[Review] Choonee Bird's Nest Brightening Mask Pack

Price: $14.49 or $1.45(~RM5.80) per piece or $1.30 (RM5.23) per piece after discount

(sponsored product from BB Cosmetic. Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 10% off) 

Verdict: 8/10 

Repurchase: Yes. Definitely!

Price & Shop 

I received these as sponsored products from BB Cosmetic but all thoughts are my own, as usual. It's sold for $14.49 per piece but you can bring that price down to $13.00 with the affiliated coupon code: C10T190S3 during checkout.

When BB Cosmetic asked me what I wanted from their store to review, I asked for them to suggest new brands from Korea and they sent me three Choonee masks as well as their Choonee lip balms. I've reviewed the lip balms already and am still using the lip balms. Still loving them! <3 

Fit & Texture

The texture of this sheet mask is soft and semi-transparent. The essence is slightly slimy but not too goopy. I tried this mask both cooled in the fridge and not, and both experiences were good. The texture is cooling on its own and the mask sticks to my face pleasingly. 

I've used these four times just to make sure my face wasn't having a bad day but the fit of this mask is just not agreeing with me. The hole for my eyes, especially, is just super uncomfortable (-2). I've ven tried cutting this mask up to make it fit better but no, it just doesn't work. I'm taking off two points just because of what a bad fit this is. It's definitely something that needs to be improved on. I understand that everybody's face is different but I haven't met a sheet mask that can't fit on my face with a little bit of adjusting. It's too-small eye hole and mouth-hole means I'm constantly readjusting the mask to keep it from sliding into my eyes and mouth. I've even tried using my Daiso Silicone Mask over this to make it stay but Nope, it just keeps getting distorted and uncomfortable. 

Why would I still consider repurchasing this if I hated the fit so much? Because it works, that's why. It works almost too well. 

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, Swiftlet Nest Extract, Royal Jelly Extract, Hydrolyzed Elastin, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract, Morus Alba Bark Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Sophora Flavescens Root Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Xanthan Gum, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Illicium Verum (Anise) Fruit Extract, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance

The only two products to watch out for are Butylne Glycol, Carbomer, & Triethanolamine. Everything seems to be good here, but ymmv. This mask also contains royal jelly extract, morus bark extract, seaweed extract, liquorice extract and peony extract, which are all great things. 

Performance

This Bird's Nest Brightening Mask aims to brighten as well as moisturize your skin. The swiftlet's nest helps heal tired and dry skin since it's known to be rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and various minerals. 

So, did it do what it said it would? Hell yes. Oh my god, all the yes'es! I wished it didn't work so well because I really didn't like how it fit, but I kept coming back to it because I loved how it made my skin feel afterwards. The first time I used this, it moisturized my skin so much the pores on my nose and cheeks were literally gone! It was so ridiculous it was almost magical. The effect, sadly, only lasted for a few hours afterwards but I treasured every second of it. My skin was hydrated for a good while after though!

And have you seen the brightening effect? You can even see the part where the mask stops from the difference in my skin color. It's ridiculous. I'm suffering from a breakout at the moment, so that means no more introducing new sheet masks because it might exacerbate my skin further. I find myself coming back to this because I know my skin likes it. It soothes my breakout somewhat after application, but I think that also aided by the fact that I can't pick on my skin while a mask if over it. 

This mask also comes with a free front hair ribbon that I haven't quit found the use for yet but I always enjoy free gifts. ^^ 

Price: $14.49 or $1.45(~RM5.80) per piece or $1.30 (RM5.23) per piece after discount

(sponsored product from BB Cosmetic. Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 10% off) 

Verdict: 8/10 

Repurchase: Yes. Definitely!

ps: I am also on Reddit and /r/asianbeauty as /u/buyingaddict!

[Lifestyle] Amazin' Graze, How Sweet The... Nuts?

Price: RM24.9 per box

Shipping: Good!

Repurchase: Discontinued Subscription Box, but will repurchase individual snacks!

Mini Introduction

Last month, I purchased and reviewed a lovely healthy snacking service that offers subscription boxes for RM24.9 per box, Amazin' Graze. Their products are handmade weekly in small batches to keep them fresh. They have a pretty wide variety of snacks to choose from and is basically my desperate attempt to eat less chips and more healthy snacks. It... didn't really work. But now I also eat healthy snacks! Enough about me. Moving on to the box!

PSA: The Surprise Box has since been discontinued, sadly, but the other snacks are still readily available! There's 35 snacks to choose from, all of which looks amazing. 

