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asian cosmetics beauty Chiara Ambra PR Sample review

Review: Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Face & Eye Mask

20. November 2017

//PR SAMPLE / BEAUTY / SKINCARE //

Lace always give me that feeling of luxury and mystery! I love lace on clothes, since it makes them look more feminine and noble. But lace is not only limited to clothes and cloth in general, but we can also enjoy its beauty in our skincare. One example are the Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Face & Eye Masks, which were provided to me for reviewing purpose by Chiara Ambra.

Chiara Ambra is a German skincare company, that is influenced by the new skincare trends. They have a nice range of sheet masks by now, like animal print sheet masks, bubble masks, cotton sheet masks and masks for lips, hand and feet. They also offer other skincare products for your face and body though. I want to show you their Hydrogel Firming Face and Eye Mask here:

Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Face Mask

This Hydrogel firming sheet mask containing green tea and hyaluronic acid is providing intensive moisture to the skin and thereby improves the skin’s elasticity. The mask is divided into two parts, one for the upper and one for the lower part of the face. Both hydrogel sheets are folded in a clear plastic separating foil and additionally have a black plastic foil folded separately.

The sheet mask comes in a sachet with descriptions in English, German, and French on the backside. Other important ingredients to mention, apart from hyaluronic acid and green tea, are red algae, soy bean, urea and allantonin. The ingredient list is also stated on the sachet:

Hydrogel Lace: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Sucrose,Chondrus Crispus Powder, Cellulose Gum, 1, 2-Hexanediol, Agar, Xanthan Gum, Allantoin,Disodium Edta, Mica, Triethoxycaprylylsilane,Sodium Hydroxide, Hydroxyacetophenone,C12-13 Pareth-9, Parfum, Ci 77891, Ci 77491.

Serum: Water, Butylene Glycol,Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycereth-26,Peg/ppg-17/6 Copolymer, Trehalose, 1, 2-Hexanediol, Saccharide Isomerate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Propylene Glycol,Sodium Lactate, Glycolic Acid, Sucrose, Urea,Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Malic Acid,Tartaric Acid, Gold, Glycine Soja Seed Extract,Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyacrylic Acid, Acrylates/c10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hydroxide, Allantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose,Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyacetophenone, C12-13 Pareth-9, Parfum, Linalool.

You can also check for the ingredients on Skincarisma. There are some irritants regarding sensitive skintypes it seems, like citric acid, tataric acid, glycolic acid, and it also contains fragrance. I personally didn’t experience any irritations, but my skin is mostly dry and not too sensitive either. It was very happy about the many moisturizing ingredients instead.

When you remove the plastic layers you will be left with the hydrogel sheet with a beautiful lace pattern imbedded into it. Also there are golden shimmer particles inside the hydrogel.It really looks beautiful and luxurious.

Since it is made from two parts it also fits very nicely, and surprisingly it also has a very good adherence. Usually, I have problems with hydrogel sheet masks sliding of my face, but this one stayed perfectly fine during the 15 minutes I used it.

I rarely post a full-face sheet mask picture on my blog, but the lace pattern is so beautiful I had to share it.

The mask really makes the skin feel hydrated and cared for after the time I used it. Instead of removing the serum with a tissue as recommended I left it on my skin to absorb. I also used the left-over essence in the sachet on my neck and arms. I was very happy with the mask and its moisturizing properties. However, the essence does leave a tackiness on the skin. It is not a very unpleasant stickiness though, but it also doesn’t absorb trackless.

Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Eye Mask

This Hydrogel Firming Eye Mask can be seen as the little sister of the face mask. These pads are designed for the under-eye area and will help to make your eyes look less tired and cool them down.

The ingredients of the Hydrogel Firming Eye Mask are pretty much the same as for the face mask. Instead of green tea it contains grape seed extract though. It still also contains hyaluronic acid, red algae, soy bean, urea and allantonin. The ingredient list is also stated on the sachet:

Serum: Water, Butylene Glycol,Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycereth-26,Peg/ppg-17/6 Copolymer, Trehalose, 1, 2-Hexanediol, Saccharide Isomerate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract, Propylene Glycol,Sodium Lactate, Glycolic Acid, Sucrose, Urea,Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Malic Acid,Tartaric Acid, Gold, Glycine Soja Seed Extract,Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyacrylic Acid, Acrylates/c10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hydroxide, Allantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose,Disodium Edta, Ethylhexylglycerin,Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyacetophenone, C12-13 Pareth-9, Parfum.

As for the face mask also here there are some ingredients that people with sensitive skin should be aware of, namely citric acid, tataric acid, glycolic acid and fragrance. Check out the full ingredients on Skincarisma.

The Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Eye Mask is a white laced hydrogel pad, in contrast to the black laced face mask. Also here the lace pattern is really nicely made and embedded inside the hydrogel. You will also discover sparkles of shimmer gold particles inside.

Also here, the hydrogel really clings nicely to the skin and doesn’t slide around or fall off. I really loved that fact!

It delivers a refreshing and cooling sensation on the skin under your eyes and makes you look more awake after application. The skin also feels moisturized due to all the ingredients inside the serum.

