, the whole effect on my skin was that it became a bit brighter.

I also noticed that a lot of essence was packed inside an onto the mask. I found it a bit wetter than the usual My Beauty Diary Mask. But I prefer it when something is a bit too much than too little, and it plumped some moisture in my skin, so it was not hindering at all

So overal, I am so glad I got this collector item. And besides its incredibly cute exterior, it actually is a fantastic mask for skin that is a bit dehydrated and sensitive. I cannot say too much if it is really diminishes ageing lines, but brightening is always good for looking that bit younger.

I bought this mask on ebay over here. When they sell out, watch and check them every now and then, because they restock..

Hair on Air...or Sleeked-out Locks on the Rocks

Although I am really low-maintainance on the field of hair-styling, I am frequently looking out for products that can give my hair some incredible volume, some sleek perfection, or just that bit of gloss.

Or, actually all three of them would do: the incredibly, big-haired but still sleek and toucheable hairdo with a shine that blinds everyone.

Yeh, reality sucks, or it actually bites in my case! So I have to tone down my hair-perfectionist and either settle for one of the three, or sometimes two if I am lucky.

Asian haircare, hurray! I have quite a limp head of hair on my head. Most Caucasians have that bit of wave that they can activate by

1. going to the sea and take a dive
2. faking to have been going to the sea with hair products
3. waking up with a beadhead
4. waking up near the sea after a midnight dive with a bedhead...(that one will probably give out the most of curls and volume, LOL)
   

Not me...it is really straight. Not that that makes my hair similar to most types of Asian hair, but the similarity is a bit in the straight texture.

Taking a look into various brands that market for Asian hairtypes have had a bit of success, and a bit of failure as well (or a bit of meh...'does not do anything much')

So, what have I tried?

First, one of my most succesful ventures have been into Liese. I really like their Tidy Straight serum.

Because although I do not wake up with curly, wavy or kinky hair, it still can have a bit of a strange kink into it.

I love this serum for making my hair smooth, sleek, glossy and comb-able.

It does not make your unstraight hair instantly straight: You need some heating tools to accomplish that. But it does the things I mentioned above.

I purchased this over here but it is OOS again.

My second favourite Liese is their Wave-Up Foam in no. 03.

No. 3 is their strongest type. It runs up from no. 1 to 3.

I really enjoy this mousse, as it keeps hair absolutely soft and shiny (no 80's crunchy-perm-do), is softly but wonderfully scented like an expensive floral soap, and keeps that highly maintainance-created curl for quite a while

Well, because I like my straight do, but sometimes I like to fake that I am a natural curly woman...

(Yes, it is another sasa purchase)

I must sound like the biggest Liese fan...ehm, no...I am critical as well:

Let me introduce my 3rd Liese: The Juicy Shower Spray:

It might be Juicy and functional for a lot of bloggers, but besides of a wonderfully fruity-floral scent, it does not do that much in my hair.

(Another purchase from my drug-store Sasa.com)

From Taiwanese brand Shill's I bought their Magical Hair Volumizer:

Huh? Does this even do anything? Well, NO MAGICAL effect over here...no volume at all.

(bought this one on Sasa.com as well)

Talking about volume: let me include a Western, more precisely a British brand over here: The TIGI Catwalk Your Highness Hair Spray

Let me say this: the Queen would be very dissapointed! Even a less spoiled mortal such as I am am not impressed. No volume, no hairspray-hold. Let me return to my trusty L'Oreal Elnett.

So, I apologise for the shortness of my reviews...he he. I am sure that you can find a lenghtier description of the products in great masse with the other bloggers.

But sometimes, short is good, especially when summarizing a heap of products, :D.

Oh, and if you have a fantastic recommendation on hairstyling...I love to read about that. Or, tell me about your routine when styling that bunch of hair on your scalp...

Skin & Care talk - Cosmetex Roland Shapy Cleansing Oil & Genie in a Bottle Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Spray

Skincare is sometimes seen as the more dependable and  less colourful variety of cosmetics. You really want it to work and not to irritate your skin, but it is not the most fun experience, compared to buying new colours that you can purchase when buying makeup.

The two products I will do a mini review on today are actually quite colourful to look at in their bottle.

The first bottle is one that I am quite happy about. I ventured on Genie in a Bottle skincare because it looked like a clean and effective skincare line.

Genie in a Bottle Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Spray

I also liked the first song that Christina Aguillera sang...tadaa, for the people that are still quite young, that was 'Genie in a Bottle'. Yeh, I was that sweet, innocent (and dare I say naive) girl that liked her whole first CD.

Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

So I have not been a fan of her later work, although I think she has been quite inventive in creating new looks and making herself interesting towards the public.

So, does my skin become as dewy and youthful as it was in my 'Genie in a Bottle' era?

Genie in a Bottle Hyaluronic Spray: typical spray bottle

Ha ha, my skin was a lot worse during that time, so I have not intentions to have similar skin. I had acne scars that have cleared up in a certain extend (thanks to religious skincare).

But the lack of beginning lines and the ability to look fresh in the morning (even after a short night) is something that I could use.

Lots of people forget that a large amount of beginning lines are often due to a lack of moisture in the skin. Actually, most people have dehydrated skin, even if they have oily skin.

That is what this spray helps you with. With the added amount of Hyaluronic Acids it is a quick way of adding moisture.

Ok, this is what Sasa has to say about this spray:

description
Genie in a Bottle Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Spray enables a precious reservoir for your skin, creating hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced skin.
 

Benefits:

• Capture: replenishes skin from inside out.
• Bind: prevents moisture loss.
• replenish: vitalize skin.

My opinion:

I do feel that it is more than a tonic or water-based spray. Also, when you spray it on, you can get a bit of a lustrous glow on your face. Sometimes, I use makeup that feels a bit drying, and with this bit of spray it equals out the dryness. For the month I have been using it, I believe my skin is rather hydrated. However, I use a lot of skincare that tries to cancel out dehydration, so I cannot really say that is it 's only due to Genie in a Bottle.

People with combination skin or oily t-zones, just as myself, probably have to watch out when spraying this spray over their nose, because it can leave your nose a bit too shiny. Or you have to blot out the shine afterwards.

The colour of this spray is a neutral, water-type colour. And for the sensitive ones out there: it is scentless too!

Overall, two thumbs up for me! I love this stuff and I will repurchase this when finished. The price is right and it does what the description claims it should do. ( It is  $ 6.70 on Sasa).

Towards my second colourful bottle:

I tried another cleansing oil: This time from Cosmetex Roland. With their message 'for your future skin' and their zesty red bottle I thought I could try this one.

Cosmetex Roland Shapy Cleansing Oil

The bottle has a retangular shape and the usual pump application.

Cosmetex Roland Shapy Cleansing Oil

The cleansing 'oil' that comes out is not similar to the usual variety of Japanese cleansing oils. It smells a bit berry-ish, which is a good thing. However, it is quite sticky!

Cosmetex Roland Shapy Cleansing Oil

I don't mind a new type of texture when cleansing my face, although I have become quite used to the more common variety of Japanese cleansing oils. But it should work and cleanse my face of all makeup. This one does not remove any eye-makeup at all. Or, just a smidge and I have to result to other cleansers to do the rest.

Thumbs down for me on this colourful bottle... 

I purchased it on sasa, but they took it out of their collection They do have a new, mix type of oil-cleanser listed, and that one might work a bit better. 

Battle of the Bottles: Blue wins for today!

Shills Super Magic BB Cream Sexy Legs Spray Foundation

I was asked to review a couple of the items I bought lately from sasa. And, ofcourse I will do that!

I will start with the Shills Super Magic BB Cream Sexy Legs Spray Foundation....That is an awfully long name for a product. And in that particular description you've got your BB cream, the sexy legs, the foundation and the Magic. Those are a lot of properties and promises.

I did some browsing before I bought this product in order to see if there were some reviews on it. I found some reviews and some handy instructions on cozycot.com (here). I will do my share of paste/copy to show you what cozycot has to say about the Leg magic spray BB Sexy cream, ahum(?).





From Cozycot:

SHILLS Super Magic Cream Sexy Leg Spray Foundation

Wish to beautify your legs as if wearing a pair of pantyhose but without the hassles of putting one on?
SHILLS B.B Cream Sexy Leg Spray Foundation gives you the instant effects of sexy glossy legs without stockings or pantyhose. With its creative super light nude-look particle adsorbing technology, it instantly modifys uneven skin complexion.

No oily & uncomfortable feeling in hot climates. Extracted from all natural herbal essence with Korean manufactured EGF technology

Natural whitening Arbutin essence whitens and moisturizes the skin. Peppermint essence refreshes tired legs and cools down skin in hot weather.

Unique Modify + Skin Care Formula:

EGF: The most popular skin care ingredient in Korea, regain the young skin.

