Review: Etude House I Need You Lemon Extract Sheet Mask

When I was in Korea, Etude House were selling a whole bunch of masks for "10+10." That is, buy one set of 10 sheet masks, get another set free. Each set was $10, so basically each mask was 50 cents. Who can resist?

When I use a sheet mask I look for several things. First is, of course, effectiveness. Second is whether or not it can stick on my face and feel comfortable (or even better, I don't feel it being on my face after awhile). This is because I don't have the patience nor the time to sit there for 25-30 minutes. I need to be doing something while I put on this mask and if I need to fix it every minute because it's falling off my face then that's an instant fail. Third is whether or not it absorbs. If I don't feel a difference in the wetness of the sheet mask after 30 minutes.. then there is a problem with the compatibility of the mask with my face. 

Description (taken from the actual package):

• Essence mask contains lemon extract that brightens and clarify skin tone. Tension fit design for improved facial adhesion and comfort
• Apply mask sheet to cleansed face and leave on for 20-30 minutes. Remove mask and massage remaining solution into skin with hands
• Recommended interval for mask application is every 2-3 days for maximum efficacy

My impression:

Let's look at effectiveness first. I felt that this did make a difference in brightening my skin tone, but very slight. That is, every brightening and snail sheet mask that I've tried before has done either the same (Etude House Snail Darling Mask and Skinfood Omija Whitening Mask) or better (The Saem Chaga White Liposome Biocellulose Sheet, Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Sleeping Mask, HadaLabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Mask to name a few) in that aspect.

This mask was made of fabric and had a very similar texture and shape as the Nature Republic Snail Therapy Mask Sheet. The nose section was a bit small for me and I already have a smaller than average nose. The adherence was almost exactly the same as the Nature Republic Snail Therapy Mask Sheet. There were air bubbles in the chin area and the chin section was a bit big so it basically dropped down and curved under. Some essence as wasted there as a result.

Absorbance was pretty good. I left it on for a bit more than recommended though (50 minutes) because I was doing other stuff and lost track of time. It was pretty much all absorbed except for the part hanging down my chin.

So, I guess you get what you pay for. It's a 50 cent mask so its effects are, if anything, minimal. But if you're in Korea and can get it for 50 cents a mask then I think it's worth a try since it does moisturize and may have a better effect on you. I'm not going to buy this again though even if it's 50 cents because I rather use those 30-40 minutes of my time on a mask that does something more visible to my skin. It's selling on eBay for $3-4 though and for that price I rather get other masks, like the HadaLabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Mask if you really want whitening or Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Sleeping Mask if you want brightening effects.

Summary:

Minimal effectiveness, the least effective compared to all the other masks I have tried of similar category
Doesn't hurt if you can buy it for 50 cents in Korea
$4 for 1 masks on eBay

Grade: 2.5/5 because it's the least effective of all the other masks I've tried

Value: 1/5 because for $4 I can buy HadaLabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Mask which works like a charm

Repurchase? No, I still have lots of other masks to use and I rather use my 30-40 minutes on a mask that works on me