Review: The Face Shop Real Nature Masks (Old formula vs. New formula)
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Sheet masks are definitely among one of the most popular Asian skin care products. They're popular to the extent that Sephora now makes and sells their own brand of sheet masks (as I found out during my most recent visit). I've never used sheet masks that weren't from a Korean or Japanese brand, and I never buy sheet masks from Sephora (their own cost around $6 for one and the other Asian sheet masks they sell are usually more expensive). I am fortunate enough to have a local (ish, it's far away from my house) The Face Shop. It opened just a few months before I went abroad to study in Korea, so before I came back I thought I'd buy some of their sheet masks (which were on sale for 10+10!) and if I liked them, I could just continue to buy them conveniently from home. Recently they reformulated their sheet masks in the Real Nature line (갈아만든 line in Korean), so I'll be writing a comparison post today on the old vs. new formulas!
The Face Shop's masks sell for ₩1,000, but after my study abroad batch ran out, I bought mine from my local The Face Shop for $2 each.
I've been using The Face Shop's sheet masks once a week every week since the summer of 2014 (my face mask night is Monday night!). Before then, I used a few different brands, but none of them for very long.
I'm not sure when exactly it was that The Face Shop reformulated their Real Nature Sheet Masks, but I know it was recently. I visit The Face Shop about once every two or three months (when my sheet mask supply starts to run low) and after my most recent purchase, I noticed that the Real Nature Sheet Masks looked different. After checking the ingredients, I realized that they were different.
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| Something to note: the Real Nature Sheet Masks are now formulated without parabens, as can be seen on the bottom left of the new packaging. |
Also, the new formulation seems to be new, as the last time I checked, Jolse and other online stores that sell Korean beauty products still show the pictures of the old masks when you search them up (as of May 22, 2016).
This review will mainly focus on the Lemon, Cucumber, and Avocado Real Nature Masks (because those are my favorites from the Real Nature line's old formula), but I've used the following sheet masks in the old formula at least a few times each: blueberry, acai berry, pomegranate, honey, kelp, and rice. All of the masks are relatively hydrating (what I find sheet masks to be best at despite whatever else they may claim to do), but excluding the three that are my favorite, the rest of the masks make my skin feel sticky, or didn't absorb well (when I wash my face the next morning, I can feel the product wash right off). I wear all my sheet masks for ten minutes at the least.
OLD Formula:
I liked the old formula Lemon, Cucumber, and Avocado sheet masks the most because they (1) did not make my skin feel sticky after I removed the mask, (2) they actually absorbed well, and/or (3) in addition to hydrating my skin, they also calmed my hormonal breakouts.
The size of the masks didn't fit me as well as other brands, but they weren't too bad. A bit of material hung off my the bottom of my face and the eye holes were a little big, but that wasn't a problem. The sheet masks also don't stick to my face as much as I'd like, especially if I'm not laying down.
Lemon
- Hydrates skin, absorbs well, brightens skin a little bit (what it claims to do)
- Smell: strong lemon perfume scent, but not unpleasant (to me)
- Hydrates skin well, absorbs well, feels cool and calming
- Smell: doesn't really smell like cucumber, more like artificial cucumber perfume, but it's not unpleasant
- Hydrates skin well, absorbs well, calms hormonal breakouts and/or pimples and redness in skin
- Smell: can't quite pinpoint what it smells like but it wasn't unpleasant even though it didn't smell like avocado
- MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE♡ (pretty much HG status sheet mask whenever I broke out)
NEW Formula:
I've only tried the three masks above of the new formula so far and I'm not impressed. The size of the masks is pretty much the only improvement for me, as they fit my face better. The eye holes fit my eyes much better, and there's no extra flap of the sheet mask that hangs off the bottom of my face. They probably used the same material as before, because sometimes the sheet mask doesn't stay on my face if I'm moving around a little.
Lemon
- Towards the end of the ten minutes, the skin around my eyes started getting itchy (just minor)
- My skin felt a little sticky after I took off the mask, but it faded and the product absorbed into my skin
- Smell: smells like those lemon/citrus scented wet wipes you sometimes get at restaurants to clean your hands after a meal (not necessarily unpleasant but kind of weird)
- Like Lemon, the skin around my eyes started getting itchy near the end of the ten minutes
- Absorbed well and skin wasn't too sticky afterwards
- Claims to hydrate skin and it did (my skin also looked fresher afterwards)
- Smell: pleasant (light cucumber and light cucumber perfume scent); smells more like cucumber (rather than cucumber scented perfume) than the old formula, but the perfume scent hasn't quite gone away
- Around five minutes, my skin started to feel a little irritated and stung just a bit (not too much, but enough for me to notice it) so I took off the mask about a minute before I usually do (at nine minutes instead of ten)
- The light stinging sensation didn't go away for a few minutes after I took off the mask
- Left my skin a little bit sticky only, but it absorbed well for the most part
- Smell: omg, don't get me started; a mixture of crayon and another unidentifiable and unpleasant scent; vastly different from the older formula's scent
- I was severely disappointed because I liked the old formula so much.
NOTE: I've only used the new formula sheet masks twice with the exception of the Avocado mask (which I'm supposed to use this Monday, but I'm considering skipping and using a different mask because I was so disappointed by it). Will update this post if I buy them and use them again.
I was unable to get the ingredients for the old formula but you can find the ingredients list for the new formula on The Face Shop's official Korean site. If anyone wants a translation, do let me know.
In short, I like the old formula of The Face Shop's Real Nature Sheet Masks, but I really dislike the new formula (Avocado in particular). In comparison to the old formula, the new formula doesn't smell as nice (if my skin care products have to be scented, I at least want them to smell nice) and they don't absorb as well (although they're still not too bad).
Would I buy them again? Maybe. I wouldn't mind trying Cucumber and some of the other Real Nature Sheet Masks, but I've kind of lost faith in the line after my former favorite Avocado mask disappointed me so much.
Would I buy them again? Maybe. I wouldn't mind trying Cucumber and some of the other Real Nature Sheet Masks, but I've kind of lost faith in the line after my former favorite Avocado mask disappointed me so much.
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