Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask Review | Yes it's a mouthful but it tastes fabulous
I started writing this post late Sunday night so that's why the title is a bit... odd. But when I woke up the next morning I decided to just roll with it. And if you're wondering: THIS MASK IS NOT EDIBLE. It's a result of my trying too hard to be funny.
Weird titles aside, I love this sleeping mask. It's hands down my favorite sleeping mask in my collection at the moment. On the Cosrx site, they say your skin will be like a chewy mochi after you use this mask. I've never heard this comparison before checking out their site but now I'll never forget it. Every morning I wanna wake up with chewy mochi face!
I received it as a PR gift from Mikaela Beauty (a Canadian based K-beauty retailer) and have been using it nonstop over the past 2.5 months! I would definitely recommend subscribing to their email list because they're always running awesome promotions 😉
Claims
According to the Cosrx site, this mask is supposed to be improve texture, provide moisture and nourishment, and help brighten and even out your skintone. If you read my post from last week on occlusives and sleeping masks, you'll also know that it's supposed to help lock in all the
It can also be used as a regular moisturizer and a wash off mask!
Price & Size
50g for $13.75 at Mikaela Beauty, they also sell a slightly larger 60g tube for $16.04
Cruelty Free/ Vegan?
Cosrx is a cruelty free brand (source 1 & 2.) Not all their products are vegan (they use snail mucin) and I can't seem to find out if this mask is vegan or not. It contains allantoin which can be either plant or animal derived. I also can't seem to find out if they are sold in China or not (if they did, they would be subject to animal testing as is required by Chinese law.) If you're curious about either question I would recommend reaching out to Cosrx's customer service team which gets glowing reviews online!
Ingredients
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Betaine, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Elaeis Guineensis(Palm) oil, Elaeis Guineensis(Palm) Kernel Oil, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Arginine, Carbomer, Allantoin, Xanthan Gum
Here's the CosDNA breakdown of this sleeping mask. Everything has a low safety rating, and three ingredients (butylene glycol, dimethicone, and cetearyl alcohol) have a comedogenic rating of 1 or 2 (0 being the lowest.) All three are common ingredients so unless you have specific allergies to any of these, I would say this mask is safe to use, even if you have sensitive skin!
Packaging
This mask comes in a standard, plastic jar with a screw top lid. There's nothing outstanding about it, but it works with Cosrx's branding-- affordable and functional. Mikaela Beauty also sells the same mask in Cosrx's limited edition tube packaging!
One thing I reaaaalllly appreciated about the outer box packaging of this mask is that Mikaela Beauty provides an English label on the box. If you've read my review of the holiday Tonymoly masks I bought at Ulta, then you may remember that it drives me insane in the membrane when Western retailers don't include English label translations. If you're selling skincare to a primarily English speaking population, at a minimum there needs to be an English ingredient list!
In addition to the ingredient list, they also provided an English (and French!) translation of the instructions as well as all the manufacturing and import information.
Scent
The mask has a slight scent which I don't particularly like, but also don't find offensive. As always, I'm terrible at describing scents so I'm gonna go out on a limb (*attempting some internet sarcasm*) here and say it smells like rice. Because it's literally more than 65% rice extract. The scent is lightly there when I apply it but dissipates after a minute or two.
Texture
I love the texture of this cream. It's so soft and bouncy and is a dream to spread. It has a whipped texture but still manages to be lightweight. It leaves my face feeling moisturized without any oiliness or greasiness.
Results
My personal approach to skincare is 30% trust in ingredients and 70% trust in experience/ results. What that means is I do believe in the scientific research and reasoning behind the use of various ingredients, but I believe in results more. So if a product has a fabulous ingredient list but does sh*t for my skin, I'll dump it. If a product is littered with "questionable" ingredients (parabens, denatured alcohol, mineral oil etc.) but works for my skin, I'll continue using it. I'm happy to say that the Cosrx ultimate nourishing rice overnight spa mask is a hit in both categories!
Like I said up above in my brief (and amateur) ingredient breakdown, there aren't any questionable ingredients on this mask as they all received a 1 or 2 safety rating (with 1 being the lowest.)
