Do you ever buy something without really researching it first just because the packaging grabs your eye? That's what happened to me with the Ariul Mood Maker "Nobody Knows Why" Mask Pack Set—I saw bright colors and crazy drawings and simply had to have it. Luckily these masks do also have some skincare benefits, so now that I've used them up, I thought I'd share my thoughts!
Product information:
Ariul (아리얼) is a Korean brand with a focus on "natural relief from urban life." I can certainly relate to that concept, though if we're being 100% honest, I bought these simply because the packaging caught my eye. I mean look at those illustrations—could you resist? Anyway, there are three masks in the Mood Maker set: Nobody Knows Why I'm So Cute, Nobody Knows Why I'm So Chic, and Nobody Knows Why I'm So Sexy. The three masks address slightly different skin concerns, but all of them are made with tencel (cellulose) fiber. These aren't my favorite types of masks because I find the fiber to be a bit on the thick side, but supposedly it increases absorption? Shrug.
Pricing/availability:
If you're in Korea, all of these masks can be purchased from the Ariul website, where they are regularly priced at 4,000원 apiece (USD ~$3.66). I'm not sure if/where you can get them in physical retail locations. Folks in the United States can purchase a set of all three for $7.99 on Amazon, and there also seem to be some sets listed on eBay for $7.99 plus shipping.
I'll start by giving a brief overview of what's in each of the masks, then get into what I thought about them!
ARIUL NOBODY KNOWS WHY I'M SO CUTE MASK
There's a lot going on in this illustration. The fact that the star of this drawing is wearing bunny ears and a hairpiece that spells out the word "untouchable" is crazy enough as it is, but then we also have some bearded men in animal suits, random droplets of water, birds, and what looks like an off-brand Teletubby. In any case, the purpose of this mask is hydration and brightening care.
A look at the back of the packet:
Key ingredients:
- Vitamins C, E, B3, B5, and B6
- Hyaluronic Acid
Full ingredients (source):
정제수, 글리세린, 부틸렌글라이콜, 카프릴릭/카프릭트리글리세라이드, 세틸에칠헥사노에이트, 자몽추출물, 폴리소르베이트60, 소르비탄세스퀴올리에이트, 디메치콘, 카보머, 디메치콘/비닐디메치콘크로스폴리머, 포타슘하이드록사이드, 트레할로스,소듐하이알루로네이트, 소듐피씨에이, 나이아신아마이드, 칼슘판토테네이트, 소듐스타치옥테닐석시네이트, 말토덱스트린, 소듐아스코빌포스페이트, 토코페릴아세테이트, 피리독신에이치씨엘, 실리카, 디소듐이디티에이, 페녹시에탄올, 향료
Water (Aqua), glycerin, butylene glycol, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cetyl ethylhexanoate, citrus paradisi (grapefruit) fruit extract, polysorbate 60, sorbitan sesquioleate, dimethicone, carbomer, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, potassium hydroxide, trehalose, sodium hyaluronic, sodium PCA, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, sodium starch octenylsuccinate, maltodextrin, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, tocopheryl acetate, pyridoxine HCL, silica, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance
ARIUL NOBODY KNOWS WHY I'M SO CHIC MASK
This illustration is even crazier. It's hard for me to read all of the text, but does her hair say "None can't satisfy me"? There's also a gun and a giddy horse and so much more. I dare you stare and stare at it until you soak it all in. Oh, but the purpose of this mask? To provide moisture (gotta love moisture) and nourish the skin.
Key ingredients:
- Ceramides
- Peptides
Full ingredients (source):
정제수, 부틸렌글라이콜, 글리세린, 디메치콘, 사이클로펜타실록산, 자몽추출물, 폴리글리세릴-3메칠글루코오스디스테아레이트, 사이클로헥사실록산, 글리세릴스테아레이트, 피이지-100스테아레이트, 하이드로제네이티드식물성오일, 아크릴레이트/C10-30알킬아크릴레이트크로스폴리머, 포타슘하이드록사이드, 옥틸도데칸올, 하이드로제네이티드레시틴, 세라마이드3, 1,2-헥산디올, 카프릴릴글라이콜, 소듐올리에이트, 콩오일, 아세틸헥사펩타이드-8, 카퍼트리펩타이드-1, 휴먼올리고펩타이드-1, 디소듐이디티에이, 페녹시에탄올, 향료
Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane, citrus paradisi (grapefruit) fruit extract, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, cyclohexadienesiloxane, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, hydrogenated vegetable oil, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, potassium hydroxide, octyldodecanol, hydrogenated lecithin, ceramide 3, 1,2-hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, sodium oleate, glycine soja (soybean) oil, acetyl hexapeptide-8, copper tripeptide-1, human oligopeptide-1, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance
ARIUL NOBODY KNOWS WHY I'M SO SEXY MASK
REMARKABLE SEXY FACE! I don't have to tell you at this point to examine the packaging closely, do I? This mask is meant to improve skin elasticity.
