What happened when I tried Wrinkles Schminkles: A review

Wrinkles Schminkles is a line of anti-wrinkle silicone patches that claim to hydrate skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. But do they work?

Wrinkles Schminkles silicone patches claim to create a microclimate between your skin and the silicone, which apparently helps hydrate the skin from within and smooths out wrinkles while you sleep. The products are promoted as a chemical-free approach to fighting wrinkles, and they’re cruelty-free.

I was largely interested in these because I’m not loving my under-eye area at the moment. The skin is relatively smooth when I have a straight face, but wrinkles a fair bit when I smile. I don’t think that problem can be solved with any single product, it probably requires a laser at a specialist clinic, but a little reduction in the area was all I was looking for.

I kept reading that silicone patches for wrinkles work, so I decided to give it a shot.

For my under-eye situation, I decided to go with the self-dissolving microneedle patches, which are shaped to go under the eyes. They’re supposed to reduce wrinkles by delivering collagen, hyaluronic acid, peptides, and caffeine directly into the skin through 1800 microneedles per patch (for anyone afraid of needles, these are really tiny spikes, rather than actual needles, and they don’t hurt). I have had microneedling and it was great, what could go wrong with a DIY job?

Wrinkles Schminkles Review

I started with a box of four, which had a combined total of eight self-dissolving microneedle patches. They’re about the size of your thumb and can go under the eyes, around the mouth for smile lines, frown lines between the eyebrows, etc. They can really go anywhere with smaller lines. I wouldn’t use them for larger forehead lines, they’re not big enough. For that, you might want to look at the OG Wrinkles Schminkles silicone patches. They’re much bigger with no microneedles, and are supposed to smooth the skin out as you sleep.

What Happened

According to the instructions, you’re supposed to cleanse your face to the point where there’s no product on your face at all. Get every scrap of makeup off. You want as much contact between the microneedles and your skin as possible, and this means no hyaluronic acid or moisturiser of any kind.

So that’s what I did. My face felt uncomfortably dry, but I knew it was temporary so I ignored it. I peeled one of the patches from its plastic sheet and tried not to touch the sticky outer edges too much. The microneedles are in the middle of the patch, so it’s important to align the frown line with the centre of the patch properly.

I tried to get the patch as close to my lower lash line as possible, because that’s really where the problematic lines are. To make sure I was sticking it on an even surface, I pulled skin down a bit so it was taut, and pressed the patch down while trying to avoid my eyelashes.

It was at that point that I learned you can go too close to the lash line. It felt tight and uncomfortable under my eye, and I’m pretty sure I did get a lash or two. I could feel the plastic tightening when I blinked. Begrudgingly, I lifted the patch off and stuck it down again slightly lower. This felt much better and I did the other eye without a problem.

As per the instructions, I pressed the microneedles on both patches into my skin for about ten seconds. There was no pain at all, it just felt a bit scratchy—kind of like sandpaper. Once that was done, I moisturised the rest of my face as normal and went to bed.

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Result

I was excited to remove the patches the following morning. I pressed down on the patches to see if I could feel any residual prickliness, but I couldn’t which meant the microneedles really did dissolve. The adhesive was quite strong, and they were a bit uncomfortable to remove, but not painful. I could see marks under my eyes from where the patches had been. I couldn’t see pricks from microneedles or anything, just oval outlines where the adhesive was. I hoped they would go down relatively quickly. I ran my finger along where the microneedles had been and it was smooth, which means they definitely dissolved throughout the night.

I didn’t notice an immediate difference in the plumpness of my under-eye area.

I went to the gym, returned, rinsed my face, did my usual serum and moisturising, and did my makeup as usual—a light layer of foundation with a sponge and a thin coat of translucent powder to set it in place.

I smiled in the mirror, the lines were definitely still there and I couldn’t see any improvement. I wondered if it needed some time to improve, so I went about my day.

I got home in the evening, washed everything off my face and tried again. No reduction in lines. The same thing happened the following day.

Verdict

I have used up the box of four sets, if only because I already had them and figured I might as well use them. I had the same result every time, which was no result. At no point did I notice even a small difference.

It’s possible that the lines under my eyes were a bit much for the small patches, but there was nothing in the instructions to suggest that would be the case. The lines are also not really visible when I’m not smiling, so they’re not really deep. It could be a structural problem for me, meaning the area under my eyes could be too hollow and the skin therefore is pushed up when I smile, creating wrinkles. I honestly don’t know, but I guess that’s a possibility.

I’ve read a number of mixed reviews—some people swear by them, others say they made no difference. For those who had good experiences, they also mostly said the wrinkles come back after a few days.

For optimal results, the brand recommends using them twice a week. I paid AU$75 for four sets, which is about two weeks’ worth. US customers get four sets for $41, which is still a lot for a product that may not work for you. Using these twice a week is not sustainable for the average person. I wouldn’t get these again, I might try the reusable silicone patches next time.

Did Wrinkles Schminkles work for you? Let me know in the comments below!

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Quasi Bio-Collagen Mask Review

It feels like every skincare product on the market at the moment is promising to give you glass skin. But do they work? I tried the Official Quasi Bio-Collagen Mask to find out. Here’s what happened.

