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One of the last things I bought in 2017 before I started my no-buy makeup challenge, was a load of skincare that I absolutely didn't need. This included the special edition 'First Aid Beauty Mask Diaries' which featured the First Aid Beauty 5-in-1 Bouncy Mask, a product that was new to me. This was the one of First Aid Beauty's best sellers I hadn't tried yet, so I was very curious to see if it lived up to the hype and to the quality of the rest of the brand that I already love so well.
First Aid Beauty 5-in-1 Bouncy Mask
I honestly had no idea what I was getting into when I first tried this mask. Despite First Aid Beauty being a fairly popular beauty brand, this wasn't a mask I remember reading about or hearing much of at all. But it does have the catchy promises that appeal so much to people invested in their skincare, "Helps to Nourish, Calm, Firm, Plump, Refine".
What I found with this mask was that it was a product with an aerated and gel-like consistency that spread neatly over my face, firming within moments to a comfortable layer over my skin. While the mask didn't smell very strongly of menthol while I applied it, within a minute of applying it I felt the tell-tale signs of a mentholated product. This is good and bad as I'll highlight in a later paragraph. They recommend leaving the mask on for ten minutes and within about 3-4 minutes I definitely felt my skin perking up. My face continued to feel very fresh when I washed it off, but a tiiiny bit got into my eye and definitely stung and left my eye MINTY which is very uncomfortable and slightly irritating. I don't mind the fact that the mask is on the tingly-menthol side of things, but I have to say, I wouldn't put 'calm' on this product one bit.
When I looked it up on Beautypedia to check out any concerns they had with the product, one of their strikes was that the product was in a pot, but because mine was from a special edition release, it was in a tube, so that strike is gone! The other strike is the one I have to agree with. The menthol in the mask is not needed. I know it's not irritating to everyone but I'm just not a huge faaaan. I love to do masks at night time and this is NOT when you want to use this mask because instead of feeling relaxed, you feel very jacked up instead. Maybe for morning-maskers?
Honestly, the plump feeling that this mask reminded me so much of the Fresh Rose Face Mask that I just had to compare the two products at their price points. In Canadian dollars, when all is said and done, you pay $0.94 a ml for the First Aid Beauty Mask, and $0.75 for the Rose Face Mask. And honestly, if it came down to it (I'm not buying any new face masks anytime soon, but let's play Devil's advocate), I'd prefer the relaxing and spa-like quality of the Fresh Rose Face Mask over the super mentholated FAB mask.
So at the end of the day, the First Aid Beauty 5-in-1 Bouncy Mask isn't a bad product from FAB, it's just not my favourite. It does mostly what it promises, and if the menthol doesn't bother you, so be it. I would still recommend getting it in a tube if you can though. DOWN WITH POTS!
Have you every tried First Aid Beauty? Which of their products should I try next?
