MOTD: 3W Clinic Fresh Red Ginseng Mask Sheet

Hey lovelies! Today's mask is from 3W Clinic, a Korean company.

I can't seem to find out much about them online, but I know of them via adding a snail mask of theirs to my TesterKorea order I got back in May (haven't used it yet...). I got this mask in my June Beauteque Mask Maven pouch (you know, the one I got that I didn't review?? XD). Ahem. Beauteque has them in stock for $1.80..... the one I got from TK cost me 500 won, or $0.43--- the cheapest mask I own, as a matter of fact O_o.

The mask's featured ingredient is (duh) red ginseng (excuse moi, fresh red ginseng). Ginseng is one of those ancient Asian heavyweight ingredients---they used that shit for everything--and with good reason. Ginseng has been popular in Eastern medicine for a long time. Today, it's used to enhance skin firmness and elasticity--invaluable anti-aging properties that are naturally occurring??  Chock full of over 40 vitamins and minerals?!?? Hell yeah! Gimmie that! *high fives the air*

OMG... I did a Google search for red ginseng and got some...titillating results. Nice to know other uses for red ginseng... But I digress. :P

This is what Beauteque has to say about the mask:

This is sheet-type mask containing red ginseng extracts and a variety of aesthetic ingredients. It will improve your skin that lost it's elasticity, leaving it smooth and vibrant. This hypoallergenic mask sheet stays attached to the face and will provide a soothing comfort for your skin with its cleaning and astringent effects.

Fascinating! I must say that I've used red ginseng masks from two other companies and really enjoyed the results, so what did I have to lose?

Well, just my face, right? *gulp*

Shit... I should think about this more often, I have been thankful to only have a bad reaction to one sheet mask I ever tried (Beauty Friends Potato... omg it burnnnned and broke my face out O_O). But every time I use a mask, I am gambling with my face, yo. But... for eternal youth science, I will carry on!

Oh, I am thinking about changing up the review a little. I am making a TL;DR section with a brief verbal breakdown (for those who don't want to read through my blabber...). I'm also implementing a new rating system for masks using my new friend, Mr. Snail. He's adorbz! Each mask will be scored from a scale of 1 - 5 snails with 1 = terrible and 5 = awesomely amazing :D

I'll stop stalling now. Here's the mask review!

TL;DR:

Mask 411: Thick, cheap feeling mask. Smell is awful :-X
Mask fit: Terrible. Too short in three directions O_o
Did it work as advertised? Meh. Not really.
Overall rating? Totes not impressed. This gets one snail:

He's not very happy right now, trust me. 

Mask Details: This mask had a weird funky smell; I've had the displeasure of smelling ginseng in real life, so I have to say it's a pretty close facsimile with a layer or artificial something too. Eww. Not a fan of the smell. The mask itself was really thick, though decently soaked in essence. Let me stop a moment to point out something: Usually the cheaper the mask, the thicker it usually is. The more expensive brands tend to have thin masks. How about that?

Mask Fit: Like most sheet masks I've tried, this had a standard not-quite-right fit but this had the added indignity of not covering my whole face. It stopped short about 1/2 in from my ears and my hairline but drooped off my chin weirdly :/

First Impression:  Not really a fan of the smell, I didn't plan on keeping this mask on for longer than a half hour. It didn't even last that long: I got to a whopping 20 minutes (!!!) before the edges were drying out and it stopped sticking to my cheeks properly.When I took it off, my face stayed plump and moist for a few minutes while the essence soaked in, I continued with my ritual and went about my business.

Final Thoughts: Well, I must say that my skin felt normal today. Not a bad thing, you'd think. Since I use a sheet mask and seal it with an occlusive every night, my skin is usually still nice and plump from the previous night's mask.... but not today, It just felt like meh. Such a disappointment! On the plus side? It didn't break me out, so there's that.

I now have two more of these masks from the same company to try, too? Totes not looking forward to that, to be honest. This is definitely not a rebuy. I have masks that were cheaper than this that worked better. I mean come on. A sheet mask's basic function is to at least moisturize/hydrate your skin. How do you fail at that?? The packaging, it lies: my face was no more smoother or more vibrant than it usually is! Boo. Hiss.

Have you tried this mask? If so, what did you think? What about Mr. Snail: yay or nay? Please let me know in the comments :D

Until tomorrow's post (and hopefully a better mask to review XD)

xoxox,

Deena