Unboxing Beauty

disclaimer: items were provided for review purposes.  all opinions are my own& are honest & unbiased.  contains affiliate & referral links

Skin18 is an Asian Beauty shop that offers a variety of free products to their customers, even if you aren’t purchasing anything.  You just pay shipping and handling.  Now, I haven’t seen that offer before on a K-Beauty site ~ at least one that ships internationally.  Skin18 has some popular brands, like The Face Shop, Innisfree and TonyMoly as well as harder to find Grinif, but they also carry brands are on the inexpensive side.  I’ve always said that Korean drugstore skincare is better than our Western drugstore skincare, so I never turn my nose up to try new brands.

Skin18 believes that skincare, not makeup, is the key to beauty ~ by nourishing it with ingredients that will keep your skin youthful and beautiful.   Makeup is just icing on the cake ~ coverage ~ but coverage can only go so far if you have bad skin.  They believe (and I totally agree) that you should start with a good skincare routine as early as possible, but it is never too late to pick up good skincare habits.   Skin18 operates out of Hong Kong and has warehouses in China and in the United States, so you might get your items faster if you are a USA resident.  They ship internationally ~ check here to see if your country is on the list ~ and if you live in Hong Kong, S. Korea, Singapore, USA or Vietnam, shipping is free if your order is $40.00+ USD.  If you live elsewhere, free shipping is available on orders that are $60.00+ USD.  I will post links and referrals at the end of this blog post.

Skin18 also works with Beauty Bloggers and I received another Bloggers Package from them consisting of 6 masks from their lesser known and inexpensive brands. I am going to split this up into 3 reviews:  Luke masks, Wash Off Masks and Repairing & Soothing Sheet Masks.  This blog post is the “Repairing & Soothing Sheet Masks” review.

I originally reviewed all of these items at my IG account.

CraCare Anti-Aging Snail Repairing Mask  (3-Step) Or as I like to call this brand – cray-cray.  This mask will help lighten and brighten your skin, while firming and moisturizing your skin.  Snail Slime is an anti-aging ingredient ~ it aids in the production of collagen and elastin, which will plump up your skin and reduce the depth of wrinkles and fine lines, smoothing your skin. It also soothes and reduces redness and irritation, making it also helpful for those suffering from skin issues, like rashes and blemishes, healing your skin. 

It is a 3 step mask, which I actually kinda like these multi-step masks.  The first step  is the “Active Ampule” ~ this ampule has very creamy texture but it is not heavy ~ very lightweight and intensely hydrating ~ this is due to the chia seed.  The scent is floral, which I dislike, but that scent disappears quickly. I apply this on my face, including around my eye and lip area.

I then took out the mask ~ which was dripping with essence and it wasn’t as scented as the ampule (yeah!!).  The mask fit is really good and the mask itself is about standard for Korean mask sheets ~ not thin, but not too thick either.  As it dries out, it does have issues adhering to my face.  After 30 minutes  ~ and the mask was still damp on my face when I removed it ~  my face is visibly brighter ~ I felt like my face was glowing in its radiance! ! No tacky residue, the essence did dry down quickly onto my face.  My pores looked the same, so it neither hurt or helped them.

I then applied the night cream, which is also a creamy texture ~ a little heavier than the ampule with the same scent.  It wasn’t sticky and my skin pretty much absorbed it.  In the morning, there was no residue from the cream on my face, I didn’t experience any breakouts and my face felt smooth and soft.  I never heard of CraCare masks before, and for a really inexpensive mask (this 3 step is under $3.00 at Skin18), this mask did a nice job!  I wouldn’t mind trying their Oriental Herbs and Aloe 3-step masks now.  I don’t have the full list of ingredients ~ it isn’t on the back of the package ~ but I have some key ingredients.  Have you tried CraCare masks before?  Were you impressed or meh on them?   RV $2.90

Description: Snail Repairing Mask is highly effective in skin-lightening and firming by helping the skin moisturized deeply. 3-Step Facial Care: Natural and fresh ingredients penetrate deeply into the skin. It helps your complexion remain crystal clear, fresh, smooth, revitalized and moisturized. Package comes in three parts:

1.   Anti-Aging Active Ampule
2.   Anti-Aging Essence Mask (Series has 4 types to selected from)
3.  Anti-Aging Night Cream

After cleansing, apply a moderate amount of [Step 1 Active Ampule] to be absorbed on around eyes and lips. The remaining ampule can be applied onto the area you concern of the face. Position [Step 2 Mask] on your face and smooth on lightly with your fingertips. Leave on for 20-30minutes and remove the mask. After removing the mask, gently massage remaining essence into the skin. Apply a moderate amount of [Step 3 Night Cream] to be absorbed on around eyes and lips. The remaining cream can be applied onto the area you concern of the face.

