Review: LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask

I thought nothing new could be launched now in the Cica products department, but I forgot the creativity of the Korean skincare brand LANEIGE!

Their Cica Sleeping Mask was indeed launched rather late compared to the other Cica products, early 2019, knowing that the Cica trend has been raging in Korea for almost 2 years now!

It was definitely worth waiting for because, as you’ll see, I think it’s a fantastic product!

LANEIGE is a legitimate brand in the Sleeping Masks department. I don’t think they invented this product category, but they surely helped making it super popular!

The Water Sleeping Mask, a moisturizing sleeping mask, has been a bestseller for them for years and is now available in several versions.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the original formula, which I found quite uninteresting when you look at the list of ingredients. This Cica version however is much more appealing!

Let’s see what’s so special about it!

Ingredients Focus on: Centella Asiatica (and the “cica” trend) A huge trend in Korea, Centella Asiatica-based “cica” products are absolutely everywhere at the moment. Today, let’s focus on this ingredient adored by sensitive skins! Read more

Product presentation: LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask

LANEIGE is well known in Korea (and around the world) for their famous Sleeping Masks. The brand has 6 different ones, including one for lips, that is almost as popular as the ones for the face.

Although they are relatively new in the rest of the world, Sleeping Masks have been very popular in Korea for almost 10 years now!

Lack of sleep is a widespread problem all over the world. The concept of a beauty product that promises a nice, plumped skin like you get after a good night’s sleep, is therefore very attractive to many of us!

We know that good sleep is one of the keys to skin beauty, and in Asia, people talk a lot about “Golden Time” (=the first 3 hours of sleep), which would be the most repairing for the body.

A lot of Korean skincare brands developed a specific product to imitate the effect of this “Golden Time”, and even boost this night repair to make the skin look well rested, even if you don’t get enough sleep.

The texture of Sleeping Masks is quite specific. They’re quite different from the good old night cream that’s usually very rich and heavy.

Sleeping Masks are usually lighter in texture, with a water concentration that is often quite high because you must be able to apply them on top of your evening moisturizer if you want to. The aim here is to “trap” skin moisture with emollient active ingredients, for a fresh, smooth and plumped skin when you wake up.

During my last trip to Korea, I obviously wanted to try LANEIGE’s cult product, the Water Sleeping Mask (the famous blue jar). I tested a sample to get an idea, but I must admit that I wasn’t really convinced.

I didn’t find it unpleasant to use, but I wasn’t really seduced by its formula (some good moisturizing ingredients but also a lot of silicones, perfume, dyes.. meh).

However, when LANEIGE launched this Cica version, I was already much more interested in its ingredients list!

In this Cica Sleeping Mask, you won’t find silicone, perfume, or dyes. I’m not going to say that the list of ingredients is completely natural, it’s not, but I do find it really interesting!

The Cica Sleeping Mask contains many repairing and soothing ingredients because it’s primarily intended for damaged and sensitized skin.

In the sleeping mask, you can find some Centella Asiatica (here, there are even its 3 components: madecassoside and asiaticoside, and Asian acid) but here, it’s paired with a soothing active ingredient developed by the brand LANEIGE: Forest Yeast.

This famous Forest Yeast (or Aureobasidium Pullulans Ferment) is a patented ingredient by the company Amorepacific, which LANEIGE belongs to. It’s a microorganism (or ferment) from a specific species of split peas growing in the Gotjawal forest on Jeju Island in South Korea.

According to the brand, this ferment has extremely good regenerating power on the skin, even more than Centella Asiatica. That being said, they decided to combine the two in the formula for a super repairing effect! ?

My experience and the result on my skin:

I bought the Cica Sleeping Mask as soon as it launched, mid-March. So I’ve been using it for a little over 2 months now.

I have been mentioning it over and over again for a few months now, but my skin is more sensitive than usual because of the retinol I started using more seriously at the beginning of the year. The Cica Sleeping Mask was therefore just perfect for me!

At first, I thought maybe I could use it instead of my night cream, each night. But from the first time I used it, I realized that 2 to 3 times a week would be more than enough to have an effective restorative effect. Given its very thick texture, I’m afraid it’s a little too much for my combination skin used every night.

So I decided to apply it on the nights I used my Biologique Recherche P50 acid toner and I find the combination of the two products really ideal! I usually use the Cica Sleeping Mask at the end of my evening skincare routine, instead of my night cream.

The P50 Lotion is very effective on me and I love it, but it always tends to leave my skin a little red (it’s a strong product!). The Cica Sleeping Mask gives me comfort again as soon as I apply it and I wake up the next morning with very smooth skin (thanks to acids) and also calm thanks to the LANEIGE sleeping mask!

I don’t apply a thick layer, a fine one is more than enough with my combination skin.

The texture of this mask is, as always with LANEIGE, incredibly nice! At first, this very creamy texture seems quite thick but very quickly, it melts and literally blends into the skin. The next morning, my skin doesn’t feel oily at all, on the contrary. It looks very velvety and feels very comfortable and repaired.

In short, it’s a real joy to use!

Value for money:

As often with LANEIGE, the quantity for money is interesting because for 60 ml and considering the amount of product I use with each application, I expect that the jar will last for a long time, probably at least 6 months.

The green jar of the Cica Sleeping Mask also feels very nice. Even if it’s made of plastic, it gives a luxurious feeling and I think it looks very pretty in my bathroom! The user experience is also extremely pleasant. For me, it definitely worth its price!

It retails $30, for 60ml.

In summary:

As you can see, I really like this LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask.

Of course, I wouldn’t describe it as an absolutely essential product in your skincare routine, rather as a very pleasant additional step. But you know I’m all about this #moreismore approach!

That being said, it is a very pleasant product to use, and also very effective, so really, what more could you ask for? 😉

The LANEIGE Cica Sleeping Mask retails for $30, for 60ml.