Night jellies, or sleeping packs, usually come in a firm gel formula, and they’re meant to be applied as the last step of your nightly skin care routine (in addition to moisturiser and everything else). The idea is that they work while you sleep to seal moisture in while making your products underneath more effective, so that you wake up to softer, smoother, better skin in the morning. They’re mainstream in Taiwan and Korea — almost every brand has at least one on their lineup — but, they’re not popular in Japan.
Naruko is Taiwan’s leading skincare brand and they’re best known for their night jellies. Supposedly, one is sold every 2 minutes in Taiwan. I’ve been testing 2 of their best-selling night jellies, Raw Job’s Tears Supercritical CO2 Brightening Night Gelly and Tea Tree Oil Out Night Gelly on and off since May, but I haven’t completely made up my mind about them.
They’re both semi-transparent white firm gels that are alcohol-free, oil-free, and laden with herbal extracts. They both offer light hydration and sink easily into skin, leaving it soft and smooth with no stickiness — unless you pile it on.
According to Naruko, Tea Tree Oil Out Night Gelly “acts as an invisible oil absorbing sheet that sucks out unnecessary oil… locks in hydration and corrects the water-oil balance during the night”. It also says to soothe skin, fade acne marks, and tighten pores. It’s extra light and totally refreshing upon application. I’ve been using it on the T-zone and I don’t see any difference from lightweight moisture — even then, that’s rather negligible seeing that it’s not meant to be a moisturiser substitute.
Same with the Raw Job’s Tears Supercritical CO2 Brightening Night Gelly. It makes big claims, “improve the skin’s metabolism, absorbency and skin tone for healthy, radiant skin”, but I don’t see any of the effects it is claiming to have. It is slightly more moisturising than Tea Tree Oil Out.
Botanical extracts are the backbone of Naruko’s products, and the two night jellies are no exceptions. I have nothing against plant extracts and essential oils in skin care products as my skin isn’t sensitive and I happen to like herbal scent, but I personally find them to not do much.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Naruko Night Gelly — but as a moisturiser gel for the summer. I particularly like them when my skin feels grubby and oily from the heat. They have extremely nice textures and a good lightweight option when it comes to moisturisers for oily-combination skin. They freshen skin without adding a heavy layer of product, so perfect as a moisture-boost underneath a moisturising sunscreen or BB cream.
I just don’t get the point of night jellies, sleeping packs, sleeping masks, or whatever names they also go by. Is a using a lotion, sheet mask, serum, moisturiser at night not enough? Is there any benefits in layering another moisturiser-esque product on top of everything else?
Naruko Raw Job’s Tears Supercritical CO2 Brightening Night Gelly costs NT$369 / US$21 / CDN$22 from Naruko’s official online store (or US$20.99 on Amazon.com: HERE). The Tea Tree Oil Out Night Gelly is US$20 / CDN$22.
