Crazy Snail Lady editorial note: Redditor /u/GiveMeABreak25 is back with an unboxing and review of the 2015 My Beauty Diary Black Pearl masks!

I have struggled with how to tell you all this since my last time reporting to you with the help of the Crazy Snail Lady. This is not so much a good news/bad news situation as it is good news…and better news. So like a band-aid, let’s just rip this off.

My Beauty Diary is not making hydrogels. Yet, that is.  I hope you are not too disappointed, because if you are, I am to blame. I am innocent! I got excited! I don’t speak Taiwanese! There were pictures of water droplets and side by side comparisons that showed the old sheet makes and……..new masks! With more water! The ultimate squirt, guys.

So let’s start off with how I acquired them. I have gotten to know many lovely people in the Asian Beauty subreddit, Crazy Snail Lady included. I was lamenting about not wanting to wait who-knows-how-long before a website or seller I was familiar with would have these new masks for sale. I got a message from a fellow user who gave me the contact information of a Taiwanese buyer. I was skeptical. The buyer used a Hotmail account, after all.

We did some introductions, and I sent her a link to the product I wanted and asked her about pricing. Within a day, she emailed me back with the price, minus shipping, and I couldn’t get my PayPal account open fast enough. Just like that. I had no idea who this person was or any way to know that she wouldn’t just take my $24 and run, but I considered it an acceptable risk. For science.

Two more days passed. She had the masks and informed me of shipping costs. Being that I was still anxious to get my grabby hands on these masks, I ponied up the EMS rate. I sheepishly told myself, “You only live once!” I am sure that phrase was never meant to be applied to skin care products. Unless, of course, you are an addict.  Guilty.

In 13 days, I had my masks. It was a very good day indeed.

So, let’s get down to the unboxing so we can take this journey of translation loss together.

It was the end of my work day and I needed a shower. I work from home, okay? Please don’t judge me. It was still kind of early to start my routine, but I knew the time of day wouldn’t matter much. I showered, put on my C serum and got dressed. I was starving as I somehow missed lunch, so I ran to get some chicken. There were two things on my mind: a fried chicken breast and,trying out these masks. By the time I got home, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and tore into them. (The masks, not the chicken breasts.)

The box is extra sparkly!

On the left is the old sheet mask. The right is the new. Also (important to note before you get yours and freak out), the notches for opening are at the bottom instead of the top of the envelope. Or at least on the ones I got. If you are not familiar with My Beauty Diary, they manufacture for  many different markets, and the packaging varies. Although some counterfeits do circulate, it’s important to know that if yours looks different from what you’ve seen online or gotten before, you may not have a fake so much as a package for a different market. It would be great if they just stuck with one design for all markets to limit confusion.

Ok so, here is where things made a sudden change.

First observation: this is not a hydrogel mask. What?! What did I do all this international espionage for? But this is different than the My Beauty Diary Black Pearl sheet masks you’re used to.

The eye, nose and mouth holes are not the traditional ones I am used to with MBD, so that was a curiosity. Hopefully improved, although I was a tad worried, as their masks usually fit me pretty well. I hoped I wasn’t going to lose that. Now, to the moment of clarity…

This is not hydrogel. It is something, but not a traditional hydrogel mask as I have known them.

According to the little bit of English on the package, this is a trademarked material called Cosphingo^tm  X Aquaroute^tm. This is a hybrid, folks. They are much thinner than the traditional sheet mask, yet not as thin or the same composition as their My Beauty Diary Platinum Series masks, which are also not the regular sheet masks. This is something else entirely.

The mask is also dripping with essence. This point cannot be understated. I was wearing a V-neck, and I was literally spending the first 15 minutes of wearing the mask rubbing the essence down my neck and all over my chest, which to me is a super bonus. The fit was also different. Now we get to the part where I embarrass myself with a sheet mask selfie.

I tried to get as much natural light as I could. But I feel like this was trying to make my skin underneath look worse than it is for the viewer. (Crazy Snail Lady note: I don’t see anything bad.) Or, I am just a little neurotic. (Crazy Snail Lady note: Yes.) Anyway, I DO have lip tint on. I mean, my hair is frizzy from the rain and isn’t even all the way dry, isn’t that bad enough? (Crazy Snail Lady note: Shh bby. You look beautiful. No tears. Only mask.)

The fit was good. The extra crazy amount of essence and the new thinness were all great and made for a great cling. You will NOT need your silicone mask to keep these on.  All the face holes were good. The biggest change was in the chin area. It basically ended right at the bottom of my chin. Usually the old sheet masks on me would go about another 1-2 inches, wrapping below my chin.  Did I mention you will drip in essence?

As for the essence itself, it seems to be basically the same as the old Black Pearl mask. The fragrance may be a tad stronger, but not a lot. The ingredients could have changed, but if they have, I could not find that information anywhere. Not surprising, as it was hard enough to find these masks in the first place. I look forward to them being widely available.

As for the effects, I would say they were a bit better than usual at the temporary brightening/whitening. But the absolute best part is, I was able to wear one for an hour and fifteen minutes without it drying up on me. AN HOUR without the aid of a silicone mask or it falling off from the essence drying up. Granted, it had rained quite a bit and so the weather was humid, but still. When I took it off, it was not because it felt dry, but because I couldn’t wait any longer to eat my fried chicken.

Oddly, it did not feel dry, but when I peeled it off, this is what it looked like.

As you can see, this is not hydrogel at all. It feels like a sheet fiber, injected with hydrogel. Like the cotton fiber helps hold the hydrogel part on your face and together until it dries up.

If you cannot wait for your usual seller and do not want to seek out a private buyer, one of our lovely friends over in the Asian Beauty subreddit found they are now for sale on the BGO site if you would like to try your hand at that. Personally, I got a stomachache from trying to figure the site out. Others did not find it that difficult, I should add. They are also available on eBay; sort by “new” and look for the word “NEW” in the upper left hand corner of the box itself.

As for me, I will be hoping another more user friendly (for me!) site carries them before I run out of these two boxes.

Happy masking!