Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence and Eye Cream

While laser treatments got rid of the most visible splotches of melasma and hyper-pigmentation on my face, my complexion is still very uneven and probably will stay that way (that's what them folks in white lab coats said). It's not tragically uneven, nothing that a couple of pat-pats of my favorite cushion foundation wouldn't fix.

But, of course, that's not going to stop me from searching for the best and most effective skin brightening cosmetic product out there. Unfortunately, my skin is rather stubborn, and what works wonders for other people, does diddly squat for me, like Shiseido White Lucent, for example. Or SK-II Spot Specialist treatment. DiorSnow does seem to work, with "seem" being the operative word here. But since I'm not independently rich, buying DiorSnow on a regular basis is out of the question. I needed something cheaper. Something cheaper that would also "seem" to work.

Najwieksze plamy melasmy i przebarwienia na mojej twarzy zostaly mniej wiecej skutecznie usuniete laserem. Ale moja cera nadal jest "plamista" i ponoc juz taka pozostanie (tak znachorzy skorni twierdza). Nie jest to jakas tragiczna plamistosc, kilka pacniec podkladem poduszkowym i po klopocie.

Ale, oczywiscie, to wcale nie znaczy, ze przestalam szukac kolejnego magicznego produktu, ktory obiecuje rowny koloryt cery. Niestety, to co dziala dla wiekszosci ludzi, u mnie robi absolutnie wielkie nic, jak na przyklad Shiseido White Lucent, czy SK-II Spot Specialist. DiorSnow wydaje sie robic cos tam, ale "wydaje sie" jest tu najwazniejszym okresleniem. Jako ze nie jestem niezaleznie bogata, a jeny na drzewach nie rosna, kupowanie DiorSnow na okraglo nie wchodzi w ogole w rachube. Wiec poszukiwania czegos tanszego, co wydawaloby sie dzialac, byly moim priorytetem.

And that's how one wonderful sunny day, against my better judgment, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, said a quick prayer and ordered the very famous and universally acclaimed Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence. I was ordering it from W2Beauty, and Alice very kindly added the equally famous Laneige White Plus Renew Eye Cream for me to review, as well.

Laneige and I have a very stormy and difficult relationship.
Why?
Their products break me out like there's no tomorrow.
I don't mean a small zit here and there. No. I mean huge, red, painful cysts filled with evil looking puss. That's what Laneige Sleeping Pack does to me. That's what Laneige Water Bank gel does to me.

So needless to say, I was more than just a little worried when putting the White Plus Renew stuff on my face.

I've been using both of these products for almost two months now, and I'm ready to give you my honest and unbiased opinion.

I tak to pewnego pieknego dnia, wbrew logice i samej sobie, wzielam gleboki oddech i kliknelam na oslawiony w Azji Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence. Kupowalam w W2Beauty i Alice bardzo uprzejmie dodala Laneige White Plus Renew Eye Cream dla mnie do zrecenzowania.

Laneige i ja nie bardzo sie lubimy.
Dlaczego?
Bo Laneige'owskie kosmetyki strasznie mnie wysypuja.
Nie jakis tam pryszcz czy dwa, ale wielkie, bolesne, czerwone gule wypelnione zielonym swinstwem.
Takie sa efekty uzywania Laneige Sleeping Pack na mojej twarzy. Takie sa efekty uzywania Laneige Water Bank gel.

Wiec, teraz juz jasne dlaczego bylam pelna obaw wklepujac White Plus Renew na twarz.

Mam oba te produkty juz dwa miesiace i czas teraz na moja bardzo szczera i nie zawsze zachwycajaca opinie.

I admit that I was convinced to give Laneige a try after reading a glowing review on Agathblog. The author is probably *the most*, trustworthy Polish language blogger reviewing Korean cosmetics.
So if it worked for her, and she also has somewhat problematic skin, it should work for me, too. Right?

The Essence, or rather, Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence is the stuff of Asian legends. It boasts an impressive list of ingredients (you can find them in English over at Agathblog, just scroll down a bit), and those who are interested in such things, can get a lot more excited about it than me. I stopped at "Silybum Marianum", which is simply milk thistle. I knew it was supposed to be good for your liver, but skin? You learn something new every day.

In addition to powerful plant extracts, it features Laneige's patented whitening technology - Melacrusher™.


Przyznaje sie, ze do sprobowania Laneige zachecila mnie recenzja u Agathblog. Jako ze jest to chyba najlepszy polski blog o koreanskich kosmetykach i autorka naprawde zna sie na rzeczy (w przeciwienstwie do mnie), postanowilam jej zaufac. Czytam tego bloga juz od dluzszego czasu i autorka i ja niezaleznie od siebie bardzo czesto wybieramy takie same, lub bardzo podobne kosmetyki. Wiec skoro Laneige zadzialal dla niej, to pomyslalam, ze mozliwe, ze i u mnie beda dobre efekty.

