My Month of Masking Part 2
Link to Part 1: https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2025/06/my-month-of-masking.html
In this post
Day 5: 3W Clinic
Day 6: Klairs
Day 7: The Super Luxe Routine
Day 8: Aestura
Amendment to the rating system
Well, it's only Part 2 and I've amended my rating system.
In some ways, it's not necessarily fair because I'm adding dewiness. This can be significantly affected by what I apply the next day so it can be down to unfair meddling on my part when I change my products due to time or whim.
However the more I think about it, the more I realise that I'll need to change my routine itself for the wedding itself.
Realistically, I'm going to have to do without sunscreen reapplication because it'll mess up the makeup and because it's not my makeup, I won't be able to reapply that either.
I don't endorse skipping reapplication of sunscreen. I burn really easily so I always reapply. I carry two in my handbag.
But it's only one day and hopefully I can largely stay in the shade. I'll reapply on anywhere not covered in foundation.
I'll stop using acids in the run up and do repair routines in the days after.
So, because I usually rely on reapplication of sunscreen to keep my skin hydrated, I'll need AM routines that max out hydration. I'm thinking Hera Signia emulsion, Sekkisei emulsion and Hera Signia cream (which I don't usually apply on top).
My Hera Extreme Force sunscreen is also dewy / non-mattifying plus waterproof so that will give me the best chance at reducing the burn.
I can replicate the dewiness of the Hera with the Whoo Fresh UV so I don't use all the Hera up in advance. It feels and looks very similar.
I will of course be reapplying sunscreen in the run up so it won't be a totally fair test but it's as good as it gets!
The rating system
I'm adding dewiness and glow and I'll retrospectively rate the masks in my first post at the end of this post.
If something negatively affected my skin, it will get between 0-2, 2.5 is no effect, 2.6-5 depends on what positive effects it had above baseline.
Dewiness will also be a bit of a cheat scale: in that perfect dewiness will get a 5 but, as you'll see, I will also dock points for too dewy.
Like it doesn't make sense but it's useful to me and I'll note it when docking points for too dewy.
Day 5
AM Serum: Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng
PM Mask: 3W Clinic Fresh Snail
Having been firmly disappointed by my severe lack of adherence to the instructions with the Biodance, I knew I'd want something decent for the AM.
The Sulwhasoo is nice, it still doesn't wow me but if the Biodance didn't do anything, at least the Sulwhasoo is something of a boost as it's an extra product.
Really, I probably should have gone for something top tier after the Biodance Fiasco (as it will now be known) but I felt like seeing what a freebie mask could do.
Eh, not much.
The fit was average, in that it gapped, but only the usual amount.
I gave it a good 15 minutes but it already felt like the mask itself was drying out.
I'd not long done my nails so I didn't baste or reapply essence as the mask was drying. I patted the essence left on my face in a bit, I applied Sooryehan The Black Serum and it felt like it was sitting on my skin more than usual.
But it didn't feel super, super wet, just more noticeable.
However, aggressive fanning dried it down in the way I'd expect if I hadn't used the sheetmask. Huzzah for well-formulated products! And also my fan!
It really does make me appreciate the good stuff, even though The Black Serum has been bumped down my quality scale since getting the wonderful Hera.
Results unimpressive the following morning. Not bad but nothing noticeable in terms of hydration, glow or overall impression of my skin.
Fit: 2.5/5
Fussiness: 4/5
Did not drip much
Hydration: 2/5
Dry down: 2.5/5
Well, the mask dried out a bit so docking points.
Dewiness (AM): 2.5/5
Glowiness (AM): 2.5/5
RP: WNRP
Total: 2.67/5
Waste of time really but didn't cause me any ill effects. 2.67 makes sense as a rating.
JM Solutions is better.
Day 6
AM Serum: Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng
PM Mask: Klairs Midnight Blue Calming
I should have opened an Ultimate S for a bigger boost but I used up the remainder of the Concentrated Ginseng.
Which actually was rather a lot, way more than I'd apply of a serum AM and yet it dried very well.
Whilst I'd expect that from Sulwhasoo, I do wonder to what extent the rather grippy Hera Signia plays a part in the super quick dry down of this.
When I do the Hera toner - Emulsion - Serum, the grip is super real. I very much wouldn't recommend this product order to AB Muse!
However, putting the emulsion after seriously reduces the grippiness to ordinary levels of well-formulated siliconey dry down.
For me, that's a dry down to not noticing I have anything on my skin both from the feel of my skin itself and how subsequent products apply.
