JAPANESE | LuLuLun Brightening sheet mask

These masks are neatly folded/stacked, soaked in serum in this box with nothing to separate each mask. There is a thin sheet of plastic that creates a minimal barrier between the package opening and the masks.

The cut out of the mask doesn't fit my face very well, too short for the forehead (luckily not my problem area) and bunches up a lot (see below). I could probably rip some parts to make it fit better like those 2-part sheet masks.

I didn't find a lot of information on these masks other than:

No added colours, fragrances, oils

Description on Amazon:

For those who want healthy, hydrated skin. Daily use of this face mask helps keep your skin smooth and healthy. All natural product with a well-balanced cocktail of 12 moisturizing ingredients. Helps improves skin roughness and smooths out skin texture. Affordable and efficient essence mask for everyday use.

I ripped it so it fits my nose and cheek area better

Pros

Inexpensive

Brightening

Seems to minimize pores

Hydrating

Cons

Doesn't fit face well

Price

$21+ for 32 thin sheets

Verdict

If you've tried the individually wrapped face masks before, you'll notice the cotton quality of LuLuLun is a lot thinner. You're supposed to leave these on for 10-15 minutes (from what I made out from the Japanese description), and I do notice a slight difference immediately after use. However, I don't know if it's because I'm spoiled with glowy skin (from oily skin or overexfoliating) or most masks just don't impress me. When I first started using this I thought it helped a bit with my pores. I am now about 1/2 thru the box and I just use it because it's there, although it does seem to minimize the appearance of pores temporarily.

This is one of the best selling masks in Japan, so if you're in the market for an inexpensive sheet mask, this is probably the least expensive one I've seen (per unit). Although it seems like it's intended for daily use, I use it a couple times a week or whenever I can remember to, preferably after a shower when my pores are more open.

I really want to try the SK II masks, but I'll wait until there's a sale to splurge on those.

Repurchase?

Maybe

Would I recommend it?

Yes. They have smaller packages of 7 too I believe

GlamGlow FlashMud Brightening Treatment

What it looks like applied

Morning after Day 1 | Morning after Day 3

It might be hard to tell, but the acne scars on my left cheek were significantly lightened after the initial 3 day treatment, which I'm semi impressed by. However, the mask doesn't seem to help much with acne itself, as you can kind of see.

Pros

Exfoliating

Smells amazing

Brightens the skin

Cons

Expensive

Might be harsh for sensitive skin

Price

$69 for 1.7 oz / 50 g at Sephora

Verdict

My acne's been getting better with my antibiotics from the dermatologist, so I've been focusing more on lightening my acne scars. Fortunately my scars aren't the ice pick scars or the ones that are visible even when the pigment is gone, but it will still take a few months until it lightens significantly.

Repurchase?

Maybe

Would I recommend it?

Yes. But try a sample at Sephora first.

SKIN | GlamGlow Products - Is it worth the money?

I heard about GlamGlow from my cousin in China, who said the combination of SuperMud (white mask) and ThirstyMud (blue mask) helps flatten a pimple overnight. I've tried it several times and it doesn't heal the pimple overnight, just helps a little.

I figure if a product has passed international borders, it must be decent, so I gave it a try.

Listed from left to right

FlashMud Brightening Treatment orange ($69 for 1.7 oz / 50g)

20 minute exfoliating mask

My most recent purchase - it has fine exfoliating beads, has very pleasant fruity fragrance, makes my skin feel very smooth after washing. Whether or not it brightens a lot is not a change I see immediately on my skin, but it seems to help with acne scars. I like it a lot so far.

ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment blue ($69 for 1.7 oz / 50g) review here

Overnight treatment - can be used during the day if you wipe the excess off with tissue.

Smells like coconuts, I don't find it particularly amazing but it's good for parched skin.

SuperMud Clearing Treatment white ($69 for 1.2 oz / 34 g) review here

10-17 minute clay mask

Great to clear your pores, feels cooling on the skin, seems to help absorb oil from pores, helps with blackheads. It doesn't make my pores look especially clean sometimes, but I assume some of the black is from the mud.

SuperCleanse Daily Purifying Cleanser white ($39 for 5 oz / 150 ml)

Apply to a dry face, lather with water. The Sephora salesperson told me to leave it on for 30 seconds before adding water.

I tried a sample from Sephora before purchasing this. It has a cooling sensation, has a slight learning curve to lathering effectively, and seems to help with my acne. You're supposed to apply it on a "dry face" then lather, similar to a cleansing oil, but it doesn't seem to lather as well (or feel as clean) when my face is already oily (if I use it in the morning). 

I enjoy using it the most when I remove my makeup first, dry my face, then apply.

In conclusion

I think these products are worth sampling, but I would not have bought the full size had I not purchased them at a discount. I purchased ThirstyMud and SuperMud at Costco for about $40 each (no longer available in my area as of December 2015) as opposed to the $69 price tag at Sephora. The SuperCleanse and FlashMud were purchased because I received giftcards and Nordstrom notes. 

I enjoy using this line of products, but it's not holy grail for me. Once I finish the jars I probably won't repurchase.

If you had oily, combination or acne prone skin and don't mind spending money on these, I recommend the SuperMud (white mask) and FlashMud (orange). Definitely try a sample at Sephora before purchasing, considering the hefty price.

Skincare tip:

I went to the dermatologist (finally) a few weeks ago and have been taking antibiotics to kill acne causing bacteria. If I am successful I will definitely post before and after photos.

