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Dehydrated Skin + Product Review: Laneige Water Bank Essence

6 November 2013 0 comments


Hiii :)

(I apologise in advance for the length of this post.. )



So today I have a review from my Korean skincare haul; the Water Bank Essence by Laneige, but before I go into my review, I wanted to do a quick 101 on dehydrated skin which is what this product is aimed at.

Dehydrated Skin

Dehydration is a pretty common skin condition that I don't think is well enough catered for. It's really easy to confuse dehydrated for dry skin and I've heard people say that they've used oil to combat dehydration: very debatable and a mistake I have made myself! With regards to skincare, dehydration (derived from the Greek "hydro") = lack of water, dryness = lack of oil.

It's important to identify the problems with your skin so you can take steps to correct them properly :) It will also save you time, effort and money on products or remedies that aren't actually tackling your skincare ailments! (which I have learnt the hard way! haha)

What makes it really confusing is that dehydrated skin can be simultaneously dry, oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, really anything. I had dehydrated, combination skin myself and it took me a while (doing a lot of research and seeing professionals) to recognise the signs and do something about it!

So how do you know if you have dehydrated skin?

♥ Visiting a dermatologist (or even better, more than 1!) is a pretty reliable method as you'll be getting their professional opinion. However this may not be possible for everyone and there are other things you can check yourself :)

♥ Foundation going patchy throughout the day or a foundation that previously looked great that these days doesn't settle well on your skin anymore can be a sign of dehydrated skin as your skin tries to absorb the water from your makeup because it's lacking in water itself!

♥ Skin that feels really confused and both dry and oily. Your body is really smart. If your skin is losing water and feeling drier and dehydrated, it may try and compensate the loss by producing more oil.

♥ With a flat hand, pinch the skin on your knuckle. If it takes a while to sink back to it's normal position, you may be dehydrated. (This is sometimes called skin turgor if you wanted to take a look yourself.)

There are some really good videos and literature that talk about dehydrated skin if you want more information, I do apologise if I've sounded a bit lecture-y in this post but it's something I feel really passionate about!

Video by prominent beauty writer and journalist Sali Hughes here,
Caroline Hirons' excellent blog post here
and skincare expert Rene Rouleau's great article differentiating dry and dehydrated skin here

but now onto the review :)



 Claims

"A 24-hour long-lasting moisture essence that contains mineral water for skin regeneration and Water Pump System for moisture circulation to safeguard skin moisture and hold it in to leave the skin moisturised and smooth.
Instantly dampens the skin with ample moisture and forms a natural moisture barrier on the skin surface to protect the moisture that is in the skin.
Contains chestnut extracts and seaweed extracts to enhance keratin turnover to fight roughness and energizes the skin for a smooth and healthy texture."

(sounds amazing right?!)

First impressions




It's such nice packaging! It comes in a blue-gradient glass bottle with a pump (yay!) which holds 60ml of product. It's lightly scented with a really pleasant "skincare" scent? I guess it smells ever so slightly floral? (I'm really bad at describing scents!) The serum comes out of the pump as a viscous, white blob and when you begin to rub it into the skin it turns clear and spreads across the skin super easily.




Conclusions



The first time I used this product, I applied it onto my skin in place of my regular night serum, and when I woke in the morning, I saw an instant improvement! My skin felt and looked plump, radiant, hydrated and smooth! I've been continuing to use this every night and it keeps my skin looking and feeling great :)

I picked this up from Yesstyle for £24 but you can check out this post to see where else to get Korean/Asian skincare :)

Overall I think an amazing serum for £24 that's specifically for dehydrated skin is a must have for my collection.

What's your favourite serum??? I would love to know :) Hope you're having an amazing day :)