This Month's Box

If you remember, I mentioned (alright, I complained) about lack of the Hazelnut Blackforest Granola in my last post. The lovely curators of the box read the review and apologized even though it was entirely my own fault. Amy Zheng, the chief executive grazer, explained that it wasn't an option available in the Surprise Me Box but told me she'll add a 50g sample for me in my next box nevertheless! How amazing is that?! They didn't even count it as one of my packages and just stacked it as a nice little bonus.

Here's what came in my package!

This package includes Summer Bowl, Double Espresso, Hazelnut Blackforest Granola, Oatmeal Raisin Muffin and Merry Matcha. I love, love everything about this month's surprise! 

Hazelnut Blackforest Granola really, truly delivered. It's my favorite of everything I've tried in their store so far and I am definitely going to get myself a package (or three) one of these days. It's available here at RM18.90 for 250g. It's dark chocolate granola made with rolled oats, buckwheat and chia seeds. The package has juicy cherries and cranberries as well as cashews and hazelnuts. This thing is divine, I tell you. It's absolutely delicious. It has a light chocolate taste to it that wasn't too overwhelming and isn't bitter at all despite being undeniably dark chocolate. It leaves a pleasant dark chocolate aftertaste in my mouth. The granola was chewy, but not overly so and biting into the cherries and cranberries complements the granola wonderfully. Love. 

I'm not sure how many servings it's supposed to be, or if I'm supposed to be eating this with milk/yogurt, but I finished it in one seating on it's own. No regrets. =< 

Everything else in the package was good, not great, but I doubt anything can beat the Hazelnut Blackforest Granola, which is a good thing for me, since the Blackforest Granola seems to be the only thing I can find in their store. *wipes worried sweat from brows* Yay. 

Amazin' Graze Nut Butters

While checking the site for their newest update, I found out they carried Nut Butters now! They're gluten-free and contain zero trans fat, refined sugar, salt or presevatives. The All Natural ARC Butter, for example, combines almonds, brazil nuts, and cashews. Literally that's it! 33.3% of each of those ingredients are in the nut butter. 

The only downside is that it's a little expensive, at RM29.9 for 180g. I might get one of these for my mom eventually, since she's a huge fan of nut butters. She'll probably finish this in just a few sittings. 

Since the Subcription box is no longer an option, the only 

Pros

• Healthy snacks delivered to your doorstep
• Delicious, healthy snacks <3 You've got to try the Hazelnut Blackforest Granola! <3 Love. 

Cons

• Prices a little on the higher end
• No free shipping

Verdict: 8/10

Price: 7/10 (Price per item is still a little expensive)

Packaging: 10/10 (I figured out how to be not stupid this time and opened it the right way 'round)

Shipping: 10/10 

Repurchase: Yes 

[Review] Choonee Water Lip Tint Balm Cherry, Peach, Grapefruit

Price: $5.83 (~RM23) per lip balm

(sponsored product from BB Cosmetic. Use coupon: C10T190S3 for 10% off) 

Verdict: 10/10

Repurchase: Cherry and Peach, not the Grapefruit

Price & Shop

I received these as sponsored products from BB Cosmetic but all thoughts are my own, as usual. It's sold for $6.48 for the Peach, Grapefruit, & Cherry but with a 10% off code (C10T190S3), the price goes down to $5.83.  

When BB Cosmetic asked me what I wanted from their store to review, I asked for them to suggest new brands from Korea and they sent me three ChooNee Water Lip Tint Balms! They also sent me some Choonee masks, which I will be reviewing shortly. 

Store: BB Cosmetic

Samples: A lot, as always. <3 

ChooNee's Story

The ChooNee brand is new in Korea and has an interesting and cute backstory. Apparently it's the tale of a young lady who came to Seoul from the countryside and couldn't fit in because of her less-than-refined look. Then, she was re-born with beautiful and lovely looks by using cosmetics made with the best ingredients. Following that transformation, she changed her name from ChunHee to ChooNee. The secret to her beauty? The new ChooNee products! Tada!

It's a silly story, but I kinda like it. 

Packaging and First Impression

The tint balms are pretty adorable, to be honest. I don't have much experiences with colored lip balm but I'm loving these. Truly and honestly. 

The covers convey exactly what color the lip balms are. It's encased in plastic casing that is easy to use. Solid, but easily openable with just one hand. I tried. 

Ingredients & Directions

ChooNee Water Lip Tint Cherry: Mineral oil, ceresin, petolatum, Hydrogenated polyisobutene, phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/stearyl/behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Polybutene, Polyethylene, Phenyl Trimethiocone, Microcrystalline,Wax, Diisostearyl Malate, Tocopheryl Acetate, BHT, PropylParaben, Vitis, Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil, simmondsia, chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, fragrance, red 28 lake (CI45410), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 45410), Yellow 5 Lake (Cl 19140), Red 6 (Cl 15850), Red 7(Cl 15850:1) Red 27(Cl 45410:1). 