One thing to remember if you use these masks is to moisturize after. After over a decade of dealing with acne (teenage and adult cystic/hormonal acne), I've realized that simple is best. I've been using CeraVe cream (review here) as a moisturizer with a benzoyl peroxide treatment for acne spots, and Neosporin/healing balm for open acne spots I accidentally popped/broke. 

Your skin heals itself a lot overnight, so get your beauty sleep in.

REVIEW | GlamGlow Clearing Treatment - helps with acne and pores?

You can't really see it here

But when you wash the mask off, there are little beads I assume are supposed to be exfoliating

As you can tell, it goes from black to gray like most clay masks

If you look closer, there are darker black dots around where my pores are larger or where my skin produces more oil, and where my active raised pimples are.

More literature, I didn't really read through this, but if you are going to invest so much money into a product it's good to do the research

Pros

Helps somewhat with acne

Cleans out pores

Tingly minty sensation

Exfoliating

Cons

Expensive

No drastic change in cystic pimples

Price

$37 at Costco IF your local Costco carries it

$69 at Sephora for 1.2 oz / 34 g

Verdict

The packaging says as a full face mask it will contains 17 uses, but if you only spots in certain places it should last a lot longer. I wouldn't have purchased this if I didn't find it at Costco.

As with many clay masks, it is drying and absorbs a lot of oil and impurities. My pores definitely look clearer after I wash it off. My cousin actually recommended that if I use The Clearing Treatment in conjunction with the Hydrating Treatment, it will make the pimples flat overnight but your skin is still moisturized. I tried that a few times but pimples only go away overnight if they're smaller. Cystic pimples still take a while to go away.

I tried taking photos for the results but I don't think the photos really do justice for what I see in real life.

I think this really helps if you have occasional breakouts like me, I can see why people rave about this product along with the rest of the GlamGlow line.

Repurchase?

If I use it up and see it at Costco again, yes.

Would I recommend it?

Yes. If you want to clear out your pores. No, if you want it to help with acne.

I recommend sampling it at Sephora first, as with most expensive beauty products

Review: GLAMGLOW ThirstyMud Hydration Treatment

A little goes a long way

I spotted this at Costco for $36, much less than at Sephora

I first heard about this from my cousin in China that it's supposed to help with acne if used along with GlamGlow's white clearing treatment. Considering the price of these masks, I decided to just get this one available at Costco for half the price.

Pros

Very moisturizing

Doesn't break me out

Feels good on skin (slight cooling sensation at first)

Could be used as an overnight mask or 10-20 mins day mask

Smells like coconut (could be a con)

Cons

Expensive

Price

$69 at Sephora for 1.7 oz / 50 g

$36 at Costco if your local one carries it (I don't think I would've bought it  for 69 tbh)

Verdict

I accidentally spotted this at Costco and remembered my cousin mentioning it, so I decided to give it a try. I've seen people claim that it flattens your pimples overnight in conjunction with the white clearing treatment. It does seem to help flatten some pimples in conjunction with some acne treatments, and using this as an overnight mask twice a week helped moisturize my skin a lot, and I'm hoping to improve my skin texture after long term use.

Being in Beijing for over 10 months has done some serious damage on my skin: first of all, I didn't bring my Clarisonic Mia because I didn't think it would make that much difference, when in fact it did (using it after a 10 month hiatus has made me realize what a difference this actually makes in terms of cleansing your skin). 

Along with the pollution, my pores also became enlarged after an allergic reaction in the form of acne I had after going to Inner Mongolia and eating too much lamb (or so the dermatologist claims). 

I am currently in search of pore clearing and minimizing skincare products, if you have any recommendations I would greatly appreciate it.

Hope this was helpful

Repurchase?

No.

Would I recommend it?

Not in particular

Review: Neutrogena Clear Pore cleanser/mask

Hi everyone,

I recently have been breaking out again, so I decided to use this cleanser, and I think it's worthy of doing a review on :)

Excuse the picture, I was trying to use my mom's professional camera... Didn't work out so well. Still need to play around with it a bit more

As it says on the packaging, it could be used as a daily cleanser or intensive mask, here's the breakdown

Pros:

1. 3.5% Benzoyl peroxide - reasonable for a cleanser, if it was anymore it'd be really drying, any less might not be as effective

2. Seem to have little exfoliating bits

3. Minty/cooling feeling - much more cooling when used as a mask

4. Helps with acne - no miracle worker, but it is very good paired with a salicylic acid treatments, which are common on the market as of yet

5. Can be used as a cleanser or mask

6. Tube form, good for the thick creamy texture this is

Cons:

1. Small size - 4.2 oz, doesn't seem like it'd last long but you need a little for your entire face, don't use too much unless you want to dry out your skin

2. Doesn't lather too much - it does lather a little bit, but just barely

3. Could be drying - if overused, I'd say if you have dry skin use this every other night, never morning AND night. I have a oily t-zone with less oily cheeks, using it morning and night had dried my cheeks out to a point where you can see a little bit of flaky skin when putting on moisturizer. You definitely NEED moisturizer after washing your face with this. I don't recommend using it in the morning if you're planning to wear makeup that day.

Verdict:

I definitely recommend this if you've been breaking out and nothing seems to work. This definitely makes a difference but don't expect clear skin overnight, probably never happening without damaging your skin.

If you don't break out very often, you can even use this as a treatment every now and then for those "bad skin" days, it feels refreshing on your face.

Repurchase?
Not really.

Rating: 9/10

If it came in bigger sizes and lathered a bit more, it might be perfect.