// KBEAUTY / SKINCARE / AFFILIATE LINKS //

This review was in my draft for quite a long time and it is only a short one, nevertheless I would like to share it with you, since I know that some might be interested in products from the Laneige Water Bank line. This review is about a deluxe sample from Laneige’s Water Bank Essence. I reviewed the Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel a while back and it is one of my favourite eye creams in terms of hydration so far.

Laneige is a Korean brand, part of the Amore Pacific Group. The brand name comes from the french word for snow which is “la neige”. The brand name reflects the beauty of young women between 24 and 32 years by focusing on water as source of life. Therefore the products design is more mature and clean, reflecting the image of moisture obtained through water. I’m only showing pictures of the sample sized product, but the full-sized Water Bank Essence comes in a blue glass bottle and looks exactly like that mature and clean product. The deluxe sample has a simple plastic packaging in light blue and doesn’t look anything special.

Although it is a sample product it comes in a pump dispenser like the full-sized product. The deluxe sample contains 15 ml in contrast to the 60 ml full-sized bottle. I’m always very happy about pump dispensers, since it makes the application always more easier and it is more hygienic, too. I needed two pumps from this essence each time I used it on my face. This essence can be used in the morning and in the evening after cleansing and before using your regular moisturizer and it is supposed to give your skin more and long-lasting hydration for the whole day.

The sample product doesn’t come with much description. The back side of the product contains some information in Korean, but other than this there are no more details here. You can find an English description on Laneige’s official US homepage >>here<<. Note, the essence is called serum here…I don’t know why. Also, if you buy this from Korean suppliers, there are two versions, the Water Bank Essence and the Water Bank Essence EX. The latter is the improved version of this essence and doesn’t contain alcohol as second ingredient, so I would recommend you to use the new version. The main ingredients for this moisturizing essence are Hydro Ion Mineral Water, Quinoa extract, Olive Squalane and Tilandsia Extract. You can find a list of both the Water Bank Essence and the Water Bank Essence EX ingredients >>here<<.

The Laneige Water Bank Essence is a milky, runny liquid, which can be spread easily and gives your skin a light moisturized feeling and a velvet-y finish. I really liked how the essence makes the skin feel on its own. If it absorbs it is not sticky. Moreover, it has the typical fresh and nice Laneige scent, which I liked for all the products I tried from this brand. If you have dry skin like I do I would not only rely on this essence for moisture, but also add some cream afterwards. All in all, this is a solid and nice essence and I would love to try the full-sized product in future. The downside is, that it is more expensive brand than regular drug store brands, but I say it is definitively worth a try. 60 ml retail for 46.01 US$ at W2Beauty for example. If you use my affiliate link or enter the code 088505 in the registration form you’ll receive a 5 US$ voucher, which can be used immediately for purchases over 30 US$. What is your favourite essence at the moment? Did you try any products from the Laneige Water Bank Line?