March 2, 2010

Beauty Abroad: Garnier Self-Heating Sauna Mask Review

Absolutely lovin’ the fact that Garner makes mask treatments in Asia! Dude, WTH? Why do we never get the cool stuff?

Recently, the Muse came across Garner Self-Heating Sauna Masks at a local Asian beauty shop so I hauled five packs, shrug they sounded good and the price was right at $3.00 for two.

What did I think?

Jump for it!

They stink!

Aw, I so wanted to love them but I’m not really all that impressed.

These come in a dual pack so you basically rip one package apart and you end up with two masks, kinda nice right?

Garnier Pure Self-Heating Sauna Mask formula is supposed to be like Biore’s Self Heating mask but it fails miserably. It’s a bright blue mask you massage on, particularly paying attention to your t-zone. As you massage, yes you guessed it, it will heat up…but nope, no go. Heating action is very minimal, can barely feel it. I thought nothing of this as I assumed I’d go about rinsing off the mask and proceed to feel the “burn” during my rinse. Nope, no heat, no burn. The idea is to leave the mask on for 3 or so minutes and the self heating action will open up your pores and deep clean your face…oooo…ahhhh! No sense denying my face felt pretty darn clean after use however a tad on the dry side but that’s not a surprise as it’s probably best suited when my skin is oily in the Summer rather than dry in the Winter.

The packaging is a real problem for me. I generally like the idea of ripping apart and getting two masks for the price of one however it proves difficult and messy to get the mask out as it’s a foil rip open package and you’re left to digging the mask out with your fingers or trying to squeeze it all out, bit messy and not nice.

It’s marked up for oily, acne, or combination skin types but I’d avoid it if you’re anything else but oily as it will make you feel a tad tight after use.

Overall, the idea is nice but it’s not really worth tracking down when you can get better results with Biore Self Heating Mask.

Meh, not so fab.

If you want to try ’em I suggest heading to an Asian market or beauty store in your area however I did Google around and Sasa has them but they are showing as out of stock plus they are marked as $2.10 and I paid $3 for one pack that held two masks, so online the price is cheaper.

Disclosure: The following item was purchased by me for review purposes (and because I like flinging my money at makeup products of any kind) on Musings of a Muse. For further information please see my FTC Guidelines or my Disclosure/Disclaimer posts.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • yuki

    Ive used this mask a few times!! It worked one me though… I felt the heat! I didn’t really want it to be very hot as in Malaysia, it’s hot enough without the self heating mask =) hehe…

    My face did feel fresh and clean after using it but one thing that really annoyed me was the SMELL!! It’s toooooo much! couldn’t take it… had to breathe through my mouth the entire time… Have u tried Montagne Jeunesse’s Vanilla fudge heating mask? It’s even hotter but then the formula is too watery… keeps on dripping… horrible experience with it… every 30 seconds, have to wipe it off…

    wonder whether the biore one is available here? hehe…

    • the Muse

      yuki you’re lucky, maybe i’m doing something wrong? I felt mild warming but nothing as great as the Biore one gives. LOL hells yes very true. I didn’t notice the smell…how odd…but than again I’m truly not so sensitive to smell in product 🙂 Noooo but I have some of the MJ line to test out 😀 but damn no likey drippy masks 😛

      I think so, as Kao has alot of the Biore in available just different packaging and in some cases better hmmm must do my research 🙂

  • 53

    Omg you didn’t have these? We got these for a couple of years! This stuff is the best! There are 2 others which is the lemon whitening peel off mask and the firming leave in mask. I buy it in bulk when there’s a sale!

    • the Muse

      nope 53 sadly not! 😀 funny you mentioned the whitening one as I got that too and love it!

  • Fabiola

    Funnily, I was just going to suggest the Montagne Jeunesse mask. It’s a pity though that the heating doesn’t last that long. It feels nice and warm as you’re applying it, but then…nothing! I’d really like a mask that would leave my face feeling warm for a good solid 10-15 mins. or so. I’ve given up on masks that come in sachets anyhow. Have you perhaps tried Freeman’s range of masks? I quite like their cucumber peel-off mask. Pulling the stuff off your face is quite fun, haha (I have the feeling I come across as a complete nutjob, what with talking to brands and an appreciation for pulling things off my face :-D).

    • the Muse

      fabiola that drives me crazy I really wish heating masks would last a tad longer. I used to use freeman ages ago but haven’t really tried a while. I should haul some and do some reviews actually, good idea you gave me! NO NO me too totally love peeling stuff!!!!!!! It’s a fetish! 😀

  • Allegra

    It happens all the time in Europe regarding the US market: MAC collections are launched about 1 or 2 months after they do in USA and there are a lot of products that we don’t get here.

    • the Muse

      allegra not sure which post you are commenting on hun….this is on a beauty mask…did you want to comment on a mac post? 🙂