Some people utterly despise fragrance in any form of skincare, but I don’t. I mean, if something smells really strong and nasty like the Nivea Men’s Aftershave Balm does then yeah I might avoid it out of fear of breakouts but if it has a lovely, light scent of rose… then why not?
This is one of the reasons I bought the Naruko Rose & Botanic HA Aqua Cubic Night Gelly EX (I could do without that ridiculous name, however). That and the fact that it has niacinamide listed as one of the first few ingredients. I’ve been wanting to incorporate niacinamide into my skincare routine for a while now but never found the right place to fit it in. Now, I do!
Just a quick little primer– niacinamide is probably one of the best ingredients to look out for in skincare because it– as described on Paula’s Choice— is “a very effective skin-restoring ingredient that offers multiple benefits for aging skin. Niacinamide can improve skin’s look and feel, brighten its tone and revive skin’s healthy texture.” That means that if you’re suffering of acne scarring or an uneven, blotchy skin tone then you might want to give this ingredient a try. So many products boast of their ability to ‘brighten’, ‘even’ or ‘whiten’ (which is not the most PC term to use in regards to skincare but as far as Malaysian society goes… it is an effect that a lot of people still look for) but then contain only like water or glycerin or something and no actual ingredients which would actually be capable of carrying out their claims.
Niacinamide would be pretty useless in a cleansers (since I’ve noticed some which had it listed in the ingredients) as cleansers sits on your skin for only a few seconds before washing off. But night gellys/sleeping packs are going to be on your face all night– ergo, long enough to actually have effect.
I’ve been hearing for a while that Naruko was a pretty good brand and I would always encourage my friends to give it a try, but weirdly this is actually my first product from them. They have a TON of ranges in this brand which is actually really confusing and overwhelming. But then of the four or five night gellys that they have, only the rose one had niacinamide so I went for this one. Plus, I really love the scent of rose!
Unlike my Tonymoly sleeping pack (which I love), this one– as the name implies– has a gel texture rather than a creamy or lotiony one. It would definitely be way too light for my dry skin if I were to use this alone but as a supplement for my serums and moisturisers, it does fine. I’d compare it to the infamous Laneige Water Sleeping Mask in how light, non-oily and fast-absorbing it is. With some creamier sleeping masks, I’d have to wait a while for it to sink in before burying my face in my pillow because I don’t want it to get all wiped off. But this one absorbs within seconds– you definitely don’t have to worry about going to bed with oily, greasy skin. The only downside is due to how lightweight it is, its hydrating powers may not be as potent as it could be… but I suppose for someone with oily skin, that would actually be an upside.
Also, THE SCENT! I totally love it. There are some ‘rose scented’ products which have that horrible, strong, nasal-passage assaulting rose smell which reminds me of traditional Malay weddings full of old people… ugh, I don’t like it. This one doesn’t have that– there’s enough rose scent to make you feel calm and relaxed at the end of your day but it goes away after the product has absorbed. Basically, the scent is present long enough to work its aromatherapy magic, but it doesn’t stick around longer than necessary.
As to whether the coveted niacinamide is working its brightening magic on me… well, I always wake up with brighter/dewy skin after using my serum/cream/sleeping mask combo anyway, but I have suffered of a few breakouts recently that left some pretty noticeable scars… although the scars aren’t FULLY gone yet, I have noticed that they’ve started fading quicker. Usually acne scars stick around for months (for me) but I’ve been using this for about a month and it’s already faded enough that I can cover it with concealer (before that it wasn’t possible as my concealer prowess sucks. Maybe it would be better if I used a concealer brush but alas I only use my fingers).
To wrap things up, I am glad that I bought this sleeping mask instead of shelling out twice the amount for a Laneige one as I was originally planning (I wanted to try their Yogurt sleeping mask). I mean it sounds kind of dumb but that rose scent is really, really pleasant and I find myself kind of looking forward to going to bed just so I can get a whiff of it. The simple pleasures of life, I suppose?
You can get the Naruko Rose & Botanic HA Aqua Cubic Night Gelly EX at any Watsons store for about RM42 and maybe a few extra cents.
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