Hey Guys!✨

Today i'm going to be talking about one of my favourite wash off packs which is:

"Etude House Play Therapy Soft Clay Pack"

This is one of my favourite wash off packs as it's so so easy to apply (whether by hand or using a brush), dries super quick and washes off extremely easily without the need to rub!

This particular Etude House range have different "packs" for different skin concerns/needs, for me in particular I have issues with open pores and excess oil on my T-Zone so the Soft Clay Pack was the one I felt I needed!

You receive the Clay Pack in a 150ml tube like so (it'll be covered by clear cellophane wrapping) it's got quite cute simplistic packaging, and I do like the green theme! I assume the theme is green due to the Brazilian Forest Clay and Eucalyptus ingredients contained within.

The on back of the tube it displays a description of what the soft clay mask claims to do which is:

"This is a soft clay pack that reduces the size of pores and the amount of sebum with it's smooth texture, Brazilian Forest Clay and Eucalyptus ingredients.

What is Brazilian Forest Clay? This is a natural clay from the Brazilian Amazon Area, popularly used among amazon natives for it's abundant minerals and effectiveness"

Below that are directions of how to use the clay pack. It can either be used on the whole face (I usually go with the full face method) or can be used on specific areas such as T-zones, areas with large pores and excess sebum and even on areas with blackheads like your nose. It's recommended to be used 1 - 2 times a week! (I only use it about once a week now and then since I have more than one wash off mask)

The listed ingredients for this product are:

"Water, Kaolin, Titanium Dioxide (CI77891), Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric, Trigylceride, Trehalose, Silica, Bentonite, Cetearyl, Alcohol, Glycerin Stearate, Polysorbate 60, Stearic Acid, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Palmitic Acid, PVP, Sorbitan Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288)"

The product has a flip cap like so, making it easy to use and dispense. Keeping the area surrounding the nozzle clean was a bit hard, I like to keep my products clean and with this one I found myself having to wipe the area clean every time. However it's personal preference of course! The nozzle itself is quite small so as to allow you to control how much of the product will be dispensed (whether that be on the hands or your face).

The product comes out the tub very easily and has the same consistency as (if I had to compare off the top of my head) i'd say slightly thicker than whipped cream haha! The product itself is also a pale pastel green colour and has a very discreet smell, which kinda smells a bit..medicinal? I assume this is probably due to the Eucalyptus since it's a natural antiseptic with anti-flammatory and antiseptic benefits, however this slight smell is nothing too bothersome.

The product has a creamy smooth texture and easily spreads on the skin and a thick layer isn't required like some other masks. It also dries quite quickly and is easily removed with warm water. I really liked how easy it was to apply the mask and how "light" it actually felt on my skin. When i've used a charcoal face mask for example (my Royal Essentials one to be specific) my face does feel somewhat heavy, but with this mask I sometimes forgot that I had something on my face haha! I also appreciate that i'm able to remove this mask with minimal effort, since with a little warm water it quickly dissipates so I don't have to rub and continuously add water to remove it from my skin.

Once you've applied the product to your skin it'll look like so! As you can see it also dries in a pale pastel green colour too. Your face will feel quite stiff (naturally) as the mask dries and it will start to crack in places even with minimal facial movements. As mention before, it does dry quite quickly, so you don't need to worry about having to sit around waiting for it to dry! I also noticed that initially after I applied the mask I couldn't really smell the medicinal "fragrance" I had mentioned before.

After washing off the mask, my skin did feel somewhat squeaky clean and It felt refreshed. I did notice that some of my pores had shrunk in size slightly (of course it's not a permanent solution) and despite the particular ingredients used for fighting sebum and oil, my skin thankfully wasn't left dry or irritated but more so smooth and clean, which was a good thing to see. If you're wanting a mask that fights sebum and reduces the size of pores in particular, this may be of interest to you!

So moving on, lets look a the ingredients in depth shall we? I tend to look at the first couple of ingredients on the list to determine whether I should or shouldn't consider trying the product (for instance, if a product has "Alcohol" listed quite highly on it's list...I may reconsider)

But before we get on to that, we know that this products contains Brazilian Forest Clay and Eucalyptus.

