Before and After: The PV Team takes on the 7-day LuLuLun masking challenge
When it comes to achieving chok chok skin, we've gotten used to expecting Korean beauty products to be the answer. It's not so surprising as K-beauty offers a lot of great picks, but the Japanese are actually the original skincare pros! LuLuLun in particular has been making waves as Japan's favorite sheet mask brand. It consistently receives beauty awards and has sold over 300 million masks since it first launched in 2011.
Considering that most of our fave sheet masks are from Korea and are single use, we were excited by the idea of masking everyday for an entire week. We received two variants to road test: the Classic Moisturizing Face Mask and the Moisture-Enrich Face Mask. To get conditions as consistent as possible, we applied our masks right after washing our faces in the morning and before any other skincare products. We also followed the package's instructions to wear them for only 15 minutes. Ready to see the results?
The Pink Team: Classic Moisturizing Face Masks (P250 for a 7-day pack, P995 for a 42-day pack)
As the product name indicates, this mask is recommended for hydrating skin so that it becomes soft, supple, and glowy with the help of natural beauty extracts. Key ingredients are: hyaluronic acid, acacia honey, avocado extract, rice ceramide, mandarin orange peel extract, neem leaf extract, bilberry leaf extract, panax ginseng root extract, plantago major seed extract, and aloe vera leaf extract. It can be used by all skin types.
Crystal: I usually use sheet masks about twice a week at night so It's my first time to mask everyday for a week and as part of my morning routine. I prefer masks that are not too rich because I have oily skin, so I'm glad that even though I had a moisture pack, the consistency felt just right for me. Trying to put it on my face was not as easy as other sheet masks because the slits were quite small but thankfully I managed to somewhat fit it to my face although the nose area was not large enough to cover my entire nose.
My face becomes moist but not overly shiny after the session so I opted to skip my moisturizer; I just put on sunscreen before proceeding to my makeup routine. Since I started using this, I noticed that my skin became somewhat less oily and my face would have a glow when I wake up! I'm also glad to report that I did not breakout from this despite having very acne-prone skin. This is a good balancing product for my oily skin.
Marielle: Sheet masks have always had the role of 'bonus routine booster' in my skincare regimen but the Lululun challenge allowed me to bring the habit to the foreground and see impressive results. Confession: I'm the type of person who scarcely uses moisturizer in the mornings and then attempts to make up for it in the evenings by using more layers or richer formulas. That means that I tend to have the driest skin in the daytime.
The immediate effect after each masking session was supple, moisturized skin. By Day 3, I noticed that the itty-bitty bumps and breakouts (caused by general dryness) that make my skin appear uneven had noticeably lessened. Of course, I also experienced no dry patches whatsoever in those 7 days! I did experience a stinging sensation on the sides of my nose and the upper lip area for the duration of the challenge but it was tolerable.
Stacie: A friend of mine (thanks Ced!) gave me a pack of Lululun masks before as pasalubong from Japan. I used them up quickly but not every day so I don’t think I was able to see the full potential of this product before. My first Lululun day was over the long weekend so I had all the time in the world to mask up and take post-masking selfies. By the time day 4 came around, I had to rush for my morning duty, so I mask up, dress up, and peel it off after 15 minutes. It was literally the only skincare product I used in the morning aside from cleanser and toner.
My skin feels well hydrated right after masking but when the essence is rubbed on the body, it feels a bit sticky and never quite fades throughout the day. It's best to use this in an airconditioned room to avoid that icky feeling.
Speaking of comfort, the sheet mask fits my face well since my eyes and mouth are fairly small. My whole face was fully covered with the essence, and my skin looked glowing by day 2! It wasn’t an in-your-face glow but a healthy dewy finish that gave me more confidence to go for less makeup. I even went foundation-free in half the days I used Lululun! The Pink variant fits my combination skin well. I didn’t break out nor did I experience any stinging sensation while wearing this.
The Violet Team: Moisture-Enrich Face Mask (P295 for a 7-day pack, P995 for a 42-day pack)
If you have dry skin and are prone to flaky patches, this is the mask for you. It contains Lipidure to "help increase skin's moisture with the combination of Glyceryl Glucoside and Royal Jelly". The Royal Jelly is also supposed to help with improving elasticity and preventing dehydration.