Key ingredients:
- Co-Enzyme Q-10
- Collagen
Full ingredients (source):
정제수, 부틸렌글라이콜, 글리세린, 카프릴릭/카프릭트리글리세라이드, 디메치콘, 자몽추출물, 폴리글리세릴-3메칠글루코오스디스테아레이트, 글리세릴스테아레이트, 피이지-100스테아레이트, 소르비탄세스퀴올리에이트, 폴리소르베이트60, 카보머, 포타슘하이드록사이드, 하이드롤라이즈드콜라겐, 하이드로제네이티드레시틴, 유비퀴논, 에탄올, 폴리소르베이트80, 실크아미노산, 아스타잔틴, 1,2-헥산디올, 카프릴릴글라이콜, 비에이치티, 에칠헥실글리세린,디소듐이디티에이, 페녹시에탄올, 향료
Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, caprylic/capric triglyceride, dimethicone, citris paradisi (grapefruit) fruit extract, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, sorbitan sesquiolate, polysorbate 60, carbomer, potassium hydroxide, hydrolyzed collagen, hydrogenated lecithin, ubiquinone, alcohol, polysorbate 80, silk amino acids, astaxanthin, 1,2-hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, BHT, ethylhexylglycerin, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance
The English ingredients list doesn't specify which kind of alcohol is used, but the Korean list says 에탄올, which I assume means ethanol. Just sayin'.
One of the first things I noticed about all of these masks is that the essence is thick and kind of milky. None of that crap that will drip all over your face and clothes.
As for effects... it was honestly kind of difficult for me to tell the difference between the three. I think that may be because most of the "special" ingredients are pretty far down on the list, and all of them have pretty much the same basic foundation. I will say this: I thought all three were hydrating, but I found the Chic and Cute masks to be more so than Sexy. Was I just having a dry skin day when I used it? Not sure. But that's how I felt at the time. In terms of hydration, I thought all three of them were above-average though... when I used the Cute mask I actually fell asleep before I had a chance to apply more creams on top of it, and my skin wasn't totally parched when I woke up. Score!
All three of the masks list fragrance on the ingredients lists, but they don't smell like anything in particular to me. It may be one of those cases where fragrance is added to cover up the scent of the ingredients.
The one complaint I have about this mask set is that the fit wasn't especially good on me. Observe:
Keepin' it sexy since 1984. As you can see, this mask has really long, weird eye holes... my eyes are on the round side, but I think the openings would still be kind of wide on folks who have longer/more slanted eyes than I do.
Bottom line:
The Ariul Mood Maker Masks are effective (and above average) at delivering hydration and temporarily plumping up the skin, but beyond that, they're sort of unremarkable. Other than the batshit insane illustrations on the packaging, of course. I would be tempted to buy these again for gift-giving occasions... even my friends who aren't beauty addicts would likely be charmed by those crazy little drawings. For those reasons the Ariul Mood Maker masks get a "like" from me, but not quite a "love".
Shopping links:
- Ariul website (Korea only): Currently on sale for 1,200원 each, free shipping at 9,900원
- Amazon US: $7.99 (free shipping with Prime)
- eBay: $7.99 + $6.50 shipping to the US
What do you think of the Ariul Mood Maker Nobody Knows Why set? Which of the illustrations amuses you the most?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.
Hmm... Maybe for a bachelorette, so she can have a remarkably sexy face while being untouchably unsatisfied? Those are some insane illustrations. :)
ReplyDeleteThese illustrations are definitely bizarre lol. Esp the last one. Is that a Kiss member on there?
ReplyDeleteDon't forget "You need muscle rabbit!" She probably doesn't realize, which is the source of her untouchable dissatisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI think that's the idea! You know, Kiss is always chilling with muscular man-rabbits. And yetis. Totally normal.
ReplyDeleteomg.. I just cracked up! You are so right!
ReplyDeleteI love the design of the packaging of thos masks and it is good to here that they work nicely, too.
ReplyDeleteMe too! There are other masks I like a little bit more, but I don't feel like they were a bad buy at all.
ReplyDeleteHaha I don't know. I've tried a few mask brands that had crazy wide eye holes like that... whoever designed them needs a smack in the face. But yes, I'm totally with you on the non-drippy essences, because I do most of my skincare in bed too. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the packaging on these! I'd definitely buy those just for that fact. I'm glad to see that they actually work decently well as well. Great post! #kbeautybloghop
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I didn't pay more attention to the illustrations when these were on the Memebox site! They are amazing and well worth a buy I think, just for that. Especially liking the bunny ears :)
ReplyDelete#kbeautybloghop
https://charlotteswebbeautyblog.wordpress.com/
I would be less enthused if the masks were totally terrible, but the drawings on the package really are mini works of art!
ReplyDeleteMasks are so easy to overlook - there were a billion different kinds back when Memebox was still shipping globally. I only found them because I was looking for stuff in a certain price range to meet the free shipping minimum, lol.
ReplyDeleteHaha seriously. I've used a lot of sheet masks but sometimes the design makes me go WTF?
ReplyDeleteI remember these from the Memebox site, they look so cool. The problem I have with sheet masks with great packaging is that I never want to open and use the damn things #kbeautybloghop
ReplyDeleteSame here! I still have some masks I bought in late 2013 (gulp) that I don't want to open because they're so pretty!
ReplyDelete