Granted, I did Decorte Hydra Clarity Softener, Albion Flora Drip, Hera Signia and then the Sulwhasoo so we're not talking a very siliconey routine.
If I'd done the Signia emulsion before the serum, I would put it down to that plus the quality of the Sulwhasoo, but mainly the Signia because that Sulwhasoo dried so quick.
I thought I was going to be fanning for ages and yet no.
Anyway.
My skin looked nice.
Not super nice like it did after the JM Solutions but nice.
On to the Klairs.
I'm strongly conflicted and confused about this mask.
Like not in a bad way, I'm not sure what my expectations were, exactly, but this confounded them. Or did what a good sheet mask does.
I'm not sure.
First: the fit.
THE FIT!
Incredible.
But it does come at a price. Not, particularly, a money price. The price is more in application.
I found the Klairs harder to get on my face than even the super slippery Biodance.
It doesn't have a separator and it's in two pieces; it's a full on puzzle unfold it.
I dropped one half on my skirt but like three second rule, right? We'll ignore the fact that I don't wash my skirts until they're visibly dirty.
So I've got the mask in two separate pieces now but it just won't unfold easily - I discover this is because there's all these slits.
In all, I probably spend 3-5 minutes just unfolding the damn thing, including getting it on my face and smoothing it out.
Or maybe not that long, felt like forever though.
On the big upside, it doesn't drip at all so at least I'm not struggling with essence going everywhere.
Once I unfold it enough to get it on my face, there's a really good amount of overlap between the two parts.
I then unfurl the bits that are tucked under and smooth it out.
Oh yes: despite the hassle with applying it, this sucker covers every bit of my face: no nose-cheek gaps at all!
This is a first and is impressive, even if unfolding it took ages.
It does feel nice and cooling too.
The essence is pretty thick and the mask isn't outrageously saturated - there's none left in the packet.
Whilst I appreciate the whole add the mask essence to your face first and then baste throughout (see Fifty Shades of Snail link in the first post), I'm not going to wear a mask that long so I don't really need the extra essence.
I definitely prefer a mask that isn't too drippy but also doesn't dry out. This didn't drip down my neck at all either and when I remove it 15-20 minutes later, it hasn't dried out, my skin feel refreshed and doesn't feel super wet.
I apply Sooryehan's The Black Serum and it's just swimming round my face. This essence doesn't want to dry!
It doesn't feel like it's all sitting on top of my skin, though, which is weird to say when products aren't drying. I think what I mean by this is that it's like there's a gel cocoon rather than the wet, slow drying of something like Cosrx snail.
The Cosrx is one of those products that takes ages to dry because it's a more basic formulation. In comparison, snaily stuff from Benton is a better formulation and dries better.
My face still doesn't feel wet, even though things aren't especially drying and I'm wondering if this is how it's supposed to go with a good mask.
It's different to any prior masking experience, ignoring whatever was going on with my misuse of the Biodance.
The next few layers of product on do the same thing, all swimmy, and even my shrink-wrap Hera cream glides on like an oily cream.
I don't think this is a bad thing and, nonetheless, the cream seems to have dried in the way that I'd expect.
I'm still going to give this a high mark for dry down because I've used plenty of products that don't dry properly and by the time I get to the cream stage, they're just smooshing round my face. Even though my cream felt a bit smooshy, it dried properly.
Plus, my skin will inevitably dry out overnight with smooshy product and won't look very fresh in the morning and, see below, this didn't happen.
The next day, I'm not detecting any particular calming effects but it obviously did something because despite a restless night's sleep and lots of rolling about, my fine lines are less visible and much more plumped.
I would also say that my skin looks healthy with some glow, although I'm not detecting as much as a boost as the JM Solutions.
It's hard to pin down what kind of hydration boost this mask has had: on the one hand, despite poor sleep, my fine lines are plumped but my skin isn't as glowy as the JM Solutions.
Curious.
And I don't remember if I looked at my fine lines after the JM. Hrmph. I should be more consistent in my observations but I was only looking for glow initially!
Fit: 5/5
Two piece, ultimate customisable fit. Truly impressive!
Fussiness: 3.8/5
Did not drip but a pain to unfold. Kinda work it for the fit so...
Hydration/moisturising: 4/5
It's hard to know whether it was moisturising or hydrating so I'm adding both terms in this ranking category here.
Dry down: 4.5/5
Like it didn't but that seemed like a good thing? Not docking points.
Dewiness (AM): 3.8/5
I mean, my skin looked good and not dehydrated plus those fine lines were plumped which usually means I'm well hydrated.