According to Cosrx, the mask is more than 65% rice extract! I can't find all that much research about the skin benefits of Oryza Sativa (rice) extract because it seems that Oryza Sativa oil is the more popular ingredient. I hate google and its refusal to provide me with search results on rice extract instead of oil. The best thing I can say is that rice extract is composed of rice lipids, proteins, and more according to this journal article. So I would expect that some of the benefits of rice oil (aka lipids) are also present in the extract. That would make sense because rice bran oil does have occlusive properties, and this mask is hella occlusive. (Note I'm not a scientist and this is just a logical leap that I'm making!)
Additionally Cosrx says the mask is a source of fiber, vitamin B2, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, and linolenic acid and since none of those are explicitly listed in the ingredient list, I'm going to guess they're found in the rice bran extract. This blog post by Michelle over at lab muffin explains how linolenic acid has been shown to help people with acne prone skin!
Some secondary but still kickass ingredients in the mask are betaine and niacinamide. If you read my review of the Ordinary Niacinamide serum, you may remember that niacinamide has a lengthy list of accomplishments-- it's anti-inflammatory, helps brighten up your skin, and can stimulate ceramide and collagen synthesis (aka it's anti-aging!) Betaine on the other hand is a humectant and aids in moisturizing the skin.
Like I said, this mask actually works! It's a fantabulous occlusive and truly does deliver on its promises of brightening up your face. It doesn't help in fading acne scars of hyperpigmentation, but it does give an overall brightness to my face. The whole chok-chok effect, as they say.
Of course, using the right moisturizer underneath helps. For instance when I used the Glossier priming moisturizer rich underneath this mask, I woke up with mostly normal skin with a few flakes here and there. On the other hand when I layer this mask atop my HG Dr. Jart ceramidin cream, I wake up with soft, luminized, moisturized skin.
I don't know if this mask actually helped with my skin texture issues or not because I already use chemical exfoliants on a near daily basis. It definitely doesn't cause any acne or closed comedones, but I can't explicitly say it helps either.
Bottom Line
I love, love, love this mask. If you have dry or dehydrated skin and are looking for something that will keep your face hydrated and moisturized all night long, look no further. This mask is it. When I wake up after using this mask my face feels glowy and bouncy-- like a chewy mochi 😋
Weird titles aside, I love this sleeping mask. It's hands down my favorite sleeping mask in my collection at the moment. On the Cosrx site, they say your skin will be like a chewy mochi after you use this mask. I've never heard this comparison before checking out their site but now I'll never forget it. Every morning I wanna wake up with chewy mochi face!
I received it as a PR gift from Mikaela Beauty (a Canadian based K-beauty retailer) and have been using it nonstop over the past 2.5 months! I would definitely recommend subscribing to their email list because they're always running awesome promotions 😉
Claims
According to the Cosrx site, this mask is supposed to be improve texture, provide moisture and nourishment, and help brighten and even out your skintone. If you read my post from last week on occlusives and sleeping masks, you'll also know that it's supposed to help lock in all the
It can also be used as a regular moisturizer and a wash off mask!
Price & Size
50g for $13.75 at Mikaela Beauty, they also sell a slightly larger 60g tube for $16.04
Cruelty Free/ Vegan?
Cosrx is a cruelty free brand (source 1 & 2.) Not all their products are vegan (they use snail mucin) and I can't seem to find out if this mask is vegan or not. It contains allantoin which can be either plant or animal derived. I also can't seem to find out if they are sold in China or not (if they did, they would be subject to animal testing as is required by Chinese law.) If you're curious about either question I would recommend reaching out to Cosrx's customer service team which gets glowing reviews online!
Ingredients
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Betaine, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Elaeis Guineensis(Palm) oil, Elaeis Guineensis(Palm) Kernel Oil, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Arginine, Carbomer, Allantoin, Xanthan Gum
Here's the CosDNA breakdown of this sleeping mask. Everything has a low safety rating, and three ingredients (butylene glycol, dimethicone, and cetearyl alcohol) have a comedogenic rating of 1 or 2 (0 being the lowest.) All three are common ingredients so unless you have specific allergies to any of these, I would say this mask is safe to use, even if you have sensitive skin!
