SKINCARE | Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask - Yes, It's Actually DRY!

The dry sheet mask. Not often am I so curious about a skincare product that I take my photos and start using it right away! I adore Charlotte Tilbury makeup and even though I get sent things from time to time, I have done a fair share of purchasing because the quality, colours and packaging meet all of my criteria when it comes to a high end makeup product. Oftentimes, I am wary of when colour cosmetics companies start wandering over into skincare. I never feel like the transition is clean and because I am somewhat anal about what goes on my skin, I would rather use makeup from a skincare company than skincare from a makeup company. Charlotte Tilbury has not let me down yet so when i saw the Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask* ($27.00 CDN) I experienced a range of emotions including: intrigue, suspicion and excitement.   

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask Review

Using revolutionary "biomimetic technology" (fancy term for simulating biological processes) from the Quebec-based Biomod lab (YAY CANADA!), this dry sheet mask delivers ingredients to the skin to hydrate, brighten, smooth and lift skin. I'm sure these skincare verbs all sound very familiar, but the million dollar question when it comes to this dry sheet mask is "Does it even work?"

Unlike regular water-based sheet masks, dry sheet masks are oil-based with ingredients like shea and mango butter and olive fruit oil that are semi-solid and warm when in contact with skin. Our cell membranes are composed of a phospholipid bilayer so lipids or oils pass through this membrane easily. The idea is that because these oils gets a free pass, they can bring along all those good anti-aging ingredients!

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask Review

$27 is pretty crazy for a single sheet mask, BUT this mask can be used up to 3x! I have just used it for the third time last night and I am about to push for one more because a sales girl at Holt Renfrew said she was able to use hers 5x!

Coming in a resealable pouch, this mask comes out feeling more like a piece of fashion than skincare! There is zero essence or moisture in the packaging and though it is a little hard to see in the photo, one side of the mask is light pink with an imprinted Charlotte Tilbury logo. THIS is the side that touches your skin as the lab that creates these masks is able to STAMP a solid oil with an active ingredient mixture onto a textile. As futuristic as this sounds, ingredient-delivering fabrics are nothing new as the medical community has used transdermal patches to deliver drugs for years. Hello, Nicotine patch?

This mask also has ear and chin loops which is already a sign of a freakin' good mask! You will not get the dreaded "sheet mask goatee" and it also means you can multi-task and do other things. I know that the idea behind a lot of sheet masks is to relax, but sometimes you want to get your glow on while gettin' s*** done! Yesterday, I wore this while blow drying my hair!

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask Review

Ingredients: STEARIC ACID, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, GLYCERIN, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL, MANGIFERA INDICA (MANGO) SEED BUTTER, PERSEA GRATISSIMA (AVOCADO) OIL, PEG-20 METHYL GLUCOSE SESQUISTEARATE, CETYL RICINOLEATE, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL, CETYL ALCOHOL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, SORBITAN OLEATE, SORBITAN STEARATE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) OIL, ACACIA SENEGAL GUM, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, CETEARYL OLIVATE, NIACINAMIDE, BENZYL ALCOHOL, SORBITAN OLIVATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, ARGININE, LEONTOPODIUM ALPINUM CALLUS CULTURE EXTRACT, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-t-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, CALCIUM TITANIUM BOROSILICATE, DISODIUM EDTA, MAGNOLIA OFFICINALIS BARK EXTRACT, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, XANTHAN GUM, DICAPRYLYL ETHER, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS (ROSEMARY) LEAF EXTRACT, CARBOMER, ALGAE (DICTYOPTERIS MEMBRANACCA) EXTRACT, POLYSORBATE 20, SODIUM LACTATE, MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA BARK EXTRACT, LAURYL ALCOHOL, CROCUS SATIVUS FLOWER EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID, TOCOPHEROL, PALMITOYL TRIPEPTIDE-1, PALMITOYL TETRAPEPTIDE-7, TIN OXIDE (CI 77861), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), MICA (CI 77019), CARMINE (CI 75470).

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask Review

Once the mask is on, I massage the whole mask to warm up the oils and make sure my skin is getting a taste of the ingredients. The fabric itself is slightly stretchy and adheres to the skin nicely though. My skin felt truly encapsulated! The only part of my face this mask couldn't quite reach was the very top of my forehead and the sides of my nose. My nose does not have much a bridge, so sunglasses are held up by my chipmunk cheeks, which left the fit around my nose feeling more like an air pocket.

I don't know what I was expecting the first I removed the mask, but for the whole 15 minutes, my face felt completely dry and was such a far cry from the soppiness of a traditional sheet mask which I still don't plan on giving up. As this mask is oil-based, my skin definitely had a glow and was a little oily-feeling upon removal - like I had applied facial oil. I did not need any moisturizer though because the oils slowly sank into my skin over the next 2-3 hours. All I had done in terms of skin prep was cleanse and tone. You can use a serum, but I didn't really feel the need to and all night and in the morning, my skin was soft and hydrated without the use of silicones!

Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask Review

Final verdict: This mask is such a treat and I really enjoyed using as well as the results! I'm trying hard to figure out if I like it because it's also a little weird, but I am just so fascinated by the idea of a transdermal face mask. I mean, how COOL is that? If I can have birth control delivered through a patch, why not niacinamide? The other thing that is nice about a dry sheet mask is that you don't have to take that deep breath right before all of that cold essence from a wet sheet mask hits your face! This just felt like putting on a pair of warm socks. With regards to price, $27/3 uses = $9 which is what a number of face masks cost as is, so it's really not all that crazy. You know what is kind of crazy though? The Nanette de Gaspe dry sheet mask that I just got for $160 which I will be comparing this one to! The technology comes from Biomod as well so this will be interesting!

The Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magical Facial Dry Sheet Mask (also available in a 4 pack!) is available at all Charlotte Tilbury counters and at http://www.charlottetilbury.com/ca

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