Bio-collagen face masks seem to be everywhere, specifically the kind that you leave on for hours at a time. You can even sleep in them. I’ve seen so many videos of women putting white sheets on their faces, apparently going to bed, and in the morning peeling the mask off to reveal shiny, bouncy and glowing skin underneath. As the mask dries overnight, it turns from hospital white to transparent. That’s how you know it works, so they say.

I was skeptical because collagen isn’t easily absorbed through the skin so the impact of any collagen face mask is always going to be temporary. But that’s the case with most products — they all require consistent reapplication, so that wasn’t a deal breaker for me. The ads feature women of all ages, not just people in their 20s with great skin already. They’re also cruelty-free. I was in.

Quasi Bio-Collagen Face Mask: A Review

There are a few different collagen face mask brands that claim to do the same thing. I went with Quasi because the ads were literally on my Instagram feed for months, and I don’t follow them. They had stacks of user videos and good reviews that seemed legit. I do plan on trying a few other brands, but I had to pick one to start with, and it was Quasi.

According to the website, these masks reduce pores, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, and give you plump, firm and glowing skin. Key ingredients include galactomyces, which is a fermented essence that is absorbed by the skin while brightening and firming. Oligo hyaluronic acid is absorbed very easily by the skin due to its low molecular weight, providing intense moisturisation. Low-molecular-weight collagen helps minimise pores and increase elasticity, and niacinamide which helps build keratin to maintain skin health.

What happened

I bought four packs of four in the sales after Christmas. Apparently, the masks should be used weekly, so that’s what I planned to do.

I washed all the makeup off my face, using micellar water to make sure there was nothing left. I didn’t apply anything else to my face. The mask was thick, white and jelly-like. It comes in a few pieces so you can tailor it to fit. There are two oval cut-outs where the eye holes are, so I put them directly under my lower lash lines to ensure my under-eye area would get collagen as well. I then placed one half of the mask over my chin and lower cheeks, and the other half on my forehead, cheekbones, and eyes. A have a small face, there was a fair bit of overlap in the middle, it didn’t seem to matter.

It went on very smoothly. I used my new Gua Sha to smooth it all down and make sure there were no air bubbles. It didn’t fall off and didn’t feel as though it was going to. It did feel damp and I wondered how it would go in bed. I waited up for about 45 minutes before going to bed. It dried a bit, but it was still dampish to touch.

Sleeping with a face mask on

Sleeping in a face mask was weird. I didn’t love it and I wouldn’t recommend it. I kept feeling as though it was going to stain the sheets (it didn’t) or come off in my sleep (it didn’t), and I woke at one point and felt very aware that it was on my face. It must have been about 4am when I decided I’d had enough. It had been on for six hours at that point, more than enough time, so I peeled it off and went back to sleep.

I had some regrets because I didn’t have that big reveal moment in the ads, where you peel it off and your skin looks amazing. But I remembered one of Quasi’s many ads that shows a woman washing her face immediately after taking her mask off to prove the dewy glass-like texture was her skin, rather than product residue from the mask. For those reasons, I figured my skin should still look like that in three hours when my alarm went off.

The result

My face did not look dewy the next day and I think that was to do with going back to sleep with my face on sheets, but I was pretty happy with the results anyway. My skin looked firm and brighter and make-up went on very easily. It did feel as though my skin had a boost of something and there was a healthy glow about it. My skin felt smoother for a few days, though I’m not sure how noticeable that was to anyone but me.

I used it again a week later, but this time I kept it on all night and peeled it off slowly in the morning. As promised, the mask had turned from hospital white to transparent. It looked like a completely different product by the time it came off. It didn’t pull on my skin, and while it was stuck to my face, it peeled off easily.

There was more of a dewyness to my skin after the second one, but it didn’t look much different to the night I pulled it off at 4am. A bit shinier, maybe.

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Pros

My skin did look noticeably firmer and my fine lines were less visible, and the results seemed to last right up until I did another mask. My skin wasn’t irritated at all and my pores looked clearer and smaller. I think it cleared sebum from my pores, and I think it would continue to do that over the course of weeks with continual use, which is a pretty good result because sebum is difficult to remove without professional help.

Cons

The masks are expensive. It’s hard to say how expensive because they always seem to have huge deals. As I write this, the site says two packs (eight masks) cost AU$160 but at the moment there’s 50% off so it costs $80. Certain packs come with free gifts, like Gua Sha sets, $20 gift cards, and mystery gifts. These deals change constantly. Either way, $80 for four face masks is still a lot. The results are only temporary, but the masks are cheaper than weekly facials at a salon.

I also really didn’t like wearing the mask to bed. I tried putting one on at about 7pm, hoping it would be done by 10pm when I went to bed. It wasn’t. I think they probably need about four hours to dry completely.

Verdict

I would get this again. The results were not exactly like the ads, my skin wasn’t instantly transformed, but I also had realistic expectations. I wanted a reduction in fine lines and for my skin to appear firmer and smoother, with a glow, and that’s what happened. I was really impressed with the way it seemed to remove sebum and minimised pores. I look forward to seeing how this changes my skin over a few months.

Have you tried Quasi, or another brand of bio collagen face mask? Let me know in the comments below!

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