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!
FYI: This box has had significant shipping delays.
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 US 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 and Taiwan. 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 May 2020 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:
1 of 4
The box came with this information card. This month's theme was "Happy at Home."
On to the items:
Missha Pure Source Pocket Lemon Sleeping Pack - Retail Value $1.07
We got an aloe mask in similar packaging last month and I was able to use it every night for almost a week instead of just once, thanks to the convenient closure. The same was true of this one, which did not have a particularly strong scent. A little goes a long way with this; what I thought would be a good amount ended up being too much. So dispense sparingly. It basically works like any other sleeping pack, including the instructions that say to wash it off in the morning, but by that point, it has completely absorbed into my skin. This has lemon extract, which is a good source of vitamin C, an antioxidant that *may* help fight damage from free radicals. It is also nicely moisturizing.
Etude House 0.2mm Therapy Air Mask Cherry Blossom - Retail Value $1.99
This sheet mask is quite thin, which is a selling point here. One thing that happens with thin masks is they are a bit easier to get to conform to your face since they are usually (not always) a bit more flexible. Air may be able to circulate through the mask a little better, which can be a good thing -- if you've ever tried any of those masks with a layer of foil or something on the outside, your skin just gets kind of goopy afterwards because the serum can't start to dry out. This is advertised as being "7 free" which means, for sheet masks, that it does not have fragrance, silicone oil, mineral oil, pigments (dyes), imidazolidinyl urea, polyacrylamide, and triethanolamine. Since I have a Ph.D. in chemistry, I do know what those last three are, but not why they are considered negatives in skincare. (In general, there is a lot of chemical phobia in the beauty industry that is probably not warranted. But that's neither here nor there.) This also has niacinamide which may help reduce unevenness in pigmentation (especially red) as well as chamomile which may be soothing, and rose oil, which should have some antioxidants. This one is advertised as being good for sensitive skin and it seems like it would be. I definitely appreciated the absence of silicone oil and mineral oil as those ingredients just don't work well with my skin. This one was refreshing to use on a summer morning.
Etude House Collagen Eye Patch - Retail Value $4.50
We got two different eye patches this month. I used this one first. This one is made from natural fibers and is not hydrogel like some other collagen eye patches. It's more like two bits of sheet mask material that you put under your eyes, although I felt they stayed in place well compared to other eye patches. I used this after a night where I didn't sleep well (I was worried about my puppy, who was sick at the time, but she is better now after a trip to the vet and a week on medication). My undereye problem is always puffiness, I don't get dark circles. But I think this helped reduce the puffiness due to lack of sleep, at least somewhat. This has hydrolyzed collagen, so it's not vegan (collagen can only come from animal sources), but you should not, in general, expect K-beauty products to be vegan. There are also some antioxidants from grapefruit and tea leaves.
Prreti Cleanse Juice One Bright Shine Mask - Retail Value $3.51
This has kale extract. Kale is a cruciferous vegetable (related to broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) with lots of sulfur compounds, so I think it's funny that the product page says it has a refreshing kale scent, because "sulfur compounds" and "refreshing" are not two words/phrases I really want to think about together (now I am picturing a sheet mask that smells like roasted Brussels sprouts and giggling and I think I just need more sleep). At any rate, this does not smell like kale to me, thankfully, and the berry scent that is also advertised is fairly mild as well, and I do tend to prefer facial skincare that's unscented or only lightly fragranced. This one is also free of mineral oil and artificial dyes. (For what it's worth, the sulfur compounds in cruciferous vegetables are good for you. Sulfur compounds are important for the synthesis of certain amino acids as well as in the manufacture of glutathione, which is an important antioxidant in the body. However, I'm not sure that this will have much effect when applied to the face, you really need to eat vegetables for that.) This was moisturizing and non-irritating, and this was a new brand for me, so that was nice.
Prreti Cleanse Juice One Moisture Chok Chok Mask - Retail Value $3.51
Much of what I know about this mask is the same as the one above, as I found them on the same product page. Only this one says it has a pleasant kohlrabi and berry scent. Just so you know, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, etc., are all varieties of the same plant (Brassica oleracea), but don't worry, this mask doesn't actually smell like kohlrabi either! I found it to be a very similar experience as the previous one, and I don't know what "chok chok" is supposed to mean but a quick Google search reveals that it's the "dewy, no-makeup look." I'm not a fan of the dewy look but I didn't really get that vibe from using this mask, either. I do wonder if this one or the previous one, used over time, would show some different effects above and beyond moisturizing, which could include the dewy look or a brightening effect, respectively. Some things you just can't tell after only one use.
