Fancl U Zone Firm Up Mask & Bioderma Sensibio Soothing Mask review

Didn't realise I was away from the blog for so long! well things have been busy and I was also on a few weeks holiday so now I'm back again.

Quick review of two masks I tried recently, firstly it's a sheet mask from Fancl called the "U Zone Firm Up Mask".

(Click to enlarge picture below)

The mask is meant to be limited edition, and with Fancl's signature HTC collagen complex and it's aimed at overall firming in the "U" shaped portion of lower face. i.e. to remove the double chin or bloated look.

It has a really interesting shape like below:

The masks come in box of 3 separate satchels. Retails about $130HKD in HK (which is like 17USD).

Here it is on me- the picture is so small since I think it looks so silly. But you can see the mask is a typical sheet mask material. It's not particularly damp actually, unlike many other brands of mask where you get leftover serum to apply to rest of your body or arms if you like, the mask is only moist enough for that 20 minutes on your face and does not drip.

I think in terms of the face hugging, it does what it says due to the design of the mask. It hugs the chin and cheek area really well. After application I can see a (temporary) firmness and extra supple looking skin (which can be achieved with most moisturising masks). However there is no real visible long term effect. This is clearly one of those feel good products, just use it as a normal moisturising mask I suppose. Not on my repurchase list unless I can find it on sale or something.

Next one is Bioderma Sensibio Mask. I truly love the Bioderma micellar water as a makeup remover. So I also grabbed a few other items. The Sensibio line features red prints on white tube packaging, and it's targeted at sensitive skin.

Just a typical flip up squeeze tube.

The instructions say spread a light layer on cleansed skin, wait 10 minutes then wipe off or rinse off. It has a light creamy consistency that is non oily.

However, the overall effect was pretty bland. I think I didn't even finish the whole tube before it actually expired so I had to throw it out. While it's comfortable to use, and convenient for e.g. applying it to cleansed skin before shower, then hop in the shower , wash your hair , then rinse off this mask at last step and you get a bit of extra boost of moisture, it is very weak compared to most moisturising masks out there.

It was non-irritating on my sensitive skin as advertised, but I did not feel it moisturised very much compared to any hyaluronic moisturizer masks or serums out there. Definitely a pass for me.

Fancl White Mask Plus+ Facial Mask review (2012 version)

As you may all know the Fancl Whitening serum is my staple whitening serum for last 2 years, it gives me generally evened out skin and any acne marks fade quite quickly. (However it does nothing for long term freckles or broken capillaries).

Here's Fancl White Mask Plus+ , which is basically the 2012 upgraded version of the fancl whitening mask. Like many Japanese brands, some products are seasonally renamed (and sometimes a few ingredients added, whatever is trendy in the beauty market for the year), then released seasonally.

Packaging is very similar to old version which was white with navy blue, this time it's mostly light blue and white.

Each box contains 3 satchet sheets of facial mask.

Fancl prints manufacturing dates on the paper box only, not on the masks. Items have a 12 month expiry date in general. so this box would expire in 2013.

Individual sheet masks:

Japanese ingredient list etc:

Here's what it looks like.The mask sheets are quite transparent, but doesn't really tear easily. It fits onto the face easily and does not slip and slide much. Fancl masks aren't really dripping wet and there are seldom much liquid leftover in the satchet either after you take the mask out.

In terms of overall effect, I would say it's a pretty plain mask. You are much better off investing in the whitening serum. While this mask boosts calming and hydration and brightening effects, I know you cant expect more even looking complexion with just 3 sheet masks, but usually I'd expect a lot of hydration and soothing properties. This mask doesn't deliver all that much in all 3 claims.

It's a very light facial mask, afterwards I only experience mild hydration and immediate mild calming (but does not last til the next morning).

I would use this in summer or in more oily skin days when I feel like using a sheet mask, but feel my skin is hydrated enough and don't want much oil on it.

Overall 2.5/5, probably a lot of better masks out there with cheaper prices. These retail for about 17-22USD a box (of 3) which is still on the pricey side.

