Korean women are renowned for their skincare regimes. Undertaken with military precision, their 10-step daily routine includes cleansing, toning and thrice-moisturising after applying the superstar product of the sequence — the sheet mask. These potion-impregnated parchments are so popular in Seoul that there are entire stores dedicated to selling them — and they can be picked up for pennies. A forthcoming book on Korean skincare by Charlotte Cho, founder of Korean beauty site Soko Glam, offers her favourite sheet masks included free with every pre-order.
The promise of making your skin look good is no longer enough, though. Despite being used in the privacy of your own bathroom, the masks must now themselves be things of beauty and come in increasingly elaborate and prettified forms. Korean brand Too Cool for School’s “point mask” — a sheet mask that targets one area (in this case, the eyes) — comes in a lace design (Soko-glam, US$8), while Banila Co’s hydrogel mask (US$5) is also lace-effect.
The lace mask found new status at Givenchy last month when Riccardo Tisci took lace from his collection’s dresses and layered it with intricacies to create delicate gauzelike masks for his SS16 catwalk show. These couture accessories were a neat reflection of the symbiosis between the fashion and cosmetics departments at the French house.