SKINCARE | The Face Shop Real Nature Hydro Gel Mask in Green Tea Review

Korean beauty is taking over North America with some big players like entering the Canadian market last year. The Face Shop was one of my all-time favourite places to visit when I was teenager way back in Backstreet Boys days and when it disappeared from Metrotown mall, I was devastated. The recent reboot of TFS in a number of major malls has now given me a place to spend all of my money during my lunch breaks.

One thing I have a penchant for are sheet masks. I have 75 right now and I don't think that number is going to dwindle anytime soon! The newest types of sheet masks are no longer made of paper, but of hydrogel, a synthetic polymer that is able to hold an incredible amount of water while remaining elastic and pliable like skin. Hydrogels have a variety of uses, but in the realm of skincare it is the property of healing and targeted substance delivery that we most like! New to TFS this year are the Real Nature Hydro Gel Masks in Red Ginseng*, for anti-aging, and Green Tea*, for brightening.

You can see from my selfie of the Green Tea mask that what is awesome about these (in addition to it feeling really cool!) is that the masks comes in two pieces for a more snug fit. Paper masks usually leave me with quite the goatee.

This mask brightens with niacinamide and green tea, both of which are touted to be highly effective skin brightening ingredients. While I would not expect to see results within the first use, this particular mask is meant to be left on for 30 minutes which is quite a bit longer than I was expecting. I thought of this mask like a treatment and if I were to keep doing this every week, it is possible I might start to see a difference seeing as how the niacinamide does have a certain degree of potency as the third ingredient on the list.

 
I like that this mask was translucent, had actual green tea bits in it and smelled like green tea too! Translucency also made me look less scary which the husband appreciated. It also felt very refreshing as the hydrogel generally remained fairly cool to the touch and stayed on the skin fairly well. I had to pull up the chin piece every so often, but my face stayed covered while I had the mask on.  

Final verdict: As with most sheet masks, my skin felt hydrated and refreshed upon removal. Perhaps my skin looked brighter, but I really couldn't tell you for sure. What I can tell you is that I loved the texture of this mask and it is something I would definitely buy on my own because it felt like such a treat to use!

Available at all Face Shop locations.