Lirikos Marine Triple Treatment is a watery essence derived from three kinds of marine plankton that promises to hydrate, brighten, and firm your skin.

I bought this product looking for a first essence that wasn’t a total letdown. (FTEs are typically thin, watery essences that contain fermented ingredients and generally promise to brighten your skin tone and reduce redness.) I’ve used two FTEs in the past, and been underwhelmed with both. Missha Time Revolution FTE broke me out (actually, I’ve been really underwhelmed by everything I’ve tried from Missha – their masks sting, the Clear Toner did nothing, and their Perfect Cover BB cream is so gray it made me look like Medical Cadaver Barbie). Goodal Waterest First Essence was so thick that it prevented my other products from soaking in as well, and my skin saw no effects from it.

My past failures haven’t discouraged me from FTEs; instead, like a coyote chasing a roadrunner, the fact that I keep failing only makes me want it more. I bought the Lirikos Marine Triple Treatment because A) every single review I’ve read of it has been a rave; B) I love all things from the sea; and C) look at that bottle. It’s so pretty.

It wasn’t until writing this review right now that I realized it’s not technically an FTE, because the plankton aren’t fermented. (It contains fermented yeast, but that ingredient appears so far down the ingredient list that it’s probably a fraction of a percent.) It fills the same spot in your routine as a first essence — right after cleansing/using pH dependent actives and before all your other essences/serums/ampoules/creams — but it isn’t a traditional FTE.

What it’s made of

Thanks to reddit user /u/IsaTurk for the ingredients list!

Plankton extract (90.93%), Glycerin, Niacinamide, Glycereth 26, Spirulina Platensis extract, Chlorella Minutissima extract, Saccharomyces ferment, sodium hyaluronate, beta-glucan, adenosine, glyceryl polymethacrylate, water, propanediol, alcohol

That is an absolutely gorgeous ingredients list – but if I’ve learned anything from testing skincare products over the years, it’s that an ingredients list only tells a fraction of the story. Formulation is just as important as the ingredients list, if not more, in determining how effective a product is.

What it claims to do

From their website and butchered by Google Translate:

Brown Plankton: normalization of skin moisture and a powerful skin recharge energy

Blue Plankton: clear skin with a strong ability to remove harmful radicals

Green Plankton: incredible vitality that is differentiated into four cells for 24 hours

Three effects and role

– Moisture + Whitening + Elastic: complete care of three skin care troubles

– Essence + Toner + Booster: 3 in 1 multi-item

It promises to deliver hydration, whitening/brightening, and firming. I am on board with those promises.

What it’s like in action

The Triple Treatment has the consistency of water. You shake out a little puddle into your palm and then smooth/pat it onto your skin and neck. It absorbs very quickly and doesn’t leave any film.

There are markings along the side that tell you how much to use per day; according to them, a bottle will last you four weeks. These markings are, to borrow a phrase, total bullshit. They’re there to make you use the product faster and repurchase it sooner. For reference, here’s how much I used after three weeks of twice-daily use:

So if you use it like a normal human and don’t try to bathe in it, a 140ml bottle will last you a very long time.

What it did

Oh, sweet Lirikos Marine Triple Treatment. I had such hopes for you.

I have a decent bit of redness on my face, and I’m always looking to brighten and even my skin tone. I hoped this would address those concerns, but in the three weeks I used it twice a day, I saw exactly zero difference in my skin tone and redness.

It does have a slight moisture kick; immediately after it sinks in, my skin is a little softer, smoother, and more supple. There are a lot of products that do that for a lot less money, though. I didn’t notice any boosting effects on the products I used after it.

I’ll use up the rest of the bottle, because it’s not doing anything bad for my skin, but I will not be repurchasing or recommending this product. Unfortunately, I think this is a case of great marketing (Ancient plankton! Three different kinds! FROM THE SEA!) rather than a great product.

Overall rating: 3 / 5

It’s not a bad product: it didn’t break me out, it didn’t make my skin drier or flakier or redder, and that slight moisture boost at the beginning of my routine was nice. But if you’re looking for something that does what this product claims to do — hydrate, brighten, and firm – this product isn’t it.

You can buy Lirikos Marine Triple Treatment on Korea Depart for $35. It’s also on YesStyle for $51.

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