Cosdna shows Jojoba Seed Oil and Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil as a possible acne trigger and irritant and Propylparaben on a 7 safety scale. Mineral oil is known to caused clogged pores and acne for some, so proceed at your own risk. 

ChooNee Water Lip Tint Grapefruit: Mineral oil, ceresin, petolatum, Hydrogenated polyisobutene, phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/stearyl/behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Polybutene, Polyethylene, Phenyl Trimethiocone, Microcrystalline,Wax, Diisostearyl Malate, Tocopheryl Acetate, BHT, PropylParaben, Vitis, Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, fragrance, Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 27 (Cl 45410:1), Red 28 Lake (CL 45410).

Cosdna shows the Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil as an acne trigger and irritant. This also has Mineral oil and jojoba seed oil. Also, Titanium Dioxide is a pigment sunscreen, which is odd but great!

ChooNee Water Lip Tint Peach: Mineral oil, ceresin, petolatum, Hydrogenated polyisobutene, phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/stearyl/behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Polybutene, Polyethylene, Phenyl Trimethiocone, Microcrystalline,Wax, Diisostearyl Malate, Tocopheryl Acetate, BHT, PropylParaben, Vitis, Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil, simmondsia, chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, fragrance, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 28 Lake (CL24210), Yellow 5 Lake (Cl 45410), Red 6 (C1 15850), Red 27 (Cl 45410), Yellow 6 Lake (C1 15985). 

The ingredients for this isn't all that different from the other two lip tints and cosdna beings up the same warnings. 

Texture and Fragrance

I love the texture of the Choonee Water Lip Tint Balm. It's smooth and comfortable and doesn't really create a film over your lips like some lip tints do. Because these are lip balms, they feel good as well as look good. Love love love! The color doesn't look that impressive here because the intructions calls for reapplications that helps keep your lips hydrated and also makes the color more vivid! The more you reapply the lip balm, the more colorful your lips would be. I applied this once in the morning and my lips were hydrated throughout the entire day so I didn't need to reapply at all though. At least, not for the sake of keeping my lips hydrated.

As for fragrance, I'm sitting here inhaling the fragrance of the peach lip balm because delicious. The cherry also smells great. The grapefruit, not so much. The grapefruit smelled like how most lip balms smelled... or maybe it smelled like grapefruit. I don't like grapefruit so that probably has somethign to do with it.

Performance

The diagram from choonee.co.kr shows how reapplication turns the color gets more and more vivid. I've only done the first application and I think the color is already pretty noticable. Even so, it was so comfortable to have these on that I literally forgot I was wearing them. By the time they dried and it was time to put on the second application, I had already moved on to other things.

On the other hand, the staying power of these things are spectacular. I applied them in the morning and by the evening, when I saw my lips, I was surprised at why my lips were so colorful. And then I remembered some time in the morning I decided to put lip balm on. Did I mention how comfortable they were to have on?

Here's how the Choonee Water Lip Tint Balms look on my lips. I like how all of them looked even though I'm not so sure I can pull off orange lips. My skin tone is already orangy so having orange lips isn't really flattering.

Remember how much I loved the Berrisom peel off lip tint? That was a little drying and the only way to fix that was apply lip balm. This. This is the lip balm I can apply on top of that lip tint. I could mix colors! I'm giddy just thinking about it.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• It's a lip tint that's also a lip balm. 
• Moisty and soft texture, so no stickness or caking despite reapplication 
• Fruity color melts on the lips and the cherry and peach smells amazing (doesn't taste too bad too. ><) 
• The color mixes well with others, so these three colors can be mixed around!
• 
  

Cons: 

• I don't like how the grapefruit smells, but that's just a personal preference and I'm not going to take off points for that since I love everything else about it so much. 

Price: $5.83 (~RM23) per lip balm

(sponsored product from BB Cosmetic. Use coupon: C10T190S3 for 10% off) 

Verdict: 10/10

Repurchase: Cherry and Peach, not the Grapefruit

[Mini Haul] Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence

Mini Haul from: BB Cosmetic

(use codeC10T190S3 for 10% off) 

Packaging: 10/10 

Shipping: 9/10 (2 weeks) 

Samples: 10/10 

Money Spent: $6.61 (RM26.33)

Current price: $11.06 (after 10% code) on BB Cosmetic

What I Bought

I've heard so many good things about this so when it came on sale as one of BB Cosmetic's facebook 50% off, I've reviewed BB Cosmetic here if you're curious about their store. they're a Korean store that ships internationally for no extra cost, no minimum purchase.

