Mask Meh.

Review: LuLuLun Sheet Mask (Pink) – The 100 Million Sheets Bestseller

27 November 2015

Lululun-pink

LuLuLun is very popular in Japan and has the rep of being one of the top-selling facial masks. I tried a LuLuLun mask (a special edition Lavender one) a couple of years back but wasn’t impressed. But seeing it so often in drugstores, with the “#1 Bestselling Mask in Japan!” stickers plastered everywhere, I wondered if I might have been a little unfair to it since I only used two sheets instead of the intended 7 consecutive days.

Sales exceed 100 million sheets. Surely there has to be something to it...?

Sales exceed 100 million sheets. Surely there has to be something to it…?

To set things straight once and for all, I decided to challenge myself to using the entire pack for 7 consecutive days! This is a considerable feat for me because I’m rather lazy about using sheet masks, especially with arrival of the cold season. Slapping a cold sheet on my face when living in an apartment without central heating (as is common in Japan) is the furthest thing from fun for me. But for the sake of the experiment, I persevered! And here are the results!

LuLuLun Sheet Mask (Pink)

I decided to choose a standard offering from LuLuLun for this experiment instead of some limited edition version like previously. LuLuLun has 3 main types: Pink (balance moisture), Blue (high moisture), and White (brightening).

I decided to go with Pink since it was the most basic of all and the better to use as a benchmark.

Notable ingredients
For moisture: Hyaluronic acid, Acacia honey
For balancing skin: Rice ceramide, Panax ginseng root, Bilberry leaf extract, PCA-NA
For elasticity and glow: Mandarin orange peel extract, Neem leaf extract

lululun-detail

All the mask sheets are put into one common zippered bag, which is something I can’t say I liked. There’s the question of hygiene, how well the essence would distribute, and if the essence would dry up prematurely.

But this form of packaging is pretty common in Japan; I’ve seen as many as 100 masks packed into one single bag! It’s more eco-friendly and also keep costs down, but the OCD in me will probably never get such masks. 7 is already pushing my limit.

Here’s how the mask fits me:

fit

To be honest, I felt like I was being judged by the mask T_T Apparently my nose is too bulbous seeing as there is not enough to cover the sides of my nose. I also apparently had too big a face by their standards because the mask fell short and couldn’t cover my face fully. There was a 2-3cm gap all around my face between where the mask ended and where my face actually ended. FML.

But true to their advertised claims, the coverage for the eyes and mouth was crazy! Especially the eyes. The eye holes are really the smallest I’ve ever experienced. I consider myself to have pretty small eyes, so I imagine this mask might be a lot more tricky for someone with big eyes to wear.

The material is very thin and comfortable, and the amount of essence (80ml for 7 sheets), while not as generous as most individually-packed masks, was still pretty decent.

I used the mask at night and left it on for about 40 mins (till there’s just the slightest bit of essence left in the sheet). I then remove the mask, massage the essence into my face and measure the moisture levels in my face once everything is absorbed.

lululun-detail2

L: After essence was fully absorbed (~10 mins) | R: Next morning

In terms of moisturization, I think the mask does a pretty good job. I only dropped 3% after 10 hours (what? a girl needs her beauty sleep!). My face also feels sliiightly softer and smoother. Not startling or impressively so, but enough for me to notice. After I wash my face (with just water) though, the level plunges to my everyday usual of 35%.

The results were pretty much similar the remaining 6 days.

At the end of the experiment – that is, on the first day that I woke up without using this mask the night before – my skin’s moisture levels are exactly the same as pre-experiment. It’s like the 7 days of masking never happened!

Verdict

The most attractive thing about this sheet mask is the price. At less than 50 cents a sheet, the price can’t be beat. It may also be one of the reasons why it’s so popular and sells so well. The price makes it so easy to buy! The cutesy packaging might also win points with some people.

This mask is good when in a pinch and you need some quick moisturizing. But for me, this won’t be a mainstay. My inertia to use masks is very high, so when I DO use a mask, I want to make it count and use something my skin loves. This mask only falls into the category of platonic friends. Decent as a backup, but never a hot date.

I might try the other types (blue or white) though since they’re a step up and might be better. But 7 days of consecutive masking again… eh. I need some time to recover first!

Rating: 3/5

ratings-bt

Price

I bought this for 324yen from a local drugstore. You can also find it on Amazon and eBay.

Read the disclaimer regarding reviews here.

