Review: Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask

Don’t ask me why I never told you about the brand Hanyul before, it’s really incomprehensible as this brand is so attractive!

Beautiful packaging that you want to collect in your bathroom, modernized hanbang formulas (= that use the principles of Asian medicine), silky textures that are absolutely to die for, amazing fragrances… Since I (finally!) stuck my nose into it, I want to try everything!

I have to say that the brand was not the most easy to find when you don’t live in Korea until now. But we are seeing it more and more, and that’s great news! Hanyul clearly deserves more recognition outside its local market.

The Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask is a big favorite of many Korean people in the summer. When I went to Seoul in June 2019, it was everywhere, and now I understand why. If you’re a fan of sensoriality and aromatic freshness, this article is for you 😉.

I’ll introduce it to you and explain why it’s THE perfect product of the season!

Hanyul, brand introduction:

Amorepacific, one of Korea’s largest beauty conglomerates, is the parent company of the brand Hanyul. Compared to other luxury names from Amorepacific, like Sulwhasoo for example, Hanyul would be more of a mid-range brand. Beware, it certainly isn’t cheap however! But if you want to discover the magic of Korean hanbang skincare, starting with Hanyul is a good entry point.

Indeed, the Hanyul brand likes to emphasize that its formulas are inspired by “traditional folk remedies handed down from generation to generation“. The brand thus reinterprets “the wisdom of nature and tradition” to modernize them and ensure they are desirable to a younger clientele.

Hanyul’s identity is indeed deeply rooted in the principles of traditional Korean medicine. It’s clearly a “hanbang” brand, which means it uses local remedies and natural ingredients.

Korea still maintains deep ties with its past. When you visit the country, this is really something you can feel. The architecture of Korean cities reflects this. In the middle of all the huge skyscrapers, it is not uncommon to see a temple or a hanok, the typically Korean traditional houses.

This convergence of two worlds, modernity and tradition, is really what makes Korea special, and we could say that the Hanyul brand is an excellent representation of this! With its packaging both design and inspired by the past, its very innovative formulas but that use traditional ingredients and ancestral recipes, this duality is totally part of Hanyul’s identity.

Each range highlights a particular ingredient or complex of ingredients, and in the Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask, Yuja is in the spotlight!

Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask, product presentation:

Yuja, also known as Yuzu, is a citrus fruit grown in South Korea’s Goheung, by the sea. It naturally contains a high concentration of vitamin C, making it an ideal natural ingredient for skincare.

Yuja has been used for centuries in Korean beauty products to brighten the skin and fight skin aging due to its antioxidant effect. Its fragrance is also naturally aromatic, an intoxicatingly fresh scent that is absolutely divine!

Hanyul has an entire collection of Yuja-based products, including their best-selling Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask.

Check out this adorable video explaining how the sleeping masks are made by Hanyul (yes, that’s exactly how they do it 😉 ):

I talk about it quite regularly, I’m a big fan of sleeping masks. This category of products has been designed to really boost the skin’s repair during the night so that it looks more rested when you wake up, even if you don’t sleep enough.

Another particularity of sleeping masks is that they are generally lighter in texture, with an often very high concentration of water, because they can be applied on top of your night moisturizer if you wish. The goal here is to “capture” the hydration with humectant ingredients that hydrate very well, for a fresh, smoothed and plumped skin in the morning. This is not really comparable to the good old rich night cream as we are used to in the West 😉

The Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask is therefore working on two effects: hydration but also the radiance of the complexion.

These are the key ingredients you can find in this product:
– many yuja/ yuzu extracts: Citrus Junos/ Yuja bark oil and Citrus Junos/ yuja bark extract that work on the comfort and brightening effect of the complexion, but also an exclusive complex specific to the brand from Yuja extracts, the Vita C Complex, which is full of a vitamin C derivative (Ethyl Ascorbyl Ether), for the antioxidant and radiance effect. Yujas are a kind of large lemon, very fragrant. In this product, the brand used Yujas from Goheung, which is a county in the Jeollanam-do province. If you look at a map of South Korea, you will see that this province is located in the southern part of the country. According to Hanyul, this sleeping mask contains the equivalent of 6 Yujas of Goheung!
– glycerin, jojoba esters, and sunflower seed oil for hydration, moisture and comfort,
– anti-aging adenosine,
– anti-oxidant, brightening, purifying, anti-aging niacinamide…
– and also antioxidant carrot extract, which also gives the product its yellow color, incidentally.

In the texture, we can see small yellow beads, in suspension. These contain Yuja extract and Yuja bark oil. When you massage the texture, these small Yuja beads burst on the skin, releasing delicately scented Yuja oil. Just divine!

Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask, my experience:

As I write this article, we are at the end of July. It’s been almost two months that the heat is so unbearable here in Dubai that it has become complicated to go for a walk outside without suffocating. Fortunately, the air conditioning is everywhere, which allows us to (literally) survive in this trying climate.

But in general, after two months of these extreme climatic conditions, my skin is completely dehydrated by the air conditioning 24 hours a day. And if I have the bad idea to attempt using very emollient, rich and comforting textures, my skin rejects it all, because the heat is still very present.

This is clearly the time when I owe my skin’s survival to the use of lighter, watery textures, BUT sufficiently repairing to compensate for the drying effects of the air conditioning. And that requires some adaptation of my routine, with a bit of thought for a good choice of products that fit the situation.

For the evening, it’s simple. At the end of my routine, I don’t use any night moisturizer at all, and I alternate between different sleeping masks, which are perfectly adapted to my particular needs at the moment! The Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask is one of those that saves my skin! (I also use another one alternatively which I will tell you about soon)

Its creamy gel texture is great for the summer, or if you want a thirst-quenching effect rather than a nourishing one! It also has this repairing benefit thanks to the Yuja oil which makes all the difference on my skin that is suffering in the middle of the summer.

At the moment, I use it about 3 times a week, in the evening. I don’t apply it thickly but rather in a medium layer, and its melting texture absorbs in a few minutes leaving a rather glowy finish.

I’m completely obsessed with its aromatic citrusy scent, which is absolutely addictive! Every time I use it, it’s really a super enjoyable sensorial experience, and I’m enjoying it to the fullest 🥰

Another significant benefit of this product is the glow it provides thanks to the vitamin C naturally contained in Yuja. When I wake up, my skin feels fresh, plump, glowing and rested like I slept for 10 hours. And since I never sleep that long, it’s definitely a plus!

The jar is 60ml, so it will probably last me a while (probably 6 months overall, using it 3 times a week).

In conclusion:

I can totally see why the Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask is one of the brand’s biggest bestsellers. This product is a real joy to use, the sensorial experience is definitely there!

I also particularly appreciate its hydrating-repairing effect. If your summer is scorching like it is just about everywhere right now, you’ll also love it for its fresh aromatic feel, perfect for calming your overheated skin after the day 😉.

The Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask retails between $20 and $40 for 60ml depending on the retailers.