Everything You Need to Know About One of the Best Skincare Brands from Taiwan: Annie's Way
Taiwan is known for its night markets, beef noodles, pineapple cakes, and boba but in some circles, perhaps Taiwan’s most notable export is its sheet masks and facial skincare products. The combination of efficacy and affordability has landed Taiwanese skincare brands in every corner of the world. A prime example of this is Annie’s Way, based out of Kaohsiung, whose goal is to elevate Taiwanese skincare through more rigorous and safer manufacturing techniques that are 100% made in Taiwan. Annie’s Way accomplishes this while using proven and natural active ingredients combined with playful and fun flavors and formats. Let’s explore what makes Annie’s Way different than other brands.
ANNIE'S WAY: A HIGHER STANDARD
When we sat down with founder Annie Wu in her Kaohsiung office in Southern Taiwan, one of the things she was most proud of was the quality of her products. And that’s because she owns and runs the factories in which her products are made,an absolute rarity in today’s beauty and skincare world. The Annie’s Way factory is also ISO9001 and ISO22716 certified. For the sake of transparency, she even lists the complete manufacturing information on herwebsite. The majority of the products produced in these food-grade facilities are Annie’s Way branded products.
See it all for yourself in this factory tour, featuring Annie’s husband and accomplice.
Looking at the packaging itself, each product is labelled with a ‘VOID’ sticker. When the sticker is removed, it leaves an indelible mark on the component which is always nice to see. The jars of her best-selling jelly masks all come in very robust components with a frosted coating (perhaps to reduce aging from light). I appreciated the fact that the plastic lid opened very smoothly. After opening the jar, another plastic safety lid covers up the goop which was distributed nice and evenly.
An overview of Annie’s Way Product Series
In this article, we’ll be focused on Annie’s Way facial mask products. Those products consist of three different product series: 1) Annie’s Way Jelly Masks 2) Annie’s Way Sheetmasks - Dreamland Series 3) Annie’s Way Sheetmasks - Bubble Tea Series.
An Introduction to Annie’s Way Jelly Mask Series
This product series is what Annie’s Way is best-known for. In fact, her Arbutin + Hyaluronic Mask alone has done an incredible100K units in sales in a single month. This Jelly Jar mask is a cult product for many of the Annie’s Way fans and helps to differentiate the brand from the popular My Beauty Diary that focuses mostly on sheet masks.
Each jar is a generous 250ml. After applying a thick layer to the face, I would estimate that I can get anywhere between 10-15 uses of this jelly mask which makes the value quite good. The box has an included spatula in it as well. A quick tip: I suggest to keep the boxes of the jelly masks rather than discarding them. After using the spatula, you can wipe it clean and use the box to store both the jar and the spatula.
In total, there are about 8 different jelly masks in these series. The product naming structure combines the active ingredient(s) with the skincare benefit. For example, LAVENDER EXTRACT + SOOTHING, ALOE + SEAWEED ANTI-ACNE, and Q10 + PEONY ANTI AGING. I really like the simplicity of this product naming structure and it makes it easy to find the right product for your skin concern.
Learn more about each product in the series by clicking the links below:
- Annie's Way Calendula Softening Jelly Mask
- Annie's Way Lavender Relaxing Jelly Mask
- Annie's Way Aloe + Seaweed Anti-Acne Jelly Mask (250ml
- Annie's Way Arbutin + Hyaluronic Acid Brightening Jelly Mask (250ml Jar)
- Annie's Way Honey Deep Moisturizing Jelly Mask (250ml Jar)
- Annie's Way Q10 Anti-Aging Jelly Mask (250ml Jar)
- Annie's Way Charcoal Black Jelly Mask Jar
An Introduction to Annie’s Way Bubble Tea Sheet Mask Series
Don’t sleep on Annie’s Way Sheet Masks either - they’re also pretty great! The second best-selling Annie’s Way series internationally is the Bubble Tea Silk Sheet Mask Series. Looking at the packaging, it’s easy to see why these are top sellers. They are super cute and I don’t know of any other brand that’s using Bubble Tea as a “flavor.”
I personally love the Black Tea Bubble Mask. It uses camellia sinensis leaf extract (the fancy word for “tea”) and it has a pleasing black tea scent. Note: it doesn’t smell like milk tea if that’s what you were expecting. The black tea scent combines pleasantly with a slightly sweet note akin to boba pearls.
Each box comes with 5 pieces of the silk sheet mask with the goop generously laid on each sheet. The sheet masks are a 2-piece construction - the mask itself is adhered to a protective plastic backing that helps maintain its structure during shipment and transport. The silk mask evenly lands on the face with very little folding or air bubbles.
In terms of the product benefit format, each mask in the Bubble Tea series has three skincare benefits (for example, “firming + nourishing + brightening” as with the Black Tea). You can learn more about each mask in the series by clicking the links below:
- Annie's Way Strawberry Bubble Tea Mask (Moisturizing, Revitalizing, Brightening)
- Annie's Way Mango Bubble Tea Mask (Moisturizing, Firming, Brightening)
- Annie's Way Green Tea Bubble Tea Mask (Oil-balancing, Soothing, Moisturizing)
- Annie's Way Black Tea Bubble Tea Sheet Mask (Firming, Nourishing, Brightening)
An Introduction to Annie’s Way Fantasy Land Series
Fantasy Land is a new sheet mask series from Annie’s Way that is targeted towards sheet mask enthusiasts. As with the Bubble Tea series, the masks are a 2-piece construction and are also made of silk. However, these sheet masks focus on more conventional ingredients and flavors, positioning themselves against other leading sheet mask brands on the market.
So how do they stack up against the competition? Wonderfully. My personal favorite, the Lavender + Chamomile Soothing Sheet mask uses real lavender and chamomile extract to create (in my opinion) one of the best-scented masks on the market. This is a relaxing sheet mask that’s perfect for an international flight or to use before bed.
The other sheet mask in the series that’s worth highlighting is the Hyaluronic Acid + Seaweed Sheet mask. This mask uses a type of seaweed calledChondrus Crispus (Irish Moss). Some studies show that this type of seaweed has vitamins and minerals that deliver anti-aging properties. Another fascinating property of Chondrus Crispus is that it helps to defend against UV radiation, making it the perfect choice for those prone to sunburn.
As with other Annie’s Way products, the Fantasy Land series follows a similar product naming convention of Ingredient(s) + benefit. However, the ingredient combinations of the Fantasy Land series are unique to this particular lineup, so you won’t find a counterpart product in the jelly mask series, for example. Click the links below to learn more about Annie’s Way Fantasy Land Silk Sheet Mask Series:
- Annie's Way Ginkgo + Seaweed Anti-Wrinkle Sheet Mask
- Annie's Way Pearl + Hyaluronic Acid Brightening Sheet Mask
- Annie's Way Lavender + Chamomile Soothing Sheet
- Annie's Way Hyaluronic Acid + Seaweed Hydrating Sheet Mask
Why Choose Annie’s Way?
With so many different options on the market, Annie’s Way has a unique offering of natural active ingredients with science-driven technology and results. In addition, their transparency about the manufacturing process really feels like a breath of fresh air in this industry. We were lucky enough to meet with founder Annie Wu and her team in-person and her passionate vision for the brand really showed. She truly wanted to make a better product than what was currently being offered on the market and is constantly trying out new formulas and formats.
Glowie Co is a proud authorized reseller of Annie’s Way products and we work directly with Annie to source the products, shipped straight from Taiwan to our California warehouse.