Fancl FDR Body Milk review

A quick review of Fancl FDR body milk- they come in small bottles of 60ml (as Fancl's product direction is everything have no preservatives added and items should be used within 100 days of opening, the sizing for almost all products are quite small). Usually you can purchase multiple bottles at a discount in Fancl stores. (around $12-15USD per bottle and can go as low as $10 per bottle when purchased in bulk or with more discounts)- which still makes it a hefty pricetag compared to product size.

The FDR line is targeted for those with ultra sensitive skin and sort of the "clinical" directed line within the Fancl product lines.

It comes in a minimalistic semi clear green plastic bottle, with a flip open top.

The body milk is a runny lotion consistency.

When spreaded out- you can see skin has a light moisturised shine. 

The product has no scent to it.

Overall it's a 4/5 for me. I have really sensitive skin which is prone to random hives breakout or eczema particularly during season changes or times of stress. I've learnt to live with it and control it relatively well in the past few years and at most I get a few days of breakouts a year with eczema.

Keeping my skin moisturised has been the key in maintaining healthy skin. During season changes I always switch back to a soothing body moisturiser or something with minimal additives and Fancl is easily one of them. It does dry a bit tacky to touch but it doesn't rub off onto bed sheets or clothing (like the Body Shops Body Butters which have ruined some of my new sheets).

In terms of already irritated skin, this seems fine- it doesn't fix irritations but doesn't worsen it either.

For really bad skin days I do have to bring out my topical treatment creams (usually like 0.5% cortisone contents etc) and revert to using Aveeno body moisturiser with oatmeal (which really does soothe irritated skin).

If this was a bit cheaper and doesn't have such a short expiry date, I would probably use this more regularly. A 60ml bottle probably lasts me 2 months with once daily use. You don't need a whole lot each application.

Fancl Moisture Rouge Stick Skinny Beige (Lipstick) 2012 review/ swatch

Here's one of the limited edition Fancl Moisture Rouge Sticks released in late 2011/ early 2012. 

Fancl lipsticks are sold separately between cases and refills (which I honestly think is incredibly silly). The case I got along with Skinny Beige was also limited edition casing I think.

The product code for the "Skinny Beige" shade refill lipstick is 3595-14.

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Fancl boxes are designed to be able to be opened completely to reveal more product information inside, including how to put the refill into the empty case. The refill lipstick is sealed in a plastic shrinkwrap packaging to minimise contamination.

Here's what you get after all the excessive packaging lol 

The limited edition case is a pale champagne gold, it's a light metal casing which is probably quite prone to scratches. In the middle there's a small pink jewel studded rim.

You keep the plastic cap on the lipstick on, then push the refill into the case.

The limited edition design is some sort of moon motif. The lipstick is quite standard sized like most Japanese lipsticks.

Close up- I thought "oh meh ! I bought  a blah looking shade", almost a bit boring mid-tone nude browny pink

Swatches reflect a creamy lipstick , it doesn't exactly glide on wonderfully and go on buttery smooth etc like I'd typically expect a good quality lipstick to do, so I didn't have high hopes. (but it's not thick and dry either)

But behold, I was really pleasantly surprised- it turns into a moist, creamy soft lipstick on application. It is reasonably pigmented so two swipes give wonderful coverage without having that oh-so-creamy-and-unnatural looking pigmentation going on, I didn't need to use a lipbrush either. It turns into a really pretty and super natural my-lips-but-better shade. It's not quite mid-tone, but not pale either, sort of inbetween. It's a gorgeous pinky nude, at some lights it will have a slightly more nude brown tone showing through but which is not undesirable, but simply makes the shade rather understated. Very office friendly shade. 

The finish is also slightly glossy- it blurs any lip lines quite well. 

This swatch below shows more brown hue under different lights.