Packaging
This mask comes in a standard, plastic jar with a screw top lid. There's nothing outstanding about it, but it works with Cosrx's branding-- affordable and functional. Mikaela Beauty also sells the same mask in Cosrx's limited edition tube packaging!
One thing I reaaaalllly appreciated about the outer box packaging of this mask is that Mikaela Beauty provides an English label on the box. If you've read my review of the holiday Tonymoly masks I bought at Ulta, then you may remember that it drives me insane in the membrane when Western retailers don't include English label translations. If you're selling skincare to a primarily English speaking population, at a minimum there needs to be an English ingredient list!
In addition to the ingredient list, they also provided an English (and French!) translation of the instructions as well as all the manufacturing and import information.
Scent
The mask has a slight scent which I don't particularly like, but also don't find offensive. As always, I'm terrible at describing scents so I'm gonna go out on a limb (*attempting some internet sarcasm*) here and say it smells like rice. Because it's literally more than 65% rice extract. The scent is lightly there when I apply it but dissipates after a minute or two.
Texture
I love the texture of this cream. It's so soft and bouncy and is a dream to spread. It has a whipped texture but still manages to be lightweight. It leaves my face feeling moisturized without any oiliness or greasiness.
Results
My personal approach to skincare is 30% trust in ingredients and 70% trust in experience/ results. What that means is I do believe in the scientific research and reasoning behind the use of various ingredients, but I believe in results more. So if a product has a fabulous ingredient list but does sh*t for my skin, I'll dump it. If a product is littered with "questionable" ingredients (parabens, denatured alcohol, mineral oil etc.) but works for my skin, I'll continue using it. I'm happy to say that the Cosrx ultimate nourishing rice overnight spa mask is a hit in both categories!
Like I said up above in my brief (and amateur) ingredient breakdown, there aren't any questionable ingredients on this mask as they all received a 1 or 2 safety rating (with 1 being the lowest.)
According to Cosrx, the mask is more than 65% rice extract! I can't find all that much research about the skin benefits of Oryza Sativa (rice) extract because it seems that Oryza Sativa oil is the more popular ingredient. I hate google and its refusal to provide me with search results on rice extract instead of oil. The best thing I can say is that rice extract is composed of rice lipids, proteins, and more according to this journal article. So I would expect that some of the benefits of rice oil (aka lipids) are also present in the extract. That would make sense because rice bran oil does have occlusive properties, and this mask is hella occlusive. (Note I'm not a scientist and this is just a logical leap that I'm making!)
Additionally Cosrx says the mask is a source of fiber, vitamin B2, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, and linolenic acid and since none of those are explicitly listed in the ingredient list, I'm going to guess they're found in the rice bran extract. This blog post by Michelle over at lab muffin explains how linolenic acid has been shown to help people with acne prone skin!
Some secondary but still kickass ingredients in the mask are betaine and niacinamide. If you read my review of the Ordinary Niacinamide serum, you may remember that niacinamide has a lengthy list of accomplishments-- it's anti-inflammatory, helps brighten up your skin, and can stimulate ceramide and collagen synthesis (aka it's anti-aging!) Betaine on the other hand is a humectant and aids in moisturizing the skin.
Like I said, this mask actually works! It's a fantabulous occlusive and truly does deliver on its promises of brightening up your face. It doesn't help in fading acne scars of hyperpigmentation, but it does give an overall brightness to my face. The whole chok-chok effect, as they say.
Of course, using the right moisturizer underneath helps. For instance when I used the Glossier priming moisturizer rich underneath this mask, I woke up with mostly normal skin with a few flakes here and there. On the other hand when I layer this mask atop my HG Dr. Jart ceramidin cream, I wake up with soft, luminized, moisturized skin.
I don't know if this mask actually helped with my skin texture issues or not because I already use chemical exfoliants on a near daily basis. It definitely doesn't cause any acne or closed comedones, but I can't explicitly say it helps either.
Bottom Line
I love, love, love this mask. If you have dry or dehydrated skin and are looking for something that will keep your face hydrated and moisturized all night long, look no further. This mask is it. When I wake up after using this mask my face feels glowy and bouncy-- like a chewy mochi 😋