Beauteque Mask Maven is a monthly subscription box dedicated to masks. If you love trying new Korean sheet masks, this subscription is for you!
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Beauteque Mask Maven
The Cost: $18.95 month-to-month ($15 subscription + $3.95 shipping), save with 6- and 12-month subscriptions
The Products: 9 to 11 masks of all kinds, straight from Korea. Most are facial sheet masks, but you will sometimes see a hair mask or hand mask or lip mask, too.
Ships to: USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia (see international shipping costs during checkout)
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One side of the card reveals this month’s theme, “May Flowers.” I find the themes kind of iffy in terms of curation, but I also really don’t care about the themes. Please note: this is a review of the MAY package. I received it at the beginning of June.
The other side of the card gives a little more information about the masks, including directions if they are unusual.
Coreana Winage Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Mask – Value $1.99
The chief ingredient here is hyaluronic acid (which you’ll actually find in most sheet masks…). Hyaluronic acid is a carbohydrate polymer that holds on to water molecules. It is really too big to penetrate the skin, but it stays near the skin’s surface and provides a moisturizing effect. Some people say it helps with fine lines (the moisture may do some plumping of the skin) but I am not really equipped to test that out. This was also pretty soothing and relaxing to use. Note: it is full of silicones, too. (If you are looking for natural, vegan ingredients, K-beauty is probably not for you. Most of the hyaluronic acid used in industry is a byproduct of poultry processing.)
The Face Shop Real Nature Lily Face Mask – Value $2.20
This mask has lily, which is supposed to help brighten dull skin. It also has allantoin, which may soothe rough skin, and dipotassium glycyrrhizate, a licorice extract that is used for anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects. This is one of those masks that you would need to use multiple times to really see an effect, but if your concern is dull, rough skin, this one could be really good. It actually does not have sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid), but rather moisturizes with a few natural oils. However, it did not leave my skin feeling oily, even though I have oily/combination skin.
MJCare 2-Step White Flowers Soothing Mask – Value $3.99
Sorry about the glare here. No matter what I did, this package managed to catch light from somewhere in the room. Some mask envelopes are just like that. Anyway, this is a 2-step mask. The first step is in the top part of the package and is a clear serum that you use before the mask. This is a good mask for summer time after sun exposure. It has niacinamide, which can reduce discoloration and redness, plus aloe and trehalose and sodium hyaluronate for moisture, plus purslane, which can definitely be soothing. There are also a couple of fermentation extracts. These are quite popular in Asian skincare lately, though they may not actually do anything.
Coreana 2-Step Egg Cloud Mask – Value $3.99
This is another 2-step mask and I really should’ve read the instructions first (I didn’t do it wrong, I just wasn’t expecting the results…). The serum in this mask foamed up on my face (it is supposed to). You wash it off, then use the second step, which is a sleeping pack. Oops, I used this in the morning. However, the sleeping pack was a good moisturizer when used sparingly. This mask is high in protein/amino acids from egg, and it also contains honey, which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. This mask is supposed to balance sebum and moisture and I actually think it was pretty good at that – oil was held off for longer than usual under my makeup, but my skin didn’t dry out.
Etude House 0.2mm Therapy Air Mask (Lotus) – Value $1.99
I think the 0.2mm refers to the thickness of the mask (this is pretty thin). There are a lot of plant extracts here that do things like brightening the skin and soothing the skin (e.g., licorice extracts, lavender extract). This also has the obligatory hyaluronic acid plus ginger and green tea and lemon extracts, all of which contain antioxidants and/or anti-inflammatory compounds. So I think this one would be really good at soothing sun-exposed skin. (Of course y, u should also be using a good SPF product.)
Etude House 0.2mm Therapy Air Mask (Pearl) – Value $1.99
This has similar, but not identical, ingredients to the Lotus mask above. Pearl powder would not penetrate the skin, of course, but a pearl extract might, depending on what compounds were extracted with what solvent. Pearl has traditionally been used in Asian skincare for whitening/brightening effects. I think you would need to use this mask more than once to see effects, but if hyperpigmentation is a concern, this one would be good to try. (Plus, all the antioxidants should help reduce future skin pigmentation issues from sun exposure.)
Welcos Jeju Green Tea Flower Moisturizing Mask – Value $1.99
This mask is supposed to have a lot of peptides. It makes the claim that it restores collagen levels in the skin. I am a bit skeptical of that. (I have seen actual studies that orally-ingested collagen can help with such things, but I have not seen any evidence that topically-applied amino acids do the same thing.) However, peptides may attract moisture to the outer layers of skin, providing a moisturizing and/or firming effect. I like that this also has tea flower extract, which is full of antioxidants. (And yes, like the name says, this one is moisturizing. Though I have never actually encountered a drying sheet mask…)
Welcos Jeju Camellia Flower Moisturizing Mask – Value $1.99
This mask has a very similar ingredients list as the one above, and my experience using it was also quite similar. This one contains some hydrolyzed proteins, which would provide a source of peptides and/or amino acids. These masks do also contain fragrance, but I found it light and clean and that it didn’t linger for a super long time.
Wangskin White Flower Mask Pack – Value $2.99
All right, this envelope was huge and the mask was folded up pretty small inside. Probably they could get by with using less packaging. This actually seems to have extracts from multiple white flowers, including lily (which I discussed earlier with respect to the lily mask up above). This also has lily extract and niacinamide, so it is a good general purpose brightening/whitening mask. It also has aloe and glycerin, which provide moisture.
Verdict: I calculated a value of $23.12 for the May 2017 Beauteque Mask Maven. That is the second month in a row of a value several dollars above the cost of the subscription. This month was a particularly good month if you have anti-aging concerns, especially if those revolve around hyperpigmentation and sun exposure (since sun exposure and its effects can make the skin appear older). All of the masks were new to me, as well.
What did you think of the May 2017 Beauteque Mask Maven? Do you get any K-Beauty or Asian Beauty subscriptions?
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