Ta esencja, a raczej Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence to legendarny produkt w Azji (z wyjatkiem Japonii, oczywiscie, bo my to takie galapagos jestesmy). Ma imponujacy sklad (do wgladu w tym wpisie na Agathblog) pelen ekstraktow o ktorych ja nie mam zielonego pojecia. Dodatkowo chwali sie opatentowana technologia Melacrusher™.

The magical essence came in a 40ml glass bottle with an eye dropper applicator (or a Pasteur pipette, if you want to sound fancy).

Owa magiczna esencja przychodzi do nas w 40ml szklanej butelce z pipetka.

The essence is white, light (and according to my dear friend - it looks just like sperm, please forgive her, she works at a fertility clinic) and it absorbs easily without leaving a sticky residue. One pump gives you enough essence for the entire face.
As most Korean cosmetic products, this essence has a quite strong, vaguely floral scent ("smells a lot better than sperm," my friend said). It drives me up the wall and makes me sneeze. But 99.99% of people are not as sensitive to certain smells as I am.

Esencja jest biala, leciutka i wyglada jak cos, hmmm... jak cos. Wchlania sie latwo, nie zostawia klejacej warstwy. Jedna pompka, a raczej pipetka, wystarczy na cala twarz.
Jak w wiekszosci koreanskich kosmetykow, tak i ten ma dosyc silny zapach. Jakis taki kosmetyczno-florystyczny. Irytuje mnie on strasznie i kicham po nim niesamowicie. Ale 99,99% ludzi nie jest tak wrazliwych na zapachy w kosmetykach jak ja.

The leaflet that was in the box was the same for both products, it just explained step by step the entire Laneige White Plus Renew line.
This is what it had to say about the Original Essence:


Ulotki w pudelkach byly takie same w obu przypadkach, wyjasnialy cala linie Laneige White Plus Renew. Tutaj opis Original Essence:

It claims to brighten your complexion and even your skin tone. Simple enough, right?

I've been using it for 6 weeks now. And?

Hmmm...
My skin does look a bit brighter and while maybe not whiter, it's definitely more glowing. Though, in all honesty, that might be due to the fact that I've been sleeping a bit longer recently and look more rested in general.

That's the good part.

And the bad part?
It broke me out. Not as severely as the sleeping pack, but enough to make me want to toss this damn essence out the window.

So what to do now? I've developed this routine. One week of Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence, and one week of rest. Using it that way, I only got one zit on my forehead and could stop before any more appeared. During my week off, I'm hoping that the bump will disappear, and then I can start anew. I'm aiming for zero zits and a brighter face. Wish me luck.

And what about the eye cream?

Wiec, ulotka twierdzi, ze esencja rozjasnia cere i wyrowna jej koloryt. Proste, prawda?
Uzywam obu kosmetykow od ponad 6 tygodni. No i jak?

No mozliwe, ze faktycznie moja cera wyglada ciut bardziej jednolicie (choc rownie prawdopodobne jest to, ze spie teraz ciut dluzej i generalnie wygladam na bardziej wypoczeta).

A minusy?
Ano takie, ze mnie po owej magicznej esencji wysypalo. Nie az tak tragicznie jak np po Sleeping packu. Ale jednak na tyle, ze w chwilach slabosci chcialam po prostu wywalic to za okno.

Wiec co robic teraz? Ano, mam taka rutyne - jeden tydzien Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence, i drugi tydzien bez niczego na twarzy. W ten sposob jakiekolwiek wypryski beda mialy czas aby sie zagoic.

A jak sie miewa krem pod oczy?

While this Laneige White Plus Renew Eye Cream was provided to me by W2Beauty for review purposes, the opinions below are mine, and Alice has no idea what I am going to write.
And hey, this is my very first official affiliate product review! Wow!

The cream, all 15ml of it, comes in a handy plastic tube with a metal applicator tip.

Dostalam ten krem w ramach wspolpracy z W2Beauty. Jednak wszystkie opinie tutaj przedstawione sa moje wlasne.
Moja najpierwsza sponsorowana recenzja. Yay!

Kremik ten przychodzi do nas w plastikowej tubce o pojemnosci 15ml z bardzo upierdliwym aplikatorem.

The fun part is watching the cream change its color.
How?
Like this:

Najbardziej interesujacym punktem programu jest obserwowanie jak ten krem zmienia kolorek po rozsmarowaniu.
Jak tutaj:

It comes out of the tube white, but when you spread it out, it becomes luminescent beige. It's very soft, very silky and again - absorbs very quickly. And again - the annoying floral scent is here.

I didn't expect much from it. I hoped it would do something magical with the area under my eyes. I just wanted to look more awake and rested.

The leaflet promised this:


Wychodzi z tubki na bialo, potem zamienia sie w opalizujacy bez. Znowu mamy silny zapach.
Nie oczekiwalam od tego kremu cudow. Mialam nadzieje, ze moze zrobic cos z moimi sincami, bo chcialam wygladac na rzeska i wypoczeta.

