Curious to see if the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask really works? We reviewed it for you.
Ointment-type lip balms never work for me. While they seem to hydrate my lips on the surface level, they often sit on top of my lips for too long, refusing to be absorbed and making any color I apply slide around. I’ve seen some success with the Fresh Sugar Lip Balm, which has a unique, mousse-like texture, but just like the Anastasia Brow Wiz, I run out of that product faster than what my wallet can keep up with.
So when I came across the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, I was curious if the raving reviews were true. According to the AmorePacific CEO I interviewed last month, it’s the star Laneige product Sephora can’t get enough of. Currently, my lips are either extremely chapped or noticeably greasy, so despite my creeping skepticism that maybe it’s unnecessary to have a separate sleeping mask just for my lips, I decided to put this little pink jar to the test.
The ingredients
The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask uses vitamin C, shea butter, and various fruit extracts like raspberry, strawberry, and goji berry to soothe and soften lips. It also claims to use a special technology called Moisture WrapTM, which creates a mineral network of beta-glucans over the lips to lock in hydration and keep lips moisturized for up to 8 hours. One thing to note is that it does contain several types of waxes, including synthetic, and a bit of fragrance.
How it feels:
It goes on colorless, and the texture is between that of a very thick moisturizer and a silky balm. Since I’m used to going to bed with a ton of product on my face, I slather on a generous amount at the end of my skin care routine. But a little bit goes a long way, and technically, you only need a tiny amount each time—even less than the amount of product you need for an eye cream.
The product comes with a cute little applicator, which in an ideal world, you’d be using and washing every time. But a clean finger will work, too, in terms of application, as Meg demonstrates here:
When it comes to the scent, it smells exactly like strawberry candy. It’s not sickeningly sweet but enough to momentarily bring you back to those Lip Smacker days. But unless you’re sticking your nose inside the jar, it’s unlikely that you’ll notice the scent at all.
The effect:
Since I like to put on a generous amount, when I wake up in the morning, there is still some product left on my lips. After my morning double cleanse, which washes away the residue, my lips still feel so soft and smooth without extra help. This is crazy because typically, my lips start to dry out immediately after I cleanse. Unless I somehow remember to put on lip balm at the beginning of my skin care routine, by the time I’m about to finish off my makeup look with a bit of lipstick, I need to wet my lips a bit to bring them back to life (a bad habit, I know).
It’s tricky to describe, but when I use the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, my lips feel like they’re holding onto rich moisture, as opposed to being trapped under a thin film of grease that most other lip products seem to create. And the moisturizing effect lasts for several more hours throughout the morning.
If your lips are particularly sensitive, however, make sure to thoroughly read through the ingredient list. According to Emily, an intern at Soko Glam, the sleeping mask made her lips feel warm and itchy, though she loved how hydrating the product was.
It doubles as a lip balm
If you’re curious whether you can also use this sleeping mask as a lip balm throughout the day, the answer is yes. For chronically chapped lips, I can imagine that there’s no better product out there to provide serious moisture to your lips. But if you wear makeup, know that the product will be too thick to layer right underneath lipstick. It forms a barrier of moisture on your lips, so it takes a while to fully absorb. Since it also comes in a jar, it’s trickier to apply when you don’t have the spatula on hand or clean fingers. So yes, you can use this as a lip balm, but just know that it’s a very rich treatment that will make it hard for your lipstick to cling onto.
Bottom line
If you feel uneasy about investing in a separate sleeping mask for your lips, the good news is that you can definitely get away applying your regular facial sleeping mask on your lips. That will hydrate your lips and will be better than nothing, especially if your usual lip care routine consists of randomly applying a drugstore lip balm out of a strange feeling of obligation.
But if you know your lips are chronically chapped or you’re looking to upgrade your lip care routine, the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is the best one you can try right now. It’s cute, it’s pink, and it’s probably what you never knew you needed.
+ Do you think the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask lives up to the hype? Share your thoughts in the comments!
