Mavogel Cotton Sleep Eye Mask, Light Blocking with Adjustable Nose Bridge

Why it's worth it

The Mavogel is a flat cotton mask with a bendable cartilage strip at the nose, so you pinch it to your own face and close the gap light usually pours through. It's soft, thin, and costs very little.

The nose bridge is where nearly every flat mask fails, and this is a simple, credible fix for it. You push the bending strip up against your nose and it holds that shape. CNET's editorial testing found masks with adjustable nose-bridge wings cut reported light leakage from the lower face gap — the most commonly cited fit problem — especially for people with narrow or low bridges. That's precisely the group flat masks fail.

It's the mask to buy if you want darkness without bulk. Five layers of cotton, sponge and knit come to about two-thirds of an ounce, and the whole thing is under half an inch thick. It folds flat into a jacket pocket. For a train, a bus, or a nightstand drawer you keep grabbing from, that thinness matters more than another few percent of blackout.

From our review of 8 sleep masks for total darkness, by Eleanor Vance, Health & Beauty Editor

What we like

• +The nose bridge is where nearly every flat mask fails, and this is a simple, credible fix for it
• +It's the mask to buy if you want darkness without bulk
• +The cotton triangle wings at the sides do a quiet job of keeping the mask from wandering, and the seams are finished tightly…
• +There is a real ceiling here

What to know

• –The strap is thin, and some owners find it presses uncomfortably against the tops of their ears
• –That nose wire is heavier than the mask around it
• –Cotton and sponge don't have silk's low friction, so this does nothing for sleep creases or hair breakage