Remember when we kept seeing all of those "Keep Calm and Carry On" slogans everywhere years ago? I didn't know the origin of it until researching kbeauty brand Keep Cool and it was actually a motivational/PR initiative in 1939 on the part of the British government to keep people's morale up in preparation for WWII. The original poster resurfaced in 2000 which is when we started to see themes of this initiative in everything from coffee cups to t-shirts and now to sheet masks. The concept behind the brand is "to boost consumer morale through happy skin" by keeping it "cool" at an optimal temperature. Seems like a bit of a stretch considering this slogan was put in place because of "The Blitz", but then again, I didn't know the origin of the slogan until recently.
In addition to sheet masks, Keep Cool makes a host of other skincare products to complete your routine and at the heart of each formulation is the "Cool Keeper Complex" composed of three anti-inflammatory and toxicity herbs used in traditional Korean medicine: Lonicerae flos, Scutellaria baicalensis (skullcap) and Forsythia fruit. All three of these herbs are believed to keep the skin cool and more healthy.
Each mask contains 25g of essence and is 0.21mm thick which is VERY thin so already you know these masks are going to adhere to the skin well! They are also made from a biodegradable lyocell material made from 100% plant derived ingredients. The sheet and essence are also certified vegan though this is not something I look for specifically in skincare.
Keep Cool and Soothe Mask
The Soothe Mask contains Hinoki cypress, Thuja orientalis, Pine tree and bamboo extract which all produce something called phytoncide which is like a "forest pheromone" that is produced by trees and plants to protect themselves from disease and insects and has been shown to increase immune system activity in humans for a few days. While I have only read of these pheromones on humans in the forest (Li et al, December 2020), I don't know whether the effect is the same once you aren't using actual living plants anymore. If it worked, I doubt the effects would be very strong, but that is the basis for what makes this mask suitable for sensitive skin.
Price: ~$7 CDN
Scent: None
Essence Type: Clear gel
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Thickness: Thin
Mask Fit: Pretty good, but the "moustache" piece could have been a bit wider
Tackiness: Light
Hydration: Not bad, just a little extra moisture needed around the eyes.
Other notes: This mask was nice, but other than basic moisture I didn't see a massive change in my skin from usual.
Keep Cool and Ocean Mask
The Ocean Mask contains hydrating ingredients like: seawater, spirulina, chlorella, glasswort that have all been derived from deep coastal waters. I was expecting this mask to be a lot more hydrating than the other two, but it was pretty much the same in terms of how my skin felt and looked afterwards.
Mask Summary:
Price: ~$7 CDN
Scent: None
Essence Type: Clear gel
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Thickness: Thin
Mask Fit: Pretty good, but the "moustache" piece could have been a bit wider
Tackiness: Light
Hydration: Not bad, but I was expecting it to be A LOT more hydrating than the other masks.
Other notes: N/A
Keep Cool and Shine Mask
Mask Summary:
Price: ~$7 CDN
Scent: None
Essence Type: Clear gel
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Thickness: Thin
Mask Fit: Pretty good, but the "moustache" piece could have been a bit wider
Tackiness: Light
Hydration: Not bad, just a little extra moisture needed around the eyes.
Other notes: The shine was very minimal with just a little noticeable on my cheeks and forehead, BUT it was the only mask out of the three where I noticed a bit of a before and after difference.
Final verdict: Though I didn't sound overly excited about these masks in my summaries, I did actually enjoy them! I really liked that they weren't too tacky as I generally like being able to feel like I can add moisturizer on top instead of feeling like the essence is taking care of the moisturizer step too. The overall fit was very good and I didn't realize how much I enjoyed NOT having a fragrance to my sheet masks! It actually felt like a bit of a relief! These masks are easy and whenever I try a new serum or moisturizer, but still want to sheet mask, I like one that isn't tacky at all so these Keep Cool ones are pretty perfect. The other masks I tend default to are from For Beloved One and MaskerAide so if I ever get to buy sheet masks again (I'm trying not to buy any until I make it through a few hundred more in my collection), I will be more than happy to add these to my list!
The Soothe Mask contains Hinoki cypress, Thuja orientalis, Pine tree and bamboo extract which all produce something called phytoncide which is like a "forest pheromone" that is produced by trees and plants to protect themselves from disease and insects and has been shown to increase immune system activity in humans for a few days. While I have only read of these pheromones on humans in the forest (Li et al, December 2020), I don't know whether the effect is the same once you aren't using actual living plants anymore. If it worked, I doubt the effects would be very strong, but that is the basis for what makes this mask suitable for sensitive skin.
I just did one mask selfie since they all looked identical, but you can see that the only thing I needed to do was fold up the nose piece to make it fit nicely.
Mask Summary:
Price: ~$7 CDN
Scent: None
Essence Type: Clear gel
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Thickness: Thin
Mask Fit: Pretty good, but the "moustache" piece could have been a bit wider
Tackiness: Light
Hydration: Not bad, just a little extra moisture needed around the eyes.
Other notes: This mask was nice, but other than basic moisture I didn't see a massive change in my skin from usual.
Keep Cool and Ocean Mask
The Ocean Mask contains hydrating ingredients like: seawater, spirulina, chlorella, glasswort that have all been derived from deep coastal waters. I was expecting this mask to be a lot more hydrating than the other two, but it was pretty much the same in terms of how my skin felt and looked afterwards.
Mask Summary:
Price: ~$7 CDN
Scent: None
Essence Type: Clear gel
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Thickness: Thin
Mask Fit: Pretty good, but the "moustache" piece could have been a bit wider
Tackiness: Light
Hydration: Not bad, but I was expecting it to be A LOT more hydrating than the other masks.
Other notes: N/A
The Shine Mask contains our brightening friend niacinamide as well as some interesting ingredients like jade, amethyst and pearl for some extra shine! Pearl powder I can see being brightening, but I am not sure about jade and amethyst...
Mask Summary:
Price: ~$7 CDN
Scent: None
Essence Type: Clear gel
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Thickness: Thin
Mask Fit: Pretty good, but the "moustache" piece could have been a bit wider
Tackiness: Light
Hydration: Not bad, just a little extra moisture needed around the eyes.
Other notes: The shine was very minimal with just a little noticeable on my cheeks and forehead, BUT it was the only mask out of the three where I noticed a bit of a before and after difference.
Final verdict: Though I didn't sound overly excited about these masks in my summaries, I did actually enjoy them! I really liked that they weren't too tacky as I generally like being able to feel like I can add moisturizer on top instead of feeling like the essence is taking care of the moisturizer step too. The overall fit was very good and I didn't realize how much I enjoyed NOT having a fragrance to my sheet masks! It actually felt like a bit of a relief! These masks are easy and whenever I try a new serum or moisturizer, but still want to sheet mask, I like one that isn't tacky at all so these Keep Cool ones are pretty perfect. The other masks I tend default to are from For Beloved One and MaskerAide so if I ever get to buy sheet masks again (I'm trying not to buy any until I make it through a few hundred more in my collection), I will be more than happy to add these to my list!
You can find the Keep Cool Sheet Masks at a variety of e-tailers. I got mine from Yesstyle.ca!
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