I recently paid a visit to Sephora and treated myself to some facial moisturizer. Winter is coming, and I have to be prepared! Plus, the 10% off Insider event gave me all the incentive I needed to splurge beyond my normal CeraVe PM. While I was there, the Laneige section caught my eye. Laneige is like the hip little sister to the more luxe AmorePacific brand. Laneige’s packaging is absolutely stunning. The blue color of the glass jar reminds me of Neutrogena Hydro Boost—very aquamarine, very beautiful, very luxe.

After scanning through the ingredients for Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream, I decided to buy that one instead of Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, even though it was about $10 more expensive. But when I got home, I couldn’t help wondering, was that $10 price difference worth it? Let’s ask my Dad the Chemist!

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask ingredients

water, butylene glycol, cyclopentasiloxane, glycerin, cyclohexasiloxane, trehalose, sodium hyaluronate, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) root extract, prunus armeniaca (apricot) fruit extract, beta-glucan, chenopodium quinoa seed extract, ascorbyl glucoside, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium chloride, potassium alginate, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate / vp copolymer, polysorbate 20, dimethicone, dimethiconol, dimethicone / vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, propanediol, ethylhexylglycerin, stearyl behenate, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, hydroxypropyl bispalmitamide mea, inulin lauryl carbamate, alcohol, 1,2-hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, carbomer, tromethamine, disodium edta, phenoxyethanol, fragrance, blue 1 (ci 42090)

Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream ingredients

water, glycerin, butylene glycol, squalane, dimethicone, pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, bis-peg-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, dicaprylyl ether, cyclopentasiloxane, sucrose polystearate, cyclohexasiloxane, glyceryl stearate, urea, chenopodium quinoa seed extract, salicornia herbacea extract, magnesium sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium chloride, zinc sulfate, sodium hyaluronate, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, copper tripeptide-1, ceramide 3, phytosphingosine, niacinamide, myristyl myristate, glyceryl undecylenate, acetyl glucosamine, cetearyl alcohol, cetyl ethylhexanoate, tocopherol, propanediol, stearic acid, ascorbyl glucoside, hydrogenated lecithin, xanthan gum, trisiloxane, palmitic acid, potassium cetyl phosphate, polyglyceryl-10 stearate, polyacrylate-13, polyisobutene, propylene glycol, peg-100 stearate, acrylates / c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, peg-5 rapeseed sterol, hydroxyethyl acrylate / sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, hydrogenated polyisobutene, polysorbate 20, tromethamine, disodium edta, glyceryl caprylate, ethylhexylglycerin, fragrance

Ingredient comparison Laneige Water Sleeping Mask and Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream

Both of these products list “water” as the first ingredient, but the company claims that it doesn’t just use regular water in its products—it uses “hydro ionized mineral water” with six minerals: zinc, manganese, magnesium, sodium, calcium, and potassium. These minerals are supposed to help hydrate the skin, making this company’s products suitable for people with very dry skin (or people using skin-drying products like acids/peels or Differin and/or retinoids). I ended up opting for Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream (the more expensive option) because it contains squalane, niacinamide, ceramide 3 (aka the [outdated INCI name for ceramide np}(/reviews/cerave-ceramide-ingredients/)), and copper tripeptide-1 (an ingredient that is beneficial for inflammation of the skin, according to this study).

Below is the full ingredient comparison. Note that Laneige Water Sleeping Mask is Formula 1 and Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream is Formula 2.

Ingredients in common

cyclohexasiloxane, calcium chloride, sodium hyaluronate, ascorbyl glucoside, dimethicone, chenopodium quinoa seed extract, zinc sulfate, tromethamine, propanediol, magnesium sulfate, water, glycerin, disodium edta, fragrance, butylene glycol, manganese sulfate, cyclopentasiloxane, polysorbate 20, ethylhexylglycerin

Ingredients in formula 2 but not in formula 1

trisiloxane, polyacrylate-13, peg-5 rapeseed sterol, squalane, glyceryl undecylenate, dicaprylyl ether, bis-peg-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, stearic acid, potassium cetyl phosphate, acetyl glucosamine, phytosphingosine, cetearyl alcohol, tocopherol, ceramide 3, niacinamide, salicornia herbacea extract, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, urea, polyisobutene, palmitic acid, glyceryl caprylate, sucrose polystearate, propylene glycol, pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, myristyl myristate, hydrogenated lecithin, peg-100 stearate, hydroxyethyl acrylate / sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, xanthan gum, hydrogenated polyisobutene, copper tripeptide-1, acrylates / c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, cetyl ethylhexanoate, polyglyceryl-10 stearate, glyceryl stearate

Ingredients in formula 1 that are missing in formula 2:

ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate / vp copolymer, blue 1 (ci 42090), inulin lauryl carbamate, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) root extract, prunus armeniaca (apricot) fruit extract, 1, 2-hexanediol, beta-glucan, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, hydroxypropyl bispalmitamide mea, stearyl behenate, potassium alginate, dimethiconol, alcohol, trehalose, caprylyl glycol, dimethicone / vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, carbomer, phenoxyethanol

My Dad the Chemist’s review of Laneige Water Sleeping Mask vs. Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream

My dad correctly guessed that Product 2 (Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream) was more expensive, but he thought that they were both equally good moisturizers, so he’d go with the cheaper option. I guess I chose wrong! Next time I’ll try out the sleeping mask. I will write a more in-depth review of Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream in a few days, after I’ve used it more extensively.

So if you find yourself drawn in by Laneige’s beautiful aqua packaging, do yourself a favor and try the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask to save yourself a few bucks.

Further reading

• Other Korean beauty product reviews
• Save or Splurge? CeraVe moisturizing cream vs. CVS moisturizing cream
• COSRX Snail Mucin Essence 96 Review
• Save or Splurge? CeraVe daily moisturizing lotion vs. Equate
• Frudia Citrus Brightening Cream Review