Overall it was a really lovely purchase, they retail about 20USD in HK. Grab this limited edition shade while it's still in store =)

Fancl Beauty Facial Treatment Hydrating pack review

These are basically Fancl's version of wash-off masks in convenient little tubes. They come in a box of 5 or 6 and retails for around 20-30USD depending on where you purchase it from.

Each tube contains 13g of mask. Which is a lot- most sheet masks contain a standard 10ml to 15ml essence, depending on how runny it is normally.

You twist off the cap, and the opening will look like this: (unfortunately the cap is not designed to be plugged back as these tubes are for single use only).

Consistency: it's light and creamy without being greasy.

Fancl's instruction is to clean face, then apply this to cleansed face and massage in, then leave for 10-20minutes then rinse off, then follow with other skincare items.

Here's my face -looking irritated and a bit angry pores since I haven't had much sleep the night before. I don't have active acne right now but I do have a bit of freckles/spots and enlarged pores on the cheeks. This is taken under flash photography and you know how bad your skin can look if you turn flash on!

Applying the mask generously- it sort of turns a bit clear after massaging in:

After rinse off in picture below (I think I left it on for 10-20min? cannot remember exactly). You can see it clearly soothes my skin (especially the large pores around the cheek area that were looking a bit red before), skin looks brightened (because it's now hydrated) and generally a bit more glow. Again, taken with flash photography.

I do find it soothes a bit and provides some hydration. However I do not feel it's more powerful than my other favored masks like Sofina whitening mask where the effect is visible the next day. Generally the next day my skin feels just "slightly" better than usual, but not as well as some other sheet masks.

In terms of size , the 13g is massive, you can really apply half a tube on the whole face, neck, decolletage and still have half a tube left over. So usually I use this at night, then just put the tube aside and use the next morning (never noticed consistency changing).

I probably give this 3.5 or 4/5. It's a bit of a strange mask for me- sometimes it works (I think from my own pictures I can notice a difference), but sometimes it doesn't quite deliver.

Fancl Cool & Moist Jelly Mask review

Here's yet another mask review. (yes now the weather's warming up here, I'm quite desperate to finish all my masks, particularly all the Fancl ones since they only have a 12 month shelf life).

This is Fancl Cool & Moist Jelly Mask, usually marketed during summer.

 You can see from the diagram, it comes with 2 sheets for the side of face only.
(click to enlarge pic)

I forgot to take a photo of the masks still in the plastic wrapping- but basically the 2 masks are placed in this plastic separator. This is always the case for the 'jelly' type of masks Fancl makes.

On the face on one side, you can see the jelly mask has perfect adherence and it is sort of translucent as well. A jelly like consistency. Feels very cooling on application.

As for effects- I think this is meant to be an after sun mask for cooling the skin etc but I do not find too much other benefits after using this mask. It does adhere well, feels pleasant on application, minimally scented, but I wish it comes with a forehead piece too. (Usually I do the two patches on side of face for 15min, then move the mask to forehead and chin).

It does provide light hydration, but not as much as the other Fancl normal sheet masks like the Moist & Vital masks etc.

overall 3/5. Cool to use, adheres well, but the effect is not that fantastic whether at calming the skin or moisturising.  However would be suitable for those with oily skin who enjoy using sheet masks (but may find the other thicker sheet masks too nourishing).

Fancl Clear Spot J-Mask review

Fancl Clear Spot J-Masks are those jelly sort of feel bilcellulose mask. It's meant to be targed at sun spots/ freckles you'd get around the cheek area or around eyes.

Each mask sachet comes with 1 pair of masks for each side of cheek.

Ingredient list etc  (click to enlarge).

This is what it looks like- two plastic sheets contains the two jelly masks. The jelly masks are really small! like the size of eye masks.

Applied on face, you can see the mask is very translucent and a bit 'jelly' like. I apply for a good 15 minutes then remove.

Honestly I don't expect this mask to remove my freckles or sunspots at all- it's curious why Fancl would make something like this either. Usually a box of mask only comes with 3 or 4 masks in each packet, so I really do not believe there are any intensive treatment mask that can get rid of sunspots or freckles within one or two boxes.

