Beauteque Mask Maven is a monthly k-beauty subscription box dedicated to masks. If you love trying new Korean sheet masks, this subscription is for you!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Beauteque Mask Maven
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
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off of your subscription
CODE: SHEETFACED
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)
Beauteque Mask Maven July 2018 Review
The number of sheet masks out there for sale must be incredibly large. Mask Maven almost never sends repeat items, and I discover something new every month:
The box came with this information card. This month, all the masks have something to do with brunch (which means a lot of egg-related masks). There were some errors on the information card, like listing a tomato mask instead of a pomegranate mask, listing a black honey mask instead of a honey mask that wasn’t black (different picture, same brand), and switching some item pictures. Oh well. They’re sheet masks (mostly) so they’re not complicated.
COS.W: My Real Skin (Egg White) – Retail Value $1.99
This one is advertised as being good for sensitive skin and I did find it to be pretty gentle. Egg white is going to be a source of amino acids and it is supposed to strengthen the skin’s barrier function as well (though I don’t know how you would test that). This also has several moisturizing ingredients, including sodium hyaluronate, and propolis (a bee-derived ingredient with a lot of minerals as well as some anti-inflammatory properties). There wasn’t much of a scent, which is fine by me.
Annie’s Way: Bubble Tea (Black Tea) – Retail Value $2.25
I think I thought this was going to foam or something, because “bubble” was in the name. Well, it doesn’t foam (though it does have really thick serum). But it has black tea, which is full of antioxidants, and I really like skincare that contains antioxidants. (I think the instructions on the product page linked to above are recycled from somewhere else, without editing, as this was a regular sheet mask, there was no long strip and there were no patches. Haha, also the page says “black tea is perfect for your skin since it does not contain caffeine” which is patently untrue. Black tea is actually pretty high in caffeine for tea, unless they made this decaffeinated through a chemical process.) This also has rose water (good for gentle toning), as well as a couple of plant extracts (grape seed, pomegranate) for additional antioxidants.
Foodaholic: Pomegranate Natural Essence Mask – Retail Value $1.99
This is supposed to be smoothing and it does have a number of plant extracts that are supposed to help remove dead skin cells (presumably enzymatically or by having AHAs or BHAs, but I’m having a bit of trouble finding reliable information about some of the plants as they are somewhat obscure). This also has moisturizing ingredients like glycerin, hydroxylethyl cellulose, and trehalose. The pomegranate is actually from a fruit ferment extract (using lactobacilli), which is interesting. I’m not sure how the extract is going to change for having been fermented unless the bacteria doing the fermentation are excreting extra vitamins into the culture medium. (Pomegranate on its own has vitamins and antioxidants, of course.)
I used this at room temperature but I thought the instructions were interesting: you can refrigerate this or soak it in hot water (prior to opening) for summer cooling or winter warming. As with many antioxidant products, I didn’t see results right away – this is more the type of product you have to use over time for a preventive effect.
The Saem: Natural Oatmeal Mask Sheet – Retail Value $2.50
The product page for this one says it contains *Canadian* oatmeal extract. Not sure if this is supposed to be exotic? Maybe it is if you are in Korea? Anyway, oatmeal is pretty calming and soothing in most skincare products and it was here, too. This also has trehalose, which is a carbohydrate that holds on to water near the surface of the skin (and wow, the product page basically says this, which is one of the more accurate scientific claims I’ve seen on a product like this). This also has prickly pear extract which has some vitamins that are also antioxidants and I’m guessing also some other carbohydrates that act to retain moisture. I feel like this one is good for daily use as it hits a lot of points – antioxidants, soothing, moisture, etc. – plus it is gentle.
Esfolio: Pure Skin Essence Mask Sheet (Egg) – Retail Value $2.20
This is one of several egg masks this month. Egg extract is supposed to help increase skin elasticity, which I’m not objectively sure how to measure, and moisturization, which is easy enough to qualitatively assess. I would say this was definitely moisturizing. It also has a Chinese quince extract in it, which is probably what made this one feel a little bit astringent (not a bad thing, especially in summer if you have oily skin like I do).
Skin’s Boni: Yogurt Bonimini Wash Off Mud Pack (Green Tea) – Retail Value $3.99
There is usually one mask in this subscription that’s a little different from the others. It might be a sleep mask or a hand mask or something like that. This month it is a mud mask. It is individually-packaged but if you can think of a good way to close this, it is honestly enough for two uses (or at least, I thought so). I am not sure where the yogurt comes in, this is a mud mask with a slight green tinge. (Apparently it has fermented lactobacillus extract, though. It is unlikely this will do much as the lactobacilli won’t colonize your skin.) Anyway, this did a nice job of absorbing oil without drying out my skin. It also has tea in it (it says “Camellia sinensis leaf water, which *is* tea), tea leaf powder, tea leaf extract, witch hazel (provides toning benefit), and kaolin, which is the clay component.
The Saem: Natural-Tox Tomato Mask Sheet – Retail Value $1.50
I was sort of surprised this wasn’t more expensive considering the effort that went into designing the packaging. This mask has vitamins A and K, which are supposed to help with skin elasticity (I’m not sure what biochemical process is involved so I don’t know how verifiable the claim is). It also has lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes that may help fight free radical damage. I used this one weekend afternoon when I had free time and I kind of wish I’d saved it for a morning instead because the serum never really dried on my nose and I didn’t like the way it felt on my face with my glasses touching it, if that makes sense. (On a morning, I’d be putting in contacts and putting on makeup and would never feel that.)
Papa Recipe: Bombee Honey Mask – Retail Value $2.99
This definitely has that honey scent you typically encounter with sheet masks having honey in the name. This has honey as well as propolis (another bee-derived ingredient), both of which contain anti-inflammatory compounds and are good sources of vitamins and minerals. Although the recommended time for this one is 20-30 minutes, I got pretty good results in about half that. (I just don’t have time to use a sheet mask for 30 minutes!)
Candy O’Lady: Candy Mask in Honey Milk – Retail Value $2.25
I first saw this brand in Mask Maven a few months ago. What I remember from that time is that this came in a small package, which I liked from an environmental standpoint. (I get that cute or novel packaging is part of K-beauty, but I always wonder what they were thinking when I see a folded-up sheet mask in a package three times the size it needs to be.)
Anyway, this had SO MUCH serum. So much. It took a long time to absorb into my skin. (On the other hand – definitely moisturizing!) Although it is not specifically stated on the product page, this one is good for soothing irritated skin since it has tea tree extract (good for breakouts), tea leaf extract (antioxidants to fight free radicals), lavender extract (calming), and numerous sources of moisture including sodium hyaluronate, trehalose, and aloe leaf extract.
Verdict: I calculated a value of $21.66 for the July 2018 Beauteque Mask Maven. That’s a little bit above the cost of the subscription although not as high as last month’s package. (The wash off mask was the only one I’d consider “premium” this month.) I do think they did a pretty good job of sticking to a brunch theme, though, and all the masks were new to me (even if I’ve tried many of these brands before).
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you have to sign up by the 15th to get a box for the month, so your first box would probably come near the end of August.
Coupon – Save 10% off your subscription with code SHEETFACED
Value Breakdown: At $18.95 for this box, you are paying approximately the following per item:
- COS.W egg mask: $1.74
- Annie’s Way black tea mask: $1.97
- Pomegranate mask: $1.74
- Oatmeal mask: $2.19
- Esfolio egg mask: $1.92
- Wash off (mud) mask: $3.49
- Tomato mask: $1.31
- Papa Recipe mask: $2.62
- Candy O’Lady mask: $1.97
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What did you think of the July Beauteque Mask Maven?
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