LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask and Lip Sleeping Mask

LANEIGE'S cult favorite overnight hydration mask, the Water Sleeping Pack, is one of the brand's bestsellers, having sold 16 million units since 2002.

If you've never tried it before, it's a fresh gel moisturizer that you apply over regular skincare right before bed, it's designed to deliver continual non-greasy hydration to help perk up dull, tired skin. Technically, I don't think your skin is going to differentiate between moisturizer and a sleeping mask. This can be used as an extra boost over your existing products every other night, OR used in place of moisturizer if you have oily skin. (But that's just me.)

The concept of using sleeping masks is based around the skin's repair and detoxification cycle. At night is when skin regenerates itself and skincare has the biggest effect. However, it's also the time where your pores are open and you lose the most water. So sleeping masks are designed to help boost that repair cycle while minimizing moisture loss.

The Water Sleeping Pack formula has been updated this year, so it is now called the Water Sleeping Mask (SGD$42), and works in three ways:

1. Detoxify and repair with Hunza apricot extract and Evening Primrose Root. Both ingredients are antioxidants and also help the skin to discharge contaminants that accumulate during the day. According to a clinical study done by LANEIGE, the product supposedly reduces pore size and boosts radiance after a week's use. 
2. Hydrate without being heavy or occlusive, with a beta-glucan mineral complex. Apparently, tests showed that after a week of use, this had a more noticeable effect on those who had had a bad night's sleep. Not that you should be using a sleeping mask to replace sleep, but if you don't have a choice, then slap this on you won't look quite as bad as you usually do without rest.
3. Aromatherapy with natural orange flower, rose, ylang ylang, and sandalwood oils to prolong deep sleep by 36% (according to LANEIGE'S clinical data). Improving quality of sleep in turn strengthens your skin's natural regenerative abilities.

I can't in all honesty say that it's been a magical cure for my skin. I do enjoy applying the fresh texture; it absorbs instantly and feels cooling on the skin. And it's nice for a quick boost of moisture. But for people with dry skin or dry patches like me, this might not be sufficient to make a huge difference in terms of hydration levels. I can see this being great for oily to normal skins though.

I also am not 100% certain if it boosts sleep because the scent disappears after application, once it sinks into the skin. It does smell very pleasant though.

I haven't given it enough of a test to say if I see any noticeable differences in my skin but I think the biggest draw for me would be the detoxifying and antioxidant properties of some of the ingredients, and how it can complement your natural repair processes. 

Besides the face Sleeping Mask, LANEIGE has also launched another product which I am actually MUCH more excited about, lip balm junkie that I am.

The Lip Sleeping Mask (SGD$27) is a gorgeous, gorgeous pot of soft treatment butter for the lips. It contains a concentrated Berry Mix Complex including 8 berries (strawberry, blueberry, cranberry, gojiberry, soapberry, cloudberry, and coffee berry), and we all know berries contain a load of antioxidants and are great for the skin, both consumed and applied.

But it's really the sensorial experience that I love. This smells fruity and sweet, and just melts into the lips like you wouldn't believe. If you are a makeup artist, you might want to pick up a couple pots of this to condition your clients' lips before applying makeup because it smells SO good, feels SO good, and it actually smooths the lips quickly without being all waxy and thick.

The little silicone spatula is just darling too. But I just get in there with my fingers.

And I use it as a lip balm anytime of day. Not just before bed. And at $27 a 20g jar (a typical pot of Philosophy Kiss Me Goodnight lip balm has 9g of product), this is not a small pot! It will last a good long while, and do a lot more good for your lips than the typical wax 'n' oil lip balms around with much cheaper formulations.

(Too early to say but this might just creep into holy grail lip balm territory for me. All I can say is - I highly, highly recommend this if you have a chance to check it out.)

The LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask and Lip Sleeping Mask will be in stores in Singapore on 7 May 2015.

For those of you in the US, LANEIGE skincare is available at Target. I'm not entirely sure how soon these 2 products will be released, but the original Sleeping Pack is definitely being sold. Fingers crossed that the updated formula - and especially the Lip Sleeping Mask - will be on the shelves soon.

Belif Peat Miracle Revital Range

Belif Peat Miracle Revital Range

Belif is a popular Korean herbal skincare brand which is well-known for its adherence to 5 credos:

1. True Ingredients - only carefully selected natural herbal ingredients are used
2. True Formulas - the brand uses traditional extraction methods and processes to preserve natural ingredients
3. True Benefits - quality of the products takes emphasis over packaging
4. True Safety - no synthetic preservatives, colors, fragrances, mineral oils or animal derivatives are used in their formulas
5. True Timelessness - they stay away from fanciful fad ingredients and use herbal formulas that aim to stand the test of time

Peat Miracle Revival range is one of their newer anti-aging, skin rejuvenating lines.

If you've never heard of peat extract, it's a rare extract harvested from unpolluted earth deep under the surface in a few specific geological areas of the world. The "magic ingredients" created by fermentation of diverse organic matter are humic substances, including humic acid, which is not only antibacterial but also anti-inflammatory, and believed to be beneficial to skin regeneration. In fact, it's being studied for AIDS treatment. But I do need to point out that the exact benefits for skincare are still being studied so I steered away from reading too much marketing copy from Belif, because I wanted to try it for myself and see what it was really good for.

After using the products for about a month straight, this is what I think!

Peat miracle revital serum concentrate

The peat miracle revital serum concentrate is a viscous, clear, cooling gel which feels a little like hyaluronic acid. It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave any greasy residue.

If you have oily skin, this is one of the key products in the range you should start with because some of the other products are heavier in texture and possibly not that fantastic for oily skins, even though they aren't greasy per se. It's quite a refreshing and soothing product.

Belif Peat miracle revital cream

The Peat Miracle Revital Cream is cream with medium thickness but it does absorb into my dry skin quite well and the hydration lasts for a few hours. It's actually not a greasy cream at all. Good if you have normal to slightly-dry skin. I'm not too certain if those with oilier skins would enjoy something of this texture in the day, but it could work at night, in air-conditioning or in colder environments.

And the fresh herbal smell is just beautiful. I really enjoy the texture and scent every time I apply it.

Peat Miracle Revital Eye Cream

 The Peat Miracle Revital Eye Cream is meant to stimulate collagen production. In my month of using it, I can't really see any big change in skin texture and tone but that's normal with any topical product. Don't expect miracle results in a month, whatever the name says.

It does do a pretty good job of keeping my parched under-eye area hydrated and supple, without causing any milia seeds or clogs. 

If you have combination skin or oily skin but a few dry areas, I'd suggest getting the serum and the eye cream. Like the face cream, this has that same fresh light herbal scent.

Peat Miracle Revital Mask

Now here's one of my favorite products from the range. This was actually one of the last products I tried (I used the rest of the range about 3-4 weeks before I even popped this out, as I'm not someone to use clay masks regularly due to my drier skin.)

But I love it.

It works like a non-drying clay mask and cleans the skin, but it doesn't cause my skin to sting, and it doesn't dry it out. How's that for a good alternative to the usual masks that suck the moisture right out of your skin?

Then again, this is probably the reason why it might be a good option for normal to dry or mature skins, but not for very oily and congested skins. Not that it would do any harm. You just wouldn't see as much of an effect.

Final Verdict?

I'd say it's a great range for people who want skincare for first-signs of aging, who are experiencing a bit of dryness/dullness, some fine lines and slight slackness. Not so much for very mature skins or advanced signs of aging.

This is a good affordable alternative to expensive skincare if you're in your late 20s to mid-30s, if you don't have special needs such as acne or extreme sensitivity.