With the popularity of rich, frothy cleansing foams useful in the K-beauty “double cleanse” routine, I guess it wasn’t too long off before that delightful foam texture was incorporated into a moisturizer formula. The new Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer from Sephora sensation Laneige is just that — a rich, frothy moisturizing mousse! And while the idea of a mousse format for a moisturizer sounds gimmicky at first, let me say it’s the single freshest moisturizer I can imagine. Why? Because serious skin care loathes air. One of the most crucial components of any skincare routine is antioxidants. And skin can’t get enough protective antioxidants in the form of vitamins and botanical extracts. But antioxidants are also notoriously sensitive to light and air. In fact, contact with oxygen from the air begins to degrade antioxidant efficacy the second the product is opened. If the product is delivered in a jar, you have about a month before any antioxidant benefits from the formula are deactivated. The most contained delivery until now has been a pump component, common to many lightweight lotions and serums. Until now!

The new Laneige Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer is a thick, rich and frothy foam!

The Laneige Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer is an airy mousse with the consistency of a shave foam. Like all of Laneige’s products, at the heart of this formula is a specific water rooted in the brand’s characteristic Water Science™. Nutrient-rich Deep Sea Water is the star here, helping to deliver super light, nourishing hydration to the skin.

It’s paired with antioxidant Lychee Peel Extract, rich in polyphenols — more commonly found in wine, chocolate, fruits like grapes and pomegranates, vegetables, and especially green tea. It makes me wonder, then, whether a refreshing lychee martini would also contain the kind of antioxidant potency to promote skin health. That’s something I’m going to have to put to the test over the next few weeks and report back to you on!

Back to the moisturizing mousse. When dispensed out of the can, it takes the form of a mousse that when rubbed with the palms transforms into a watery, non-sticky serum. Massaged into facial skin, the product melts right into the skin for a refreshing burst of hydration. Humectant Glycerin and nourishing Squalane, which is one of the most effective non-fragrant plant oils used in skin care due to its biomimetic or skin-compatible nature. If you’re looking for a super lightweight, well-formulated and refreshing moisturizer, Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer is an excellent option.

The Laneige Fresh Calming Toner might be the unsung hero of the new Fresh Calming collection. It’s a super refreshing, well-formulated toner with a very tight ingredient list, meaning it’s ideal for exactly what I want to use it for: the 7-Skin Method! If you aren’t familiar with the 7-Skin Method, you aren’t immersed deeply into K-beauty. At the heart of the K-beauty skin health philosophy is hydration. Hydration is the key to holding skin aging at bay and to assuring that skin stays as healthy and youthful looking as possibly. Like the Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer, the Fresh Calming Toner is powered by nutrient-rich deep sea water and polyphenols from antioxidant-rich Lychee Peel Extract. It’s a water-light, deeply hydrating formula and with the addition of nourishing Vitamin E, a near-perfect formula at that.

The 7-Skin Method

I first learned about the 7-Skin Method from my friends at Glow Recipe. In fact, they gave me the foundation I needed to understand K-beauty — introducing me to brands, products and regimen tips that helped me to step up my skincare game and achieve the coveted yuri pibu, or “glass skin” that’s the holy grail of complexion perfection. There’s an excellent video tutorial from Glow Recipe on the 7-Skin Method just below:

The Ingredient list of the LANEIGE Fresh Calming Mousse Moisturizer:

Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Squalane, Carbon Dioxide, Sea Water / Maris Aqua / Eau De Mer, Silica, Panthenol, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Tromethamine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, HydroxyethylcelLulose, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium Edta, Litchi Chinensis Pericarp Extract, Tocopherol.

The Ingredient list of the LANEIGE Fresh Calming Toner:

Water, Propanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ppg-13-Decyltetradeceth-24, Butylene Glycol, Sea Water / Maris Aqua / Eau De Mer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium Edta, Litchi Chinensis Pericarp Extract, Tocopherol.