Ulotka obiecywala to:

To be honest I didn't notice any significant moisturizing effects. However, my skin is very dry and needs loads of moisture.
Easy application? I don't think so. I ended up using my fingers.
Lighter complexion? Hmmm... I'd have to say "yes".

It's not "lighter" in the Michael Jackson sense of the word, but lighter as in "brighter", "glowing", "fresh" and "rested". That's the good part.

The bad part is that while it didn't significantly break me out (I'm using it following the same "one week on and off" routine as the essence), the results of "brighter, glowing, fresh and rested" are only temporary. Maybe they will become longer-lasting with time? I certainly hope so.

Tak szczerze, to nie widzialam jakichkolwiek wlasciwosci nawilzajacych. Moja cera potrzebuje duzo nawilzenia. Ten krem niestety tego nie daje.

Latwa aplikacja - nie sadze. Ta metalowa koncowka do niczego sie nie nadaje, smarowalam w koncu paluchami.
Jasniejsza cera pod oczami? Tutaj musze powiedziec, ze "tak".

Szkoda jednak, ze efekty sa tak krotkotrwale. Mam nadzieje, ze kiedy uzywam tych cudakow systematycznie, moje skora rowniez bedzie bardzo systematycznie wyrownana kolorystycznie.

I am not an ingredient expert, but if you're into that sort of stuff, here is the Laneige White Plus Renew Eye Cream ingredient list courtesy of Agata from Agathblog.

Sklad Laneige White Plus Renew Eye Cream (dzieki uprzejmosci Agathblog):

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Polysilicone-11, Squalane, Niacinamide, Mica, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract, Yeast Extract, Broussonetia Kazinoki Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Silica, Titanium Dioxide, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, Polyacrylate-13, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Propanediol, Alcohol, Polyisobutene, Glyceryl Caprylate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Polyacrylate, Tin Oxide, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance

It's time to start thinking whether or not I am going to repurchase these two. Right now, I am still undecided. I want to finish both products first and I'll make a decision then.

Of the two, I must say I am happier with the eye cream. I like the healthy glow it creates. I just wish it was more of a longer lasting, if not permanent, effect.

I'm also happy that this eye cream doesn't irritate my under eye area and does not cause any allergic reactions, what with a semi-permanent case of allergic conjunctivitis is a very good thing.

Czas zaczac sie zastanawiac czy kupie te specyfiki ponownie. Na razie nie wiem. Najpierw musze wykonczyc to co mam, i wtedy podejme ostateczna decyzje.

Z tych dwoch, jestem bardziej zadowolona z kremu pod oczy. Podoba mi sie taki bardzo stonowany, delikatny blask. Szkoda tylko, ze efekt jest tak krotkotrwaly.

Podoba mi sie rowniez to, ze krem pod oczy nie irytuje moich slepiow. A przy niemal chronicznym zapaleniu spojowek to bardzo wazna rzecz.

Overall, if your skin is not overly sensitive and you're not prone to hideous breakouts, it should work for you like a charm.
I have very dry skin, and though it says "for all skin types" on the packaging, in my opinion, I think these two are better suited for normal to combination skin types.

W podsumowaniu...
Jesli twoja cera nie jest super wrazliwa i nie ma sklonnosci do wypryskow, i esencja i krem pod oczy powinny dzialac bez najmniejszych problemow.

Ja mam bardzo sucha skore i choc na opakowaniu stoi, ze "dla kazdego rodzaju cery", jak dla mnie, to oba te produkty nadaja sie o wiele lepiej dla cer mieszanych, normalnych i tlustych.

Both of these products are available from all major internet retailers selling Korean skin care. Laneige is a mid-price brand, so expect to spend anywhere from 40 to 50 dollars for the essence (40ml) and from 30 to 40 dollars for the eye cream (15ml).

Oba te produkty sa bardzo latwe do nabycia w byle sklepie internetowym sprzedajacym koreanskie kosmetyki. Laneige to marka srednio-polkowa, wiec trzeba sie przygotowac na wydatek rzedu 40 do 50 dolarow za esencje (40ml) i od 30 do 40 dolarow za krem pod oczy (15ml).

If you are interested in purchasing this essence or eye cream, or any other Korean beauty product, you can order it online from Alice of W2Beauty. By clicking on the link, or the banner in the sidebar and using this registration code: 182991708, you can receive $5.00 off your first order (above $30.00). Free worldwide shipping directly from Korea, and lots of samples and other freebies with every order. Enjoy!!! 

Jesli chcecie kupic ta esencje lub krem, lub inne koreanskie kosmetyki z wiarygodnego zrodla, mozna to zrobic zamawiajac od Alice z W2Beauty.
Klikajac na ten link, lub w banner w pasku obok i wpisujac ten kod przy rejestracji: 182991708, otrzymacie $5.00 znizki przy pierwszym zamowieniu (powyzej $30.00).
Wysylka darmowa, prosto z Korei, na caly swiat, a w kazdym zamowieniu duzo probek.
Milych zakupow!

This blog entry takes part in the weekly K-Beauty Blog Hop series.