Drunk Girl's Skincare: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate with Dr Morita

Sep 13

Sep 13 Drunk Girl's Skincare: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate with Dr Morita

Check out my other drunk girl adventure here.

So friends and family know that I’m not exactly averse to alcohol. In fact, I enjoy it (just a little bit.) But a fact that often flies under the radar is that alcohol DRIES YOU UP. That fresh feeling you get after rubbing alcohol all over your hands? That’s because it DRIED YOU UP. Can you imagine what it does to your skin when ingested??? (Writer’s note: I do know that rubbing alcohol and alcohol spirits are made of different alcohols, but I am making a generalization on both their drying powers.)

I will never forget how one of my Korean friends admonished me for getting drunk off of soju. He told me not to do it, and I asked "Why? It’s cheap! And it (flavored ones) tastes great!” He said that I should take a closer look at ajeossis’ skin and take note of how fucking bad their skin is.

LEAVE IT TO KOREANS TO FIGURE THESE CORRELATIONS OUT.

I could not believe it, but it was true! Ajeossis tended to look way more grandfatherly than their similarly-aged ajumma counterparts. Their skin looked way more leathery and wrinkled, and as a person with already-dry skin, that realization gave me ANXIETY.

This is me chilling at Polilya the other day. Photo by Mikki Galang.

This is how skincare addicts power through a hangover!

So whenever I have a couple of drinks, and especially when I don’t wash off my makeup like I did a few nights ago, I like to recoup all the lost hydration with a powerful sheet mask. I’m running low on my Korea-stock of Mediheal NMFs and Leaders Aquaring, so I’m glad I found a pretty affordable HG-contender in Dr Morita! Dr Morita masks are only PHP 74, available in Watsons and SM Beauty. I prefer to pay about PHP 40 per mask but that’s a Korea-based expectation and the cheapest ones I see here (PHP 75 sheet masks) here are actual shit. The fibers are scratchy and the essences are so thin, almost alcoholy. A Dr Morita mask’s quality is more similar to PHP 150 and up sheet masks, which are drowning in essence and have comfortable sheets.

I was pretty shocked to have never heard of this brand, but Liz explains that rather than Korea, it’s more famous in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Christine Lavina, a MUA I met in the Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Matte Lippies launch, tells me that she actually uses this on her brides! And for good reason:

The best-selling Dr Morita Triple Hyaluronic Acid Essence Mask (P74 each) is special to me, which is why I haven’t cared to try the other variants yet. It contains an essence of three sizes of hyaluronic acid molecules, which are crucial to skin absorption. On my super dry skin, I feel like most skincare settles, and evaporates, on top of it. This mask left me feeling supple and moisturized the day of the launch up to two days later, and I think it’s because the varying sizes of hyaluronic acid molecules settled into different layers of my skin keeping it more ‘holistically hydrated.’

Confirming my 81.5% hydrated goodness. Photo by Yara Macalindog.

It took my pathetic skin from 33% to 81.5% hydration! Normally, sheet mask plumpness and suppleness is very temporary, lasting me only about a day at most. So anything stretching more than that always catches my attention.

Mask fit. And posting this excessive pic cos I look like I have boobs here. Photo by Yara Macalindog.

I love how the Dr Morita sheet mask hugs my skin. The essence texture and sheet texture combine to really suction onto my face for a hassle-free masking session. A huge problem with subpar masks is that they use light essences that tend to let the mask sort of just flop off your face, which isn’t the case here. The eye holes may be a tad tiny, but who am I to complain?!

Dr Morita Mask Buffet. Photo by Yara Macalindog

Aside from the staple Triple Hyaluronic Acid Essence Mask, I’ll also be trying the Platinum Colloid and Hematite Extraction Whitening Black Facial Mask (ft. Tranexamic Acid and Hyaluronic Acid,) Platinum Colloid and Black Pearl Extraction Moisturizing and Whitening Black Facial Mask, Whitening and Moisturizing Mask (ft. Hyaluronic Acid and Mandelic Acid,) and the Intense Hydrating Serum Facial Mask.

This is all pretty new to me and I’m pretty excited! Do you have a favorite among these variants? Drop a comment and let me know about your fave and your experience with it!

Header photo by Yara Macalindog. I was invited to the Dr Morita launch. I was not paid nor otherwise compensated to present a feature.