Dec 6, 2015

The ugliest face mask ever (Review)!

As part of my Transsiberian trip a couple of months back, my last stop was China. And being such a fan of Taobao, it was impossible not to lug something back. I ordered a tonne of stuffs from Taobao to be shipped to my last hotel in Mt Emei. The Face mask I’m going to review here was one of my loot. Yes, it’s probably the ugliest and most disgusting looking facemask you will ever see.

 

 

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This seaweed powder membrane mask is produced by LAN (蘭) , a Skincare & Beauty company from China. This face mask is apparently very popular in China and has even made it’s way to the popular Taiwanese variety programme “Kang Xi Lai Le”.

 

Taobao Link: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.Mi5Rih&id=15170731150&_u=51p493k4798c

 

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image credit to LAN

 

The product claim to use natural seaweed seeds (海藻) that have been processed without any overly complicated method and are naturally sun dried. The face mask claims to help hydrate, brighten, smoothen the texture of the skin and minimise pores . I’m sorry I can’t translate the entire page with my limited knowledge in beauty and Chinese but you get the point.

 

Let’s just jump straight to the review!

 

I apologise in advance for my pimply bare face. I had just returned from my 6 weeks Transsiberian trip when I recorded this and travel does not treat my skin kindly at all. Please bear with me and just focus on the review ^^;

 

 

 

 

Packaging

I love the simple yet sophisticated design of the face mask. It makes you feel like you’ve purchased a product from a  respectable company immediately. The texture, colour and printing are all lovely.

 

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Price

Sells for RMB 2.90 - RMB 3.90 on Taobao. That is roughly SGD$0.63 - SGD$0.85 . Even with the RMB10 of local shipping fee, that’s still pretty darn good imho. The only problem is, skincare products like these does not ship out of China. I was able to get my hands on it simply because I was in China and lugged it back to Singapore personally. I haven’t worked out how I’m going to continue stocking this baby up after I get through my stash.

 

 

Consistency

I’ve tried their Kiwi, Rose and Gold foil version. While they all have the same gel like consistency, the Seaweed version is the only one that bunches up like… for the lack of a better description;  pile of defecate. Other than it’s unsightly appearance, the face mask feels awesome on the face. It’s incredibly hydrating, soft and cooling.

 

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Effects

As you can tell from the video, my face looks so much brighter and it definitely feels hydrated. The Seaweed version also helps cleanse the pore and my skin feels cleaner after it. I feel that this is a good detoxing mask and suitable for people who’s skin have problems purging dirt and oil like mine.

 

 

Pros

Effective and cheap. I can keep it on the skin for an hour and it will still be wet and soft. It peels off the skin like a breeze.

 

 

Cons

Difficult to get your hands on! Also troublesome and time consuming to prepare. It took me more than 3 minutes just applying it onto my face -_-.

 

And many days after doing the mask, I was still finding random seaweed seeds (those brown granular thingy from the face mask) stuck on my face sponge and in the toilet. Because the seeds produces a glue like secretion, they get onto everything!

 

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Conclusion

I really like this face mask! It’s cheap and effective though due to it’s tiresome application, I will likely reserve it for big nights or days I have more time on hand.

 

While it’s hydrating enough to use daily, I recommend using it once a week for detoxing and dirt purging. After all, it’s not like you’d have 10 minutes just to apply and take off a face mask every night. If it’s not obvious yet , yes, I do like this facemask a lot. I like how soft and hydrating it is on my skin. It feels like you are compounding water and slapping it onto the skin and it somehow miraculously sticks to your skin and hydrates it incredibly well.

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