I love sheet masks. I use them so often because being the lazy girl I am, they are just so handy to use compared to the wash-off types. Plus, it makes my skin happy! With that said, I was so excited when I was introduced to the latest Korean trend in sheet mask - Foil Sheet Masks! Who knew sheet masks could evolve?!
Foil Mask VS Regular Sheet Mask, what's the difference? Well, the main benefit of a foil sheet mask compared to a regular sheet mask is that the layer of foil is able to block off any essence from evaporating, hence preventing your mask from drying out while you're using it. That will ensure maximum absorption of all the essence from the mask, to your skin!
So today, I will be exploring 2 foil sheet masks, offered by two different brands.
Gung Baek Hwa and
Natural Pacific. Having oily skin, it is essential for me to deep cleanse my face and prevent the buildup of dead skin cells. Hence, from Gung Baek Hwa, I got the Mung Bean Foil Mask which claims to soothe and cleanse out your skin's waste. Another skin complex I have is dull and uneven skin tone. So from Natural Pacific, I decided to go for the Premium Metal Snow Mask which claims to not only moisturize my skin, but also brightens it, giving it a glowy look. So which is actually better? Let's find out!
Round 1: Price
I ordered both masks from Qoo10. The Mung Bean Foil Mask comes in 3 pieces for S$12.20 (excluding Q-Express shipping of $3.99), that's S$6.10 for one piece! The Premium Metal Snow Mask comes in boxes of 10 pieces for S$18.90 (excluding Q-Express shipping of $2.90) which makes it only $1.90 per piece.
Most of my sheet masks range from $1 - $3 per piece. However, I do have a few which costs up to S$10 per peice but are of top notch quality. If you're a strong believer of the saying "what you pay is what you get", the Mung Bean Foil Mask might be worth the hefty price. But if you like using sheet masks as often as I do, the affordable price of the Premium Metal Snow Mask may be more than enough for you.
Round 2: Shipping
I placed the orders together at the same time and used Q-Express for both masks. The Premium Metal Snow Mask arrived in 1-2 days, while the Mung Bean Foil Mask took around 2 weeks! Apparently there were some errors by Q-Express for this delivery and also, they don't deliver during Korea's holidays so do take note of that! I'm not a fan of waiting for my parcels, so the Premium Metal Snow Mask won this round for me.
Round 3: First Impressions
Mung Bean Foil Mask
The masks arrived without a box which was a little a little a little turn off for me but hey, it's just a box. One sheet definitely feels heavy as it claims to contain 35ml worth of essence (which is supposedly one of the highest in the market!), the pack is also slightly bigger than regular packs. Opening the pack, it doesn't have a strong scent at all which is nice. When I removed the mask from the packet, it was dripping with essence! The mask itself is split into 2 parts, the upper, and lower. It is very thick as it has 2 layers to it. The outer layer is basically a full piece of foil while the inner layer is quite similar to a regular sheet mask.
Premium Metal Snow Mask
Overall, the Premium Metal Snow Mask felt like a regular sheet mask to me in terms of the packaging and overall feel of it. The size of the pack looks like an ordinary $2 masks you can get from InnisFree or Watsons. I guess the only plus is that it came in a box. But hey, it's just a box. The mask itself is thin and has a thin coating of foil.
Mung Bean Foil Mask definitely won this round for me. It looks more exquisite and you can clearly tell that it's not one of your cheap masks. The purpose of a foil mask is to lock in all the essence and prevent evaporation on the outer layer. Looking at the masks, I'm pretty sure the full outer foil layer of the Mung Bean Foil Mask will achieve that purpose.
Round 4: Quality
The Mung Bean Foil Mask is reeeeally heavy due to the foil layer. Unlike a regular sheet mask that sticks closely to your skin, I find that the foil mask moves around quite easily so I had to lie down while I use it otherwise it will just slip down my face due to the weight as well as the nature of the foil. Even when I had it on my face, the mask kept on dripping with essence! So it was without doubt easier to use if you're lying down (which... of course I wouldn't mind). After I've left it on for 15 minutes, my skin feels extremely moisturized and clear. I decided to leave the mask aside instead of throwing it away to test its ability to reduce evaporation and guess what? Even after 4 hours, the sheet feels wet and moist! Amazing! In future, I will make sure to leave it on for a longer period of time to make full use of it!
The Premium Metal Snow Mask felt really similar to a regular sheet mask.The only difference would be that it did not fully adhere to my skin as well, most probably due to the nature of the foil coating. However, it definitely did not slip down my face as compared to the Mung Bean Foil Mask. After I left it on for 15 minutes, I did feel like my skin looked more brighter and energized.
In terms of quality, the winner goes to the Mung Bean Foil Mask for sure as you can clearly tell that it is not one of your cheap masks. The full foil layer also ensured better prevention of outer layer evaporation which kept it moist even after hours.
Results
Both masks claim to provide different benefits for my skin hence it was difficult to compare them by its functions. However, the main purpose of both mask is supposed to include a layer of foil to block of outer layer evaporation from occurring, maximizing full absorption of essence. So in this case, the Mung Bean Foil Mask won this round of battle of foil masks! Even though it is pricier than the Premium Metal Snow Mask, it is still affordable at $4 per sheet and the quality of the mask itself is way better than the latter. During my second use of the Mung Bean Foil Mask, I did not throw away the packet after removing the mask from it because it actually contains a ton of leftover essence which you can apply to your neck and body. The Mung Bean Foil Mask also contains 10ml more essence than the Premium Metal Snow Mask so the slightly heavier price tag definitely did not come without a reason.
I use sheet masks up to 2-3 times a week. So I would recommend the Premium Metal Snow Mask if you use sheet masks as frequently as I do. On a weekly basis, I feel that the Premium Metal Snow Mask is enough to make my skin feel perked up. However, on "pamper myself" sessions or if I have an upcoming occasion, I will definitely reach out for the Mung Bean Foil Mask.
So what do you think of both foil masks? Would you prefer them to a regular sheet mask?
Labels: beauty, face, korean, review, skincare
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