Laneige Water Sleeping Pack Review

This is probably one of the most famous Laneige products, having existed for almost five years, and recomended by the famous and beautiful Song Hye Kyo. Many of my readers have been surprised in the past that this is not one of my favorite Laneige products. This is not because the mask is not good quality, but because it does not exactly fit my lifestyle and I cannot find any need for it. Regardless, I kept repurchasing this mask for almost 2 years now. Why? Please read on for my review of this famous night-time mask. 

Pros:
1. Moisture: moisturizes very well. Every time I feel extremely dry (which is not often) or got burnt or irritated by a product, I would exfoliate lightly and directly go for this mask.
2. Smooth and dewy skin: Every night I use this, I get smooth and dewy skin the next morning. My skin feels very soft in the morning and very elastic. I was told that this soften wrinkles as well, but luckily, I'm not in a position to know. :P

3. Relaxing scent: I usually do not like scents in products, but this scent is very relaxing as Laneige describes it 

Cons:
1. Sticky Skin: The mask does not absorb as fast as I like. Whenever I use this mask, I plan ahead of time so that I can leave the mask on for an hour before going to bed 

2. Richness: I have a feeling that this may be rich enough so that you cannot use this every night without causing problems. 

My love and hate relationship:

This is a very impressive product, and very moisturizing, especially good for emergencies. However, I do not have such emergencies often, and I find that the water sleeping pack do not give me any benefits my night cream does not. So I always keep a tub at hand just for emergencies, but I do not find it necessary very often. 

Overall: Great sleeping mask providing great moisturization. However, if you do not need the extra moisture, it does not offer many benefits besides your regular night cream. I would advise using this for nights when you know you would not get enough sleep or are under extreme stress. 

My recipes for strawberry yogurt mask--with variations for different skin types

In my last post, I promised to share my recipe of strawberry yogurt mask, which replaced laneige strawberry yogurt pack for me. I am aware that there are many versions of strawberry yogurt masks online, and that it is hard to say that my version is original. So let's just say that this is my version of the recipe that I got from my mother, and later modified after asking my Korean derm for some suggestions. I have made different versions for different skin types as gifts to my cousins and friends, so I will include different recipes for dry skin, oily skin, combo skin and normal skin. However, I myself have only used the recipe for combo skin. All four recipes are considered to be good for acne-prone and sensitive skin types. Please read on for the recipes


First off, I should mention the benefits of those strawberry yogurt masks, and I will elaborate on the benefits of each variation of the masks as we go along.

Strawberry: Strawberries is a natural source of salicylic acid, which is considered to be a BHA. Salicylic acid is oil soluble, which means that it can penetrate into the pores and dissolve the gunks and clogs caused by sebum over production. This is especially good for acne-prone skin.
In addition, strawberries contain a slew of antioxidants as well as many vitamins, which should give the skin a glow after washing it off.

Yogurt: Yogurt has anti-bacterial because it contains lots of yeast, which helps dry out acne and help prevent potential acne. Yogurt is also very soothing for skin, which soothes breakouts. It has often been said that yogurt bleaches skin. This is because to some degree, the soothing abilities of yogurt repair sun damage, so if your skin is tanned from the sun, it might become a little whiter with the constant use of yogurt masks. However, I have not seen much of a difference since I'm naturally very fair and adore sunscreen so much that I do not think I have tanned from the sun.


Combination Skin:


Ingredients: two tablespoons of honey, two strawberries, and 1 cup white yogurt (I do use store bought strawberry yogurt when in a hurry, however, making your own with strawberries and plain yogurt is still recommended)

Benefits: Honey is a great humectant, which means that it helps skin retain moisture, enough though it may not moisturize a lot by itself. I think it is especially good for combination skin because it helps the skin retain moisture where it needs it the most.
Honey also has great antibacterial abilities, which is especially good for reducing acne.
In addition, honey is sticky, which I've found to be good for reducing clogged pores, because it really does stick to the gunk in the pores and bring them out


Instructions: 
1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Then I add my two tablespoons of honey into the mixture and keep blending. My mother likes to heat the honey before adding it because she believes it blends better that way. I just add the honey without heating because I'm lazy. :P
3. After blending thoroughly, I like the put the mixture in the fridge to cool it so that when I apply it, it feels cold and soothing. :)

When you feel like it (I do this after exfoliation), apply the mask onto your face, and rinse off after the mask has somewhat dried, or after 30 minutes.



Oily Skin:


Ingredients: Two eggs whites, two strawberries and 1 cup of plain yogurt.

Benefits: Eggs are very soothing for skin. For centuries in Asia, people would use the egg whites to soothe bruised and swollen skin, and puffy eyes. Egg whites also help maintain the right sebum balance in skin, which helps reduce oily skin. In addition, egg whites also help tighten skin.
Egg yolks are great for moisturization and revitalizing tired skin. However, we will not use the egg yolks in this mask. You could eat them or use them for a hand treatment like I do. I mix them with olive oil (or your choice of oil) as a mask for my hands, and seal with some thick cream like vaseline, then cover with plastic gloves.