B.B Cream: Extracted from natural herbs, not only modify the uneven complexion but moisturize the skin.

Natural Herbal Oil: Silkworm Chrysalis Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil etc., help to keep the skin with gloss and moisture.

Protein Essence: Extracted from 100% super tight protein essence, firm the line for more slender and neat.

Cool Refresh Peppermint Essence: Refresh your fatigued leg and cool down the hot skin.

Lavender Essence: The refinement of lavender perfume can release the skin as well as your nerves

Note:1. Please stop using if any swelling, severe redness or itching occurs. Consult a doctor immediately.
2. Do not use if your skin is sunburnt or injured.
3. Store in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight.

Besides spraying the BB cream spray on your legs, you are allowed to spray it on other body parts as well, as you can see on the promotion picture.

Cozycotters rated this product with a 3.9 of 5 points, and it was ranked in the promising department.

So, what do I have to say about the Sexy Legs Shills...?

The ingredients look quite promising. They are listed on the back of the box in english and chinese, which will target the largest group of consumers they aim to reach:

I zoomed in on the English description, although my apologies for the blurry image. My camera is not performing the way it should be lately:

Ingredients range from the good, like Meadowfoam seed oil, Jojoba Oil, Lavender, Peppermint essential oil to the not-so-good like Methyl paraben. I miss the colour no. that I expected there for the colour of the BB cream formulation...

The can is embellished in a soft yellow colour with silver letters and some (sexy) legs on it...

Time to use the spray....

I sprayed some of the product on my leg, and it was slightly grossed out by how the product ends up on my skin initially.

As you can see for yourself:

• it applies really irregular
• the moisture particles stay weirdly on top of the BB cream
• The colour was quite off: that was due to a self-tan action I had done.

Explaination for the self-tan: The weather was quite good, and in my culture it is somewhat standard to sport tanned legs with warm weather. Some people even justify going to tanning salons, which I find to be quite sinful in these times (come on, you know better than going to tanning salons these days!).

However, I sometimes go for a self-tan because a tan is supposed to make the legs appear slimmer and appear without cellulite....

Blended out, it looks more believable, although the colour is still too white for my faux-tanned skin.

The cool peppermint essence present in the spray is indeed very refreshing and conforting on the legs. I did not notice much of the lavender that cozycot described, but I am not a fan of lavender scents, so that is a plus to me.

It is really waterproof to the point of annoyance, because it was quite a B*&#h to wash off. I think an oil-based body cleanser is the most suitable to wash off this product, which is not easy to purchase these days (Occitane has a brilliant one, and Etude House has one as well, although I have never tried Etude House ).

So, what is my final opinion about the Shills Super Magic BB Cream Sexy Legs Spray Foundation?

I have mixed feelings about this product.

1. 
   
   It is not versatile enough in the field of the large spectrum of skin-tones available. I believe that the legs have to be a MAC 15-20 (NW or NC) to make this a believable colour. Although the spray functions as a stocking or pantyhose, I would not use it when your skintone differs a lot from the colour that comes from the spray.
2. 
   
   Intensive procedure to get a flawless base. The products that comes out of the nozzle spreads really unequally and you have to blend really fast to get the colour equally over the whole part of your legs. I think it will take up at least 5 minutes to spray your whole legs and get it equally right on every part of the legs. I have tried a Sally Hansen stocking spray before, and although the colour was too dark (ofcourse, it was targeted for the Western market that adores tan legs), it spreaded a lot easier than this product.
3. 
   
   Washing off the product will be a hassle. On the good side this means that it is really waterproof. However, pack some oil-based body cleansers or oil-based scrubs in your shower if you want to rinse off this product.

As the colour differs quite from my own, I was not able to use this more often and see the results of the whitening arbutin essence, so I cannot say too much of how this product would work in the long run. I did like the peppermint spray, that is quite refreshing.

Overall, this is something that I will not use often or probably not at all based on the shade and the intensiveness of application. I still think it can work for the N 15-25 skintones or skintones a bit darker that want to have a lighter, stockinglike appearance on the legs. I did not loose too much cash on this novelty spray, as sasa.com sells this for $8.50 (here).

BeautyMate Nano Mask Yamagata Cherry

After my semi-complaining post of yesterday I would like to make a review of a product that I actually appreciate ;P

During one of my virtual shopping sessions on Sasa.com I found a brand that has been quite recognized among the sasa.com-shoppers, and I have seen some positive reviews on the blogosphere as well: Beautymate or 美肌之誌.

