We’ve come a long way since the Clarisonic craze. Beauty gadgets have gotten smarter and more effective, especially in the realm of eliminating and preventing wrinkles. But techy skin-care solutions you can apply at home are not just about minimizing the signs of aging.
The newest buzzy beauty tool—the Foreo UFO—applies spa-level skin-care tech to still-going-strong Korean sheet mask mania to promise the instant beauty fix every woman wants: a clearer, calmer, more radiant complexion in less than two minutes.
To be honest, I never jumped into the sheet mask game. I have my regime (mostly clean beauty products) and those Korean trendy things just never made it into the mix. At $279 (plus the ongoing cost of the masks that attach to the device), the UFO is, IMHO, ridiculously expensive. At first glance, to me, it only makes sense if it really could help you skip the esthetician.
I took the time to test out the trendy gadget to see if it’s really as *magical* as the beauty mags suggest. Here’s how I fared, and whether or not I’d abandon a facial for it.
How It Works
Foreo essentially set out to solve for the limitations of sheet masks. Namely, while the masks may contain lots of things your skin loves, the treatment is sitting on top of your skin instead of penetrating deeper. You’ve also got to sit there for a while and wait with a silly-looking, gooey piece of paper on your face. Not a good look.
To take the mask routine to the next level, the company combined a handful of the most popular, effective clinical skin-care therapies into one fast treatment. The UFO uses LED light therapy, thermotherapy and cryotherapy (essentially hot and cold), and T-sonic pulsations to prep your skin for what the mask is about to deliver, make sure the treatment goes deep and contains additional benefits.
For example, the morning mask, called Make My Day includes hyaluronic acid and red algae for deep hydration and to protect your skin from the effects of pollution. LED light gets the skin ready, sonic pulsing improves the absorption of the mask, and then a different LED light and lower-frequency pulses finish it off to even out your skin tone. Best of all, no sitting still with a gooey horror film mask on your face.
To use it, you open up the UFO app and scan the barcode on the mask packaging. Then, you attach the mask to the device (kind of like how you attach a new Swiffer sheet each time you sweep your floors). When you’re ready to start, you glide the device over your skin using a circular motion. It turns off automatically when the treatment is done, and the app also lets you know where you’re at in the process as you go. When you’re finished, you take the mask off, toss it, and rinse the device for next time. The whole thing takes 90 seconds (regular sheet mask instructions usually recommend 20 minutes).
The Results
There’s definitely something super cool about the technology, and I loved how it felt on my skin (pulsations! warming! cooling!). Not only does it feel amazing, but it also feels professional, like you’re definitely going beyond whatever watching Netflix with a sticky sheet sitting on your complexion could do.
It also It felt next-level effective. After I used it, my skin felt softer and plumper. It wasn’t a major, face-altering change for me, but I could definitely see a difference, and have continued to notice benefits as I use it three weeks later. I especially love the Call It A Night night-time mask. I’ve never been a night-cream person, but I do love serums and face oils. This mask feels more hydrating than anything I could spread over the surface of my skin, and is very relaxing before bed.
The one thing I could see getting annoying is having to buy the specific sheet masks from them, especially because I have lots of amazing clean beauty products and masks I like to use in my routine. With that in mind, I experimented with using the device when I had just put a serum or a face oil on. It was much harder to glide the UFO around my face for 90 seconds with my own products, since those Korean masks are super slimy, so I had to reapply a couple times (no clue how much of my product I used, or how that would add up over time, but it’s definitely more than I would have put on without the UFO).
If you’re someone who goes for regular facials (I’m talking weekly or bi-monthly), this device might be able to save you a trip, and could pay for itself over time.
Did I love using this? Yes. Do I think it works in a visible way? I really do. But for most, the price tag just won’t be worth it, especially when you factor in the ongoing mask commitment.
Have you tried the Foreo UFO or another similar beauty gadget? Share your results in the comments below!
Thanks to Foreo for supplying the UFO for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.
