[Review] Laneige Essential Care Trial Set - Moisture

My usual skin care routine can be summed up in 0 steps. My face is lucky if it even gets a splash of water before going to bed. So yep, I don't do skin care. At least not before I got paranoid that I won't look my best on my wedding day. So last month I decided to change. I googled for skin care tips and specific products a total noob like me would need. And that's when I found out about Laneige.

To be fair, I'm not completely ignorant about skin care products. I know what a facial wash is, what a toner does, and what a moisturizer is supposed to do (you know, moisturize). Heck I sold Avon and Mary Kay for some time so I can answer the basics. My problem with routines is the word itself, ROUTINES. I'm averse to it, specifically those that would do me good (ie. working out, eating healthy, sleeping early), because don't we all subconsciously wanna die early? Kidding.

Anyway. My googling led me to Korean skin care and how obsessed they are with it. I told myself I just needed a basic 3-step routine that's proven effective, but what have you, they have up to 10 15. I prepared myself for it, after all, I only have a few months to work on my skin. If I had to do 20 steps - bring it on. LOL JK.

Back to the products...

The Laneige Essential Care Trial Set (Moisture) comes with a pouch containing 6 products. In order of usage:

1. Multi Cleanser_EX (facial wash)
2. Essential Power - Skin Refiner (~toner)
3. Essential Balancing - Emulsion (facial lotion)
4. Water Bank  - Essence_EX (serum)
5. Water Bank - Moisture Cream (moisturizer)
6. Water Sleeping Mask (mask)

The Moisture variant is for dry to normal skin. They also have a Light variant which is for combination to oily skin. I'm supposed to get the Light one but they only have it in full sized so nope, trial muna para sure!

How to use:

Suggested use is twice daily, morning and night, but I only do it once a day - in the morning before going to sleep because I work the night shift. With my usage, this pack could last a month. I'm not sure how long exactly but my set is about to get empty na and it's been a month pa lang hehe.

1 month of trial is already enough to make me a believer in this set. It really works especially with moisturizing the skin!

Okay,

1. Multi Cleanser_EX

First, wash your face using the Multi Cleanser_EX, then pat dry with a towel. I love it because it really cleans my face, seryoso! I also feel whiter after washing haha. Squeaky clean finish but not dry hehe. This reminds of me of one of Pond's facial washes.

2. Essential Power - Skin Refiner

Next, the toner! Well, the Skin Refiner isn't exactly a toner but it acts and smells like one. It's very watery in consistency so sorry for the preview, that's the best shot I got haha. But actually compared to other toners I've tried (Eskinol and Olay), this one's thicker and lathers smoothly on the face. I looooove it. This isn't alcohol-free but it's not too strong so that's good!

Normally you'd douse a cotton ball (or cotton pad na ba uso ngayon? haha) with the product and wipe your face clean, but I feel like I'm wasting too much product with that so I put it on my face first and spread it evenly before wiping it clean with a cotton ball.

You'd be surprised at how it's able to pick up some more dirt from your face even after washing!

3. Essential Balancing - Emulsion

I don't know what to call this at first but it definitely looks like a lotion of sorts. So yeah, let's call it that. After wiping your face clean with the skin refiner, get a pea sized of this and spread it evenly on your face, massaging it while you do, until it settles in and is almost dry.

The reason I do this routine before going to sleep is that the products tend to pile too much on my face that it looks too dewy and sticky. It could be that I'm using too much products, or that it's actually okay on dry skin (which I don't have), I don't know haha.

The Emulsion is probably something I'd take out of the routine once the pack is empty since I'm not really suffering from super dry skin. But if you are, by all means don't skip this step!

4. Water Bank - Essence_EX

After the Emulsion sets on your skin, it's time to move to the serum! The Water Bank - Essence_EX is like a moisturizer that is lighter, more watery, and more concentrated too. It comes in a cute glass pump bottle that I like but it's hard to know how much is left unless you twist it open. I get 4-6 pumps of this and just like the Emulsion, I spread it evenly across my face, including my neck and back of it too, massaging it 'till it sinks in and almost dries. It dries faster because it's lighter hehe and I can feel it getting absorbed quickly into my skin too.

In real life I'm loo lazy to wait for them to dry so I end up piling them on top of each other lol. Oh, that explains the wet look I'm complaining about on the previous step HAHA.

This is a key product. Do not skip this. The serum is the miracle worker in any Korean skincare, so you should invest in it once you've found the one that works best on your skin. 

5. Water Bank - Moisture Cream

After the Essence, it's time to lock all the products in with the Water Bank - Moisture Cream. It's one heavy moisturizer. It's white and thick and just like the previous two, you get a pea sized amount of it and spread it evenly 'til it dries.

And that's it! On regular days, I do only 1-5. The last product is reserved only once a week, and replaces steps 4 and 5.

6. Water Sleeping Mask

Every Sunday I use the Water Sleeping Mask because it's the only day I'm sure to get a lot of sleep, hence more time for the products to work wonders on my skin. According to the literature, the Sleeping Mask is used after the Emulsion, so if you're using this, skip the Serum and the Moisturizer.

This water mask is also thick, but like a gel haha. It's cool on the skin and smells nice too! I would use it in lieu of the Moisture Cream but this one's too expensive to use daily hahahuhu.

Price and Availability

The Laneige Essential Care Trial Set costs ₱1,995 at local Laneige stores (bought mine at Trinoma). Other branches: Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Magnolia, Robinsons Ermita, SM Aura Premier, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia.

I can say it's effective because in just a month my skin feels and looks more hydrated. Jeckie has been complimenting me a lot lately too and I can only attribute it to these products. Plus, I'm also drinking a lot of water na rin, as in 2 liters a day. Really helps!

The price is pretty hefty for me but it's a great way to sample their products without risking any regrets buying the full sized ones 'cos that's more than ₱1k per bottle rin no! This also gave me an idea what to purchase next. Oh yeah, you don't have to get entire set the next time, just pick the ones that work for you. Remember that the basic routine is to cleanse, tone, and moisturize - and the rest are all nice to have na lang! But I would say get a serum parin! Honestly I kinda want to have to whole set, plus an eye cream, but later na when I have more budget! HAHA

Oh wait, I skip the routine when I'm down with colds because my nose becomes super sensitive. Actually, it still is and I find these products too scent-y for my taste, pero I'm enduring it haha kasi... hala bakit nga ba?

Pero yung totoo as much as I want to repurchase, I'm still in this experimental stage where I want to try out a lot of products to know what works best for my skin. I love this line though, but I want a set with a milder scent, or none at all haha.

Okay, ipon ipon muna.

Shop your favorite Korean beauty products!

If you're looking for full sized bottles of these, get them online instead because they're much cheaper. I'm about to restock from Althea because it offers the best deals. BeautyMNL also carries Laneige but it's more expensive and always out of stock. Also, Althea ships their products straight from Korea and offers free shipping for orders worth ₱2000 and up! :)

Sign up using my referral link and let's enjoy the discounts together!

Any skin care products you can recommend? :)