But what are they?

Brazilian Forest Clay:

Brazilian Forest Clay is a natural clay that can be found the in Amazon rain forest, due to the vast amounts of diverse vegetation in the forest, any clay will be quite potent and can contain ingredients such as calcium, aluminum, magnesium, and silica. This particular clay is also quite popular with the amazon natives due to its effectiveness.

Eucalyptus:

Eucalyptus is mostly native in Australia and is used frequently in herbal medicines and toiletries. It is known for it's anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties and is used in skincare to treat conditions such as burns, wounds and eczema.

The top 3 ingredients listed for this product are (not including water):

Kaolin:
Kaolin is a very versatile material and can be found in a lot of clay masks due to it's ability to cleanse and exfoliate skin cells on the surface of the skin. It's absorbent properties make it popular to include in masks for those with oily skin, however used to much, it can be drying.

Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891):

Titanium Dioxide is used in a wide range of skin care products and is used as a whitening, thickening, lubricating, and sunscreen ingredient in cosmetic products. Mostly notably it protects skin form UVA and UVB radiation and can be used on sensitive skin.

Butylene Glycol:
Butylene Glycol is an ingredient commonly used in skincare products with many multiple function, including being a texture enhancer.

IMG Credit: Amazon.com

So based on my personal experience of using this product,
here's my thoughts and findings:

Pros:

Lightweight:
The consistency is lightweight, creamy and easy to spread on your bare skin. Unlike clay masks like my Royal Essentials Charcoal Face Mask, it doesn't feel heavy on and doesn't requite a lot of effort to spread across my face and dries very quickly, so it's pretty swift and painless.

Purposed Based:
There are different masks in this line, all which target particular skin conditions and concerns. The main purpose of this clay pack is to reduce the size of pores and control the amount of sebum the skin produces. The ingredients contained within such as Brazil Forest Clay and Eucalyptus emphasis the purpose of the clay mask, so it's clear whether or not this is a mask that would suit your needs.

Longevity:

I found that you weren't required to use a lot of this product to achieve results. Only a thin to thick layer of the product is needed and because you don't use much of it, you'll discover that the 150ml tube will last you a considerable amount of time! It also didn't cost me a great deal so the value for money is on thing to mention

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Cons:

Medicinal Smell:

I personally found very little to grumble about with this product, however one thing I need to mention is that due to the ingredients (referring to the Eucalyptus once again guys) there is a slight medicinal smell that accompanies this product. I find it to be very subtle to say the least, and I myself have grown so used to it I don't notice it at all. But, this is something to take into consideration if you're not fond of products having particular scents.

Not recommend for skin types other that listed:
As mentioned in the Pros, because this line includes a variety to choose from in terms of what your skin needs/type of skin. I would imagine that if you used this on say, Dry skin, it won't really do much good for you. Since Kaolin can be drying if used more than recommended, but using it on skin already dry may make it worse. So please choose carefully which product matches your skin type and needs my dears!

Overall, this is one of my favourite masks and I do enjoy using it and how it makes my skin feel smooth and squeaky clean. I find a lot of products from Etude House to be peasant to use, and this is another example of a great product from them. However, as much as I enjoy using it, once it's finished I will most likely move on to another mask with similar ingredients/claims. Since I would like to try and be adventurous with my skincare, as it's quite easy to keep using what you're comfortable with (there's nothing wrong with that of course, however there may be other products out there that may do what you require even better! and they deserve a chance haha!) I do recommend this product if you have Oily or Combination skin like myself with an Oily T-Zone, since this product will help control sebum and help cleanse pores!

❤

Where to Purchase:

Ecrater.co.uk

Can be purchased from Ecarter.co.uk for £12.90 ($18.36 Coverted)

Koreankosmetics.co.uk

Can be purchased from Ecarter.co.uk for £12.00 ($17.07 Coverted)

Thanks for reading this review, Hope you guys found it helpful!

Are you a fan of Etude House masks? lemme know in the comments below!