Shipping & Samples

I bought this on June 29th, 2016 and it arrived on July 14th, 2016. That's about 2 weeks shipping time to Malaysia in SEA, which is really impressive since it's free shipping!

I will never not be impressed by the amount of samples given to me together with my purhcases from that site. Again, this meager purchase came with two The Face Shop cushion foundation puffs, one The Face Shop Face it Power Perfection BB Cream Sample, and one The Face Shop Blanclouding White Moisture Cream Sample.

Ingredients

Snail Secretion Filtrate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Arbutin, Human Ogliopeptide-1, Bee Venom, Plantago Asiatica Extract, Laminana Digita Extract, Dios Pyros Kaki Leaf Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Ulmus Campestris (Elm) Extract, Bacilus Ferment, Azelaic Acid, Althaea Rosea Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Beta-Glucan, Betaine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Cross Polymer, Adenosine, Panthenol, Allantoin, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Arginine

The only possible acne trigger here, as seen on cosdna, is butylene glycol. However, this product contains 90% snail mucin and bee venom so if you're allergic to either, it's probably best to avoid this essence altogether. The ingredients aim to fade acne scars, brighten skin tone and maintain hydration throughout the day. Snail mucin supports natural cell regeneration and replenishes moisture to increase firmness, and bee venom has natural anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral properties. The gel-like essence is also fragrance free! Best recommended for those with sensitive and troubled skin. It's suitable for all skin types though!

First Impression

This essence step goes before my ampoule and after my Hada Labo toner/lotion. This isn't  moisturizing enough on it's own, so a moisturizer needs to be applied after. As you can see, the consistency of the essence is fairly gel-like. It applies wet to the skin and spreads well. Maybe one or two pumps will be enough to cover my whole face. It's not sticky and absorbs to the skin quickly.

It's unscented, which is a pleasant change! I was looking for something that can help combat the fine lines uder my eyes and deal with the closed comodones on my cheeks. I'm currently patch testing this, so I'll be reviewing this product in a few month's time. Fingers crossed that it'll work wonders! I have great hopes for this!

Money Spent: $6.61
Samples: 10/10
From: BB Cosmetic

(use codeC10T190S3 for 10% off) 

[Review] Cosrx Blackhead Silk FingerBall

Price: $3.86 (~RM15)

(sponsored product from BB Cosmetic. Use coupon: C10T190S3 for 10% off)

Verdict: 8/10

Repurchase: Eventually maybe.

Price & Shop

I received this as a sponsored product from BB Cosmetic but all thoughts are my own, as usual. It's sold for $4.29 here on BB Cosmetic but with a 10% off code, you can get it for $3.86, which is the cheapest price I've seen anywhere (with free shipping). Jolse sells it for $4.00 and I've seen it on 11street for $20... which is just ridiculous. Also, have I mentioned how many samples BB Cosmetic sends with each purchase? It's ridiculous. they basically give away two foundation puffs and two foil samples. 

$3.86 for 12 silk cocoons means $0.32 per cocoon, which is really reasonable considering it's reusable 2-3 times!

Store: BB Cosmetic

Samples: BB Cosmetic sends lots of samples. Legit. A Lot. Even with small purchases.

Packaging and First Impression

Cosrx packaging is very bare-bone and no-nonsense. Usually this annoys me, but they way they do it is very clean and medical. I always feel like I'm undertaking an honest-to-god skin transformation that's prescribed by a legit dermatologist whenever I use one of their products. 

The twelve cosrx silk balls are packaged in a semi-transparent bag. Inside the bag, the balls (hehe, balls) are packed in another transparent bag. It'll all feels very clean and sterile. 

Ingredients & Directions

These finger balls are made of 100% natural silk, which isn't much to be worried about. Unless you're like... allergic to silk... or something... These are made from silk casings harvest from silkworms and contain Sericin protein. The smooth texture helps to remove blackhead and dead skin cells. It's good for sensitive skin types and the shape provides the perfect peeling effect. It can be reused 2-3 times. 

The instructions says to soak this in warm water for 3-5 minutes or until the're slightly softened. Then, slot a couple of cocoons onto your index finger and rub in gentle circular motions on congested pores. Rinse well after use, then let them dry naturally. 

Texture and Fragrance

This didn't smell of anything, which is nice and the texture is a bit rough. They fit perfectly inside my fingertips.

Performance

I'm really glad BB Cosmetic sent me these to review because I've been very curious about them since I've first seen them. They seem so... unnecessary, for lack of a better word. I felt like they're just an additional step that I would put off until forever, which is exactly what happened. I put this off until guilt finally caught up with me.

After soaking it in the water for... 10 minutes while I took a shower, they were definitely softer. I rubbed this in circular motions over the edge of my nose and a little on my forehead.