Katsy: I have always loved sheet masks as a quick boost for my skin but I've never tried to do it daily. I have also always applied it at night before going to sleep. I have to admit I was skeptical at first because it added a significant amount of time to my prep but now I see the benefits of using a mask in the morning. It did somehow make my skin look better with or without makeup on!
I also found a way to make the 15 minutes with the mask on pass faster. I'll either start doing my hair or choosing the makeup I'll be using for the day. I can also finish watching one YouTube video while waiting to remove the mask. However, for those days when I was running late, I had to cut down my routine after the mask to just a quick eye cream, light moisturizer, and a spritz of sunscreen spray while having to do my makeup in the car.
The masks were housed in a single resealable and colorful package, which I found easy to use and easy to remember. While it didn't feel like it was overflowing with essence, each sheet mask felt like it had just the right amount of moisture. My face wasn't dripping with excess liquid, which made it easier to do other things while the mask was on. While the fit of the mask wasn't ideal, I found it tolerable for my features. There was also a slight tingling around my nose and lip areas during the first two days but this went away after. I also noticed my face looking slightly redder after using the mask but this also quickly went away after applying the rest of my skincare.
Nearing the end of the 7-day period, my skin started looking bouncier and more moisturized. I will definitely do this masking routine again for an entire week but not immediately. I do feel that the effect on my skin made it worth the hassle.
Tellie: I had a plan to use sheet masks daily but I kind of fell off that wagon in the last month or so. For somebody like me with extremely dehydrated skin, daily masking is a great way to finally see 'normal skin' i.e. glowy, and without flakes and bumps. I also recently got reintroduced to the notion that hydrated skin absorbs skincare better than dry skin, so I am looking into daily sheet masking again. It's not a huge bother for me as I've done it on and off over the past couple of years.
I like to put sheet masks at the end of my routine because I can't wait 20 minutes in between. For this challenge though, I had to put it on first (and in the morning) so we'd see the results clearly. It does hydrate well enough, and the experience isn't as messy as normal, though I do have some minor gripes with the product.
I am all for Lululun's finely-woven mask. As a person with dry, and sometimes sensitive skin, rough sheet masks can feel fine at first, but irritating once they start to dry out. As the other girls have pointed out, the cuts are just too weird! It always feels like the eye slits are coming after my eyeballs, and the mask is so wide it goes way over my face. But the essence has a very nice hydrating texture, minus the stickiness. The 7-day challenge took out my flakes, even if I was lazier to do skincare in the past week, because of this little disruption to my routine. I do feel brighter, more glowy, and my nighttime skincare routine massages in way faster. It's just the fit that really bothers me!
Den: I haven't actually used a sheet mask for months since before this challenge so I was excited about getting back into the habit in a big way! I like the idea of having multiple masks in one packet because it really encourages me to stay on track while reducing the amount of garbage from packaging. Application was a struggle because the sheet was a poor fit for me - it just wouldn't stick to the area between my brows and couldn't fit my nose. I really liked that there's just enough essence to saturate the mask and my skin, without dripping everywhere I go. To make sure that each one is evenly coated though, I would turn over the mask packet everyday so there's no single mask at the bottom absorbing all the essences.
My skin enjoyed the intense moisture that these masks provided, and I got fairly good results even on the first day of application. For the rest of the challenge until about a week after, my skin felt soft and looked plump. Admittedly, I used this as an excuse to go without moisturizer on some days! The masks were also a perfect complement to my BHA usage because that can be a bit drying on my skin, and all the moisture actually helped to make pore clogs easier to dislodge. I really liked these masks but I don't know that I'd use them again because of the poor fit.
Points we could all agree on:
The masks are practically scentless - a plus for those with sensitive noses.
The sheets are not oversaturated with essence to the point of being drippy.
The fit is best for people with smaller faces and features. It can still work for other face shapes but it may not fully cover the skin and may feel uncomfortable to wear.
Buying the 42-day masks is so much cheaper as it comes out to about just P24 per mask!
We think these masks are worth the fairly affordable price tag if you'd like to mask regularly. Have you tried masking daily before? Would you consider doing it with LuLuLun?
LuLuLun is available at Beauty Bar stores nationwide