Review and comparison of moisturizing sleeping masks: Su:m37, The History of Whoo, BRTS, Laneige and Hera

I have to admit straightaway that I am a sleeping mask addict. It's been years since I went to sleep without putting one of them on. I've been trying a lot of different sleeping masks, and I've accumulated quite a few; I tend to use different masks throughout a week according to how my skin feels like instead of putting the same mask on every day. Today I'd like to talk about hydrating and moisturizing masks only, and leave anti-aging and nourishing masks for later.

1 - Su:m37 Waterfull Aqua Sleeping Pack; 2 - The History of Whoo Han Honey Ginseng Sleeping mask; 3 - The History of Whoo Hydrating Overnight Mask; 4 - BRTC Jasmine Waterful Sleeping Pack; 5 - Hera Aquabolic Mineral Sleeping Mask

I'm not going to discuss the packaging; however beautiful it might be, it does nothing for my skin. I'd rather talk about the ingredients and the results I got after using those masks. This post is not sponsored, I purchased all the products myself, and all opinions are my own.

Let me start with Hera Aquabolic Mineral Sleeping Mask, since I had it the longest. I got it quite a while ago after stumbling on some rave reviews from several beauty bloggers; in hindsight, when reviews look like a part of massive PR campaign, it might be a better idea to either get a travel size sample or wait for more reviews to come, but back then I wasn't always paying attention to such things. I can't say it's a bad product; but it was mediocre at best on my skin. Aquabolic is one of the Hera skincare lines that target 20-30ish audience, and its main concern is hydration. It's been repackaged last year (you can see the whole line here), and the mask was renamed to Hera Aquabolic Sleeping Mask as a result, but I don't think there is much difference, if any, between the old a new versions. The mask comes in squeeze-out tube, which is rather convenient and hygienic. The full ingredients list can be found either on CosDNA or on official site. With the exception of stearic and palmitic acids the ingredient list is clean and should be safe for sensitive skin; the mask never broke me out, but I can't say I got any noticeable results after using it. It has light, gel-like texture with tiny spheres in it that contain lipids; the spheres burst when mask is massaged on and deliver (in theory, at least) fresh moisturizing ingredients into my skin. I wish I could say my skin was glow-y and perfectly hydrated next morning after this mask, but it was not the case; it was somewhat hydrated, which is not bad, but not great. I relegated with mask to "good skin nights", when my skin did not require any extra help, and to summertime, when I prefer lighter products. I liked that this mask did not have too noticeable fragrance. I'm practically out of it, and I'm not going to repurchase.

Next I'd like to mention Laneige Water Sleeping Mask that I don't have in the picture above. I received a travel-size jar of it when I ordered some skincare from Ebay Korean sellers (they tend to be rather generous with free samples). The ingredient list looked OK to me but for a few red flags (CosDNA  here), but, unfortunately, I had a massive breakout after trying it out that took a long while to heal, and I never risked putting the mask on again.

When I bought my History of Whoo Soo Hydrating Overnight Mask, I received a generous size sample of their Han Honey Ginseng Sleeping Mask with my order. Unfortunately I recycled the box Hydrating Overnight Mask came in, and I don't seem to be able to find a full ingredient list for it online anymore; the best I can do is refer you to those pictures from the official website.

 

For the moment it's my favorite hydrating mask. I'm supposed to put it on with the brush that comes with it, but I prefer to use my fingers. It's very lightweight and it sinks in in seconds. It has a gel-like texture, and it leaves no film on my skin, unlike some other sleeping masks. It's fragranced, but the smell is not overpowering, unlike some other The History of Whoo products; it's not a traditional hanbang smell, but a mild flower-y kind of smell that goes away quickly. I love how soft and moisturized my skin is the next morning; I will definitely repurchase this mask when I run out.

Han Honey Ginseng Sleeping Mask will be the first mask mentioned when someone recommends The History of Whoo sleeping masks; it's a bestseller, I think, and most reviews are very positive. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to honey and bee products, so I'm often hesitant to try out any skincare products that has honey or royal jelly in them. CosDNA has ingredients list in Korean only for some reason, which is useless for someone like me who does not speak the language; luckily some girls remember to take pictures of ingredient lists on the box before they get rid of it, so I was able to find a full ingredient list on Beauty and the Cat blog.

