Review: Kose Medicated Sekkisei Essence Mask

I’ve been a long time fan of the Kose Medicated Sekkisei Lotion; it is a very mild but moisturizing and brightening toner/lotion. For my description of toners/lotions, please see this previous post.

Today, I tried the Kose Medicated Sekkisei Essence Mask. I’ve heard many good things about it as one of my friends swears by this mask and refuses to use anything else. It is quite pricey at about $60 for 5 pieces (approx $12 per piece).

(Crazy scary mask pic)

The mask itself is a very thick, heavy, quilted mask. I’m sure it can hold a ton of essence, but it was pretty heavy and felt like it was going to fall off anytime.

After applying this mask for about 15-20 minutes, I didn’t really notice anything spectacular. I felt that the same thing could have been achieved with a My Beauty Diary mask or the O’slee Rosehip Whitening Mask; the latter two could even do a better job at moisturizing and brightening, both of which are much cheaper in price per use and overall.

(After pic)

Another thing I don’t like… it smells really funky. Not bad funky, just somewhat like chemical products. Its not something I like to put on my face for long periods of time.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this product, mainly because it doesn’t really live up to my expectations, and because I think the Lotion is a much better investment. You can soak a few cotton pads in the lotion and use it as a mask, the results would be a lot better (and you can get a few more uses out of it) than buying the boxed sheet mask.

My rating? (I had set to give it 2 hearts because it doesn’t live up to what it says and because it smells kind of weird. But because it basically fed this pimple I had brewing on my forehead and turned it into a super-pimple overnight, I deducted another heart): ❤

Byebye Summer, and welcome to the Season for Snow White

Summer of 2009 is officially over (or has been over for a couple of weeks now). For your skin, this means its time to hydrate and protect itself from the bitter weather, and to repair itself from sun damage and excess buildup of melanoma (pigments in the skin). This winter, I will be doing a series of entries that focus on taking better care of your skin and preventing future damage. I call this:

“Snow White” has two meanings for me personally, one is that it is very cold outside but sometimes it can get quite warm inside, which means you need to adapt your skin to being able to withstand those extreme temperatures. The other is that with the abundance of sunlight in the summer, your skin will likely become tanned, which is why in the winter, for me at least, you need to 1) repair any sun damage, and 2) go back to having milky white skin.

Skin whitening, or skin brightening is a huge part of my skincare regime. There is a lot of controversy surrounding skin brightening in general, which I am not going to talk too much about. The main reason skin whitening is so important to me is that I want to have smooth, even, milky skin that has bits of pink especially in the cheek area. A good example of this kind of skin is Cyndi Wang, who is a Taiwanese singer and actress. This is my ultimate goal. With skin like this, who needs makeup?

However, which skin whitening, the main issue is hydration and moisture. Skin whitening is basically using chemicals such as glycolic acid, or other whitening ingredients such as Arbutin, to slowly peel off the upper layers of the skin. It is like constant exfoliation but just works faster and is a little bit stronger (although there is less iritation depending on what you use). Because there is that constant peeling of the upper skin layer, your skin will easily become sensitive and dehydrated, especially in the winter months. Therefore there is a need to regularly use products such as hydrating serums or moisturizing creams.

Currently, I am not going to lie, I have crappy skin. The reason is that I am in school, which means I sleep at 4-5 AM every day and wake up around 11. Also, once every two weeks or so, I don’t sleep at all for an entire night. And then I eat on average one meal, max 2 meals a day. So… you can see why my skin is crappy.

But you should not follow my example! In the summer (April – August) when I have a pretty set work schedule (8:30-4:30), I go to bed relatively early and wake up early, I eat 3 meals a day and I get my full 8 hours of sleep (normally). In the summer, that is when I repair my skin of all of the school damage such as acne, acne scars, fine lines, discolouration, etc. But now that I am in school, I can focus only on preventing those things from sprouting, which currently is quite effective.

