REVIEW: DD'ELL GOLD KIWI MASK

MaskGenie Mask Challenge Mask 19: DD'ell Gold Kiwi Mask (Korea)

This mask really smells like putting on a golden kiwi - so delicious! It comes with slits for the eyes, but I like to fold them down (I should've cut them out to put on the sides of my nose). The mask is quite big, and it has enough for me to wrap under my chin. My nose was not covered at all (that's why I should've cut out the slits for the eyes!). The mask, however, did make my face slightly itchy and irritable, not unbearable, just uncomfortable. It was a very moisturising mask though.

Rating: 6/10

REVIEW: BEAUTYMATE WHITE TEA NOURISHING & SMOOTHING MASK

MaskGenie Challenge Mask 11: Beauty Mate White Tea Nourishing & Smoothing Mask (Taiwan)

This mask had a lot of essence soaked inside, and was dripping wet when I took it out of its packaging. The holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth were tiny, but the mask was quite big and was able to wrap under my chin. The sides of my nose was not covered again. There's a smell that's not really that nice (kind of medicinal), but it was bearable. After removing the mask, there was a lot of essence left on my face, but it was quick to absorb. My face felt super smooth and super soft, and my pores appeared to be smaller - I couldn't help but keep touching my face afterwards!

Rating: 9/10

REVIEW: SECRET KEY GUNG SOLUTION DOCTOR'S AQUAFILL MASK PACK

MaskGenie Challenge Mask 8: Secret Key Gung Solution Doctor's Aquafill Mask Pack (Korea)

This is a cotton blend face sheet mask with slits for the eyes. As I don't like my eyes to be covered, I cut out the slits for the eyes, and put them on the sides of my nose, which then, made a perfect fit on my face. There was a faint scent to the mask, but it wasn't overwhelming.  The mask was soaked in essence, but it wasn't dripping wet or anything ~ just enough to last 20 minutes. After having the mask on for 5 minutes, my face started to sting a little, but it wasn't unbearable. After removing the mask after 20 minutes, there was still some essence left on my face, but it absorbed pretty quickly into my face. My face felt pretty hydrated (I usually have really dry skin after a day of makeup, so this mask helped!)

Rating: 7.5/10

REVIEW: SAM TIN DR. MORITA HYALURONIC ACID ESSENCE MASK

MaskGenie Challenge Mask 4: Sam Tin Dr. Morita Hyaluronic Acid Essence Mask (Taiwan)

The mask was quite big for my face, so it'd probably even be big enough to use on hubby. It has an ever so slight scent, and it was dripping wet when I took it out of the packaging. The mask didn't cover my nose again, and the sides kept sticking up. This is a 10-15 minute mask and it's not recommended to exceed 15 minutes, so make sure you set an alarm or sit by the clock. After 20 minutes, I removed the mask, and I realised that there was still a lot of essence left on my face, but I massaged it in, and it absorbed pretty quickly, leaving no sticky feeling on my face. My face felt hydrated afterwards, though I still prefer the Sam Tin Dr. Morita Firming Essence Facial Mask more.

Rating: 7.5/10

REVIEW: BEAUTY MATE 3D MULTIPLE REFINING & REVITALISING SNAIL MASK (LEVEL UP)

This is the second mask that I'm trying for the MaskGenie Challenge!

MaskGenie Challenge Day 2: Beauty Mate 3D Multiple Refining & Revitalising Snail Mask Level Up (Taiwan)

There was sufficient amount of essence - it wasn't dripping wet, but it was enough to last 10-15 minutes. The good thing about this mask is that it is fragrance free, so it's particularly good if you have sensitive skin! The coverage is okay - the area below my nose and above my mouth was too long, so I had to push it up to avoid it touching my lips, and again, the sides of my nose were not covered. I was slightly disappointed to see that the mask was not a 3D one as claimed in its name. After removing the mask, there was still a lot of essence left on my face, and as I was massaging it into my face, I felt that the essence was very water-like (not sticky or thick at all), and it absorbed quickly into my skin too (like how water would). There was no sticky feeling left on my face afterwards, and surprisingly, I realised that the milia on my chin weren't bumpy anymore (this was very surprising, because they seemed impossible to get rid of)! Despite the wonders of the mask, my face felt slightly dry afterwards and desperately needed to apply moisturiser.

Overall Rating: 8/10

MASKGENIE CHALLENGE

I am now doing a MaskGenie Challenge where I am going to use my masks and give simple reviews of them! I will use masks every 1-2 days until 1 January 2015, also providing photos and some details about them!!

