Sake To Me? — My Boscia Sake Bright White Mask Story
It’s a good thing my husband has a sense of humor because, while he finds my product-testing shenanigans bewildering, he always gets a good laugh out of them. He’s particularly tickled by my many face masks — so much so that he has developed a rating system, ranking which mask looks most ridiculous, which is spookiest, and so on. Right now, he’s most perturbed by this here beauty, the Boscia Sake Bright White Mask ($38 at Sephora.com), which he says makes me look like a cross between the Tin Man, the CGI version of Casper the Friendly Ghost, and a glassfrog. Whenever he makes any such comparison, I giggle a bit, then stick out my tongue at him and playfully remind him that, the peel-off mask might make me look ridiculous for 15-20 minutes, but it could also be ensuring a lifetime of glowing skin.
Luminosity and an even skin tone, one devoid of unseemly dark spots, are the ultimate goals of the Boscia Sake Bright White Mask. The thick white mask, which has an iridescent tint to it, contains: sake extract, which moisturizes the skin and is said to have brightening properties; sea fern algae, which is believed to help minimize the look of age spots; vitamin C, an indispensable anti-aging ingredient that stimulates collagen and elastin production and which is also key in the brightening brigade; and a peptide complex designed to make skin appear more taut and minimize the look of fine lines and wrinkles. The formula also includes: clove leaf oil, which has powerful antiseptic and antimicrobial properties; jojoba seed extract, which moisturizes the skin but which can also regulate sebum production, making it ideal for balancing oily skin and preventing acne breakouts; and camellia sinensis leaf extract (or green tea extract), which boasts wonderful antioxidant properties.
But does it work? Well, it might — in the long run. If you look at your face in the mirror after every use, you’re unlikely to notice that your skin looks more dewy or that it has any greater vitality. I certainly didn’t notice much of a change on the brightening front. I did like that my “elevens” (those two vertical wrinkles that pop up in between brows) were less visible after using the mask, but that plumping, wrinkle-smoothing effect was temporary. Masks, however, often show results after cumulative use, so I kept applying this mask twice a week for several months in order to gauge its performance during a longer time span. Even then, I didn’t notice much of a difference in terms of my skin having a more uniform tone. Oddly enough, I was more thrilled with the results I observed when using the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask, which is marketed as a toxin-eliminating, purifying, and pore-minimizing mask that, coincidentally, also gave skin a radiance boost. In my experience, however, that mask had more of a discernible effect on my skin’s luminosity than the Boscia Sake Bright White Mask.
Another surprising revelation? Though I often use the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask and am accustomed to peeling it off my face, I found that the Boscia Sake Bright White Mask was much harder to remove. Whenever I tackled a dry section of the mask and gently began to peel it off my face, the strip would break and the process would be prolonged. I spent twice as long scraping tiny bits of the mask off my face as I did wearing the actual product. And even after I managed to remove most of the mask residue, I still had to rinse my face with warm water to eliminate any lingering traces. If you manage to get any of the product on your eyebrows (which you should avoid at all cost), the process of removing the mask will be all the more strenuous.
It’s not a terrible mask, of course, but I don’t believe it accomplishes as much as it espouses to do. In the end, you wonder why you should bother with the whole routine in the first place. If I’m looking for a radiance boost, then, I’m more likely to use the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask, the REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewing Mask, or the GlamGlow Flashmud Brightening Treatment. I’ll probably use this mask from time to time, but I doubt it will become a fixture in my skincare routine. And hey, I’m sure my husband won’t miss me looking like this:
Spooky, right?