The before and after pictures of the silk cocoons aren't all that impressive, to be honest, but if you squint really hard, you could almost see how the cocoons are slightly yellower afterwards. They feel like they're exfoliating my skin, but because I had been using clay masks as well as BHA & AHA for a few months, I didn't have as much blackheads as before.

From the pictures, I realize I needed a better camera. You can't realy see it, but it did help exofoliate dead skin around the harder to reach corners around my nose. I don't think it's 100% effective in removing dead skin cells and blackheads though. Clay masks and wash off masks are probably more effective for that.

Pros

• It's reasonably priced at $0.32 per cocoon and you get a few uses out of one. 
• Exfoliates gently.
• Does not contain any triggering ingredients (it's 100% silk!)

Cons

• A little troublesome (-1)
• Not 100% effective in removing dead skin cells and blackheads. (-1)

Price: $3.86 (~RM15)

(sponsored product from BB Cosmetic. Use coupon: C10T190S3 for 10% off)

Verdict: 8/10

Repurchase: Eventually maybe.

[Mini Haul] Scinic Aqua Ex Jelly Cream From 11street

Mini Haul from: 11street.my

Packaging: 10/10

Shipping: 10/10

Samples: 10/10

Money Spent: RM22.40 (~$5.60)

What I Bought 

I bought this during another one of the many, many 11street sales. It was priced at RM25 and I used a coupon to bring that down to RM22.40. Shortly after buying it, the price went down even further to RM19.90. I hate 11streets' fluctuating price. Honestly.

The bottle is quite huge and it contains 100ml of product.

Shipping & Samples

Shipping took a little while longer than it should have due to it coinciding with a few day's holidays. The purchase came with 3 free masks which was something that was promised during the purchase. Yay for free masks though! I'm happy with the purchase overall in terms of shipping and 'samples'. ^^

Ingredients

This thing is in Korean and the only ingredients I managed to find about it is sea water, zostera marina extract, codium tomentosum extract. It does, however, seem to have a cosdna page about it here with a few ingredients that may cause acne that is Triethanol amine, butylene glycol, dimethicone, and beeswax. The beeswax may also be an irritant. 

The multifunctional fast-absorbing skincare cream promises to deliver whitening, anti-aging and hydrating functions. The deep sea water replenishes skin moisture whereas seaweed promotes metabolism, moisturizes, soften skin, provides anti-inflammatory effect, and protects the body against free radical damage. It was awarded the best hydrating cream in the 2010 allure Beatufy Fair and Best of Beauty Award. 

First Impression

This hydrating gel is intended as a moisturizing cream for your skin, although Amazon has a weird direction that tells you to put it on rough, dry lips, followed by a plastic wrap which is to be removed after 10 minutes. This will removed dead skin cells, apparently. I'm not too keen on trying that out, so I'll stick to using it as a general moisturizer.

I know it's shallow, but I really like the color of this cream. It has a calming light blue tone that just well, calms me. I love blue. It's super dense and thick. As you can see the texture is heavy but spreads very well on my skin! It felt smooth and light, just like a gel and absorbs pretty well on my hand. That little bit of cream that I dabbed on my skin was spread over the entire back of my hand, so I forsee this product lasting quite a while! I really like how it felt on my skin. It was hydrating without being clogging or sticky.

On the other hand, the scent is really quite overwhelming. Even on my skin I could smell it's strong flora, perfumy scent that lingers. This product will have to wait, since I have a few moisturizers to go through yet, but I am already worried about how much the scent would bother me. A detailed review will be coming up once I've had time to test this for a while.

Money Spent: RM22.40 (~$5.60)

Samples: 10/10

From: 11street.my

[Mini Haul] Holika Holika Wine Therapy Sleeping Mask From BBCosmetic

Mini Haul from: BBcosmetic

(use code: C10T190S3 for 10% off. T.T I didn't use this code because I was dumb, pretty much) 

Packaging: 10/10

Shipping: 9/10 (3 weeks)

Samples: 10/10

Money Spent: $6.45

What I Bought

I bought a Holika Holika Wine Therapy Sleeping mask. BBcosmetic has these 50% off sale on their facebook page and I am obsessed with them. It was on sale for $6.45 so naturally, I couldn't resist. I reviewed BBcosmetic here, if you're curious. 

I bought this during a moment of weakness. Because have you seen how adorable the packaging is? It looks like I bought a tiny wine barrel. Unfotunately, I couldn't find many reviews on the Holika Holika Wine Therapy Sleeping Mask but I also couldn't find any reviews that straight up hated it, so I wanted to give it a try. Also, have you seen how cute the packaging is?! Look at me rationalizing my purchase. XD

Shipping & Samples

I bought it on June 23rd, 2016 and it arrived on July 15th, 2016. That's 3 weeks shipping time to Malaysia, SEA, which isn't bad considering I didn't pay anything for shipping!