My current night-time skincare regime:

1. Wash off day-cream with Shu Uemura oil cleanser
2. Cleanse with Clinique Liquid Facial Soap every other day, and MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator on the days I don’t use Clinique
3. Use MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask once every 3-4 days which I am in the shower
4. Tone with Kose Meddicated Sekkisei or Biotherm Biosource Clarifying Lotion
5. Depending on how my skin feels that day, I use Biotherm Aquasource Superserum (if I need more hydration), Diorsnow White Reveal Essence (skin feels normal), Dior Capture Totale Night Time Soft Peal (skin feels normal). I usually rotate between the three in a white, Dior Capture Totale is used 1-2 a week, Biotherm Aquasource is used 1-2 times a week (at night) and Diorsnow is used the rest of the time
6. Hydrate my skin with H2O+ Face Oasis
7. Apply lip balm, usually Vichy Nutrilogie Lips or Burt’s Bees

My currently day-time regime is really simple:

1. Wash face with water; yes just water. When you sleep your body goes through damage control and your skin will secrete its own protective oils. This is quite precious and good for repairing your skin, so I don’t want to strip it off using a harsh cleanser.
2. Depending on the weather outside, I may or may not use Biotherm Aquasource Superserum. I don’t want to overhydrate my skin because that will cause congestion and breakouts as well.
3. Moisturize with Biotherm Age Fitness Lotion SPF 15. This is the preventative day care part, not only does it have sunscreen in it, it prevents and repairs the first signs of aging, including big pores!

This regime has done a good job at preventing more damage, but at the same time I have really noticed that my skin a lot brighter and smoother, probably due to the Diorsnow White Reveal Essence. Funny thing is that my face is actually brighter than the rest of my body, which is why lately I have been vigorously exfoliating and applying brightening body lotion.

Overall, you should be really paying close attention to your skin. This is why I have so many depending ons in the lists above because I apply products to suit my skin’s needs. You should also not follow my bad example; get a proper night’s sleep, drink lots of fluids, and eat all of your meals, and if possible, exercise regularly. A normal lifestyle will help you trememdously with the skin that you so desperately want.

I will be doing a reviews of the products mentioned above in the upcoming weeks.

Question of the Day: Do you use toner?

Many people overlook toner in their everyday skincare regime, however not many people know that toner is actually one of the most important steps that should never be skipped.

What is toner?

My definition of toner is a liquid substance that cleans your skin and prepares it for moisture or treatment. Toner is called “lotion” in Asian countries such as Taiwan and Japan as toners there usually have more purpose than just cleaning your skin. Other functions of toner can include,

• exfoliating your skin;
• getting rid of the last of the makeup or gunk on your skin;
• clearing the surface of your skin from whatever was washed out from your pores;
• moisturizing your skin;
• and more.

Therefore toner is a crucial step of your skincare regime that you should always complete.

The correct way to apply toner is with a cotton pad. I’ve had friends in the past who never used cotton pads because they said it was a waste of the product as the cotton absorbs all of it and you need to pour out a lot of liquid in order for it to be effective. This is actually not true because the cotton pad is actually the instrument that is used to do that little bit of last minute cleaning. Without the cotton pad, toner will not do its job properly.

If you use the Asian “lotion” instead of toner (not the Western type of lotion), you can soak cotton pads in the liquid and apply it like a mask. However this should not be done with lotions that contain lots of alcohol.

My favourite “Western” toner is Lancome Tonique Radiance. It is quite high in alcohol content so it is not suitable for people with sensitive skin; I only use this in the summertime when it is hot and stuffy. When you use this toner, you can actually see the dirt and grime being wiped off your face even after multiple cleanings with a face cleanser or makeup remover.

My favourite Asian lotion is Kose Medicated Sekkisei. This lotion’s main function is not to cleanse, but to treat. This is a brightening lotion, that supposedly helps reduce melanoma (dark spots) on the skin. I have not noticed much change in my dark spots, as opposed to my Diorsnow White Reveal Essence, however I find that this lotion has just the right amount of moisture for my skin without making it too oily or too dry. This also has some alcohol in it, but it can be used as a mask as the percentage is not that high.

A lot of people say that you shouldn’t have alcohol in any of your skincare products, but personally I feel that a little bit of alcohol can actually do you some good as it helps with deep cleaning your skin and making it feel clean and refreshed. Just remember to exercise discretion when determining the correct method of applying the products.

Do you use toner?