Sheet mask by Glam Up Facial Sheet Mask BTS 12 Combo (Pack of 12) – Face Masks Skincare, Hydrating Face Masks, Moisturizing, Brightening and…

Okay, I waited until after I used all of these masks before writing this review. I had such high hopes based on the price and other reviews. At least 3 of the packages, when I went to go use a mask, didn’t have one in there. It was a sealed pouch of just the liquid. Also, I kept using them and kept thinking how minimal they smelled. I would grab a tea tree one thinking it would smell like tea tree, and I could barely smell…anything. To me, these are the La Croix of the sheer mask industry.

I love these masks. I have sensitive skin that’s especially finicky when it comes to facial masks. These don’t irritate my skin, and I actually saw a noticeable improvement after just a couple uses. I’m usually not a fan of sheet masks, but these were easy to apply and were not annoying or a hindrance while on my face. I love that there’s so many different recipes with the benefit of each listed on the packet. I bought two packages and just have a huge bag of them now to pick from, which is super fun. Also, the extra serum at the bottom of the packet is a great feature, and it’s not sticky or uncomfortable to rub in after removing the mask.

Most sheet masks at this price range are going to be the equivalent of putting a wet washcloth on your face for 10 minutes: i.e. they provide temporary hydration that slowly dries out over the next few hours, and have little to no active ingredients that could legitimately make a long-term difference. Given that, the most you can ask of your budget sheet mask is that it:
a) be wet enough to temporarily hydrate and plump up your skin,
b) not rip while you unfold it.
c) not leave a sticky residue that feels unpleasant afterwards
d) not cause breakouts due to mineral oil, or other comedogenic ingredients.

The good news here is that this brand is pleasant to use and doesn’t leave skin sticky. There are many other budget Korean masks on Amazon, and I’ve had an unpleasant experience with some of them (such as “Dermal Korea” brand, which managed to be both uselessly watery, yet also inexplicably sticky on the skin.) I also did not experience any breakouts or dermatitis after using this brand. The sheet is tough enough that you can actually fold it up and use it a second time with the leftover serum in the pouch.

NOTE: Don’t be fooled. Sheet masks at budget prices do not contain enough active ingredients to change your skin, fix wrinkles, or smooth your texture. They just don’t. It doesn’t matter how many fruits/ vegetables you see on the packaging. (To change your skin, you need topical retinoids, which you can get from the drugstore or from your dermatologist. Anything less and you’re just wasting money on wishes. ) But the great news is that sheet masks are still useful—they temporarily plump your skin for long enough that you can go out for dinner or a night out on the town and look your best. They also force you to sit down and take care of yourself for 10 minutes, so the ritual is important too. So far, these are the best I’ve found in the under-$2-per mask range. The next step up from these is TonyMoly, but they are usually $4-5 per mask.

I’ve ordered 12 but I’ve only received 8

Sheet masks are a great tool in general, perfect for marinating your face in good skincare ingredients. I try to maintain a habit of using cheap sheet masks on a regular basis as part of my overall skincare routine. After noticing these were cheaper than the drugstore masks I pick up sometimes, and then available even further discounted on subscribe-and-save, I looked at the reviews and decided to give them a shot. These are GREAT.

They’re not some insane miracle mask that gives high-end esthetician instant results or something, and of course they’re not. Nothing at this price point could be. But they’re well-formulated, they’re comfortable, they come with plenty of serum (I like the little corner they notch at the bottom for more cleanly squeezing out every drop), and each one actually does reflect its proclaimed specialty a little bit. They’re all gonna hydrate, that’s how glycerin formulas are, but the ones that claim particular hydration benefits seem to work a little deeper and more lastingly than the rest, and the soothing/brightening/firming benefits of the rest all seem to be there, in their subtle mild ways.

Your long-term benefits from these, like any other skincare tool of any quality, will depend the most on your consistency and on and your overall skincare regimen as a whole, so don’t expect miracles just from adding these to your current habits if you’re not taking good care of your skin and targeting your skincare concerns informedly. But these are a great maintenance tool as all sheet masks are for hydration if you use them consistently, and they carry that fun bit of extra benefit. Part of the fun is just the sense of variety and getting to pick and choose options for different skincare moods, and while they’re only subtly different, that entertainment adds value in itself.

As the experience itself goes, these are great to use. There is no such thing as a sheet mask that fits all faces, but this fits mine pretty well, probably better than average as sheet masks go (most seem a little small on me). I always tear little extra slits to flatten things out better in any sheet mask I use, and I do that with these too. The material tears easily which is great, you don’t have to use scissors, it doesn’t get stretchy or weird or warp. The material also stays saturated well; I try to wear these for a good 30 minutes, and I use the additional serum in the packet to reapply over top of the mask in a few areas that I want to stay especially moist, but the mask doesn’t dry out quickly at all or really need extra serum on top, by any means. And then at the end, even when you dump every last bit from the packet onto your skin (and even squeeze out the mask fiber itself if you’re a total frugality dork like me) and rub it all in, the dry-down really isn’t sticky, so that’s great. It’s certainly nowhere near as sticky as the dry-down from other glycerin-based sheet mask serums I’ve used. I just follow it up with a usual night cream or whatever and it settles in nicely.

A word from experience: If you’re thinking of saving the extra serum in the packet from masks like this and using it as a routine serum under moisturizer like a normal skincare serum step, I wouldn’t suggest it. First of all, I think you get more out of the mask if you just dump it on as much as possible while the sheet is there helping it stay applied to the face, and rubbing it in afterward while the skin is so open. But secondly, serums like this are heavy with the silicones, which (when well-chosen) are skin-soothing ingredients and common in most moisturizers and other things, but you don’t want to dump tons of them on your face all the time with every cleanse. They’re safe, but they form a sort of blocking layer that prevents your skin from absorbing other beneficial things and otherwise interacting normally with the environment, so your skin should have breaks from large amounts of them.

A little bit of silicone in your sunscreens and moisturizers is one thing, and some people use silicone-based primers to even out skin texture under makeup et cetera, but some people may have issues with silicones on their face at all, and it can reduce the effectiveness of other skincare products. Just keep that in mind when planning the steps of your skincare process (putting on a silicone-based makeup primer after all your treatment ingredients go on and sink in for a while, for instance) and when deciding how frequently to use serums from things like these sheet masks. I didn’t have any issues from draining excess serum from these packets into a bottle and mixing those leftovers and using them ongoingly for a while, but I didn’t see any benefit either, and there are good cheap glycerin-based serum products out there that are designed better for that purpose and don’t carry loads of silicones and preservatives.

(Note also that, as with anything glycerin-based, it’s important to follow it up with other moisturizers if you live in a dry environment. Glycerin draws moisture toward itself, and in a humid environment this means it will draw moisture from the air into your skin, but in a dry environment it can just suck up moisture in your skin if you don’t put additional hydration on top of it. Just a consideration a lot of people aren’t aware of.)

Overall, I definitely recommend these masks. The price is stellar, the self-care-for-fun value is high, they look nice, they’re convenient, they’re even cheaper on subscribe-and-save, all the perks are there. They’re great as a gift or part of a gift with cool related self-care stuff, as well. (A jade facial roller over the top of a sheet mask is an awesome combination.) I could see a pack of these being a kickass part of a sleepover or bridal party or girl’s night in kind of event. If you don’t want sheet masks or don’t use sheet masks, then, like, don’t buy sheet masks — but if you want sheet masks, definitely try these ones.