I Tried the Hanacure Mask, and Here’s What Happened

The steps are easy enough to figure out using the guide inside, and prepping the face mask is fun in that geeky, playing-your-own-chemist kind of way. You peel back the foil top of the solution, pour in the serum, and shake it all together to activate. Then it's time to paint it on. I didn't do a spot test because, sorry, I know better, but who actually does that? No, I went straight to putting the cold, serum-y goop all around my chin, cheeks, and forehead—evenly, as the directions stated.

From there, you've got 30 minutes: optimal time to catch up on Riverdale, laugh at yourself in the mirror, and blast off a handful of Snapchats. The drying effects are almost instant, and by 10 minutes in, you're wondering how the hell this stuff is actually supposed to make your skin look better. It tightens so much that moving any sort of muscle on your face becomes near impossible—sort of how I imagine Botox would be: not painful, just odd and uncomfortable. By the 25-minute mark, my boyfriend, amused by my frozen, expressionless face, started showing me cat videos, and with each restrained smile a new line on the mask emerged. At this point I've sworn to be more diligent about my skin care routine (this look into the future ain't great) and returning to KJ Apa's abs can no longer distract me. This mask is tight AF, and not in the way your kid brother uses that phrase.

At 30 minutes, I was at the sink, using only water and circular motions to get all the remaining bits of wrinkled, dried-up gunk off my face. As a disclaimer on the instructions warns pale people, the lifting compounds that stimulate blood flow to your face may leave you red, which is a slight understatement. Immediately after, my face is angry. But trust the process. The ingredients do have reputable skin care workhorses: calming botanicals with anti-inflammatory properties, several peptides that brighten and minimize lines, and—my most needed component—moisturizing compounds responsible for delivering the promised afterglow, which actually arrived for me the next morning.

Instagram content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

Upon waking, a glance in the mirror tells me this thing isn't just pure spectacle. My jawline looks a little tighter, my cheeks a little dewier—it wasn't exactly enough of a difference that someone else could tell looking at a before-and-after. But I know my face and how much I love salt, and this looked like I hadn't touched a french fry in days. (Joke's on my ass.) There was still some residual redness, but if I can find something that solves that problem, rest assured you'll know about it.

Hanacure Multi-Action Treatment Face Mask Starter Kit, $40, amazon.com

Lindsay Schallon is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her at @lindsayschallon.