Versus

Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer Versus Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Cream

General Moisturizer
General Moisturizer
Korean Brand South Korea
Korean Brand South Korea

Updated on May 24, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe general moisturizers. They have a total of 9 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin, scar healing and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
Birch Juice Moisturizing Cream

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin
Skin Conditioning, Solvent

1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse. 

It is a:

  • Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
  • Emollient, helping to soften skin
  • Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
  • Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives 
Buffering, Masking

Tromethamine helps balance the pH and improve the texture of a product. It is synthetically created.

As an emulsifier, Tromethamine prevents oil and water ingredients from separating. This helps stabilize the product and elongate a product's shelf life. Tromethamine also makes a product thicker.

Tromethamine helps balance the pH level of a product. Normal pH level of skin is slightly acidic (~4.75-5.5). The acidity of our skin is maintained by our glands and skin biome. Being slightly acidic allows our skin to create an "acid mantle". This acid mantle is a thin barrier that protects our skin from bacteria and contaminants.

Oral Tromethanmine is an anti-inflammatory drug but plays the role of masking, adding fragrance, and/or balancing pH in skincare.

1,3-Propanediol, 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-

Learn more about Tromethamine
Emollient, Moisturising, Skin Conditioning

Jojoba Esters is a wax created from Jojoba oil. It is an emollient and film-forming ingredient. In bead form, it is an exfoliator.

This ingredient has high oxidative stability, meaning it doesn't break down when exposed to oxygen.

Its similarity to our skin's natural oils makes it a great emollient. Emollients help soften and soothe our skin by creating a barrier on top. This barrier helps trap moisture in, keeping skin hydrated.

It is created using either the hydrogenation or transesterification processes on jojoba oil.

Learn more about Jojoba Esters
Emollient, Emulsifying

Glyceryl Caprylate comes from glycerin and caprylic acid, a fatty acid from coconut. It has emollient and emulsifier properties.

As an emollient, it helps hydrate your skin. Emollients work by creating a barrier on your skin to trap moisture in, helping to keep your skin soft and smooth.

On the other hand, emulsifiers prevent ingredients (such as oil and water) from separating.

Learn more about Glyceryl Caprylate
Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

  • It is a solvent, meaning that it helps to dissolve other ingredients. This also enhances the absorption of the product into one's skin.
  • It is a humectant, which means that it helps attract moisture into the skin.
  • It helps improve product application.
  • It has mild preservative properties.

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.

Skin Conditioning

Ethylhexylglycerin (we can't pronounce this either) is commonly used as a preservative and skin softener. It is derived from glyceryl.

You might see Ethylhexylglycerin often paired with other preservatives such as phenoxyethanol. Ethylhexylglycerin has been found to increase the effectiveness of these other preservatives.

Disodium EDTA plays a role in making products more stable by aiding other preservatives.

It is a chelating agent, meaning it neutralizes metal ions that may be found in a product.

Disodium EDTA is a salt of edetic acid and is found to be safe in cosmetic ingredients.

Learn more about Disodium EDTA

When to use

338 Routines
51% use in am
49% use in pm
97% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
1,067 Routines
49% use in am
51% use in pm
96% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer 24 ingredients

2.2 /5
from 5 ratings
Broke Me Out (4) Hydrating (2) Light Scent (2)
sarape's avatar

Sara

1 year ago
Review

Beware ace-prone people! This thing broke me out like hell. At first I thought It was perfect for my skin type, due to its gel consistency and how lightweight it was. But it turned out breaking me out in very painful cysts not only in my T-zone (where I usually get them), but also on my cheeks. I suppose other people with dry skin might benefit from this moisturizer, but then, I don't get the idea Show more

#hydrating
#broke me out
#light
#light scent
spacepink's avatar

spacepink

12 months ago
Review

For one, Laneige keeps changing the ingredients in this product without notice - which is just super annoying for those of us with sensitive skin. While their original formula seemed to work ok (still some irritation but overall hydrating), the current formula makes my skin feel tight and causes next day breakouts. Also made my redness worse. To top it off, this product is STICKY and never sets

#broke me out
#irritating
#sticky

Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Cream 37 ingredients

3.1 /5
from 32 ratings
Light (18) Hydrating (17) Absorbs Well (16)
AnnaSkin's avatar

AnnaSkin

1 year ago
Review

Great moisturizer, Hydrates the skin a lot without feeling greasy, did not break me out even with an easily clogged skin. amazing ingredients, helped reduce the appearance of my acne scars. Over all very great cream.

#great value
#hydrating
#light
#absorbs well
LauraSepulveda's avatar

LauraSepulveda

1 year ago
Review

I have combination acne prone skin. Liked this product at first, it’s got a nice texture and it gives perfect hydration but after a couple days I started getting little bumps and texture. Really wanted to like this :(

#hydrating
#broke me out
#absorbs well
#no scent