Reference(s):

paulaschoice.com, Lush.com, hylunia.com

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Hey Guys! ✨

Hope you're all well, today i'm going to be reviewing:

Secret Key - Pink Racoony Hydro Gel & Cheek Patch

I really enjoyed using the "Gold Racoony Hydro Gel Eye & Spot Patch" and since this was quite popular, I decided to take the plunge and try the Pink Racoony version.

Fortunately, I was able to pick this up in early January in TK. Maxx which saved me from having to order and/or import!

Unlike the Gold Racoony version, these are specifically designed to be used on the cheeks, however quite handily there is a tear line in the middle of the heart shaped gels, which can allow you to split the heart into "two" pieces. Which will then enable you to use it as an under eye patch (which is mostly my intended purpose for this product)

What are Hydro Patches?

Hydro Gel patches are basically sheet masks for under your eyes. They're designed to adhere to the areas under eyes and provide a continuous dose of ingredients to leave your under eye area hydrated and less puffy.

The product comes in a cute thin box, appropriately kitted out in a light pink colour theme (since the product itself is actually pink!) along with cute illustrations on the top and sides featuring roses and importantly, Secret Keys Racoon mascot on the top of the box!

On the right side of the box it gives a brief description of how the product claims to benefit you, which is:

"Including hydrating essence, Gold and Rosa Centifolia Flower Water. They come in a cooling formula that instantly refreshes your skin with much-needed moisture. Rosa Centifolia Flower Water and Gold also help skin to maintain hydration and elasticity - so you look refreshed for every activity ahead"

Below that are direction instructions (which are to apply them to the desired area and leave for 20-30 minutes) and the list of ingredients which are as follows:

"Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Carrageenan, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Potassium Chloride, Butylene Glycol, Glucose, Sodium Hyaluronate, Fragrance, Gold, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Synthetic Fluorphlogophite, Tin Oxide, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide, Carmie, CI 77491, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, PEG-60, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Rosa Centifolia Flower Water, Rose Extract, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Bambusa Textiles Stem Extract, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Camellia Sinesis Leaf Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Citrus Junos Fruit Extract"

When you take the product out the box you'll receive it like so! It comes in a round white tub with a screw cap and a sticker featurning the same illustrations found on the outside box on top of the lid.

Once you unscrew the cap you'll find it has a white protective lid keeping the product in place with a small protruding plastic piece for you to be able to grab and remove it, it also contains a clear plastic spatular which is nestled on top. This can be used to extract the hydro pieces from the tub, or can be used to get other moisturising cream products out of containers if you aren't a fan of using your fingers!

So the first thing I noticed when I first unscrewed the cap were that the hydro pieces themselves are actually heart shaped! There's a grand total of 60 pieces all together so it's excellent value as I picked these up at around £9.99 in TK. Maxx and have lasted me a while (I still have a lot left) since I initially purchased these around the start of January this year.

I originally bought these mostly intending to use them as under eye patches (since i'd run out of the Gold Racoony Hydro-Gel Eye & Spot patches which I had enjoyed using) so I was a bit confused as to how I would use them under my eyes. However, upon closure inspection there's a fine dotted line running down the middle of each individual patch which actually allows you to split the patch into two pieces to allow you to place them under your eyes!

The patches themselves are fairly thin and aren't soaked in serum, so do expect them to adhere to your face really well (unless you've used a product beforehand like a face oil for example, so expect them to slide down due to gravity). As I mentioned before, I initially bought these patches to replace my God Racoony ones and to use them under my eyes. I noticed that once splitting a heart into two pieces it gives you this slightly odd tear drop shape which I found didn't really cover the whole areas of the eye (both edges of my eye were left exposed).

So I wasn't really satisfied about that, on one hand it's good that these patches aren't soaked in serum like the "Danielle Creations" under eye masks which left them running down my face every second. However I didn't really feel like they were doing much of anything. My under eye areas didn't feel anymore or any less hydrated prior to using the patches, and besides putting them in the fridge so they would provide a cooling and soothing sensation, they didn't really do much of anything else.

