Review: TonyMoly Tomatox Magic White Massage Pack

I bought 3 eye masks from TonyMoly back in Korea and they gave me a sample of their whitening mask as a gift. The only whitening masks that I've been using are sheet masks, notably Hadalabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Mask and The Saem Chaga White Liposome Mask. For wash off, I've tried The Saem's Gem Miracle Black Pearl Oxygen Bubble Mask, but I find that gives more of a brightening effect rather than whitening in that it makes your dull skin look more radiant. Whitening, to me, is more like trying to even out the color of your dark spots so your skin looks whiter as a whole.

Description (taken from eng.tonymoly.com):

• Tomato extract/solution antioxidant, detox properties to the clear skin *Lemon extract accelerating collagen synthesis, whitening, antioxidant, astringent *Baicha extract Less irritation to skin, whitening property *Houstonia extract It is known as a mysterious herb with 10 kinds of properties of antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antiallergenic, whitening, activating term over to provide clear skin tone. Tomato solution delivers instant brightening, massaging and skin clearing mask effect. Multi functional massage pack.
• After cleansing, apply on towel-dried face and gently massage for about 1~2min. After massaging, leave it on your face for 5~10min. Rinse out with lukewarm water and pat with towel. 2~3times use per week or use everyday as needed.

My impression:

Since this was a sample and only good for one usage, I can't comment on its long-term effects. But I'll share my thoughts about its texture, immediate effect, etc. This one sample though did allow me to apply the mask on my face generously.

The texture of this mask is not like anything I've seen before. It's more like an oily cream when you're massaging it. Once I started applying it, my face started itching slightly. It was very tolerable but at the same time noticeable. I left this on for 10 minutes because I wanted to see its full effect since I only have one sample.

Except..there wasn't much of an effect. It definitely did not whiten as much as my Hadalabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Mask or The Saem Chaga White Liposome Mask. My face felt a bit moisturized I guess, but not as much as the sheet masks once again.

The most annoying thing is that the slight irritation persisted after I had washed my face! Now I have read reviews of this and some people had said they broke out from this. Since its consistency is so much like an oily cream, I was afraid that people may have broke out because they didn't rinse sufficiently so I already rinsed my face several times. But I could still feel it and I wanted to scratch that part of my face. Mask still left on my face may break me out. Me scratching my face with my dirty fingers may also break me out. Lose-lose situation -_-

Now perhaps if I bought the whole 80g and used it consistently, it would show a whitening effect. But considering the fact that I already have the Hadalabo and The Saem Chaga masks that whiten (and moisturizes) my skin RIGHT after usage, I don't see myself buying something that MAY whiten my skin IF I use it over an undetermined extended period.

Summary:

Not much of a whitening effect
Not as moisturizing as my other whitening sheet masks
$9 for 80g on eBay

Quality: 2.5/5 because it doesn't really whiten and didn't moisturize very well either! But there is a change that it may do wonders if I use it for a "long time" so I guess I'll pass it

Value: 3/5 it's pretty cheap for 80g of mask.. but it's a mask that doesn't do much (at least short-term)

Repurchase? No, I rather buy my other two whitening sheet masks instead