Who said that masks are only for the face?
After putting sheet masks firmly back into our skincare routine, the Koreans have come out with a new wave of masks for every part of your body.
Hydrating masks for the hands? Check.
Peeling masks for the feet? Check.
Soothing patches for the lips? Check.
Oh K! brought them all on our shores. Of course, I had to give them a go. Are they so good they need to become part of your skincare routine or are they just another (cute) fad?
Let’s find out!
Violet Flower Hand Mask
Hidden inside the Violet Flower Hand Mask pack are a pair of gloves soaked in a moisturising essence. You need to wear them for 10-15 minutes, so I put them on before going to sleep, slipped into bed and turned my Kindle on (I tried reading a real book with the gloves on but it was a struggle to turn the page!).
If books ain’t your thing, watch your fave TV show instead. You won’t be able to use your hands for the next few minutes so find a way to keep yourself entertained while your gloves work their magic.
In case you’re wondering, wearing the mask is a bit weird. It’s like putting your hands in a bowl of hand cream without taking the time to rub it in. Yet, the essence is so lightweight, it doesn’t feel slimy or greasy.
When I finally take the gloves off, there’s still quite a lot of essence on my hands, so I rub them together to help them absorb it.
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I have to confess my hands were in a pretty bad state.Now the weather’s turning chilly, I can feel my hands getting tighter and drier. Having so many boiling hot showers doesn’t help either, I guess.
When I saw alcohol so high on the ingredient list, I thought “Oh boy, is this going to crack my hands?” (There’s a reason why I don’t use hand sanitisers…).
Nope. Turns out, the hydrating effects of the mask completely neutralise its drying potential. It’s full of humectants, such as Glycerin and Butylene Glycol, that draw moisture from the environment into the skin to parch its thirst and keep it well-hydrated for hours.
Within fifteen minutes, the treatment transformed my dry hands. Now, they were all soft and smooth again.
And the scent! It’s like being in the middle of a violet field. Pretty. Dainty. Feminine.
I’m so stocking up on this!
Peeling Foot Mask
I don’t know about you, but I struggle to keep my feet soft and smooth. Most of the time, they’re hidden under layers of thick socks (London ain’t the warmest place on the planet) and I forget to give them the TLC they deserve.
Until they get all dry and cracked. But, by then, the damage is a pain to fix. Could a Peeling Foot Mask be the answer to all my sorry feet woes? There was only one way to find out. Put them on.
Peeling foot masks look like plastic boots. You (carefully!) pour the exfoliating liquid in them, pop your feet in and tie them around your ankles. Then, you sit and wait for 1-1.5 hours. Yes, I said hours. It takes time to exfoliate your feet.
I prepared for this. I went to the toilet, grabbed some snacks and sat down with a good book (you can watch a movie, play with your computer, whatever) so that I wouldn’t have to get up and leave my bedroom with those ugly things on.
Still, it was all in vain. I forgot my phone on the other side of the room. Of course, Mr BWB had to choose that very moment to call me! It was a short walk but a very weird one. I could feel the liquid sloshing around my feet (at least, it didn’t feel cold).
The heroes here are Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs), or to be precise, Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid. They work by dissolving the glue that holds skin cells together so they can naturally slough off, revealing the brighter, smoother and softer skin that was hiding underneath.
But, not straight away! You won’t start peeling as soon as you remove the boots. In fact, NOTHING happens for up to three days.
It was only on the 4th day, when I had forgotten all about the mask and was planning to buy a new pair of shoes, that I saw a big chunk of skin coming off my feet. I’m not gonna lie, it was GROSS.
But, where that chunk had peeled off, my skin looked so soft and smooth! It was also a lot brighter than the dull skin on the rest of my feet, which hadn’t exfoliated yet.
You’re not supposed to give it a helping hand and manually peel off your skin even when you can see it’s almost ready to come off, which is so frustrating! Your skin doesn’t peel off in one go so for the next 3-4 days, your gonna shed some skin randomly here and there.
It’s not the kind of stuff you want other people to see, so all shoe shopping is off for the week. You also can’t do this the day before going on holiday or your feet will start shedding at the beach. Ewww!
Do it 10/14 days before you leave for your holidays, are getting married, need to show your feet to the world (for whatever reason).
One more thing: the liquid completely covers your sole, but barely reaches the top of your feet. The mask is great to remove hard and rough patches of skin from the bottom of your feet quickly, but it’ll take a lot longer to exfoliate the top. 🙂
Cherry Gel Lip Mask
This was the mask I was most looking forward to try. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited to put a giant pair of fake lips on? Oh, K-beauty is so much fun!
Sadly, it did NOTHING for me. NOTHING.
I guess it’s totally possible that I used it the wrong way, even though I followed the instructions to a T and they were hardly rocket science:
- Remove lip mask from tray and apply lip patch to clean lips.
- Leave the mask on for 10-20 minutes.
- Remove the mask and gently massage any residue into lips. No need to rinse.
The first problem was getting it onto the lips. I had to lay down or they kept falling off my lips. Not the most practical thing in the world but I get it… gravity.
The second problem? I didn’t think the mask was doing anything. It felt like I had a huge piece of gelatine on my lips. It was a little cool, a little slimy but that’s about it.
When I finally took off the mask, there was no residue to massage into the lips. My lips weren’t that much softer. As I said, I didn’t see any improvement whasoever.
Maybe I got a very old mask by mistake? (You can tell I really wanted to like this, can’t you? *sighs* ).
I’d leave the lip mask on the shelf but the hand and foot masks are cute pampering treatments for when you need to give some extra loving care to these hardworking helpers.
Price & Availability
Violet Flower Hand Mask, £8.00; Peeling Foot Mask, £10.00; Cherry Lip Mask, £6.00 at Asos and Feel Unique
Violet Flower Hand Mask Ingredients
Water, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Alcohol, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Betaine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Polyacrylate-13, Poluyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Acrylagtes/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Saccharomyces/Viscum Album (Mistletoe) Ferment Extract, Viola Tricolor Extract, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Parfum, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Saccharomyces/Imperate Cylindrica Ferment Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Potassium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Urea, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid,Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Benzyl Benzoate
Peeling Foot Mask Ingredients
Water, Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Glycolic Acid, Arginine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene Glycol, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract, Salicylic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Urea, Tocopheryl Acetate, Parfum
Cherry Gel Lip Mask Ingredients
Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Chondrus Crisps Powder, Butylene Glycol, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Betaine, Panthenol, Pantolactone, Allantoin, Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Extract, Viola Tricolor Extract, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Prunus Avium Fruit Extract, Sodium Polyacrylate, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hyaluronate, Disodium EDTA, Parfum.