Glowiness (AM): 3.7/5
Not as good as the JM!
Total: 4.13
RP: WRP
And I may repurchase this as I can't remember what products I applied the next morning plus I've got 20 masks but more than 20 days.
Perhaps with the usual emulsions and the Hera cream, I'd max out on dewiness.
Day 7
AM Serum: Sulwhasoo Ultimate S
PM: Super Luxe Routine
The Super Luxe Routine consists of the following - all the most pricey stuff I happen to have to hand:
- Post-cleanse toner pad: Sooryehan The Black Single Essence
- First Serum: Whoo Hwanyu Imperial Youth First Serum
- Toner: Albion Flora Drip
- Serums: Hera Signia Core Lifting Serum, Sulwhasoo Ultimate S Serum, Whoo Hwanyu Imperial Youth Recovery Serum
- Emulsion: Sekkisei Miyabi Ultimate Emulsion
- Cream: Hera Signia Vital Lifting Cream
- Eye Cream: Whoo Hwanyu Imperial Youth Contour Eye Cream
With the Whoo Recovery, I only have two sample pots of 0.6ml each so I very carefully and cautiously restrain my usually erratic hands with literally every ounce of concentration to scoop out roughly half.
My suspicion was that the formulation would be of such quality that I'd only need a tiny bit so 0.3ml should do the job.
[It reminded me of that House episode where they've only got a tiny bit of tumour and they're trying to cut it just right so they could maximise their tests]
My assumption was not wrong: the serum spread delightfully with no sense that I'd applied too little.
Ooh it's creamy.
But not oily.
And smoooooth.
Like I'm not surprised by this discovery, a sample of the Ultimate S (1ml) can easily last three uses without feeling like I've been stingy.
But nonetheless you never know how a new product will be - it could have been weirdly solid.
This reminds me of the first time I used the Sulwhasoo Timetreasure Honorstige Serum: it resists and defies categorisation with products like those from Beauty of Joseon.
It's like a cream but with the most absorbent and lightest touch possible.
It is however lighter in texture than the Honorstige. Far less siliconey but more of a gel than the Ultimate S.
It felt utterly delightful to use so many ridiculously expensive products and the excellent formulations do shine through.
Although I applied 9 products (excluding the micellar water), I really wasn't sitting there that long. I reckon 10-20 minutes (I regret not timing it) so that's potentially 1-2 minutes a product.
Much quicker than a sheet mask!
The Whoo serum is the new thing so naturally my attention was how it differed from the other products but I'd also say generally there's a slickness to how everything applies and yet it all dried pretty well.
I'd say there was a little more creamy-oily feeling than usual so I didn't get that full shrinkwrap effect, whilst everything drying appropriately.
If I was doing this routine regularly, I'd probably alternate the Sulwhasoo and Whoo.
However, the results of all those products layered up do kind do speak for themselves, it was impressive! But there's no real way to know if I could drop one of the really pricey serums without sacrificing effects.
One would hope that one could and I could absolutely test this as I have enough of the Ultimate S to do it that way.
First thing in the morning, my skin looks more even toned than usual and the healthy glow is serious.
Fully lit from within despite another rather poor night's sleep (did I mention this was the busy period at work enough times yet?). This is the type of glow that I am always chasing.
I'd argue my skin was really well-balanced in terms of oily-shiny-dewiness the next day.
I did my usual sorts of products AM but with no extras and I used a mattifying(ish) sunscreen to see how it would be - the results were excellently well-balanced in every way; skin tone nice; dewy but not too shiny; very glowy.
That is exactly the kind of thing I'd expect from truly excellent products.
My fine lines did also look plumped but I think it wasn't quite as much as with a decent sheet mask - we are talking very subtle differences here, though.
I can't really give this the same kind of rating that the masks get so here's my categories:
Speed: 4/5
Bougie Delight: 5/5
Glow: 5/5
Hydration: 4/5
Cost: 1/5
Even in sample form, these things are crazy expensive.
It is over $4 for 1.2ml of the Whoo Recovery Serum. This is why I haven't purchased it before, the Whoo was a freebie with an order from SJ.
Total: 3.8/5
Total without cost: 4.5/5
It's hard to put cost to one side.
Particularly when I saw such good benefits from the JM Solutions which is a fraction of the cost, although granted I was using Hera products too. But then I always use Hera products (until SJ runs out of the sets and I start having to make tough purchasing decisions).
