Review: Laneige Water Bank Essence

So this I guess is one of those awkward, 'hi guys, how've you been, I really can't blame my recent absence other than pure, all consuming laziness' posts...

Bygones.
Laneige seems to be quite in fashion lately... I don't really know what brought this about, probably all the updated EX versions, and everybody loves their water bank night treatment (I like it but prefer the perfect renew with the powder-- review on that later). So I thought I would just clamber onto the bandwagon. Ahem.

http://www.evecare.com/images/products/large/Amore_Laneige_Waterbank_Essence.jpg

So, what do I look for in an essence?

1) Softness
2) Hydration

Thing is, I really don't know. The bottle is all promising and blue, I press it into my skin and it absorbs, like, straight away. My skin doesn't get dry (but it didn't really pre-serum either) and I just sort of feel like this is definitely good for my skin, even though I don't notice anything. As though this works in mysterious, undetectable, but infinitely good ways (anything else with that description come to mind?). So er, I feel as though I must continue using it, even though I haven't been noticing a big difference.

Actually, come to think of it. This does make a difference, I think. Prior to this I used the aquamoist whitening serum, and that was a sticky, pointless affair. And, you know what, come to think of it, my skin does seem more balanced and soft compared to back then, when my routine was different.

Then again, I've changed a lot of products around, so can we give the essence all the credit? Hm...

In asia they talk about this water-oil balance, as in giving your skin more hydration in the form of water will prevent it from overcompensating by spewing out oil. And I do think my skin is more balanced, so maybe this works! I want to believe that.

3) Texture

Koyukipalace

So pictured above is a pic of the serum spread out (one on the right hand side) that I got off Koyukipalace.blogspot.com (thank you!!). So as you can see the texture is quite gel based and watery etc. It always seems quite cool to the touch for some reason in spite of the fact that it is freaking 40 degrees every single day in the summer, which is lovely.

I just pat it on my face, warm it a bit, it absorbs like a dream. So all in all 5/5 for texture.

4) Longevity

By 'longevity' I mean the longevity of the EFFECTS, which are reasonable etc. I don't see the effects waning much at all until I wash my face. I guess my T zone oils up a bit over the day, but I'm happy to blame the grimy city of Hong Kong for that. My skin stays quite oil free, soft, and not dry a good part of 8 hours, maybe? All in all, good longevity.

5) 'Special effects'

I always bought into the notion that serums were used to attain whitening effects or increase elasticity or something, because hydration always just seemed like a basic task that could be accomplished by cheaper products like moisturizer. Indeed it would be fair to say that this essence does not brighten the skin, however I do believe in the 'deeper conditioning' claims it makes, and I don't know if this is placebo or what but I feel like my skin is moist from within and the moistness is beginning to spread outwards.

OVERALL VERDICT: I really like this product, even though most of that fondness is based on what is probably the placebo effect. It's a good basic product that hydrates your skin with a lovely texture. Worth trying!
4/5

Hard to say. Mixed reviews on this one, I guess, some people rave, others say meh. Few say break out, which is always nice.

REPURCHASE?