Woohhh the samples. Have you seen the samples? I really didn't think they would include any samples considering how I already managed to grab this mask at half price but they did anyways! I had two The Face Shop cushion foundation puffs, one The Face Shop Face it Power Perfection BB Cream Sample, and one The Face Shop Blanclouding White Moisture Cream Sample.

Ingredients

Ingredients:Water,Wine Extract,Alcohol,Dipropylene Glycol,Glycereth-26,PEG-240/HDI Copolymer Bis-Decyltetradeceth-20 Ether,Glycerin,Bis-PEG-18Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane,PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3Glycerin,Propylene Glycol,Butylene Glycol,Glyceryl Polyacrylate,Biosaccharide Gum-1,Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/PVP Crosspolymer,Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer,PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil,Phenoxyethanol,Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract,Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract,Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract,Bergenia Ciliata Root Extract,Viola Mandshurica Flower Extract,Impatiens Balsamina Flower Extract,Xanthan Gum,Adenosine,Caprylyl Glycol,Disodium EDTA,Caprylhydroxamic Acid,Fragrance,Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract,Yellow 5 (CI 15985),Red 227 (CI 17200)

There are two possible acne triggers here, which are Butylene Glycol and CI 17200 respectively. Have a look at the cosdna result here.

First Impression

This sleeping mask is intended as the last step of your evening routine to keep all your other serums, essence, ampoules, and basically all your awesome face products in. The Holika Holika Wine Therapy Sleeping mask has anti-wrinkle as well as moisturizing and smoothing effects on the skin. The instructions says to rinse this off with water the following morning. ^^

Unfortunately, they sealed my mini wine barrel so I couldn't contaminate it for your perusal. Apparently, I need to stir this prior to using since they can actually get wine residue on the bottom! That's freaking amazing! I still can't get over how cute the packaging is. Just holding it makes me happy. 

This sleeping mask expires some time in 2018 so I'll have plenty of time to fit this into my routine eventually. ^^ I'll review it once I have some time with it. 

Money Spent: $6.45

Samples: 10/10

From: BBcosmetic

[Review] My Scheming Deep Ocean Water Saccharide Isomerate Mask

Price: RM2.08 per sheet

Verdict: 8/10

Repurchase: Yes!

Price & Shop

Isn't this mask just absolutely adorable? I almost wanted to keep the packaging afterwards. There's a puppy on a whale and a person on top of the sprayed water. Love. 

I bought this from TW Street at 11street.my under My Scheming Scheming Awards mask into 24 groups with a lot of coupons to bring the price of the masks down. The box ended up being RM50 for 24 masks, which is RM2.08 per mask. The box is no longer available for sale, sadly, but TW street is still selling 10 My Scheming masks for RM31++, which is how I'm planning to replenish my My Scheming masks. ^^ 

Purchased From: TW Street on 11street.my 

Samples: None 

Delivery Time: Acceptable (About two weeks)

Fit and texture

This Taiwanese sheet mask has a protective sheet that needed to be removed prior to placing mask over my face. I really hate those protective sheets. It's useless, sucks up essence that could've gone to my face, and is just generally troublesome (-1). 

I really, really like the texture of My Scheming masks, but they are really so fragile. It fits well on my face though, and the scent is barely noticable (mildly... soapy?). The essence is a little milky but very watery, which meant the essence was dripping even as I tried to take a picture of it. Like all the other My Scheming masks, the fit is perfect for my face and it's really very comfortable.

Ingredients

Algae Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Caviar, Propylene Glycol, Ceteth-6, Sclerotium Gum, Saccharide Isomerate, Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract, Ceteth-20, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dipotassium Glycyrrhetinate, Sclerotium Gum, Hydrolyzed Silk, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Xanthan Gum, Sea Salt, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Polyquaternium-39, Allantoin, Sodium, Hyaluronate, Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid, Methylparaben, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methylisothiazolinone, Sea Water, Water 

According to cosdna, the only possible acne trigger is butylene glycol. There are several ingredients marked for safety though, obvious being the Methylisothiazolinone, a preservative that scored a hefty seven on the list. 

Performance

My Scheming Deep Ocean mask says it contains deep sea water extrated from the deep ocean sea water, which involves 60 minerals and microelements that is comparable to the size of water inside our body... which makes it more easy to be absorbed by our skin and promote metabolism... Aalllright, whatever you say, I suppose. Basically, it's a mask for moisturizing, and brightening. 

