Accept No Substitutes

If you’ve been following along VERY CLOSELY (or even casually, because I’ve obsessively talked about this), you’ll know I’m all into Korean beauty products these days. As I mentioned in my vlog post, I started with sheet masks and worked my way up to a full-fledged beauty routine. Some of the Korean sheet masks I’ve tried have been absolutely amazing, others good, and only one bad.

As I was standing in line to purchase some cheap accessories from Forever XXI (when Arabic numerals just won’t do), I gave in to the temptation to buy a sheet mask that was in the bins in line. It was cheap–99 cents–so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I went with the cucumber mask for sensitive skin, thinking it was a safe bet.

The other night, my air conditioner went out, and I was feeling hot and sticky and annoyed. I decided it would be a great night for a cucumber sheet mask–it sounded cool and refreshing, and just the thing to go with my cool bath.

To be frank, it was horrible. The mask was too big for my face (which admittedly was an unusual problem, as I occasionally have problems with the Korean ones being too small for my Scandinavian bone structure). It was nearly dry–I’m used to sheet masks having loads of essence to tap into my skin. And worst of all, it made my face sting! If this is what passes as sensitive skincare, I want none of it! I couldn’t believe that it actually aggravated my skin.

Instead of the cheap and painful sheet mask, I wish I had been able to use an Etude House Skin Note Calming & Relaxing mask. This I can recommend wholeheartedly as being cool and refreshing, and the perfect thing to relax from a busy day. There are no cucumbers, but it does have aloe vera and glacial water. It will be a while before I try to substitute the good stuff for cheap imitations.