Juniper
When I saw Shiseido’s Benefiance Pure Retinol Intensive Revitalizing Face Mask, I couldn’t help but think of THAT Spice Girls song. Ok, so they weren’t exactly thinking of masks when they were singing it nor are the lyrics anything relating to face masks.
The name of this mask is a mouthful, Shiseido does have a knack for coming up with long and rather difficult to memorise names for its products and this face mask ain’t an exception. I got this mask through their Camellia membership redemption. It took 1500 points to redeem this mask worth RM55 but it isn’t sold individually. It’s sold in a box of 4 which costs RM220 and that makes it more expensive than Lancome’s Genefique mask (a box of 6 for RM300).
According to its product description, it’s “a concentrated treatment sheet mask that encourages skin’s natural recovery function and provides a rich infusion of moisture to help improve texture (and) restores youthful suppleness and radiance with a single application”. It’s said to help combat wrinkles, dryness and dullness with its Shiseido-original Pure Liquid Retinol Delivery System.
This is the first time I’ve used a sheet mask which comes in 2 halves. The instructions state that the lower half is to be placed first followed by the upper half. Why are two halves necessary? I much prefer using one single sheet mask as it’s a hassle having to deal with two halves. That’s also double the packaging which I find wasteful.
Upon opening the packaging, I found the masks to be drier than I expected, certainly not as wet as My Beauty Diary masks which most people are probably familiar with. Compared with Lancome’s Genefique mask, the Benefiance mask isn’t as thin or as saturated with formula. It felt sticky when I touched it with my fingers but didn’t feel sticky on my face.
The masks are quite wide and didn’t fit me perfectly especially the lower half which didn’t adhere all that well. The edges of the lower half didn’t stick to my skin from the very beginning. There was also an overlap of the two halves which again made me wonder why they didn’t just produce one single mask.
As for recommended application time, it’s 15 minutes but being such a pricey mask, I was going to maximise the usage and managed to stretch the time to 30 minutes. I know that using the mask for longer than the recommended time doesn’t necesarily mean that the benefits are doubled but psychologically, it made me feel good.
When the two halves were removed, what I noted was very hydrated skin and a more radiant appearance but my face didn’t feel any firmer or was there any increased suppleness. Since I’ve only this one mask (divided in 2 halves), I can’t say whether prolonged usage will indeed combat wrinkles. I can only say that the immediate results were that it provided a good dose of hydration and alleviated dull looking skin. However, the effects are too short term and I’d have to use the mask continuously if I am to see whether they will produce longer term results.