Cropped out picture from Beauty and the Cat review

 I decided to give Han Honey Ginseng Sleeping Mask a try, despite the chance of allergic reaction, and I really liked it at first. It was the most intense moisturizing sleeping mask I ever tried by far; I know that "waking up with glowing skin" is an overused phrase to say the least, but I've no other way to describe it. The mask is much heavier in texture than Soo Hydrating one; it's definitely balmy in texture and it requires some massage to get absorbed. I've oily skin and it did not clog me or anything, but I think it might be better suited for normal to dry skin types; I would still use it 1-2 times a week if I could. It has typical hanbang smell with clear honey notes in it; the smell lingers for a while. A little goes a long way with this mask; I used less than a chickpea amount on my face and neck and it felt like I put a bit too much product on. I managed to use it a couple times without any issues, but then I started having small red bumps the morning after, which is how my skin usually tells me that I should go easy on something it dislikes; I wish I could get a full-size mask and keep using it, but it seems to have too much honey in it for me, so I'll have to be content with Soo Hydrating mask.

1 - Su:m37 Waterfull Aqua Sleeping Pack; 2 - The History of Whoo Han Honey Ginseng Sleeping mask; 3 - The History of Whoo Hydrating Overnight Mask; 4 - BRTC Jasmine Waterful Sleeping Pack; 5 - Hera Aquabolic Mineral Sleeping Mask

I picked travel-size BRTC Waterful Sleeping Mask to qualify for free shipping while ordering from Ebay; while it has some nice ingredients, like various flower extracts and niacinamide (full list of ingredients on CosDNA here), I did not feel like I need another hydrating sleeping mask. I stand corrected; it's a nice mask and if I weren't so much into The History of Whoo Soo Hydrating Mask, I'd probably pick the full size of it. It's slightly heavier in texture than Soo Hydrating mask, more like cream-gel than gel type, and it does not absorb as easily; it leaves a sticky layer on my skin that seems to transfer to my pillow and my hair when I sleep. I need a very little amount of it for the whole face and neck, since it does not absorb as easy as some other sleeping masks. Using face massager with it seem to help with absorption rate, but it does not eliminate the stickiness completely. The mask has subtle flowery smell that I like; it lingers for a few minutes, but then goes away. I never had any issues with it, no breakouts or clogged pores, despite it having a heavier texture than my usual hydrating masks. It claims to have some whitening and soothing effects, but I never noticed any, so imho it's just a hydrating mask, a decent choice for the price.

I used to love Su:m37 Waterfull line, but I've stopped repurchasing it in favor of more multi-tasking products. It's one of the best hydrating lines I've tried, and it's a cult classic for Asian beauty fans, but all it does is hydration, and I need more than that now. Last few years Su:m37 added some new products to their Waterfull line, and the Su:m 37 Waterfull Aqua Sleeping pack was one of the latest additions that I was curious about. The ingredients list is nice, except for ungodly amount of fragrances (CosDNA here); I've no idea why they had to add several different kinds of fragrance ingredients that rated as highly dangerous, but they did; the mask has a fairly generic neutral skincare smell that goes away quickly, but perhaps they had to mask some of fermented ingredients. Unlike the rest of Waterfull products that I tried it has cream-gel kind of texture; I think it has heaviest texture of the whole line, which is not saying much, as they're all very lightweight gels. It absorbs much better than BRTC mask. I have to mention that it's not gluten-free; I was always making sure I'm not putting it too close to my mouth. Among many fermented ingredients if has fermented rye flour in it; it's probably some minuscule amount of it, but I prefer to be safe than sorry. I'm not allergic to gluten when it's on my skin, but I know some people who can develop a reaction. It never broke me out and I always had good results with it, but I stopped using it after I got Soo Hydrating Mask.

TL;DR: and the winner is...History of Whoo Soo Hydrating Overnight Mask, 1st runner up is..... BRTC Waterful Sleeping Mask.