Key Ingredients

1. Active Ampule: Adenosine, Orchid Extract, Chia Seed Extract, Moringa Extract, Pumpkin Extract
2. Snail Mask:  Adenosine, Snail Secretion Filtrate (110mg), Bellis Perennis (Daisy) Flower Extract, Lillum Candidum Flower Extract, Sambucus Nigra Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Betaine, Artemisia Vulgaris Extract.
3. Night Cream: Adenosine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydrolyzed Collagen

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Mirum Fresh Fruit Green Tea Real Natural Mask  I have tried Mirum Fresh Fruit masks before ~ I had the opportunity to try the Avocado version and I really liked it.  Mirum has a slew of varieties in their Fresh Fruit series and I received a green tea version this time, which is supposed to cool and protect your skin.  Green Tea contains antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties, as well as the ability to prevent collagen breakdown and reduces UV sun damage to your skin. Green Tea is full of powerful anti-oxidants, due to its high concentration of polyphenols, green tea helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  The mask is made from 100% cotton and it is a bit thicker, but since it has an open weave, it isn’t stiff and does adhere fairly well, while it is damp.   This is not a wet mask ~ the essence is gel-like, but there isn’t a lot of it left over in the package.  The mask does have enough moisture that I can keep it on for about 25 minutes and it does feel cool on my skin. The scent is a fresh, light scent, not necessarily green tea.  When I removed the mask, my face did look brighter and more refreshed and hydrated.  I am pretty surprised how nicely this inexpensive mask worked for my skin ~ just proving the point that cheap doesn’t mean ineffective!  This mask doesn’t contain mineral oil or artificial coloring.  You can purchase this for under $1.00 or request it as a freebie ~ either alone or with another order!

Description:  Green tea can boost the metabolism of skin and protect the skin from all kinds of irritation. At the same time, it can relieve your skin of problems which originated from the passage of time. Relieves your skin of external stimulus. Mirum fresh fruit series provides your skin with marvelous hydration and nutrition. The dense and compact cotton mask sheet can be attached perfect to your skin, make the essence in this mask absorbed completely. What is the Natural Cotton Crosel Mask?  A mask sheet made from 100% natural cotton which can attach to the face securely and allow the essence ingredients contained in the mask to be absorbed completely. 

Ingredients: water, glycerin, butylene glycol, carbomer, disodium EDTA, allantoin, dipotassium glycyrrhizate, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, green tea extract (500 ppm), sodium hyaluronate, methylparaben, ceteth-1-20, steareth-20, tocopheryl acetate, glyceryl stearate, cetearyl alcohol, neopentyl glycol dicaprate, cetyl ethylhexanoate, phenoxyethanol, triethanolamine, fragrance  cosDNA analysis

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Final Thoughts

So far, I enjoyed using 2 out of the 6 masks that Skin18 sent me for review purposes.  If you are on a budget or looking to expand your sheet mask collection, Skin18 has a fairly large variety of inexpensive masks that work pretty well for the price point.  Hey, I love my $9.00 mask sheets too, but I am not Lady MoneyBags either ~ sometimes all  you want is an quick inexpensive mask to toss on your face that works. 

I really love the idea of a freebie mask section so you can try out a variety of masks ~ they add new masks all the time, so you can always go back and try more.  Have you ordered from Skin18 yet?  What do you think of their service? 

Go Crazy

Skin18 also has a rewards program, so by reviewing, liking and sharing, you earn points and those points turn into cash at their store!

• Freebies ~ Free facial masks for the taking! Just pay shipping/handling (click here)
• Huge Sales ~ Discounted category where you can save 30% to 100% off (!!) products (click here)
• One Dollar Store ~ Products for around $1.00 USD  (click here)  
• Save 25% off your first purchase at Skin18 by using my referral code (click here)
  
• Halloween Character Mask Sale 15% off ~ Good until the end of October, use promo code 2016HALL15%OFF
  

 

[ disclaimer: items were provided for review purposes. all opinions are my own& are honest & unbiased. contains affiliate & referral links ]

[ description in italics from Skin18 ]