Balancing

Garnier Hydra Bomb Super-Hydrating Re-balancing Sheet Mask Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - December 07, 2023

Now, something to calm down my poor, acne-filled skin! This time it’s the Garnier Hydra Bomb Super-Hydrating Re-balancing Sheet Mask!
 
 
This sheet mask was advertised everywhere when I first bought it. So, naturally, that made me hyped for it, especially as it has tea plant, and I use tea extract (tea tree more than tea plant, but both are good) religiously! Tea extract is one ingredients that helps keep my skin balanced, and keep it from being excessively oily. It also, usually, helps keep my acne from becoming cystic and extremely painful. So: tea = good! And also HA, but my skin doesn’t usually appreciate it as much as it should. Seeing these two ingredients together really made me want to try out this mask, and the hype did not help! So I went and bought it. Will it be the sort of hydra bomb that they call it, or will the results be more of a fizzled out sparkler? Let’s see if it’s as good as it’s been hyped up to be!
 

 
 
Just a plastic pouch like most sheet masks. This one has a design in many ways similar to other Garnier sheet masks, which is minimalistic and elegant. I like the pale green colour, it matches green tea perfectly! Besides that, it is pretty standard, with a ton of text in the back. Curiously, there are multiple versions of this sheet mask’s pouch, here we have the light green one, while elsewhere in the world (US, I think) there’s a muted blue pouch (and a bit different name, but it’s the same otherwise). 
 
 
 

Ingredients: glycerine, tea plant (Camellia sinensis) leaf extract, hyaluronic acid for nourishment. No parabens. That’s it? I must say I was expecting a few more soothing ingredients... well, it’s nice that tea plant extract is quite high up the list (4th ingredient), this means that there is a good amount of it! Well, it’s not really nice that hyaluronic acid is among the last ingredients; there must be a pitiful amount of it if it is that far down. 
 
 
Who knows, maybe even this small amount will be sufficient; hyaluronic acid is powerful, after all. The scent is subtle, and in some ways reminds of typical men’s shower gels. It’s refreshing and kinda soothing, but it’s not nearly as soothing as it could be as it doesn’t smell like lavender. Instead, it smells herbal, even a bit leafy. Suitable for a tea tree sheet mask! I do appreciate that the scent isn’t way too intense, that way this mask is appropriate for sensitive skin which can often poorly tolerate intense perfumes. The expiration date is nowhere to be found, although you can always punch in the batch code into a batch code decoder and check it that way. This mask should be left on for 15 minutes, the perfect amount in my opinion!
 

The sheet is suuuuper soft! It’s as soft as the softest cotton! It’s also super stretchy, making it extremely easy to stretch it across the contours of your face. The cut outs help with the fit. But, as soft as the sheet is, it is also very thick and doesn’t feel too breathable. This would be a problem if it were made of a stiffer material; however, this super soft cotton makes it so comfortable! And it sticks to skin like you wouldn’t believe! Once you put it on, it will stay there! 
 
It’s also not too large, even for my small face, which is great, as there are fewer wrinkles, ensuring that the serum absorbs properly. Oh, and it was loaded with serum! It was so full of serum that it almost started dripping; it certainly felt very heavy! So they are not kidding around when they say that this sheet is infused with the equivalent of 1 bottle of serum! Nice!

 
 
Now this is a weird serum! The serum is relatively watery, but it’s pretty thick for a water-based serum. It’s also, idk, creamy? Soft? I really don’t know how to describe it, but it feels weird. It’s a bit too thick for me, honestly, although the fact that it is still watery to a degree helps immensely. It’s extremely greasy, too. Like, it feels soapy/slippery and greasy. And it’s also very tacky once it dries. I am honestly not sure how much I like it, it’s just way too soapy/greasy for me, and the tackiness is plain annoying.

I must say that I really like how this weird serum feels while it is absorbing. It’s extremely hydrating and refreshing, it literally feels like my skin’s thirst is being quenched completely. There’s also a slightly cooling sensation that is quite relaxing, especially after a stressful day or if PMS is messing with you like it does with me. It’s a wonderfully relaxing feeling!
 
 
 

Alright, there’s so much serum that the first thing I feel after removing the mask is just how wet my skin is! Indeed, my skin looks and feels deeply hydrated, like it’s being hydrated down to the deepest layers of the skin! So it’s definitely a hydra bomb, that much I can feel. There’s also a very refreshing, cooling and quite soothing feeling of coldness, the same one that I could feel while it was absorbing. I must say that I really like it, as it’s not menthol, but just from being so extremely hydrated. My skin looks more even in tone and definitely clearer and more refreshed. It’s also a tiny bit brighter, with my pores seeming to be narrower. It definitely seems to have rebalanced my skin! 
 
 
However, it did not do much in terms of acne, sadly. Tea tree should help reduce how red blemishes are, and soothe them, but here they still look pretty much the same, honestly. A real shame, as I bought this mask primarily so that I could help my skin when it’s the most stressed out, say, during PMS, but it just doesn’t help with acne. At least the serum absorbs rather quickly and doesn’t feel too heavy on my skin, although it is fairly tacky, which is... well, alright I guess.
 
 
 
 
My skin still looks calm and balanced and even the following morning. I think it looks a bit brighter, kinda? Blemishes are still in the same condition, so this sheet mask definitely does not help with them. It is still hydrated, though, of course, I cannot feel the wet feeling that I had the previous night. I do love how my skin looks so even, like it would be the perfect base for makeup!
 
 
 
 
 
In conclusion, this is a very good mask, but it isn’t as impressive in terms of results as other green tea sheet masks. There’s plenty of good to be said: the sheet itself is super soft and stretchy and incredibly packed with serum (it’s almost dripping with how much there is!). It also adheres superbly, staying exactly in place during the 15 minutes it takes for the serum to absorb. The scent is relaxing, a bit like men’s shower gel, and herbal, and I like how it’s not extremely intense. The serum, however, is weird. Let me explain; it’s very greasy and slippery and feels soapy, but it is at the same time lightweight and watery. It also becomes tacky with time. One thing I love about it is how it feels hydrating and a bit cooling, it’s definitely a real hydra bomb, that’s for sure! And that’s reflected in the results: my skin feels super hydrated and much more refreshed and more even, and it looks like that too, with my pores being narrower and my skin seeming to be slightly brighter. But, and this is the biggest problem, this mask doesn’t really do anything to soothe blemishes; they are still just as red and inflamed and painful (if they are cystic). I really expected more from tea plant, as it should help with this. Not here, it seems. Eh, that’s a shame, but it doesn’t take away from just how marvellously hydrating it is. And that’s important, too! So, while it did not live up to my expectations, it was still good enough for me to buy it again later. Which means that I will recommend it, but those who have a lot of acne shouldn’t expect miracles. It’s more for normal/combination skin than really acne-prone/oily skin. 
 
 
 
Rating: 7.5/10
 
 
Would buy again? YES (eh, it’s good enough)


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