Did it achieve that. Erm... based on the before and after picture, it sort of did the opposite, didn't it?  (-1). But I felt like my skin was really very moisturized after using the mask. It could be the different lighting, but I made sure to take the picture at the same spot with the same light source. My skin does feel softer and more moisturized afterwards. Best of all, there is no sticky or tacky layer on my skin afterwards. My skin soaks up the essence beautifully and I love that.

For the price, it's really a wonderful mask. 

Price: RM2.08 per sheet

Verdict: 8/10

Repurchase: Yes!

[Review] Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask, Green Tea

Price: RM4.00

Verdict: 9/10

Repurchase: Yes

Price & Where To Get

I bought this from Innisfree Sunway Pyramid for RM4, which is actually my upper limit for masks. It's worth every cent though. I've seen tI only have one of these masks left and I've tried four of these so far. 

Purchased from: Innisfree Sunway Pyramid, Malaysia

Fit & Texture

The texture of the mask is sheer and slightly transparent, as you can see from the picture above. Innisfreeworld.com boasts it as a three-layered sheet for longer moisturizing and great adherence, which I can definitely attest to. The fit on my face was quite perfect with even the nose fitting snugly! The essence clung to the sheetmask and then to my face. I didn't feel stiffled or too warm with this on. It didn't really have much of a scent, but that could be because the of the daiso mask I placed over it, which is all that much better because I don't enjoy smelling something for a long period of time.

All in all, I enjoyed how it felt. There was a good deal of essence left in the bag after I used it so I just smeared that over my forehead and applied the Daiso Silicone Mask over the sheet mask. Even after half an hour, it continued being moist. I ended up putting this mask on (Thanks to the daiso mask) for a little over an hour in total.

Ingredients

Obtained from Innisfreeworld.com: WATER,GLYCERIN,BUTYLENE GLYCOL,ALCOHOL,CITRUS PARADISI (GRAPEFRUIT) FRUIT EXTRACT,BETAINE,CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT,XANTHAN GUM,PEG-60 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL,1,3 PROPANEDIOL,ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN,SODIUM HYALURONATE,CITRUS UNSHIU PEEL EXTRACT,ORCHID EXTRACT,CAMELLIA JAPONICA LEAF EXTRACT,OPUNTIA COCCINELLIFERA FRUIT EXTRACT,CITRUS AURANTIUM BERGAMIA (BERGAMOT) FRUIT EXTRACT,CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) FRUIT EXTRACT,CITRUS TANGERINA (TANGERINE) EXTRACT,LACTIC ACID,ASCORBIC ACID,CITRIC ACID,DISODIUM EDTA,PHENOXYETHANOL,FRAGRANCE

The main ingredients of this sheet mask is water, glycerin, butylne glycol and alcohol, which is actually quite unimpressive. It does, however have camellia leaf extract, which is an antioxidant as well as an emollient. Cosdna doesn't really warn about acne and irritants for this sheet mask, but ymmv.

Performance

According to the back of the mask, the the green tea sheet mask containts fresh moisture squeezed from green tea that moisturizes the skin to deep inside. With a promise that simple, it's hard to fail and indeed, it does exactly that. It moisturizes very well while being pleasing and soothing to have on.

In the picture above, I applied this mask right after having a reaction to the Guardian sheet mask, which turned my skin bright red. My skin is pretty dark, so having a redness that's capture-able via camera is actually quite an impressive feat. Since I knew the Innisfree mask agreed with my skin, I decided to use it to soothe the redness, which it did perfectly! I put this on for a little under an hour and it alleviated my redness completely, which I am extremely happy and grateful for!

I couldn't complain about the mask... except for the fact that there is literally no Innisfree in Kuching, which makes it that much harder for me to get my hands on it. Still, I'm taking one point off the mask because moisturization is achievable through a lot of other methods and at RM4 per mask, I would really expect more. I have cheapers masks that can do more.

Price: RM4.00

Verdict: 9/10

Repurchase: Yes

[Review] Daiso Silicone Mask

Price: RM5.30 

Verdict: 9/10

Repurchase: Yes.

Price

This is stupid. I'm stupid. I took a picture of this without the silicon mask in it (because I was already wearing it). :') I've been curious about this mask for a little while so I went to buy one for myself after bugging my bf to drive us to Boulevard, Kuching. The Daiso store there, like all Daiso stores in Malaysia, sells everything for RM5.30 so naturally, this was RM5.30. 

When my bf asked me what this was, I told him it was a sheet mask for my sheet mask. He's gotten so used to my skin-care mumbo jumbo, he just nodded and accepted that explaination. <3

Since this is technically a mask, I'm going to review it like a mask. :) 

Purchased from: Daiso, Boulevard, Kuching

Fit & Texture

The one that I bought was a little pink, which is a nice confusing-serial-killer colour. Perfect for scaring family members. The mask is made such that it curves inwards to conform to your face, so placed onto a table, it won't lay completely flat either. As for fit, it was a little tight for my round-ish face even though parts of the mask doesn't exactly stick to my skin completely, as you can probably see in the picture above.

