Shiseido Benefiance Instant Treatment Eye Mask ($72 for 12 pairs) is something I’ve been curious about for a while since it has great reviews online.  They’re expensive, at $6 per treatment, so I’ve resisted buying them. One day, my co-worker (the one who gave me all the freebies) came to work and handed me a pack of these and said, “Try these, they’re amazing”.  She’s a skincare junkie (as well as facial treatment junkie – she does peels, lasers, light therapy, the like) so I tried it that same night and I was hooked from the first use!

What is it?
It’s a retinol treatment for the under eye area, delivered via pre-moistened paper masks. A box contains 12 pairs of treatments, individually wrapped.

How does it work?
The masks are removed from the tray and placed under the eye area, with the treatment left to soak into the skin for 15 minutes. The used masks are discarded after each use. Recommended to use 2-3 times per week.

My thoughts
My initial thoughts were probably what all of you are thinking: what a gimmick! So pricey! But dang, this thing works. I don’t have crow’s feet or deep wrinkles but I’ve been noticing little fine lines under my eyes near my tear ducts and they’ve been bothering me. My concealer settles in the lines by the end of the day, making them appear even more visible.

After the first mask treatment, the next morning I woke up with less apparent lines under my eyes.  I asked my co-worker to inspect my under eye area and she told me I was crazy because she couldn’t even see fine lines to begin with.  Whatever.  I can see them!  And now they’re less visible!  Honestly, I’m a skeptic when it comes to these “instantaneous” skincare solution, but this one from Shiseido really delivers.  My co-worker informed me that she didn’t pay full price for these – she found them at Winners for $30.  She tide me over by giving another pack.  So began the hunt.  I hit pay dirt when I visited a less frequented Winners location and found 6 boxes of them. I only bought 3 boxes – 2 for me and 1 for my co-worker.  I’ve used up almost an entire box and my under eye area is smoother than ever! 😀

A few thoughts / experiences:
• There’s a tightening feeling while the serum is evaporating from the mask, mainly it’s just the paper shrinking.
• I sometimes skip using eye cream after the treatment since the leftover serum is hydrating enough.
• Once, I accidentally left the mask on for too long (~30 mins instead of the recommended 15 mins) and the serum had evaporated so much that the mask stuck to my skin a little as I tried to peel it off.  It also made my eye area look dehydrated, but nothing that a bit of eye cream couldn’t fix. Now I make sure I remove the mask right at 15 minutes.
• It seems that Shiseido may have renamed this product to “WrinkleResist24 Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask” which likely is the reason why the old packaging were cleared through Winners.  Shiseido states the new version is faster acting.  From comparing the ingredient list, they are quite similar. I noted the active ingredients are Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate (aka Shiseido’s version of hyaluronic acid, good for holding moisture), and Retinol, for reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

Pros:
• individually packaged for freshness (but also a con, see below)
• effective and fast-acting results (I mostly noticed reduction in fine lines, not really any improvements of dark circles as claimed)
• non-irritating

Cons:
• wasteful packaging
• fragranced
• expensive

Stash worthiness: 9/10

Now, having given this product a rave review – I would likely NOT repurchase it, not even at the discounted price.  What I really want to focus on is looking for a retinoid treatment cream / serum for under my eyes.  These Shiseido eye masks were my first foray into any retinoid treatments for my under eye areas and I’m liking the results – I wish Shiseido offered a corresponding retinol eye serum made from whatever they use in these eye masks (I have the Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream but it does not contain any retinoids).  I’m likely going to get the Avene Eulage Eye Contour Care to test out.  In the mean time, I’m enjoying these little eye mask indulgence, until they’re all gone!

Have you tried these eye masks? Do you use any retinoid treatments for your under eye areas?