facial cotton comparison

This is a comparison for the readily available better quality facial cottons available in the GTA. I've tried a lot of facial cottons and I find the quality of Asian brands being a lot better than the generic cotton pads available in most drug stores.

Let's just say the round generic ones are too rough for your face and they are also too thick and suck up too much product causing you to use more. The quality is so bad I don't even want to use them on my face. They are not entirely cheap. They normally cost around$2.99 for a pack of 100 cotton pads.

The small round ones they are not as rough on the face but it's too small and tend to peel so I don't even bother buying them even for removing nail polish.

There are 5 cotton pad brands I generally use because I use a lot of cotton pads. I use around 6-10 per day and that's just for my face. I personally prefer the Shiseido one but it's too expensive for me to use it. I do not want to spend $10 on facial cotton every month.

These are the cotton pads I've been currently using and there are all readily available in the GTA. The three in the paper boxes are available at T&T a local Asian supermarket. There are several T&T in the GTA including one in downtown and one in Mississauga so you can find them easily. The Shiseido one is available at most Shoppers Drug Mart and Shiseido counters. The prices range from $ 2- $9 (before tax) for the above cotton pads.

Kyowa cotton pads are Japanese facial cotton pads that are made out of 100% cotton. These go on sale quite often and they are $ 2 when it goes on sale. Each box have 80 sheets. They are soft on the face and they don't suck up a lot of products. 

Selena is another Japanese brand. This is also 100% cotton you can tell the texture is different on both sides. On one side is smooth while the other is a little rougher. I use this with my hitachi hada crie as this is soft on the face and doesn't break up easily like the Shiseido when I use it with the hada crie. I think original price is around$ 5.5 but when it's on sale, they are $2.99 for a box of 90 sheets.

Cosmed cotton pads. These come from Taiwan. This is not cotton but paper fiber. Well from the box, it says that it's made out of 100% air-laid non-woven fabric. I would say this is different from other cotton pads I've tried before. These are not the softest on the market but soft enough I will use them on my face. But I still prefer 100% cotton ones over this one. That is the full size of each cotton pad. So it's definitely a lot bigger than other cotton pads on the market. Can be used for doing lotion masks.

Original price should be around $7 but when it's on sale they are $3 for a box of 180 sheets. 

One of the most expensive cotton pads on the market. 100% cotton. They never go on sale. Even if you get them at the warehouse sale they are still expensive. Last time I checked the price at the warehouse sale was only $1-2 dollars cheaper than their normal retail price. Regular price is $9 for 165 pieces. 

These are soft on the face and can be separated into 5 layers for doing lotion masks. 

There are other facial cottons that are soft and can be split into different layers. They are both Japanese brands and available at the beauty store at J-Town at Woodbine and Steeles. One is pink plastic package (forgot the brands) and the other one is the Selena green package. I think the prices are $4.00 and $3.59 respectively. They also have sample packs opened and you can feel them before you buy them. 

Is the Shiseido one a lot softer than the ones mentioned above? Not really. The Shiseido one is softer but not worth the price difference when compared to other Japanese facial cottons out there especially the ones where you can split into different layers. 

Which facial cotton do you use?