Instructions: 
1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Then crack the eggs and pour the egg whites into a bowl. Beat the eggs until they are foamy and frothy.
3. Add the egg whites and the strawberry yogurt blend together. Blend them until even.
4. Cool in the fridge.
5. Apply on face and leave on for 20 minutes. Try not to move facial muscles during this time.


Dry Skin:


Ingredients: Two tablespoons of jojoba oil or olive oil (or your choice of an oil that does not irritate your skin. This is very different for all people. OR if you cannot stand all oils, substitute with half of a ripe avocado), two strawberries, and 1 cup of yogurt.

Benefits: Olive oils (or most oils derived from nuts) and avocados are great in their moisturizing abilities because they contain lots of essential fatty acids. In addition, they contain great antioxidants which are good for anti-aging and correcting sun-damage or damage from free radicals.

Instructions: 1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Add the olive oil or your choice of oil. OR if you decided to use the avocado, mash the avocado. Blend with the strawberry yogurt mixture.
3. Cool in the fridge.
4. Apply on face and leave on for 20 minutes.


Normal Skin:
Ingredients: Two strawberries and 1 cup of yogurt.

Benefits: If you have normal skin, lucky you! This is the simplest of the masks. As stated before, both strawberries and yogurt have anti-bacterial abilities, helps unclog pores, soothes skin and prevents acne.

Instructions: 1. Mash the strawberries and blend with the plain yogurt until it turns into a beautiful pinkish color. If yours look like plain yogurt dotted with strawberries, either the strawberries are not fresh enough or you have not mashed them well enough. Keep blending until it's almost an even pink color.
2. Cool in the fridge
3. Apply on face and leave on for 20 minutes

NOTES: I have not mentioned what kind of yogurt I use. I personally use full fat plain yogurt (organic when possible) 

Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Pack Review

This is a review for the Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Pack, which I liked to use after the Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Peel. I don't know if the two products work better together, but it has been suggested by the SA every time I bought this product, and I like to use them together because I like to indulge myself in the lovely strawberry scent. The two product combos were my staple for more than 2 years. Like I mentioned before, I have since stopped using the Strawberry Yogurt Peel, and I have also stopped using the Laneige Strawberry Pack with it. However, I continued using the concept of the Strawberry Yogurt Pack because I loved it, only a cheaper and "healthier" version. Hehe, my Korean derm have helped me develop a homemade recipe for this strawberry yogurt pack, with different variations for different skin types, and I wish to share it with you in my next article. This article will be a review of the Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Pack.

This Strawberry Yogurt Pack has a very pleasant smooth gel consistency, just like a typical American yogurt, but with strawberry seeds. :) The smell is lovely like a strawberry milk shake. I like to store it in the fridge so that when I apply it, it has a cooling feeling, and also prolongs the shelf-life of this product, which is said to be prone to expiration.

Pros:
1. Very cooling and soothing after application.
2. Moisturization: this strawberry yogurt pack moisturizes rather well, perhaps not so much as my favorite night cream, but enough to not feel dry after using the Strawberry Yogurt Peel (which I would feel otherwise). 

3. Soft and dewy skin: used with the Strawberry Yogurt Peel, I get very smooth and soft skin after use. I realize that the smooth skin is from exfoliation, but after using this pack, I feel my skin is very dewy and elastic. Like if I press my finger on my cheek (which I shouldn't do :)), I can almost see the skin spring right back after I remove my finger. 

4. Very good consistency: not thick enough to feel suffocating and not thin enough to feel runny. 

5. Prevents acne: yogurt has good bacteria in it, and strawberry has salicylic acid in it, both of which are good for acne-prone skin. I've found that even though using this weekly does not neccessarily prevent a lot of breakouts as to be noticeable, but it does help any acne I may have at that moment go away faster. Very good for a gentle treatment.

Cons:
1. Sensitivity issue: I've known a lot of people who have very sensitive skin report that they are a little allergic to this product, or that this product does not do much. I think this may be due to the scent of the product, which may irritate some people when left on the face for a long time (20 minutes is suggested). 

2. Fast expiration: This product seems to have a fast expiration process because it is recommended to be stored in the fridge in the summer. To me, this is a good thing because quite a lot of preservatives would have to be put into a product like this to keep it from expiring soon. 

General Comment: 

I thought I should mention how I use this product. I know quite a lot of people who wipe this product off with a tissue after 20 minutes and not rinse off. However, I rinse off, and then apply my toner and moisturizer as usual. I think doing this prevents me from becoming overly allergic to the scent and preservatives in the product. And I would advise people with sensitive skin who haven't had much luck with this product to try doing this. :) I honestly think that any nutrients the skin could absorb should have been mostly absorbed within the 20 minutes. 

Overall: Really great skin mask that I used once a week for two years. I still use a home-made version of this product, and it works great! :)