First, what are sheet masks? They're a thin cotton sheet drenched (usually) in liquid formulas of various concoctions. They're the lazy person's facial and they are AWESOME. They require no rinsing and leave your skin feeling dewy and moisturized. As a bonus, any remaining liquid from the mask or package can be gently massaged into the skin. They come in fun (possibly weird) animal designs, scents, essences (broccoli anyone?), and packaging. I want to find a penguin mask!
Many popular sheet masks are individually packaged for convenience. Some popular masks are made by My Beauty Diary, Innisfree, and The Face Shop. Most masks run anywhere from $1-$6 each, depending on the brand and the retailer. There are some high-end masks made by Dr. Jart and other "premium" brands targeted to the Sephora crowd, but I can't justify spending that kind of dough. With a recommended usage of 2-4x weekly, these can be a pricy option, depending. I have, however, found a couple brands that are nice budget alternative: Pruta Pu and Alovivi.
On a recent trip to California I made a stop at the Mitsuwa supermarket in Torrance on my way back to LAX from the high desert. Curious to try some Japanese beauty products and not having many convenient shopping options for Asian beauty products in Eastern Pennsylvania, why not? Never having been to a Mitsuwa location, but having been to the most excellent Uwajimaya supermarket in Seattle, I knew the experience would be interesting. Asian markets are an interesting experience - in a good way! There are so many things I find in them that I'd like to try that I don't even know where to begin. There are also a lot of things I find that I have no idea what to do with, well hmm, that's most of my experience.
Mitsuwa proved no different. Their beauty selections took up about 3-4 aisles in the front section of the store. They had a selection of masks, emulsions, toners, and milks in one aisle. There were also a lot of beauty products with "placenta" on the English translated tag which I found strange and fascinating. As I still wasn't fully aware of the uses/steps of most Japanese beauty rituals at the time (and I'm still not), I focused mostly on the masks. There were a selection of bulk/bagged masks available at a great price. I chose three bulk mask types - one made by Pruta Pu and the other two Alovivi. I also bought a couple individually wrapped masks for giggles.
Alovivi Royal Jelly & Vitamin C Masks - Pack of 45 (bonus quantity) - $15.99 (.35/mask)
Alovivi Pearl Essence Masks - Pack of 45 (bonus quantity) - $15.99 (.35/mask)
Pruta Pu Hyalauronic Acid & Collagen Masks - Pack of 40 (bonus quantity) - $17.99 (.45/mask)
Sun Smile Diamond Mask - $1.49
Sun Smile Milk Mask - $1.49
Royal Jelly Hand Mask - $2.99
*Pricing was as of 3-5-2015 at the Torrance, CA Mitsuwa location.
I've opened 2 of the 3 bags of masks so far. Both bags proved a pain in the ass to get a single mask. There's probably a trick to doing this that I'm not getting. At this point, I just open the bag up wide, hold the mass of masks in one hand and slowly peel away a single mask with the other starting on the outer edge, being careful to not drip mask essence all over the place. The masks are individually folded in two and stacked in a big pile. I recommend doubling up and putting them in a large Ziploc because you don't know how well the bag seal will hold and that's a lot of masks to lose.
Now onto the masks!
First, the Pruta Pu mask with hyalauronic acid and collagen.
Fit: Decent. Not as good as My Beauty Diary, but I'll take it.
Construction: Pretty thin and translucent and gets stuck together easily (biggest downside to these).
Scent: Very light and inoffensive.
Moisture component: The mask doesn't seem soaked in essence, but left my face dewy and refreshed. These did leave a bit of irritation on a spot I had on my chin. I've noticed this previously with other collagen products. Might just be me.
Grade: 6/10 - may or may not buy again.
Overall impression: I like this mask as a budget alternative to the My Beauty Diary masks. It provided nice moisture, and left my face lightly dewy. It did leave a little irritation so I'm a little iffy on buying these again as a result. Overall, these are great for days when you want to lock in extra moisture before applying retinol / toner / lotion.
Next, the Alovivi Pearl Essence Mask.
Fit: Meh. The eye holes were sort of weird on these and the lower lip wasn't right.
Construction: Heavier / thicker than the Pruta Pu mask.
Scent: Light and very pleasing. Almost milky like a light hand cream.
Moisture component: The mask had a surprising amount of moisture for a budget mask. Left my face lightly refreshed without feeling soaked in essence. Did not irritate in the least.
Grade: 8/10, would buy again, even with the weird fit.
I'm a fan of the Alovivi masks. The price point is great - 15.99 for 45 (!) and they had several options available. They also had placenta which again, I've heard it being used for hair, but is it actual placenta? Why do they advertise it with a small baby on the packaging? So many questions!
Also, I still feel like Hannibal Lecter when I wear these crazy things...
If you know of any other markets selling these, leave a comment! I've only seen them mentioned at Uwajimaya and Mitsuwa. I could not find them at 99 Ranch locations.
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