REVIEW: Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

Product info:

This lip sleeping mask is an overnight lip care that creates smooth, firm lips that last all day by softly melting dead skin cells on the lips while you sleep and relieves troubles that can’t be solved with a moisturizing lip balm alone. You put it on before bed and then remove it in the morning.

Its formula is made using a innovative berry mix complex containing 4 types of berries (raspberry, strawberry, cranberry, blueberry), that provides the lips with rich vitamins, erases flaky skin and has an antioxidant effect for firm and supple lips.

It also utilises the Moisture Wrap Technology (also found in their famous Sleeping Mask).

Thoughts

This lip sleeping mask was launched in 2015 and I was lucky to grab one on Ebay for about £13. It must have been really popular because it was sold out in a lot of places, both in Korea and online.

Size comparison: Lip Sleeping Mask VS Water Sleeping Mask

Includes: Box, instructions leaflet, spatula and product tub

Packaging: Not only did I really want this for its exfoliating properties I was sold already by its adorable packaging. It comes in a sturdy little pink plastic pot that has the appearance of frosted glass and houses 20g of product with a screw-on cap and a plastic protector cover inside. Although it may be more expensive than your average lip balm, it contains a lot of product that will last you a long time. I’ve had this for 4 months and I’ve barely made a dent in it.

It also comes with a dainty pink spatula in a plastic envelope to scoop up the product which keeps it hygienic and is a handy applicator for the lips. I love that its pink like the pot and the balm itself. Just little details like that create an overall product that feels so luxurious and high quality. The slight downside is that the tip is made from a bendy silicone/rubber-like material and looks fragile so you have to be quite gentle with it or it could snap off. You’ll need to wipe it down after every use too, otherwise it can create a sticky mess when you put it back in the envelope. This might be too fiddly and time-consuming right before bed so alternatively, you can ditch the spatula and go in with clean hands.

Spatula comes in a cute little envelope.

Plastic protector cover to keep it fresh and hygienic. Like that it has a little tab on top to help you pull it off.

Smell: As for the mask itself, I love the smell of it. It smells like berries and in particular, if you’ve ever tried the Haribo Strawb sweets, it smell identical to that.

Application/Texture: I use this a couple times a week, sometimes more depending on the condition of my lips. I apply this last in my skincare routine, right before bed. The instructions say to apply a thick layer onto lips, then wipe off gently with tissue the next morning. I tend to apply thicker when my lips are more dry and peeling and a thinner layer when it just feels slightly chapped and in need of moisture. In the morning I prefer to gently massage my lips with my fingers and water to remove it rather than a tissue because I feel like it still leaves a residue otherwise.

I’ve also applied this in a thin layer during the day like a lip balm and it works in moisturising and soothing the lips.

If you’ve ever used a Vaseline lip therapy, the texture is very similar but slightly thicker. It feels quite waxy and heavy on the lips, especially with a thick layer, but isn’t overly sticky. It warms up on your lips when you apply and is easy to spread. It has a nice glossy, shiny finish on the lips too and gives it the appearance of looking plumper and fuller.

Without mask

With mask: applies clear and gives a glossy shine and the appearance of plumper lips

Results:

I have dry lips all year round. No matter what lip products I use, the treatment effect is temporary. I have what I call ‘wrinkly lips’ because they have a lot of lines so when it’s dry or chapped, the cracks appear very obvious. Even when I remove dry flaky skin, more dry skin just grows back immediately in its place. This is why I have to avoid a lot of lipsticks and other lip products that aren’t moisturising enough.

This is where the lip sleeping mask comes in. If I had written this review about a month ago, it would’ve been less positive than it is now. I had such high expectations that this was going to solve all those problems that when I first tried it, I was a little underwhelmed.

For the first 3 months I used it, my lips were dry and chapped a lot, but not very flaky. This helped relieve my sore lips when I went to bed and I would wake up with softer, more moisturised lips. Yet after I wiped it off, the effects gradually wore off and my lips would go back to being slightly sore again. It actually works very much like Vaseline in this aspect. I feel it protects the lips with a coating of moisture when applied and stop you losing more moisture, but doesn’t work that well to actually heal them. I also didn’t see much in the way of exfoliating my lips either which was my main reason for getting this.

However, a month ago when the temperature dropped, my lips got a lot more dry and flaky, although not feeling chapped. The morning after applying, I saw bits of dead skin residue sitting on my lips. It was such a satisfying feeling. This had softened my lips and melted off the flakes so when I gently washed if off, I had baby smooth lips and less accentuated lip lines. The bits of skin it hadn’t removed, it softened them up enough so that I was able to gently exfoliate them away with my fingers. I was surprised how similar it works to a lip scrub except this is a much gentler method.

So to sum up what it does and doesn’t do:

• It can exfoliate your lips if you have enough dry flaky skin for it to work on (if it’s just dry you won’t see much exfoliation).
• You need to apply a very thick layer (2 or 3 coats) for it to exfoliate effectively.
• Makes lips softer and smoother.
• Like Vaseline. Stops you losing more moisture.
• Protects and soothes dry chapped lips temporarily but doesn’t heal it completely. Moisture level doesn’t remain once you’ve wiped it off.
• If you apply thin layer – most of it absorbed by morning.
• If you apply thick layer – doesn’t transfer and you can still feel a thin layer sitting on the lips by morning.
• Can use during the day as a lip balm to help protect and prevent moisture loss.

Overall, I went from slight disappointment to really liking this lip sleeping mask – when my lips are in especially bad shape. It performs like a regular lip balm to give you soft and moisturised lips but what makes it really stand out from the crowd is its ability to lightly exfoliate and soften the dead skin. This has really improved my habit of picking off and nibbling at the dry skin on my lips. Although it doesn’t do much if your lips aren’t that flaky, it still works as a decent moisturising lip balm, especially to protect against the winter cold.