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14 Comments

  • Reply Maya 5 January 2016 at 6:08 am

    From 7 day masking a row you would expect more of course. I have been curious about this masks for a while now, but cant find them anywhere for a decent price.

    kbeauty.bymaya

    • Reply Rin 6 January 2016 at 2:59 pm

      Yeah, it was quite a bummer that they didn’t work for me, but at least now my curiosity about them is satisfied! They can be found on ebay for about $8 including worldwide shipping. Not too bad since it works out to just a dollar-ish per mask!

  • Reply Mei 31 March 2016 at 8:22 pm

    Where can I buy the moisture gauger?

    • Reply Rin 3 April 2016 at 2:52 am

      I bought mine from a local store in Japan, but you can find it online (for example, this).

  • Reply Hye Mi 15 June 2016 at 11:20 pm

    I never tried Japanese masks before, only Koreans. I’m going to order Lululun right now. Have you tried the Quality 1st All-In-One?

    • Reply Rin 16 June 2016 at 4:05 pm

      I hope you’ll like Lululun more than I did! Which is your favorite Korean mask?
      Nope, I haven’t tried it, although I’ve seen it in stores.

  • Reply Lulu 12 August 2016 at 6:31 pm

    Thanks for the detailed review on the mask! However, you are only meant to leave the mask on for 10 minutes.15 min max. If you leave it on for longer than suggested, the sheet absorbs the moisutre back. Also, I believe the mask is more suitable to use in the moring before you wear make up. That is a t least what many users say… I bought it only today and just put it on for 10 min before bed , it feels quite nice and moisturising but I do feel that it might be better to use in the morning just because it is so light weight and not too heavy to put on before make up.

    • Reply Rin 15 August 2016 at 2:23 am

      I think the sheet won’t reabsorb the moisture as long as the mask is still moist. At least that’s what I noticed for other masks. I usually leave sheet masks on for longer than 15 mins and that has not stopped other masks from being effective. That said, I might try it out again just to see if the duration left on makes a difference…

    • Reply Analica 25 May 2019 at 11:34 am

      Can i use lulu blue lulu pink and white is that okey

  • Reply Ly 23 August 2016 at 5:42 am

    Hey Rin,

    Haha, yeah I would have to say you’re being a bit unfair on using 2 facial masks together as of the single masks for the 7 days recommended. I don’t think adding a thicker layer on would help the process faster. If you do 10-15 minutes as the package states, you’ll still be able to tell better — after the 7 days of the facial feeling that is. Try doing that in the morning when you wake up and wash your face. 15 minutes if you’re not super sensitive by it.

    I would use it for 15 minutes on my face, (using the same mask) another 15 minutes on my neck, and in the back of the neck using the same facial mask for another 15 minutes to get as much use out for that one mask as possible. And during the time I would lay back and relax I would also add some of the facial mask serum to spread some on my ears as well.

    You can tell a huge difference for day 2 and I haven’t even finished with all my days yet! I bought my masks at Kawaii Japanese Goods in Houston, Tx. ^__^ Give it another try again, Rin. One layer at a time, each day. 15 minutes max since you like it long. =]

    • Reply Rin 28 August 2016 at 11:57 am

      Hi LY,

      I’m not sure I understand what you meant by “using 2 facial masks together as of the single masks for the 7 days recommended”. (I use only 1 mask each time)

      At any rate, good to hear that this gave you good results!

      I might give it another go before summer is over since I don’t mind it as much as masking in cold weather. I’ll update this post when I do :)

      • Reply Ly 3 September 2016 at 10:24 am

        Oh sorry! I must have read you wrong! Haha!! I thought you said how you were using it as 2 instead of one for a faster result. But it seem that you were just WONDERING if you were to do that — if that will do anything. I just read it as you were actually doing that. My apologies!!

        Well I don’t love the product, but I like it enough to know that it does work. I wish I could take back my 1st comment before actually going through the 7 days before posting it. Because on my 6th day I noticed how I was getting little pimple like bumps around my face (my face is often clear) and I thought it was weird and I google up other reviewers and one girl has mention that affect too. It’s not noticeable, maybe my skin is too sensitive or something. But the touch of a baby’s face, yeah the 7 days will give you that. =]

  • Reply Giang Le 9 January 2017 at 12:44 pm

    Hi Rin, can I know where do you get the thing measure water for skin?

    • Reply Rin 12 January 2017 at 2:11 pm

      Hi Giang Le, as mentioned above, I bought mine from a store in Japan, but similar gadgets are also sold online like this.

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