I gave the SKII Facial Treatment Essence a go awhile back and I'm surprised to see that I never talked about it on here. I bought the starter set that came with the famed Facial Treatment Essence and the Facial Treatment Mask but honestly wasn't wowed by the results of the essence. I vaguely remember liking the mask but not enough to purchase more. Well, recently Influenster teamed up with SKII and I was one of the lucky ones who received a small Facial Treatment Essence and Facial Treatment Mask to try out. I figured it was worth a shot to try these out again to see if my feelings have changed. It's hard to give a fair assessment of an essence or serum because I believe results take longer to develop so I'll just be sharing my thoughts on the mask.
The SKII Facial Treatment Mask is a radiance and moisture-enhancing mask. It has a very short ingredients list of only the following:
Water, Saccharomycopsis Ferment Filtrate (Pitera), Butylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Salicylate, Methylparaben, Disodium EDTA
Pitera is the second ingredient in the list and is SKII's claim to fame. It's a derivative of the sake fermentation process which is supposedly rich in vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids. I wish SKII would state what percentage of the formula is made up of Pitera as otherwise I assume water makes up the vast majority.
Each mask retails for $17 and you can purchase a pack of 6 for $95 ($15.83 each) or a pack of 10 for $135 ($13.50 each). It's definitely a splurge skincare product considering it's meant for a single use. I've used many Asian sheet masks that are under $5 and that have produced good results so I'm really expecting a lot for a mask that's more than three times the price.
The sheet mask itself is 100% cotton but it's rather thick and stiff. I found it a bit difficult to mold some parts to my face, especially in the chin area. The fit was good and the mask was saturated in essence. I kept the mask on for 30 minutes until it was dry around the edges. The liquid of the mask has a consistency of a water-based serum and absorbs into the skin easily. I had a generous amount of leftover liquid in the mask packet that I patted onto my face, neck and hands after removing the sheet mask. This mask does produce a little bit of dried-glue-like residue when it dries but it's easily washed off.
This mask is very gentle on the skin; I accidentally got some liquid in my eye but it didn't sting at all. My skin did not feel irritated in the slightest by this mask. It simply felt soothing and gentle. Upon removing the mask I did have the impression that my skin was brightened. It felt plump and hydrated but not greasy or heavy at all.
However, the brightening effect wasn't noticeable when I awoke the next day and my skin didn't look particularly better. That was disappointing considering how expensive this mask is. With that in mind, I think this mask is best used immediately prior to a special event. I almost never do sheet masks during the day time so this mask isn't really for me. I've also used many other sheet masks that are much less expensive and that I've had good results from, so I won't recommend you run out and spend $100 on a couple of these. In fact, I recently hauled a few new Korean sheet masks that I'm eager to test out so stay tuned for that!
*These products were sent to me from Influenster as part of a Voxbox campaign. I am not being compensated for this review and all thoughts are my own.