Weekday: Sheet Mask Shortage, Frantic Hauls, & Introducing Sheet Mask Reviews

Recently I was approached by a company interested in having me review a sheet mask service, among a few other things.  Don't be alarmed; I've yet to have an offer come across my digital desk that I felt was a good fit- and in this case, although sheet masks are definitely something I use (daily in fact!) I had to advise them that I had recently purchased over 140 sheet masks and thus would have to decline.

I can only imagine how long it took for them to stop laughing so they could type a reply.  You are probably doubting my sanity right now yourself.  But let me show you how/why that happened:

Count the number of sheet masks in this picture.  Do ittt!
This is a picture of my (formerly) entire sheet mask collection, or at least all that I had left. That's right, that's a whopping 5 masks in that picture.  You might then think "That's not too bad, if you use one every week that will last you 5 weeks, plenty of time to get more!"

Ah, no.  During the winter, I use sheet masks every day.  Sometimes twice a day.  Why?  Because I live here:

Top photo: moving car = blurry & unedited!
The sky really IS that colour.
These are photos I took during a Haboob (also known as a dust storm: see wikipedia link), and yes, that is a tumbleweed skittering across the intersection in the photo on the bottom.

I've said before that I live in the desert and that it wreaks havoc on my skin, but sometimes seeing is believing- or in this case, seeing is understanding.

It's very, very dry here, and absolutely choked with dust. I need to clean my face properly twice a day, and I need lots of external hydration- just drinking water is not enough.  

I use a pH adjusting toner instead of waiting for my skin to naturally adjust after cleansing, because my face will become dry enough to form flakes within 30 seconds after rinsing.  It's that dry. 

(If you want to learn more about why I use a pH adjusting toner to prep for pH dependent products like Vitamin C L-AA serum, BHA, or AHA, check out my post on Putting your products in order, including pH dependent acids)

So you can see I need those sheet masks, every day, sometimes twice a day.  I neeeeed them. *grabby hands*  So when I realized I had less than a week's worth of masks, I panicked.  Then I shopped while panicked. Ooops!

In this post:
  • Sheet mask shortage crisis (well you've already seen this part)
  • Frantic sheet mask haul from 11st: cost, time elapsed, and savings
  • Pictures + prices + reasons for purchase
  • How I'll be reviewing sheet masks from now on 
Frantic sheet mask haul from 11st 

I did not purchase all 140+ masks from 11st, but I did take advantage of their (now defunct) "₩40,000 off EMS shipping with ₩40,000 purchase" coupon, which meant that if I spent approximately $40 USD, I could get $40 USD off the shipping costs, specifically EMS shipping which means getting it fast.  

EMS shipping can be 25%-50% of your total cost, so I usually skip it and go for the cheapest shipping, but who am I to pass up expedited shipping if it's going to be almost free, as long as I spend $40 USD or more?

What I bought: 
I purchased a total of 52 masks, and it cost me a total of $51.28, including domestic shipping + EMS shipping.

I'll do an individual breakdown/photos/cost of the masks below.

How long it took:
I ordered and paid on 2/26 and it arrived on 3/11, so 13 days.  The longest stretch was the domestic shipping from the individual
sellers to 11'st office, where it was packaged into a single order and shipped to me in the US. Between the shipping coupon and purchasing directly from Korea, I saved $108.92.

Not only that, but I picked up some very nice masks that would have cost me an arm and a leg if I had purchased them through the regular channels.

Pictures + prices + reasons for purchase

Malie masks:  Honestly I purchased these because they were less than $0.17 each, and I was looking for a large volume of masks.  If I'm using them 1-2x a day, I need quantity.


Green tea x10 - I love green tea masks in general, they're soothing, hydrating, and not too heavy
Snail x3 - Does it involve snails, y/y?  If yes: GET IN MY CART.
Potato x2 - Potato. What?!  'Nuff said.  (Very curious to try these!)
Snake x3 - I haven't yet tried any of the Syn-ake synthetic snake venom products, so here goes!
Pearl x2 - Who doesn't want to look like a luminous princess?


Illi masks: Um, these were pretty? Really pretty, and pretty sounding, and they were less than $0.60 each. Not bad for fancy masks!

Grabby hands!
Camellia Oil Nutritional mask x3 - Camellia oil is popular for skin and hair in Japan; I have a Camellia oil hair treatment but I've never used it on my face.  Gah, that packaging!
Lotus Water Nutritional mask x3 - I love lotus anything, to be perfectly honest.  Again, gorgeous art.
Artemisia Truly Nutritional mask x3 - I've tried a few Artemisia products and loved the smell, and I wanted to try each type.