Obviously I'm going to be using the Whoo Recovery serum the night before and morning of the wedding.
Day 8
AM: no extras
PM Mask: Aestura Ceramide Intensive
I'll be honest with you, I contemplated using the second half of my Whoo Recovery Serum in the morning and just forgot.
Then I decided it would be a super interesting test to do a sheet mask plus the Whoo, without all the other super luxe products.
Just, you know, my usual luxe products 🤣
And if I use a sheet mask I have a few of, I can repeat this experiment without The Whoo to check the results.
Although arguably it's not a super fair test as I've had two Whoos in a row and some products can have effects that survive washing (see my ferment routine updates post, link below).
https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2024/03/best-of-reddit-experiments-fermented.html
Although although on the other hand, I would use the Whoo over two consecutive routines anyway, as the serum had begun to dry out. Goes to show folding over the top of the foil sachets is effective as they don't begin to dry out in 12 hours! (I could obviously tape down the edge of the Whoo pot)
So as I noted, my skin really was really glowy and I didn't have a morning boost product.
The Aestura mask isn't as drippy as the JM or 3W so points for that! Although it did still drip a bit - folding under the chin part set off a tiny cascade of essence. Maybe my neck will like the extra love?
I've learned that the cascade of essence under the chin is a common thing, although some masks drip their essence more readily than others.
It's a one piece but the gap between my nose and cheeks was a lot better than the average one-piece.
This is quite impressive and it also has more slits on the edges that the average one-piece, so I could customise the fit to an extent.
The mask itself seems quite big compared to some of the others and this is better than it only being slightly too big.
Being quite big meant I could smoosh the material around and fold it over itself so I didn't get random gaps.
I've noticed that if a mask is slightly too big, it'll crease slightly rather than fold, and I'll end up with gaps either side of the crease. It's a minor comment but I feel like the point of a sheet mask is to cover your face so I feel justified making such distinctions lol.
However, there's a bit of a trade off with the reduced gap between my nose and cheeks: the fit is so almost perfect that I couldn't resist sliding the mask inwards to smooth it down over my nose. But then edge of the eye holes were right up against the outer corner of my eye.
I would usually try to avoid the eye hole edge being so close for obvious reasons.
The essence is good: it's thick! Like really thick, which I think helped reduce drippiness.
I suspect it was close in thickness to the Klairs but there's more essence in the packet so that explains the drippy (unless there's something else I don't know about mask essence formulations - please enlighten me if you do!)
I'd argue the JM is quite similar in thickness but that one had even more essence in the packet too so probably hence the drippiness.
I was in a rush so I removed the mask after 10-15 minutes, it was still very wet at this point so I reckon 20 would have been better.
Removing it too soon may have then affected the dry down as I applied the Hera Signia serum and it just swam on my face. That's a guess but it also does just seem to be a thing with sheet masks: it's a lot of product so the rest of the routine dries differently to a non-mask night.
Aggressive fanning did, however, dry it down lovely, although there definitely more slip than usual as I applied the next steps.
I skipped a few things; I used toner before the mask, then only Hera serum, Sulwhasoo Timetreasure Invigorating Serum, Whoo Hwanyu Recovery serum and Hera Signia cream. I didn't have time for eye cream either.
My face was still heavily moisturised when I woke up, despite my (relatively) short routine so that's really quite significant!
When I put water on my face to wash it AM, I tend to find that that water sits on my eyebag area because the extra cream creates a barrier and I need to work in my cleanser extra to clean it properly.
The morning after this mask, my whole face that felt this way!
So my skin was obviously extra moisturised from the mask plus Whoo serum.
Usually I'd apply a couple of emulsions PM too (Hera, Sekkisei) but my skin never gets so heavily moisturised that I have to really work at cleansing, except the eyebag area.
For note, I use the Hera Refreshing Cleanser every day.
Fine lines definitely plumped, although my eye bag area is creased because I didn't apply eye cream as I ran out of time / forgot. Sigh.
I will try to make sure I apply it, for science.
Plus the creasing is only the usual amount I get when I skip eye cream.
On the upside, I've got three more of these masks and I'm actually quite pleased about that because I can do a longer test and also see how it is without the Whoo serum.
Glow? I was yet again in a rush so my AM routine was a bit different: Decorte, Hera toner, Stratia Lipid Gold, Hera Signia serum and Hera Signia cream.
I was also really quite shiny and feeling sumptuously moisturised already so I went for less moisturising sunscreen than usual (Be The Skin, the mattifying sunscreen) and I applied it with a gap of nearly 45 mins, whereas usually I apply sunscreen straight away.
