The packaging for these has been living in my skincare basket for an embarrassingly long time, reminding me nightly that I’ve been putting off my review of them.
The Etude House Moonlight in Spoon Blending Sleeping Cream is kind of neat because it’s a spoonful of watery gel with a dollop of thicker cream that you have to mix together. Hence the name “blending cream.”
At first glance, these little spoon creams just look like something cute and gimmicky for teens. My first one was actually a freebie in a package from a friend who was sending me decants. It sat on a shelf unused for quite awhile (I was infatuated with my Beauty of Joseon cream at the time sorrynotsorry).
Ingredients
The ingredients for these actually come in two parts: the gel and the cream. The gel is the same in every flavor, and the cream is also nearly identical save for the “star ingredient” of each flavor.
Courtesy of cosDNA:
Gel:
Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, alcohol, anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile) flower extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (English lavender) flower/leaf/stem extract, Mentha Arvensis (wild mint) leaf extract, hydroxyethylcellulose, carbomer, tromethamine, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, yellow 5, red 33
Chamomile, lavender, mint and glycerin are the only noteworthy ingredients. Personally, I’m not crazy about the alcohol, but I know not everyone’s skin is sensitive to it.
Cream:
Water, butylene glycol, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, glycerin, pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, phytosteryl/behenyl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate, capric/caprylic triglyceride, hydrogenated polyisobutene, hydroxypropyl starch phosphate, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, behenyl alcohol, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, hydrogenated lecithin, PEG-75 stearate, stearic acid, palmitic acid, steareth-20, ceteth-20, hydroxyethyl acrylate/ sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, ethylhexylglycerin, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, CI 77492, iron oxides
Phew, okay. That’s a lot of crazy chemical names. Everything I’ve bolded is flagged as a 2 for acne and potential irritation. Also, there are a couple of coconut derivatives in this, so beware if you have any coconut allergies.
Performance
There are eight flavors, each claiming to do something different:
1. Olive: Richly moist
2. Royal Jelly: Firm and moist
3. Shea Butter: Nourishing and moist
4. Evening Primrose: Shine and moist
5. Blueberry: Antioxidant and moist
6. Rosehip :Bright and moist
7. Seaweed: Smooth and moist
8. Green Tea: Clear and moist
I did not try the shea butter one because my face does not do well with shea butter/cocoa butter/greasy things like that, so I passed that one along to a friend. In the interests of science, I did try each of the other seven (and was punished for it).
I’ll give you a brief breakdown of each flavor at the end, but I’m also going to give you an overall impression before I do that. Obviously, they’re sleeping creams, so they should be an occlusive, nourishing seal over the rest of your routine.
Overall, I do not recommend these unless you enjoy being violently assaulted with an unholy amount of fragrance. You guys know I’m all about some good-smelling face products, but seriously this was cranked up to a 15 in every flavor except the royal jelly. Naturally, I didn’t know this when I embarked on this journey for science because royal jelly was the first one I tried. Siiiiiigh.
As far as performance goes, again, the royal jelly was fantastic and every other flavor was horrible. I really don’t know why my skin only liked that one…maybe it was the tiny bit of royal jelly? Really. Who can say. It’s a mystery to me. The rest left my skin oily-ish and gross when I woke up.
Pros
– Each spoon has enough cream to last for 5-6 very heavy-handed applications on your face and neck. If you’re a responsible product user, this will probably last you a couple of weeks.
– They’re pretty cheap and very portable.
– They’re adorable spoons.
– The royal jelly flavor leaves my skin incredibly plump, bright and hydrated when I wake up in the morning.
Cons
– The fragrance is 100% overwhelming. Even if your nose isn’t sensitive, this is intense and unnecessary.
– The packaging isn’t resealable, so you have to be a little creative about storage. I used a ziploc bag I saved from Jolse and kept a tiny spatula in the bag for application.
– They aren’t very practical as a long-term sleeping cream option.
– Every other flavor left my skin oily and itchy in the morning.
Flavor Breakdown
In the order I tried them –
1. Royal Jelly
*Angel chorus* This one is fantastic. It smells like a Joseon cream and Miss Flower Mr. Honey had a menage a trois and this is the lovechild. My skin was dewy, plump and glowy every time I used this.
2. Olive:
Seriously, WHY IN THE WORLD does this smell like perfume? I was certain this would be pleasant and moisturizing. It was actually the opposite. Heavy fragrance and a bit too much for my skin. I was oily in the morning.
3. Evening Primrose
Holy freaking Christmas cake, this is so. Much. NOPE. This one was so perfumey that I had to wipe it off my face because it was making my eyes water and my skin itch. That has literally never happened to me. Ever. I ended up using this one on my feet and washing my hands afterward. Worked great.
4. Blueberry
Smells like blueberries, right? LOL WRONG. I think there might have been some blueberry buried under the grandma perfume smell, but it was hard to say. This one wasn’t firming, but it was fairly moisturizing.
5. Rosehip
I was very excited to try this one. I just knew it was going to be great. I love everything rose and rose-related.
HAHA NOPE. The scent was bearable, but it was definitely a strong, fake rose smell rather than a pleasant true rose smell. There was also no brightening to be had. Unless by “brightening” they meant “your face will be so oily that light reflects off the sheen.” Womp.
6. Seaweed
“This one can’t possibly be bad. I’m sure it just smells like aloe or blue water.” – Me before opening this.
“OH GOD NO WHY WHAT EVEN IS THIS SMELL.” – Me after putting this on my face.
It also made me itchy. Not as bad as the evening primrose, but enough that I used the rest on my legs.
7. Green Tea
I saved this one for last because I love green tea as much as I love rose. I thought I was spacing out the ones I would love with the ones I might not like.
Good plan, Past Self.
This one was powerfully floral, which is weird because it should smell LIKE FREAKING TEA. I used it anyways because it didn’t make me itch. My skin didn’t hate it, but it also wasn’t great. My face was a little plumped up but not brighter or more dewy.
Final Thoughts
Well. I think you know how I feel at this point. If you want to try them, be my guest. They may not be as offensive to your nose and face.
These are getting a split rating.
4/5 – Royal jelly only
0/5 – All the rest.
Where to Buy
Honestly, these are a little hard to find. Packs of five are available on eBay for $15, and Amazon sometimes stocks them at varying prices. I don’t recommend wasting your time trying to find some.