Petitfee & Rosee masks:  Ironically, the cost of the shipping was racking up more than the cost of the masks, so I looked for some 'fancier' masks to bring up the cost enough to hit $40 USD without raising the weight of the shipping.  The Petitfee are hydrogels & were $2 ea, and the Rosee masks were less than $1 ea.

Those gold masks = more grabby hands!
Petitfee Koelf Jewelry mask pack of 5: Ruby +Bulgarian Rose:  As I mentioned, these are hydrogels, so they're more expensive.  The packaging is lovely.
Rosee (Joseph & Pharms) Sipjangsaeng Oriental Sheet Mask Set (5):  I urge you to click on the above image to view in full size because this packaging is gorgeous!  The gold foil is impossible to photograph, but both the mask and the box have this amazing filigree overlay that is just jaw-dropping.  Also these are Hanbang-style masks, and after February's Hanbang Experiment, I'm all Hanbang all the time these days.


Evercos Luxury Bogam Herbal Clinic Mask Sheet:  Hanbang masks.  I want them all.  They were less than $0.90 each, which is a steal.

Swoon!
감초 - Licorice:  I need all the whitening I can get to fade these hyperpigmentation marks
행인 - Prunus armeniaca: Um, it's a Hanbang mask?
홍삼 - Ginseng:  I love ginseng masks, creams, anything really.
상황버섯 PhellinusUm, it's also Hanbang mask?
어성초 - Houttuynia cordata: ^ see above.

As you can probably tell, I loooove these masks.  ADORE them.  I am already planning on picking up more as soon as possible.

Which brings us to:

How I'll be reviewing sheet masks from now on

Obviously, if I'm using a mask per day, I'm tearing through them faster than I can full-on review and I don't want to flood the blog with mini-reviews. 

So I've hopped into Instagram so I can do quick reviews/initial thoughts on whatever mask I'm wearing that night, if I haven't reviewed it yet.  I've popped today's mask (Evercos Luxury Bogam Herbal Clinic in Licorice) on there in case you're curious as to why I'm all in love with them!

All the best,
-Cat

**Disclaimer: All products reviewed/mentioned in my blog, are 100% purchased with my own money, with a single exception of a press sample I tested & reviewed in 2015 which swore me off of them forever.  This blog contains  both affiliate and non-affiliate links, and clicking the former before you shop means that this blog may receive a small commission to assist in this blog supporting itself.  Please see my Contact Info & Disclaimer policy for more information.

13 comments

  1. This post was so funny! :D Thank you for not making me feel like a total hoarder for having around 40 sheet masks in stock currently... and around that much regular ones. I love face masks, I wish I wasn't such a lazy ass and I had the motivation to do one everyday.

    http://www.ai-no-storia.com/

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    1. 40 masks isn't too many at all, as long as you are using them! ;)

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  2. Love the reviewing idea! Can't wait to see your thoughts on the Lotus mask!

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    1. Not sure if you saw it already, but I did post a review of the Lotus one: https://instagram.com/p/1CbR6_QYBh/

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  3. Heya, was wondering if you had any idea how frequently 11st tends to have shipping promotions? Pretty keen to try some of the masks you reviewed on instagam and considering whether I should wait or not hehe

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    1. I am not sure as I've only used them once, but I am really hoping they will have another one soon so I can restock some masks myself! :)

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Hi, as I mentioned in the post, I purchased them from the site 11st. They have an English version as well, where you can download a coupon that gives 30,000 krw off EMS shipping for purchases over 100,000 krw. I have also heard that TesterKorea may carry them but under the name 'merryshop'. I know of no US sellers who have them.

      I have also purchased mine through Avecko's buying service. :)

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  6. Hi if I want to restock with a big quantity and the lowest price in market add on international shipping . Which website you suggest me ? Any intro ? Thanks :)

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    1. Hi yeeyuan,

      This is a tough question, because sheet masks are very expensive to ship as they have a high weight for what is a low cost. Generally, I purchase small amounts of sheet masks in my regular hauls to balance out the cost:shipping ratio. Innisfree sometimes has 10+10 sheet mask deals which make them affordable to stock up, and Sasa often has sales on boxes of sheet masks. I think My Beauty Diary is available in many stores in various countries (not sure where you are located). If you are looking for some of the harder to find masks, unfortunately you will have to use a buying service or sites like 11st to get them.

      Take care! :)

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  7. Hello!

    I tried looking on 11st for some of the masks that you raved about, but was unable to find any.Do you have any specific sellers on 11st that you would recommend buying from?

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    1. Unfortunately, I do not, but I do have a full guide on using 11st which may help!
      http://snowwhiteandthepear.blogspot.com/2015/06/level-up-your-k-beauty-obsession-guide.html

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