Review: The Face Shop Aqua Drop Pack (Baby Face Hyaluronic Acid Aqua Drop Pack)

I finished two tubes of Lioele's Waterdrop Sleeping Pack (reviewed here) before I decided to try a similar product by another popular Korean brand, The Face Shop.  Since internet vendors are more accessible than physical stores (especially for international brands) I always shop for Asian skincare products online.  With so many different websites to choose from I can also quickly price compare and be sure I'm getting good deals.  Depending on the internet's whims, pricing varies a huge amount for the same item and I often end up paying different amounts for the same product each time I re-order.  As a result, if I feel like the current price is too much compared to a previous purchase, I am more likely to try something new.  Hence, my resulting review of The Face Shop's Aqua Drop Pack (aka Babyface Hyaluronic Acid Aqua Drop Pack).

The Face Shop website features the second longer name but the shorter one is on the front of the package (longer one is on the back).  "Babyface" is the product line because there are 3 more similarly designed packs available.  I found this version of a sleeping pack just as good as Lioele's version and maybe a tiny bit more preferable because of the citrus scent, my favorite!

There's a nice holographic sheen to the baby blue tube, which makes it slightly more sophisticated than Lioele's Waterdrop Sleeping Pack.  The hygienic tube packaging with pump is straightforward and I like that the plastic is soft and deformable enough to give an estimate of how much product is left over.  I know this is a quirk of mine, to judge packaging on transparency or how easily I can gauge the remaining volume, but it's because I can't stand unexpectedly running out of a beloved product and having to wait for slow international shipping to bring me my tube/bottle/jar! 

The ingredients are free of parabens*, mineral oil, alcohol, pigment or animal sourced materials.  Of these 5 potential additives only the alcohol and pigment would really alarm me because I'm sensitive to alcohol and a leave-on product really has no business being artificially colored.  In addition, my acne is from hormones/stress (not excess oil production) and I don't have concerns about using animal products.

*Paraben-containing products have a really minimal concentration and I'm still not convinced they're something I need to avoid because the original study showing their presence in breast cancer cells only looked for them and did not explain what they were doing or if they were causing the cancer.  These days many skincare items cut out parabens since consumers are worried so if they do turn out to be harmful, I feel covered!

The scent of this sleeping pack is a nice citrus but fades quickly if you're not a fan.   There's also a droplet-like consistency as I massage out the white-ish lotion, very similar to how the Lioele version works.  Even though the hyaluronic acid is far down the ingredient list, I still found this Aqua Drop Pack to be nicely hydrating against my annoying skin flakes and suitable as a stand-alone moisturizer.  I don't think it will be adequate for dry winters, but it's a nice product for normal skin types that don't require too much hydration.  The fast absorption is also lovely in case I want to slather on heavier cream moisturizers afterwards.

I don't think I can detect any lavender scent but it's on the ingredient list and The Face Shop site claims it will calm nerves and help with sleep.  Given my regular bouts of sleeplessness I will gladly take all the aromatherapy help I can get.

It's been slow going with using up this generous 110 ml tube and I've lately been more interested in using argan oil as a daily moisturizer, but if I plan to leave the house and want a lightweight moisturizer to wear under my BB cream, this is a winner! =D

Summary

• Packaging:     4/5 (hygienic; nice design; soft plastic)
• Smell:              5/5 (citrus is my favorite!)
• Performance:  4/5 (good absorption/hydration; not great for very dry)
• Value/Price:   4/5 (bought for $14 on ebay but harder to find online now)
• Recommend? Yes (for slightly dry/normal skintype)
• Repurchase?  Yes (if I can still find it online!)