It pulls against my ear a little, but not enough for me to want to rage about it. (minus 1 point here even though I know everybody's face shape is different). The mask kind of curves downwards around the chin, which is great since I hate having the flaps of masks just below my lips.

The texture is silicone and feels oddly comfortable. It feels like a face-hug.

Ingredients

100% Silicone. Woot? That's it? Yeap. That's it. It can be boiled to sanitize or you could be lazy like me and just wash it off with soap every time you're done using it and hang it somewhere to dry.

Performance

Based on the instructions on the back, it can be used over a sheet mask to prolong the mask-face-life (or something), or as a standalone as a face-steaming mask. I don't think I'd use it as a steam-mask though. It can be washed and reused multiple times.

As you can see from the picture above, the mask really does it's job well! Even after 30 minutes of having my mask on, it was still ridiculously moisturized. It allows my face ample time to absorb the essence of the sheet mask and sits on my face comfortably while doing so. I can talk and move around without being worried about the mask falling off and that's just glorious.

The few times I've used this, I actually removed the silicone mask after 30-45 minutes since I sheet mask at night and I've got to go to sleep eventually. I can't do that with my mask still wet. So what happens now is that I'll sheet mask, apply the daiso silicone mask, take it off after 30-45 minutes, then wait for the mask to dry a little before taking it off completely. For something so simple and cheap, it does it's job perfectly.

Price: RM5.30 

Verdict: 9/10

Repurchase: Yes.

[Review] Guardian Snail Mucus Moisturising Face Mask

Price: RM5.70

Verdict: 0/10
(Skip to Performance to find out why)

Repurchase: Lol. No way. 

Price

I bought this from Guardian during one of their 3 for 2 sales. It's normally priced at RM8.50 per mask. Guardian does quite a lot of buy 1 get 1 free mask, I've tried another mask from this line and I remember being quite happy with it. I have now sworn off all Guardian masks... once I'm done with my stash. 

Purchased from: Guardian

Samples: None. 

Delivery Time: Not Applicable (bought in-store)

Fit & Texture

The mask it made with pure and natural cellulose tencel sheet, which, as you can see, is somewhat transparent. The snail mucus does has a sticky sensation on it but the sheet mask itself feels nice and soothing on my palm. I've put this in the fridge for a little while before so it was cooling on top of that. 

The mask fit very well on my face and I really enjoyed how the mask feels. The essence felt smooth and moisturizing and the mask itself had a faint perfumy scent. There are ample essence leftover in the package and I smeared that on my neck and hands. Bad, bad mistake. 

Ingredients

I had a little trouble looking for the ingredients for this mask since it is no longer available on Guardian's online store for some weird reason. I do, however, have the package still so here you go. :)

Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor oil, Phenoxyethanol, Arginine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrlate Crosspolymer, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Trehalose, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Sacccharomyces/Camellaia Sinesis Extract Ferment Filtrate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Allantoin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Scultellaria Baicalensis Root Extract,Yucca Vera Extract, Salvia Hispanica Seed Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, 1,2-Hexanediol.

I checked the ingredients on Cosdna here and there was only butylene glycol as a possible acne trigger. 

Performance

This particular mask is the Yuca Vera Extract, which promises intense moisturization. The Snail Mucus is supposed to enhance skin elasticity and reduce the depth and appearance of wrinkles as well as improve skin smoothness. It achieved a total of ZERO of that. Why?

Because my skin rejected this mask the moment it touched my face. At first I thought the tingling sensation was from putting it in the fridge. As I took a picture of how the mask fit on my face, I began to notice pink undertones on the mask. I thought, "Oh, that's cute. The mask is slightly pink."

NOPE. My face was quickly turning red. I pulled it off immediately, and washed the serum off my face.

This mask gets a zero out of ten. I didn't know I could hate anything more than the Guardian Jeju masks I've tried but this one... this takes the cake. I have never reacted so drastically to anything before in my life, so while I understand everybody's skin is different, I would caution you against trying this mask. The fact that it's no longer available on the guardian online store is suspicious. I have seen still being sold in stores though. Avoid. Avoid at all costs. 

Immediately after washing this, I put on an Innisfree Green Tea Mask to soothe the redness and it definitely worked. Stupid Guardian masks. I would give it negative a million points if I could. Actually... I can do anything I want!

Price: RM5.70

Verdict: negative one million /10

Repurchase: No!