For me, today, my skin is the almost perfect velvet I constantly wish for. I would say I could do with a bit more glow and dewiness, although the glow is definitely there, there's no surface shine at all (which I like but I do wonder if that has an impact on the lit from within glow?)
I think it does because I applied the CNP Sunquid at lunchtime and my glow looked better with a bit more dewiness.
Funny how I felt the finish on the Sunquid was normal to mattifying when I first got it, but then I had a different routine back then.
Once again, I note that I seem to have very specific parameters for what how I'd like my skin to look: lit from within glow, overall velvet finish with some dewiness.
I think switching to the Hera cream rather than Hera Signia emulsion and Sekkisei Miyabi Ultimate Emulsion plus not using Whoo sunscreen and waiting between cream and sunscreen is what made the difference. And I didn't do Decorte - Albion - Decorte as toner, which I have also been doing recently.
So many factors!
I will also say it's pretty much the first time I've looked in the bathroom mirror at work (which has gruesomely unflattering lighting) and thought my skin looked nice.
Whilst my skin looked almost perfect to my eyes but better when a bit more dewiness and also, for this test, I'm looking for more dewiness for the wedding so I'm not giving this max results in appearance.
I will try it again with my usual AM products and see what I find out.
This mask gets a good rating:
Fit: 4.1/5
Less gappy than some others
Fussiness: 4/5
A bit drippy
Hydration/moisturising: 4.7/5
Dry down: 4/5
Dewiness (AM): 3.5/5
I'm really torn on this category. I'm going 3.5 because my skin wasn't dewy at all but then was an appropriate level of dewiness when I reapplied sunscreen. I suspect it'll get a better rating when tried with something dewier in and of itself.
Glowiness (AM): 3.8/5
The problem we have here is that it wasn't as glowy as the Super Luxe Routine so this sadly gets downrated in comparison. And to be fair, I would also say I wasn't a lot above my usual routine, you know, if I didn't apply a mattifying sunscreen.
I will note I'll be using everything in the Super Luxe Routine (more or less) the PM before the wedding plus a sheet mask. I'm going to sit in the hotel bath and luxuriate 🤣
Total: 4/5
RP: WRP
Overview so far
I'm going to readjust the scores of the masks from the last post now.
JM Solution
Fit: 3.8/5
Fussiness: 3.9/5
Hydration: 5/5
Dry down: 4.5/5
Previous total: 4.3/5
Dewiness (AM): 4.5/5
Slightly too dewy perhaps, half a point docked.
Glowiness (AM): 4.7/5
Genuinely a bit less than the Super Luxe Routine but barely
New total: 4.4/5
Whoo toner pad
Fit: 1.5/5
Fussiness: 4/5
Hydration: 2/5
Dry down: 4/5
Total: 2.9/5
Dewiness (AM): 2.5/5
Glowiness (AM): 2.5/5
New total: 2.75/5
Biodance
Fit: 4.2/5
Fussiness: 2.5/5
Moisturising: 2.5/5
Dry down: 4/5
Total: 3.3/5
Dewiness (AM): 2.5
Glowiness (AM): 2.5
New total: 3/5
Rankings so far
JM Solutions: 4.4/5
Whoo toner pad: 2.75/5
Biodance: 3/5
3W Clinic: 2.67/5
Klairs: 4.13/5
Super Luxe Routine: 3.8-4.5/5
Aestura: 4/5
Thoughts so far
The Super Luxe Routine has (arguably) the highest rating.
I'd argue my fine lines are slightly more plumped with the sheet masks (when I've remembered to use eye cream PM), although the Super Luxe Routine was utterly delightful and gave me the best glow, and the JM was a very close second.
Out of the sheet masks, the JM is the best scorer and is definitely excellent. It is a bit drippy and so the Klairs kinda does better in usability but the results were different.
I think the Aestura was the most moisturising.
I think I stand by JM being the best, although it's useful to have other options that do slightly different things
On reflection after discussing this whole thing with AB Muse, max hydration is what I'm looking for - it's quite possible that the bridesmaid makeup with be drying and, obviously, it doesn't matter how super lush my glow is when it's going to be covered up. Hydration is going to be key.
This will still be a useful test generally as I never wear base products at all so I'm keen to know for future reference what will make my skin the perfect balance of glowy, dewy sumptuousness regardless of base products.
As yet, I'm still hailing the JM Solutions as the right fit for the night before the wedding, but I am not very far through this test yet!!
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