Will you also accept the MaskGenie Challenge?

Your task will be to use 5 masks within 10 days, take photos of you and your mask, and write a short review about them!

Please also tag @MaskGenie and #maskgeniechallenge on Instagram each time you post!!!

Those who complete the challenge before 31 December 2014, will be in to win one of Genie's Favourite Masks Pouch!!! Let's get masking!!!

It doesn't just have to be a face sheet mask; it can be a clay mask, hand mask, foot mask, hair mask, or whatever mask you have, just as long as you can take a photo of you with your mask on, then it's okay!

If you think 5 masks in 10 days is too easy, you can even do 10 masks in 10 days! It's all up to you, but just don't forget to tag @maskgenie and #maskgeniechallenge on Instagram!!!

Let's get masking, everyone!!!

MEMEBOX SPECIAL #54 MIRACLE MASKS UNBOXING

Moving on from the huge debate we had with the Oh Sheet Masks Box, here's another unboxing of another Memebox (yes, it is an UNBOXING, so no detailed reviews here until I open up the products and use them)...

Memebox Special #54 Miracle Masks

I had to edit the video because I started coughing non-stop at some point during the video, and I also realised I forgot to say whether I liked the box or not. I thought the box was an okay box - not so pleased with the Purederm masks, and the fact that the sheet masks were labelled as three separate products although they're from the same brand and the same series, just different "flavours". This was definitely not the best masks box that I have received from Memebox.

For more information on Memebox, please visit their website:

http://us.memebox.com/user/geniesfavproducts

Thank you and have a nice day!

OHSHEETMASK NOVEMBER BOX UNBOXING

I received a package yesterday from Oh Sheet Mask. An Instagram friend, Tahira, introduced me to the subscription service, because she instantly thought of me when she saw their Instagram Page. I hesitated at first whether to purchase the box or not, because the price is a bit hefty for 10 sheet masks - sheet masks are everywhere in Hong Kong, and they're selling for as cheap as US$0.13 per piece (and they're not bad either), so this box better be filled with some quality stuff!!

Oh Sheet Mask is a Masks Subscription Box, where they send you a handmade box filled with 10 sheet masks each month. They have a one-off service as well as a monthly service, and they are currently charging US$23 per box. They also have a Bag version, where they contain 5 sheet masks inside, and cost US$11. I only just realised yesterday after I received my package that Oh Sheet Mask is from Thailand (the return address is a Thailand address).

From their website (in italics):

Our 'Oh Sheet Gift Box' contains 10 gorgeous masks, enough to last you a whole month (and the perfect present), while our 'Bag of Sheet' contains 5 incredible masks, ideal for that occasional facial fix.

We're not gonna send you the usual well known generic brands that you can pick up cheaply in your home country or find in beauty sample boxes, just the newest, most innovative & high quality masks that are causing waves in Korea and beyond. From Bee Venom, Snail & Sheep Placenta to Cucumber, Collagen & Pearl, from Charm to Mingkou, your monthly goody box is bursting with blissfully comfortable, unique, facial heaven.

Every box and every bag is handmade by us, every sheet mask is personally chosen, tried, tested and loved by us, and every month we'll bring you beautiful skin, even if you do look a bit like a movie serial killer. (While the mask is on).

I actually did an unboxing video, but for some reason, YouTube wouldn't let me upload it - I tried uploading it 5 times, but failed, so here I am doing a blog post on it.

So I received a brown envelope package yesterday, and when I opened it up, I saw a beautiful looking handmade mint green box with lilac ribbons on it. Although it was bubble wrapped, there were still some dents in my box.

Inside the box:

There were 10 sheet masks inside the box, and I also received a free sample of a facial cleanser. There was also a product information card with the ingredients of the masks written on it. The only downside was that there were no pictures on the card, so it took a while for me to match each mask with its description.

1) Han Jia Hanbok Anti-Wrinkle Mushroom Mask

The packaging of this mask is cute, but what surprised me is the Simplified Chinese writing all over it. Everything on the back of the mask is in Chinese, including the description, instructions of use, and ingredients. What surprised me the most is to see that although the brand name is Korean, the mask is actually manufactured in CHINA!!!
First disappointment of the box.

2) YanChunTang - Skirts Gone Little Green Dress Firming Whitening Radiance Mask

Second disappointment of the box.
This mask is Made in China too, and it's not even owned by a Korean company!

3) East Skin - Blueberry Fruit Obsession Moisturising Mask

This mask says that it is "Formulated in Korea", but unfortunately, it is another Made in China mask. Continuous disappointment.

