Beauteque Mask Maven is a monthly K-beauty subscription box dedicated to masks. If you love trying new Korean sheet masks, this subscription is for you!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Beauteque Mask Maven
The Subscription Box: Beauteque Mask Maven
The Cost: $18.95 month-to-month ($15 subscription + $3.95 shipping). Save with 6- and 12-month subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off of your subscription
CODE: SHEETFACED
The Products: 9 masks of all kinds, straight from Korea. Most are facial sheet masks, but you will sometimes see a hair mask, hand mask, or lip mask, too.
Ships to: The US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia (see international shipping costs during checkout)
Beauteque Mask Maven October 2019 Review
The number of sheet masks out there for sale must be incredibly large. Mask Maven almost never sends repeat items, and I discover something new every month:
The box came with this information card.
Purederm Nourishing Watermelon Pad - Retail Value $1.43 (currently on sale for $0.77)
These are kind of nice, they're small and you get 10 of them so if your whole face isn't dry, you can just use them where you most need it. They do smell like watermelon (a little, it's not cloying) and the package is resealable so the unused ones don't dry out. Watermelon has lycopene, an antioxidant which may help fight free radical damage, and I found these sort of cooling, so they could be good after a day in the sun. They were also moisturizing, so if you have parts of your face that get dry in winter, especially with combination skin, they could be pretty useful.
Purederm Black Food Gel Lip Zone Mask - Retail Value $3.90 (currently on sale for $3.82)
This is a hydrogel mask that only covers the lower part of the face. I tried this one out with a few of the watermelon pads on my forehead. It is not super heavy on the serum so it would work before makeup and not interfere with other skincare. I can't find an English ingredients list, but I can identify some of the plant-based foods included from pictures; these include black garlic, black beans, black grapes, eggplant, and something that looks like either blackberries or possibly mulberries. Anyway, dark colored foods have lots of antioxidants and vitamins. This mask stays in place very well and fit my face nicely.
no:hj Skin Traveller Wash-Off Bubble Mask - Estimated Value $2.19 (Buy 10 for $21.90, found here for $21.46)
This is a bubble mask and it's not a sheet but rather some gray goop you scoop out of the package and apply to your face. There is probably enough for two uses but you'd have to seal it quickly because when the mask gets exposed to air, it starts bubbling. This one really does need to be left on for only about 5 minutes, I tried longer and it became a little uncomfortable and foamy bits started dropping off my face. This has charcoal powder which can help clean the pores (I thought it did a good job of this on my nose) and pearl extract, which is a common ingredient in K-beauty preparations, especially brightening ones. (Pearl powder would not penetrate the skin but I suppose an extract could, depending on how the extract was made.)
Esfolio Pure Skin Charcoal Essence Mask - Estimated Value $3.50 (Buy 10 for $35, found here for $10)
Here is another charcoal-containing mask. I also thought this helped with my pores but the bubble one was a little better for that because there are always going to be areas of a sheet mask that don't conform to your face, whereas the bubble mask isn't a sheet mask so it touches your skin everywhere you apply it. This one has a lot of extracts from grains (rice, oat, quinoa, etc.) which are supposed to help with moisture. They probably do because grains have a lot of starches and other carbohydrates that will hold on to water near the surface of the skin. I thought this was moisturizing but not too drippy with the serum.
Esfolio Pure Skin Volcanic Ash Essence Mask - Retail Value $2.20
I don't know whether the formulation changed or whether the different products in this product line are very different (this is usually not the case with sheet masks) but this one has rather different ingredients from the previous one. (Note: I did find them for sale on different websites.) This one is supposed to be good for oily skin (mine is combination with an oily T-zone). This one has a lot of gums which are good for holding on to moisture near the surface of the skin as well as antioxidants from tea leaves, broccoli, etc. There's also allantoin for smoothing rough skin and niacinamide for brightening. The volcanic ash seems to have a similar effect to charcoal based on my experience.
Beauugreen Snail Essence Mask - Retail Value $1.99
I remember back when K-beauty was new to the West and snail secretion filtrate was new and exotic. Not anymore! But this is an interesting mask. It is made from two halves that are fastened together at the center and when you unfold it, it has a three-dimensional shape. This made for a really nice fit. I used this when my skin was really red and irritated and it was super soothing and moisturizing. I'm guessing it would be even better if you could put it in the refrigerator before use.
Beauugreen SOS Clinic Blemish Mask - Retail Value $2.50
As it happens, this package came right around the time I was having a bit of a breakout, so this was the first mask I used. This has purslane, which is supposed to be soothing or calming, gold, which is probably antibacterial (a lot of metals are), willow bark extract, which is a source of salicylic acid, and niacinamide to reduce redness. I think I would like to get a couple of these and keep them on hand for times when my skin is troubled because I do feel like this helped.
JM Solution Three Step Marine Luminous Pearl Deep Moisture Mask - Retail Value $5
Although this is a three step routine, the steps all have similar ingredients. It is convenient to have the essence, eye cream, and mask together, although I sort of feel like there's some waste in the foils of essence and eye cream, because I never use it all but there's not a convenient way to save it. (On the other hand, with other brands, I've found the individual products for sale separately, and if that's the case, this is a good way to try them out before purchase.) These all have sea water, which is full of minerals. The essence is all about moisture, with hyaluronic acid in various forms as well as hydrolyzed collagen. The eye cream has those as well as pearl extract for brightening. The mask was maybe not the best fit for me as it has mineral oil pretty high up on the ingredients list and my skin doesn't get along with mineral oil very well. (But that doesn't mean it's a bad ingredient, just that it won't work for everyone. I know people who love mineral oil-containing skincare products.) This last step kind of left my skin oily but your mileage may vary.
Candy O'Lady Mellow Cotton Candy Mask - Retail Value $2.25
This was listed as a mystery mask on the information card. I'm pretty sure I've received this one in Mask Maven before. I remember liking that the package was small, because it means less waste and of course the sheet mask will fit in a small package. This one has sodium hyaluronate and trehalose for moisture, lots of soothing ingredients like aloe and lavender and purslane, and willow bark extract which is good at fighting breakouts. It even has some tea leaves so it is a source of antioxidants. This one is a good general-purpose mask that covers a lot of different bases.
Verdict: I calculated a value of $24.96 for the October 2019 Beauteque Mask Maven. Take that with a grain of salt as prices were all over the place, depending on where I looked. (I always start with the Beauteque site but sometimes they are out of stock of box items.) But, it is comfortably over the cost of the package plus shipping. I don't know how useful it is to have a Halloween theme and not ship until October, but the masks were generally useful for autumn skin concerns. There was a lot of variety this month including the lip mask, watermelon pads, and bubble mask, so that was fun.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this was the October package. You have to sign up by the 15th to get a box for the month, so your first box would probably be December’s box and arrive in early January.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off of your subscription
CODE: SHEETFACED
Value Breakdown: At $18.95 for this box, you are paying approximately the following per item:
- Watermelon pads $1.09
- Gel lip zone mask $2.96
- Washoff bubble mask $1.66
- Charcoal mask $2.66
- Volcanic ash mask $1.67
- Snail mask $1.51
- Blemish mask $1.90
- Three step mask $3.80
- Cotton candy mask $1.71
Check out all of our past Mask Maven reviews and the best skincare boxes of 2019 as voted by MSA readers!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What did you think of the October 2019 Beauteque Mask Maven? Do you get any K-Beauty or Asian Beauty subscriptions?
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