The serum is basically the same as water and the patches do have a very slight perfumed smell, however It didn't last and was barely noticeable. But as I stated before, as they're not soaked in serum they won't slide down your face unless another product (like a moisturiser or facial oil) has been used prior to this. So there's no need to worry about it sliding down your face every second!

Every time I use these i've been splitting them in half and using them as eye patches, also keeping them in the fridge as of now so they give me a nice relaxing feeling. I usually leave these eye masks on for the maximum time stated on the packaging since they don't irritate my skin or give me any reason to remove them sooner. When removed from the fridge and used on my face, they provide a cooling, soothing sensation which helps ease my eyes when they're puffy (if you get puffy eyes now & then) and generally helps you to relax. However, when used at normal room temparature I didn't find them to make much of a difference in terms of hydrating my under eye area except a minimal amount.

Here are the first four ingredients listed below with a little information about them (not counting water):

Dipropylene Glycol:

Dipropylene Glycol is a colourless liquid often used in cosmetics and especially perfumes. Basically the more Dipropylene Glycol in a formula the stronger the smell of the product, it also works alongside other ingredients to help them bind together effectively. This product does have a very light discreet fragrance that isn't noticeable though.

Glycerin:

Also called Glycerol or Glycerine, Gylcerin is a skin replenishing and restoring ingredient, helping to restore normal skin balance and hydration. It's also one of the many substances that helps the skin maintain a healthy look and feel, working to maintain the skins natural moisture level and defending against skin dryness.

Carrageenan:

Carrageenan belong to the category of plant extracts and texture enhancers. It's a Seaweed gum that is used in cosmetics as a thickening agent with water-binding properties.

Ceratonia Siliqua Gum:

Ceratonia siliqua gum has a superb emollient effect and helps with emulsion stabilizing and also for controlling the viscosity of the formula.

Img Credit: aliexpress.com

Based on my experience using this product, please find below a list of my pros and cons!

Pros:

Value for Money:

With this product you get a total of 60 pieces, and if you use them mostly for your eyes you'll notice that they will last you a decent amount of time! Of course it also depends how frequently you use them (if you use them everyday for example, of course expect them to deplete quicker). However if it's once - twice a week (usually what I do) they will last you a long time.

Versatile:

This product can be used on both your cheeks and your eyes, giving you a choice in which to use this product to its full potential. The whole heart can be used on large areas like cheeks, and can also be split in half and used under your eyes or in more awkward areas. I tend to like products that have more than one use, and this one is one of them! so there's no need to buy separate cheek and eye patches as these are a two in one!

Can be Recycled:

I recently found out that if you save your used patches in a clean container, if you add boiling water and let them dissolve they intern turn into a liquid which can then be used as an essence for your skin! This is actually on the Secret Key website too! So if you've any empty serum bottles with pipettes, keep them and fill them with these dissolved patches!

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Cons:

Shape:

When split in half and used as under eye patches, the shape isn't really suitable, as sadly it doesn't conform to the shape of your eye as much as the Gold Racoony version. So I felt as if only some parts of my eye were being tended too.

A Bit Drying?:

As they aren't so much so soaked in serum, I feel they're a bit drying? I don’t really feel that my under eyes are as hydrated compared to the Gold Racoony ones I’ve used before.

Overall, they were fun to try out and use, I do like the shape, girly colour and how versatile they are. They'd probably be useful if you have dry skin on your cheeks? but being used as eye patches I probably wouldn't recommend in all honesty. If you were considering buying these and using them solely for the purpose of using under your eyes, I would recommend you try the Gold Racoony version. However, if you were looking at using these just for your cheeks as an extra boost, these maybe for you!

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Where to Purchase:

YesStyle.com

Can be purchased here for (currently) £11.21 ($15.51 approx converted)

Secretkeyen.com

Can be purchased here for (currently) $24 (£17.35 approx converted)

Beautynetkorea.com

Can be purchased here for (currently) $7.62 (£5.51 approx converted)

StyleKorean.com

Can be purchased here for (currently) $21.50 (£15.54 approx converted)