4) Ruth Years - Snail & Saffron Anti-Wrinkle Mask

I don't know what to say except that this is Made in China.

5) East Skin - Natural Lemon Nourishing Mask

This looks exactly like the masks from FoodHolic, and at first, I really thought they were from FoodHolic, but unfortunately I was wrong. On the back of the packaging, there's Thai written over it, and unfortunately, another Made in China product.

6) Charm - Gold Snail Essence Tender Moisturising Mask

Made in China again.

7) Wobechon - It's Real Jelly Honey Mask

This looks exactly like the masks from Innisfree, and even the series name is the same "It's Real", but if you see again, it's actually a different brand, and no surprise again, it's Made in China again!

8) Pibamy - Snail Extract Multi-Nutrient Mask

And again, it's Made in China.

9) Liceko - Hydrating Emergency Facial Paste Mask

Made in China.

10) Wobechon - No.1 Snail Power Mask

Made in China.

11) Cathy Doll Aura Whitening Serum & Foam Cleanser

This came free with the box, and surprisingly, this is the ONLY item inside the box which is MADE IN KOREA!!!


Should I say that this box was a complete disappointment to me?! I wasn't expecting to receive 10 x MADE IN CHINA MASKS with such a high price tag to it!!! This was such a huge rip-off!!! I guess they weren't expecting their customers to be able to read Chinese, but I'm glad I could read it!! For the price of US$23, I was expecting higher quality masks from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan...but not China!!

And I quote from their website once again:
We're not gonna send you the usual well known generic brands that you can pick up cheaply in your home country or find in beauty sample boxes, just the newest, most innovative & high quality masks that are causing waves in Korea and beyond.

Yes, their brands are not the usual well known generic brands that we can pick up in our home country...because their brands are from China, and they are just dupes of what's already available in Korea. I must point out that even the people in China come to Hong Kong to shop for overseas brands (including Korea and Japan), and refuse to use their local brands or anything manufactured in their own country, because they know that their country is producing many fakes, and too many fakes.

I love skincare products and sheet masks - I use masks made from various countries, but sorry, China is not one of them. I have tried facial products from China before, and they smelled fine at first, but after I left them for about a year, they smelled so bad (see how perfume can cover the smell of the actual product?), but I have used body products which are made in China and they're fine, but I probably wouldn't use any of them for my face. I mean, if eggs (yes, eggs that look like eggs and taste like eggs, but if you hard-boil it, the yolk becomes a bouncy ball) can be fake, using corpse oil (yes, the oil left from a dead body) in food is fine, infant formulae which makes babies' heads disproportionally big, using rat meat instead of chicken/pork/beef in skewers (and so many more examples), I really don't trust their skincare products!! Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-China in any way, but I just wasn't expecting MADE IN CHINA masks in my Masks Box!

I guess I just spent US$23 buying a handmade box, because the masks inside aren't even worth US$2! I will not be purchasing from Oh Sheet Mask again.


In case you guys want to know if something is MADE IN CHINA or not, but you cannot read what's written, look for this logo. All items with this logo mean that it is Made in China, but not all Made in China items have this logo, but it will be a good indicator for you guys if you guys can't read Chinese:

If I were to create my own sheet masks subscription box, I would NOT put cheap (i.e. Made in China) masks inside. On a side note, we avoid putting Made in China foods in our ABCDEat Boxes, and even if we do (our Chinese New Year Box is bound to contain them), we do pick the better ones (preferably manufactured by a non-China company) with a higher quality control.

p.s. If anyone still wants to try this box, feel free to buy the entire box from me. Please leave me a comment below or email me for details.

That's enough of negativeness for one day! The more I linger on this topic, the more I feel I've been ripped off, so that's it for today!


Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

MEMEBOX LUCKYBOX #6 UNBOXING

The Memebox Luckybox #5 was the FIRST box I bought from Memebox, and it got me addicted to Memebox! Two months later, I received another Luckybox...

MEMEBOX LUCKYBOX #6

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with this box, as I get to try many of the products that were featured inside previous Memeboxes and Luckyboxes, but I just didn't like the dupes I received (I know I would receive dupes, but I was just secretly hoping for the Tea Tree Essence by LGH or the Body Lotion by illi instead)!

Please check out the latest Memebox exclusive deals, discounts, and promo codes for July!!!

For more information on Memebox, please visit their website:

http://us.memebox.com/user/geniesfavproducts

Thank you, and have a nice Meme-day!!!