Laneige Skincare

Usually, I only pick up one item when I want to try out a new product line to see if it’s worth getting more down the road.  That wasn’t the case with Lanaige skincare.  High praise from Lisa Eldridge sucked me in and took a big dent out of my bank account.  Since I’ve been trying them out for awhile, I thought is was time that I shared my thoughts on what I got.

Laneige is a Korean brand that has made it’s way over to the US with the Korean beauty and skincare trend.  It’s available on Target’s website and in a few of their stores.  I found mine at a Super Target so I think it might be exclusive to those Target stores. 

Water Bank Serum $35
This was the first product that caught my eye.  It’s a moisturizing serum that claims to promote cell turnover.  Essentially, its meant to make your skin look really plump and youthful.  It has an interesting gel like texture that moisturizes while being really light on the skin.  In the summer I used this as my primary moisturizer and I could definitely see this as a good base for moisturizer in the winter.  This one was a winner for me and would repurchase it.

Water Bank Gel Cream $35
Like the name suggests, it also has a gel-like consistency.  It feels light on the skin and provides a substantial amount of moisture.  A little goes a long way with this moisturizer.  I only used a dime sized amount and I found it was plenty for my whole face.  I really want to see how the moisture holds up in the winter because it seems like it would do a great job on my dry skin.



I originally had full size bottles of some of the products below in my basket but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that much damage to my wallet.  Since I really wanted to try out more from the range, I opted for the skincare set which I think is a good introduction to the line if you don’t want to put up too much money.  The set was around $29 and all of the samples were around 1oz.

Multi Cleanser
Uses papaya and micro beads to exfoliate the skin.  I think the papaya might have been too much for my skin because it left my face really dry after I used it.  Although it claims to be suitable for all skin types, I don’t think it’s suitable for my dry skin.  I was so disappointed in this one that I quickly chucked it into my spare skincare drawer and totally forgot about including it in the picture above.  Whoops, sorry about that!

Power Essential Skin Toner
Oh, toners and I have a long sordid history.  Really I have yet to find a toner that I love and after a horrible experience in high school I swore them off completely until a couple of years ago.  The Essential Toner also claims to be for all skintypes but from my vast research of toners I have come to learn that one type does not fit all.  This was another fail. (Insert sad emoji face)

Balancing Emulsion
I think this has some fancy disruption on it’s purpose but really it just seemed like a runny pre-moisturizer.  I used it after the toner and before the serum.  It’s meant to restore the moisture after the toning process but it didn’t seem to really do much of anything.  Also, it was a big pain to get out of the little sample bottle.  Sadly, this one also feel flat for me.

Water Bank Serum
I had a gut feeling I would like this serum so I wasn’t too put off by getting the full size and the mini.  I think it will be great for travel.

Water Bank Moisture Cream
This really seems like the cream version of the gel moisturizer.  It has a heavier consistency but it doesn’t seem to provide much more moisture than the gel which seems odd.  This may be a hit once winter comes so I’ll have to see about this one.

Water Sleeping Mask
This is a overnight mask that is meant to rejuvinate dehydrated skin. Like other overnight masks I’ve used I either apply a light layer as a nighttime moisturizer or a thicker layer as a mask that I leave on for about 15 minutes and then tissue off. I really enjoyed this and I plan to buy a full size version when this sample runs out. 

Overall, there are some hits and misses in the range.  The cost is a bit more than I like to spend on skincare at the drugstore but the products that worked for me are definitely worth the money. 

Also, I’m a little confused by the layering process in Korean skincare.  Is it really necessary to have a toner, balancing moisturizer, serum, and moisturizer?  It seems a bit excessive but if anyone has any thoughts on this please leave them in the comments below.

Have you tried any skincare from Laneige?