Review: Nature Republic Snail Therapy Mask Sheet

When I was in Korea, cosmetics stores like to lure people in with samples. Nature Republic lured me in with this snail mask. I actually forgot what I ended up buying once I went inside the store...maybe their eye masks? Well whatever it is I'm sure it's in my room so I'll find out eventually

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):

• Contains 200mg of snail mucin
• After applying toner, pull out mask sheet from package and unfold
• Apply mask sheet onto the face from lower part of the mask and move upwards towards the forehead
• Remove mask sheet after 20-25 minutes. Gently pat any remaining formula into skin
• Use 2-3 times a week for best result. Do not reuse mask sheet

My impression:

When I finished the mask and looked into the pack to get the remaining essence I realized that this was the first time the essence of a snail mask actually resembled snail mucin. It was thick and gooey. Now that could just be a coincidence. However, I also noticed that the fine lines along my fingers, which are quite deep for my age and were genetically passed down, were actually less deep! This was the first time any product has made my hands like this.

I've used many snail masks before, Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Sleeping Mask, The Saem Cell Renew Snail Mask and Etude House Snail Darling Sheet Mask and I do the same with those masks as well: massage the remaining essence on my face with my hand. But I've never noticed my hands become this way. I bought It's Skin Prestige Creme Hand D'Escargot which is a snail hand cream to try to rescue my hands. It was quite expensive for a hand cream and it did NOTHING. And to think this mask wasn't even for my hands! Needless to say, I was impressed. I would absolutely consider getting this for my hands if the mask was available in a form other than a sheet mask.

Now onto the effects on my face. It was similar to the other snail products that I've used: redness was calmed, skin was brighter, skin tone was more even, little bumps on my skin were evened out. So that part was good. BUT this mask was super sticky. And a bit itchy because of that stickiness. I guess if you put this mask right before you go to bed it's okay, but I put this on a few hours before and those few hours were a bit uncomfortable for me.

What worried me the most was that the next morning, I found three small red bumps on my nose. These were basically where my black heads would be, but perhaps this mask essence clogged them and made 3 of them swell up overnight. Now, three small red bumps spread over the face may not be too noticeable, but they were all crowded together on the left-center side of my nose where everyone can see. As you can imagine, I freaked out. I washed my face and was very diligent throughout the day to absorb any oil on my nose and when I got home just now, the redness had calmed down, but I can still see it if I look closely. So it's still lurking..waiting for another chance when I clog it further so it can swell up into a full-sized pimple...? :S

This mask is also made up of fabric like the TonyMoly Floria Whitening Sheet Mask and HadaLabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Mask. The shape of this mask didn't fit me as well though as those two other masks. There were a few air bubbles down on my chin probably caused by the essence flowing down to the bottom and causing that part of the mask to be heavier. So the attachment at the bottom wasn't very good. Absorption was a bit uneven because of that.

Summary:

Essence did wonders on my hands
Essence had thick consistency that really does resemble snail mucus...pure coincidence?
Very sticky and gave me 3 small red bumps on my nose the next morning
$4 for 3 masks on eBay

Grade: 3.5/5 great effect on both my face and near-miraculous effect on my hands but sticky and gave me three small red bumps on my nose...but I cannot ignore the possibility that those could have ended up being three big swollen red pimples on my nose

Value: 4/5 because it's quite effective and inexpensive at $1.33 per mask

Repurchase? No, unless I use it for my hands