After removing the mask, my skin feels slightly more hydrated. This mask feels cooling on application and I like the jelly texture- it adheres well.

Overall after using 2 boxes I do not notice any difference in freckles, sunspots or acne marks. It provides light hydration but for a targeted spot treatment, this hardly does anything.

Overall rating 1/5 - invest in a good whitening serum instead I would say.

Fancl Moist & Vital Mask review

I was going through all my face masks (I must always have at least 30-50 sheet masks around! Sometimes you buy a box and it comes with a generous 5 or 6 sheets so it accumulates so quickly), othertimes I get some samples when I purchase other items or single masks in gift sets etc.

I have to admit I'm quite lazy when it comes to face masks- usually after work I just go home, watch some tv, surf the net, then shower and going to bed. Face masks generally are required to be left on your face for a good 10minutes and often even upto 30 minutes for best results, so it's such a pain to finish shower, put on face mask, then wait around for it. I haven't actually used face mask frequent enough this year to justify keep on buying them.

However I've tried to change my routine a bit, I try to take a shower earlier, then after shower, put on a sheet mask, then start doing other things like applying body moisturiser, or remove my nailpolish or even drying my hair. Then this has proven to be a bit more time efficient so out of 7 days this week, I've actually managed to try 4 face masks.

Here's the Fancl Moist & Vital mask. Most Fancl masks comes in a standard 3 sheets. However during holiday season Fancl tend to have special promo packs where you get a full sized serum, some massage gel and one or two sheets of masks. This is usually how I come about trying most of the Fancl masks.

I was in shock when I was going through the masks thinking I've got a few varieties of Fancl masks to try, but they are all the SAME moist & vital mask. lol. They are just in different packaging since some came with the promotional sets I bought! The mask on the very RIGHT is the standard packaging when you buy a box of 3.

I'm trying this one below first (they are all the same...just different packaging). In HK Fancl the Chinese name is "滋養‧修護精華面膜 "

Ingredient: each pack contains 18ml of essence which is standard for most sheet masks (usually the range is 15ml - 21ml). The aim of this mask is " skin elasticity, anti-aging, anti-oxident". The main ingredients are the signature Fancl HTC collagen and other items.  Targeted at dry/ aged skin.

Personally I find most Fancl ranges are just fine for those with normal to combo skin even if it says targeted at dry mature skin. Fancl products usually contain low irritants and are quite good for those with sensitive skin. This particular mask is a bit more nourishing than most other Fancl masks I've tried.

The consistency of the essence inside is also a bit more milky and a little bit thicker (in a nice hydrating way, not the pore clogging feeling).

Here's what it looks like on the skin- it has pretty good adherence and seems to fit my face shape quite well. As usual with sheet masks it's normal for the nose section to be slightly uneven since most people have quite different nose shapes. This one felt fine on me.

 I left this on for 20minutes. There was also enough essence left over to apply for rest of the body. So using a sheet mask is really quite economical. I do not follow with another moisturiser like recommended on the back packaging of the mask as I felt the mask had enough oopmh to hydrate overnight.

Afterwards I was left with supple, hydrated skin. It's slightly tacky to touch but not unbearable. Next morning I didn't experience any clogged pores (as I'd experience when I use more nourishing night creams of some face masks). My skin looks and feels a bit more plump and smooth to touch and makeup goes over it very easily.

Using a sheet mask really does help with your skin for emergency days- I've had quite little sleep this week like 4-5 hours a day, but using face masks (alternating between different brands) 4 times this week has meant I barely look tired. In fact for the past 2 days I've been able to just wear a slightly light diffusing primer, concealer then apply some pressed powder or very light powder foundation on the top and I was good to go. No BB cream or liquid foundation required.

Overall 5/5 for this mask. It doesn't do miracles but it does exactly what it says- hydrates, improves skin elasticity. Not to mention it feels quite comfortable on the face. Would probably not recommend this for those with oily skin or active acnes/ breakouts.