After being unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show early this year, skincare and tech lovers alike were in a frenzy over the UFO smart mask.
The compact disc-like handheld device uses inbuilt LED light therapy (usually only found in a dermatologist’s office) to boost masking benefits and offer a full skincare treatment in just 90 seconds. It’s basically like having a high-tech facial machine in your own home.
UFO Smart Mask, £249, Foreo
REVIEWER:
Samantha, Deputy Beauty Editor
BEAUTY BIO:
Dry skinwith an oily forehead. My main skin concerns are dullness and undereye bags.
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WHAT I USUALLY LOOK FOR IN A FACE MASK:
When it comes to masking, I prefer a sheet mask, but only ones I can wear to bed (picky or lazy? Probably both). I don’t want to have to get up to rinse, I like to sit under my duvet looking like a sloppy ghost, before peeling it off into a bin and rubbing in the residue. I know, I’m so sexy.
FOREO UFO FACE MASK DEVICE REVIEW:
As soon as this landed on my desk, there was no time for a duvet. I needed to try it and I needed to try it now.
After 30 minutes of struggling with the packaging (that sh*t is airtight), I finally had the hot pink device in my hand, and what a perfect size for the palm it was. It came with an accompanying mask to try, the ‘Make my day’ mask with hyaluronic acid and red algae.
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Now, you really need to read the instructions for this one because it’s unlike anything you’ve tried before. First, you need to download the Foreo app to accompany it and sync the UFO with your phone.
I’m not going to lie, the app was my pet peeve and I consider myself quite a tech-savvy person. It does the job, but it’s slow and a little clunky to navigate.
Next, you take a photo of the mask’s barcode, so the app can recognise it and know what programme of LED light therapy to use.
Then head back to the UFO, pop the clear plastic ring out, tear open the face mask (which is like a disc-sized sheet mask covered in slippery goodness), slide it on top of the smooth gold disc and put the clear ring back to secure it. Sounds super weird but if you have it in your hands, you’ll get me.
Once you’re ready to go, you click start on the app and it counts down so you have enough time to pop the disc on your face.
Then the UFO starts buzzing, whizzing, lights up, heats up and does all the fandangled special things you expect! It’s glorious! The mask is wet with hydrating goodness, so it’s easy to spread around the sections of your face as the UFO does its thing.
For the day mask, it turned red and warm at first (which is apparently for anti-ageing), and then turned green and cooled down, for a second step of brightening.
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And then it’s over. 90 seconds, dunzo.
Perfect for when the thrill of it wears off and you’re after a lightening-speed treatment, but for my first time I wanted more!
Once it was finished, I rubbed in the residue (no idea whether this was ok or not, but laziness prevailed) and then I washed the device under a tap in the bathroom to clean any mess off. Pretty darn easy.
FINAL VERDICT
Once you manage to figure out where to put everything, it’s quite an easy device to use. I tried it in the morning and it definitely woke my skin up, gave it a good dose of hydration and even eliminated some of the dullness. In terms of the price tag, an average LED light therapy treatment in-salon would cost you £30+, so you would need to use the UFO only eight times to make it worth it (if it lives up to the same results, and only time will tell…)