Review (4/5): I love anything with Hyaluronic acid and when I ran out ...
I had been wanting to try silk masks ever since I got into sheet-masking about a month or two ago and these fit the bill. I love anything with Hyaluronic acid and when I ran out of my Etude House masks, I decided now was the time to try something new.
First things first, when you take the mask out of the packet, it is absolutely dripping with essence. So much essence. I personally love that about this product, although I know some prefer not to have so much dripping. I hate wasting essence so I have to immediately put my hand underneath the mask when I take it out to catch the drips. I then proceed to smear what I've caught onto my face to sort of pregame before the mask. After placing the mask on my face, I like to squeeze the excess essence out of the packet (which will be a lot of essence) and place it on over the sheet mask to make it wetter. I tend to concentrate the essence on the areas of mine that tend to need the most moisture (for me that's my chin, nose, and cheeks).
These masks are the first masks that I've put on with a peel off backing. I've only used these masks twice so far and I want to say I'm getting better at it, but it is still a bit tricky. So far how I've been putting on the masks is putting the bare side down on my skin and then peeling the backing off. I do close my eyes, because, again, it is prone to dripping. As you can imagine, closing your eyes does make peeling off the backing and adjusting the mask a bit tricky. Once everything is mostly situated, I'll wipe whatever essence got on my eyelids and open my eyes, taking care to straighten out the edges of the mask and making the final adjustments.
As far as the smell goes, it does have a chemically smell as opposed to a fragrance. I imagine Hyaluronic acid used just straight smells just like this so the smell doesn't bother me once I've gotten past the initial stage of putting the mask on my face. Honestly, I stop smelling it after a few minutes, but I have a tendency to go nose blind when I'm forced to smell something for an extended period of time, so do keep that in mind.
The instructions say to leave the mask on for 15-20 minutes, but I always leave my masks for longer in order to feel like I'm getting my moneys worth. There is some discussion as to whether or not leaving a mask on for longer than the recommended time is okay or not. I've personally tried both and have not found much difference. With that in mind, I keep it on for longer because I enjoy the feeling and again, want to get my moneys worth.
I find the mask to be adequately hydrating, and with it warming up in Southern California this time of year, I prefer the hydration I get from sheet masks than creams. Keep in mind, this mask is not likely to provide any other benefits other than hydration. But since it's getting hot and I have dry/dehydrated skin, hydration is all that I need and this does everything I need it to do. I haven't felt like I've needed a cream after on most nights and that's with my fan on in my room at night. Since hyaluronic acid pulls moisture to the surface of your skin, I like to spritz some rose water or distilled water on my face in between steps of my skincare routine to help boost efficiency of this mask.
All in all, if I could do a half rating, I would. 4.5/5 stars for me, a half star taken off for difficulty in peeling off the backing and for the smell.