TONYMOLY I'm Real Mask, Red Wine - Retail Value $3.75 (found here for $3)
Now here is one that had a strong scent, kind of artificial grape-like. Red wine, as you likely know, is a source of resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant. This also has green tea extract. Both of those are sources of tannins, which have astringent and antimicrobial effects. This appears to be alcohol free, so it is a little gentler on the skin than alcohol-containing masks; it does, however, have some silicones (for example, phenyl trimethicone, anything ending in "-icone" is usually a silicone although you can't identify *all* silicones in that way). The silicones were compatible with my skin this time and I do feel this did a little toning or tightening. I also like antioxidants for summertime (even though I am not going outside much these days).
The Saem Natural Grapefruit Mask Sheet - Retail Value $2.50
Antioxidants appear to be the primary selling point here, as that's pretty much all the product page talks about. And grapefruit, as citrus, is high in vitamin C and other vitamins. The main thing about antioxidants in skincare is you can't see them working, because if you are using them and they are doing their job, what you see is a lack of signs of aging, and how do you even assess that? (Of course don't forget to use a good SPF product as well.) This didn't have a strong scent (and my nose is working better than usual these days since I am not exposed to recirculated office tower air while working from home) and was nicely moisturizing. The serum dried/absorbed in a reasonable period of time, as well.
Missha Speedy Solution Brightening Eye Patch - Retail Value $2 (found here for $1)
Here was the second eye patch for the month. This was a hydrogel type patch, but it actually stuck to my face while I sat upright instead of sliding down, which was much appreciated. These weren't too goopy, I guess the hydrogel held on to most of the serum. As mentioned previously, I don't really get dark circles, but I think it helped with puffiness. (Getting up at 3AM to take the puppy out every night definitely cuts into my sleeping time but she's potty trained now and I should be able to stop that soon.) This was honestly one of the more pleasant hydrogel eye patch experiences I have had. This also has salmon egg extract, an ingredient I don't remember encountering before. Looking into this led me to a peer-reviewed journal article where this ingredient was tested to see the effects of its vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty substances (lipids) wherein numerous properties of the skin were observed to improve, including pigmentation, redness, wrinkles, brightness, and hydration, so I guess at least some scientific studies support this ingredient. You learn something every day.
Farm Stay Visible Difference Mask Sheet, Charcoal - Retail Value $1.99
Charcoal is supposed to remove impurities from the pores, and I think it works for that in general, like in mud masks, although I always wonder how much charcoal can be in a mask that is white. (This says it has "charcoal extract" and I don't even know how something like that would be prepared or what it would contain, because charcoal is mostly carbon with some trace elements.) This one has a fairly short ingredients list, as masks go, and it did leave me feeling refreshed, and my pores didn't seem too goopy afterwards, but I would say this is best if you are looking for moisture. Notably, this doesn't have a long list of plant extracts like a lot of other sheet masks.
Verdict: I calculated a total value of about $24.82 for the May 2020 Beauteque Mask Maven, which is above the month-to-month cost of the subscription by about $6. Of course, prices for K-beauty products vary widely, so take that value with a grain of salt. I would say this was a typical package. You usually get 6-8 "regular" masks and at least one premium or non-sheet-mask item, sometimes more. Although there were some new brands here, these are the types of brands you can expect. These were mostly new items for me, except maybe the TONYMOLY mask, as I've tried a lot of those before. There were tons of antioxidants, which I do like in summertime, and the sleeping pack was multi-use, which was nice, and the eye patches were some of the better eye patches I've used and helped address a puffiness issue I was having, so overall, I was happy.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this was the May package. You have to sign up by the 15th to get a box for the month, so your first box would probably be July’s box and arrive in early August.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off of your subscription
CODE: SHEETFACED
Value Breakdown: At $18.95 for this box, you are paying approximately $2.11 per mask. Alternatively, you are paying about the following per mask:
- Lemon sleeping pack $0.82
- Cherry blossom mask $1.52
- Etude House eye patch $3.44
- Kale mask $2.68
- Kohlrabi mask $2.68
- Red wine mask $2.86
- Grapefruit mask $1.91
- Missha eye patch $1.53
- Charcoal mask $1.52
Check out all of our past Mask Maven reviews and the best skincare boxes of 2020 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 May 2020 Beauteque Mask Maven? Do you get any K-Beauty or Asian Beauty subscriptions?
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