Product Review: boscia Tsubaki Oil Hydrogel Mask

I went a little crazy at the Sephora VIB 20% off sale in November. I placed five orders! Yes, I could've placed one huge order, but I split them up into smaller orders to maximize my free samples! Several of the items I ordered were for Christmas gifts, but the rest were for me, me, me!! I'll be reviewing them over the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned!


Today, I'm reviewing another sheet mask. This one is the new Tsubaki Oil Deep Hydration Hydrogel Mask by boscia. It's a little different from the other sheet masks I've tried in a couple of ways:
1) it comes in two parts
2) the mask itself is a hydrogel rather than cotton fiber

As I mentioned in my Sephora sheet mask review, I mostly use sheet masks for hydration - and if they happen to provide any other benefits, that's great. Since this mask said "deep hydration", I was looking forward to giving it a try. I was also anxious to see if the two-part mask fit any better than the typical one piece mask.

The description of the mask on the boscia website says:
"Innovative 100% hydrogel mask that replenishes, softens and provides deep hydration for baby-soft skin. Custom 2-piece design seals in treatment benefits and allows an anti-aging botanical blend of cold-pressed Tsubaki (Camellia) Oil, Vitamin E and Serine to provide serious hydration leaving skin smoother, softer, and more supple."

Ingredient list:
Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Chondrus Crispus Powder, CI 16255, Polysorbate 60, Butylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Trehalose, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Niacinamide, Algin, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract

Taking the mask out of the package, I first noticed that it was very slippery, as might be expected with something called "hydrogel". It had somewhat slipped out from between the backing and the clear covering (I put it back together for the picture below). I didn't really have an issue with that. After all, it's packaged inside a sealed pouch, so if the clear backing isn't exactly in place, it's not like it could be contaminated.


I also noticed that the cut-outs for the eyes and mouth seemed to be about the same size as other sheet masks - very large. This was disappointing for me because if the mask doesn't cover the undereye area and the fine lines around my mouth, then, in my opinion, it's missing some of the most important areas that need treatment. (Please excuse the extremely dark circles under my eyes in the pictures below! I've been dealing with a kidney stone for the past 2 weeks+, which included two trips to the emergency room, a urology consult, lots of lost/interrupted sleep, and I still haven't passed the stone!)


I like the texture of the mask. The hydrogel is very cool and adheres to the skin beautifully. It also tends to stick to itself, so you have to be careful not to let it fold back on itself. I didn't have any issues with tearing, and when the mask did fold back on itself, it easily peeled apart. As you can see, the upper part fits pretty well, but most of my undereye area is exposed.


I applied the lower half of the mask, which also fit fairly well. I wish the mouth opening was a bit smaller, but overall, it's okay. If you look closely, you can see that I ended up doing my usual trick of cutting a bit off the sides of the mask and applying those strips to my undereye area.

The instructions say to leave the mask on for 20 minutes. I think I left it on for about 30 minutes total. I could see some definite plumping of my skin after removing the mask. There wasn't a tremendous amount of excess serum to massage into my skin afterward - which was okay, because to me that meant it had already absorbed. But what serum was there was easily massaged in and didn't seem to be sticky. My skin felt really soft, too.

I liked this mask, and I'll be purchasing it again. My only complaint with it is the same complaint I have for all the other sheet masks I've used. I wish sheet mask manufacturers would include two small strips to place on the undereye area. And maybe a third strip to use around the mouth. That would solve the issue! I don't want to have to buy a separate mask for my eyes or cut up my mask and piece it together to make it cover all areas on my face.

The cost of this mask is $8 at both Sephora and boscia. It's a little more than the Sephora masks and some of the other Asian masks, but for the quality, I would still repurchase. A multi-pack that offered a discount would be nice.

I noticed that boscia also offers several other products in the Tsubaki (camellia) oil line: a beauty oil, a cleansing oil-gel, a sleeping mask, and an exfoliating powder. I'm definitely interested in trying more of these - maybe the cleanser and the sleeping mask or exfoliating powder.

Have you tried the boscia Tsubaki Oil mask?
Have you used camellia oil in your skincare?