I really have an affinity for names and the way brands name their products, so I was drawn to the lovely concoction of words by this brand beauty-and-mate, a beautiful friendship, so to say. Beautymate is a Tawainese brands, and I noticed that the Taiwanese products I used often use names with Beauty in them (for example Kevin Beautymaker, BeautyDIY or Beautyeasy).

So far, I have been really enthousiastic about Kevin Beautymaker and the BeautyDIY products I used, so I was willing to take the plunge and buy a couple of masks from BeautyMate.

Sasa listed a couple of newer kind of masks in their listing (I always check out the 'what's new' section on sasa)). They had not been reviewed yet, but that does not stop me from buying it...it only makes me more curious how they will be.

Ok, this is a beautiful decorated box with Chinese letters. What does sasa has to say about it:

BeautyMate Nano Mask, Yamagata Cherry is manufactured with the newly imported nano technology. Combined with a close-fitting mask cutting, the technology can effectively release essence nutrients into skin cells to bring you a unique skin care experience.

Full of natural vitamin C, the mask can leave skin white and luminous, adjusting skin texture and balancing sebum secretion. The polyphenos of cherry prevent overabundance of melanin, while liquorice and peony blossom extract soothe allergic skin. The hyaluronic acid contained can lock in moisture, keeping the skin hydrated and bright.

It soothes, purifies and refines skin, and also enhances moisture retaining ability.

I know a bit of the propieties of ingredients, thus I was really enthousiastic of the brightening ingredients in it. Licorice has been claimed as a wonderful brightening and soothing ingredient (article here, here and here).

And my skin has been suffering during the harsh winter that suddenly popped up in the North of Europe, so I sure need some soothing and brightening!

a bright and cheery cherry blossom coloured packaging

The back of the package has English description and ingredients

What were the other ingredients included:

I was happy to know that there were no parabens included. I am not really against parabens, but I prefer not to have them in my skincare. The press has been a bit too negative about parabens in skincare, so I would not like to take my chance.

Moreover, I have really sensitive skin, and I think it reacts against parabens as well (althought I am not sure because it is extremely difficult to find out what exactly causes a certain allergy/reaction).

I am not going to discuss all ingredients into detail, because I do not have that much knowledge about all ingredients. And it would bore some of my readers to death.

So, did it perform up to its claims???

Well, the functions described at the sachet are really some multitaskers for a mask. I mean, I want to have it all, but can a mask really be ánd soothing, ánd purifying, ánd refining, ánd hydrating???

out of the sachet: the masks is protected by a plastic (perforated) sheet

So far, and I have been trying the mask twice, it has been really a positive and therapeutic experience.

My most important issue is that my skincare should never irritate me. As I always mention, my skin is really sensitive. I could target all kinds of elements in my skin, for example large pores or wrinkles, but my first aim is a product that does not make my skin oversensitive.

After that, it should have some elements in it that helps my skin to improve, ofcourse. I do not want to use something that does not irritate me, but is not doing anything beneficial either.

the mask is quite large

So, the big plus is that it does not irritate me. The sheet itself is a wonderful cloath that is soft enough for a sensitive skin. I have tried some sheets that irritated me when on, even though the liquid in the sheet was really good and effective.

The liquid in the sheet is really what it claims to be: soothing. It also had a slight tightening on my large pores, but not too much that it would irritate me or leaves my skin really taut and unconfortable. Just enough to feel 'lifted'.

I also love the scent: Normally, I would steer away from anything scented. So it was a surprise that I actually found the scent to be therapeutic and lovely. It is a Cherry blossom-esque scent. Although it is a bit artificial and a bit sweetened compared to actual Cherry blossom scent, it is really refreshing in a fruity floral kind of manner.

I cannot really say too much about the brightening effect, as I have only used it twice. However, some of my blotches looked a bit more diminished afterwards. It might have to do with the anti-redness proprieties of the licorice. Anyway, anything that tones down my irregularities is a positive thing in my book!

The liquid of the mask is really nice and thin enough for the skin. After I removed the sheet, some liquid remained on my skin, but it really penetrated the skin after a light massage. Some sheet masks can leave the skin sticky afterward, but this liquid did not leave my skin so sticky (just a tiny bit in a pleasant manner).

The price is really good as well. sasa charges you $6.40 for 7 masks, which is less than $1 per masks. That is a whole lot cheaper than some SKII masks (who charges approximately $10 per sheet, Yikes).

Overall, I really enjoy this mask and I hope my skin will continue to like it.