All in all, I’m happy about these hydrogel sheet masks from Chiara Ambra. It was the first time for me to use laced sheet masks and I really like the appearance of these. also, I really was happy that these hydrogels didn’t slip off my face, because usually, that’s my downside about hydrogel masks. Instead they fit very nicely and stayed in place. My only downside would be the irritants for senstive skintypes. I can understand why glycolic acid was included, especially with regard to its smoothing properties, but I could think of natural fragrance instead of perfume.

Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Face Mask retails for 9.95€

Chiara Ambra Hydrogel Firming Eye Mask retails for 7.95€

Have you tried laced hydrogel sheet masks before? What is your opinion?

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by https://www.chiara-ambra.de which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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beauty Garnier review

Review: Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask

8. July 2016

The western beauty industry reacts to the increasing interest in asian cosmetic brands by adapting some of their products, like recently the cushion foundations or sheet masks. Many lovers of asian cosmetics already enjoy and know about sheet masking and we know that this is a fix part in the asian skincare routine. It is often the case that sheetmasks are used 2-3 times a week, if not even daily! Garnier also launched a sheet mask now as part of its Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb line and I was lucky to be selected as a tester for their Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask.

Before I was deeply into asian cosmetics I used quite some products from the brand Garnier and I guess almost everyone has heard from this western brand some time in our lives. I still have some products I’m using currently, but most of them are body or hair care. The Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask is my first Garnier skincare product since almost 2 years, so I was especially excited to try it. Of course, also because I love using sheet masks and I was curious how a western sheet mask would compare to the ones I’m using usually.

First of all, the Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask is introduced as a deeply moisturizing and refreshing mask containing pomegranates and hyaluronic acid. It claims to be as effective as one week of skincare and make the skin feel supple, refreshed, brightened and hydrated afterwards. It also claims to smoothen the skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines. One sheetmask consisting of one week’s skincare?! I doubt it contains my skincare of one week actually, taking in consideration how many steps my skincare routine has…but okay, for someone using only a moisturizer and a cleanser this might be indeed a one week skincare boost. The description even states that the Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Masks are inspired by Asia, and like the sheetmask comes packed in a sachet, containing one single sheetmask.

Ingredients

It also has a thorough description on the backside alongside with some illustrations on how to use the mask. The ingredients are also listed there and I included them to COSDNA so you can check them out. First I was happy, when I read about the hyaluronic acid…and also promenade sounds nice, too. A closer look in the ingredients list reveals some bummers though: apart from alcohol, which I personally do not find necessarily negative, I can spot some parabens in the list, one being Propylparaben, which is labelled red in COSDNA. Parabens are not necessarily negative either, but they are highly controversial. Still, they are one of the best preservatives for cosmetics. Apart from those I happily spotted witch hazel in the list, too.

Like any other sheet mask you will have to unfold the soaked cotton sheet after you take it out of the sachet. You will find a double layer: the cotton sheet and a blue plastic sheet. Remove the blue plastic sheet and put the cotton side on your face. It even has slits for your ears, so it won’t fall off your skin. I was surprised how well the Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask fits on my skin. It sits tightly and doesn’t slide around, which is because of those ear slits. My nose is still a bit too large for a perfect fit, but that is only a minor issue. The cotton sheet is rather thick and soaked fully and heavily, but doesn’t drip. I found the mask has enough essence to keep it on your face for even longer than the recommended 15 minutes. It is moisturizing and hydrating and refreshing upon application. And like all sheet masks it must be really cooling when you put it into the fridge before you use it. My skin didn’t react negatively to the essence and I was really happy while using the mask. After removing the sheet mask I waited for the essence to absorb and the wanted to continue with my skincare routine and makeup. I discovered at that step that the essence does not completely absorb into the skin. It creates kind of a film, which peels off when using products on top. Not a nice effect! I was a bit disappointed after the peeling effect and I never had this issues with the sheet masks I tried during day time…mayve I was lucky?!

I’m happy about seeing western brands adapting the asian skincare culture and this is why I’m happy about the Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask. It has some aspects that I like and some that I don’t: I love the thick cotton sheet and the tight and nice fit of the sheet mask, and I also love that it was soaked perfectly with the essence. I was also happy about the key ingredients of the mask, especially that it contained witch hazel. I was disappointed about the peeling effect the mask had afterwards and therefore I cannot recommend you to use the mask in the mornings. For the nighttime routine it should be fine. I also do think, that the mask gives a boost in hydration and suppleness of the skin, but it is not true that it has the same effect as one week’s skincare. Also, it would be nice if they changed some of the ingredients, which were orange or red labelled according to COSDNA. On the Garnier homepage I spotted that there will be two more versions of this sheet mask, one for dry and sensitive skin and one for normal and combination skin. The Garnier Skin Active Hydra Bomb Sheet Mask I showed here is suited for all skintypes. I do not know yet for how much it will retail, but I guess it won’t be sold in packs. Btw: the mask is made in China XD

What do you think of this western attemp to asian sheet masking?

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And don’t forget to take part in my Instagram Giveaway! You can win some sheetmasks there, too! :)

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me as gift and reviewing purpose by Garnier, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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