The NAIA Routine in Order: How to Layer Japan's Sake Lees Skincare

You bought the NAIA products. What order do they go in?

Japanese skincare lines are rarely labelled step one, step two, step three, and NAIA is no exception. You end up with a gel, a foam, something called an essence lotion, something called a serum emulsion, a cream and a sheet mask, and no obvious instruction about which of them goes on a wet face and which goes on a dry one. Get the order wrong and the expensive steps sit on top of a barrier that cannot take them in. This is the part most guides skip, so this one is only about sequence: what each NAIA product is for, where it sits in a morning or evening routine, and which steps you can drop without breaking the rest. We compared the official product information for the range and laid it out in the order it is designed to be used.

The order, and when to change it

In the evening, the sequence is cleansing gel, then foam wash, then essence lotion, then serum emulsion, then cream. In the morning you skip the cleansing gel, because there is no makeup to remove, and you can usually skip the cream as well unless your skin is dry or the heating is on. The sheet mask replaces the essence lotion step rather than adding to it, once or twice a week. That order holds for most people, with one exception worth naming: if your skin is oily and you live somewhere humid, the cream at the end is the step to drop first, not the emulsion, because the emulsion is doing the conditioning work and the cream is mainly there to seal it in. Dropping a step you do not need is better than skipping the routine altogether on a hot night.

What NAIA actually is

NAIA describes itself as a nature science cosmetic brand from Oku-Noto, the far end of the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa, and the range is built around ingredients from that region: aged sake lees extract, rice bran extract, Noto hiba essential oil and Noto kikusumi charcoal. The sake lees are the thread running through nearly every product, and the brand's own description of how they are handled is specific: amino-acid-rich sake lees, aged and then freeze-dried. That matters for sequencing, because the fermentation-derived ingredients are concentrated in the middle steps rather than the cleansing ones. On @cosme, the Japanese review platform that scores products out of seven rather than five, the Clear Essence Lotion holds 5.5 out of 7 across 42 reviews at the time of writing, which is a useful reference point for a range this young rather than proof of anything.

Step 1 — Aqua Cleansing Gel 180g

This is the evening-only step, and the one people most often use in the wrong place. A cleansing gel is for taking makeup and sunscreen off, not for washing the face, so it goes on before water rather than after. NAIA builds this one as a water-based gel rather than an oil, which is the lighter of the two formats and the reason it suits people who find cleansing oils leave a film. At 180 g it is the largest container in the range, which fits a product you use a generous amount of every night rather than a few drops. If you do not wear makeup or sunscreen at all, you can leave this step out of the routine entirely and start the evening at the foam instead, without changing anything that follows it.

Best for: taking makeup and sunscreen off before the actual wash.

[[product:naia-aqua-cleansing-gel-180g]]

Step 2 — Kikusumi Charcoal & Sake Lees Cleansing Foam 100g

Step two is the wash itself, and this is where the kikusumi charcoal appears. Kikusumi is a fine Japanese charcoal, and NAIA pairs it here with the same sake lees that run through the rest of the range, so the step that normally strips the most is also carrying the brand's signature ingredient. Use it morning and evening; in the evening it follows the cleansing gel rather than replacing it, because the gel lifts makeup and the foam removes what is left along with the gel itself. The 100 g tube is the standard size for a daily foam. If your skin feels tight for more than a minute after washing, take that as a sign to shorten this step rather than to add more product at step five, since no cream fixes a wash that went on too long.

Best for: the daily wash, morning and night.

[[product:naia-natural-moist-face-wash-foam-kiku-sumi-sake-kasu-kusunoki-cleansing-100g]]

Step 3 — Sake Lees Clear Essence Lotion 120ml

An essence lotion is the Japanese category that confuses people most, because it is not quite a toner and not quite a serum. It goes on straight after washing, onto skin that is still slightly damp, and it is the first step that carries a meaningful concentration of the sake lees and rice bran ferment. Reviewers on @cosme describe it as a lotion with a thickened, slightly viscous texture rather than a watery one, and repeatedly mention that despite the sake lees it smells of citrus and essential oils rather than of alcohol. It holds 5.5 out of 7 there across 42 reviews, and the scent is the detail that comes up most often in them. This is the step to buy first if you are only trying one NAIA product, because it is where the range's signature ingredient is most concentrated.

Best for: the first treatment step, onto damp skin after washing.

[[product:naia-clear-essence-lotion-sake-kasu-kome-nuka-120ml]]

Step 4 — Rice Bran Precious Serum Emulsion 50ml

Step four is where the rice bran takes over from the sake lees as the lead ingredient. A serum emulsion is a hybrid format: thicker than a serum, lighter than a cream, and designed to do the conditioning work of both in one layer so the routine does not run to seven steps. It goes on after the essence lotion has been absorbed rather than on top of a wet face, and 50 ml is the smallest bottle in the daily range, which tells you the intended dose is small. If you are cutting the routine down to two products, this is the one to keep alongside the essence lotion, because between them they cover the treatment and the moisture in a single pass, which is the shortest version of this routine that still uses both rice ingredients.

Best for: the one treatment step to keep if you are shortening the routine.

[[product:naia-precious-serum-emulsion-kome-nuka-sake-kasu-50ml]]

Step 5 — Rice Bandage Cream 40g

The cream is the last step and the most optional one, which is not a criticism of it. Its job in the sequence is to sit on top of everything else and slow down how fast the layers underneath evaporate, which is why NAIA uses the bandage idea in the name. It is the richest product in the range and comes in the smallest jar at 40 g, both of which point to the same thing: a thin layer at night rather than a handful every morning. Use it in the evening as standard, and add it to the morning routine only in winter, on long flights, or whenever indoor heating is doing the drying. If you are new to rich creams, start with less than you think and build up over a week, because too much of a final layer is what makes a routine feel heavy rather than the number of steps in it.

Best for: the final evening layer, and dry-weather mornings.

[[product:naia-rice-bandage-cream-40g]]

Weekly — Sake Lees Beauty Face Mask, 7 sheets

The sheet mask is the step people most often stack on top of a full routine, which is the wrong way round. A sheet mask is a delivery format for essence, so it does the same job as step three and should replace it on the nights you use one, not sit between steps three and four. The seven-sheet pack is sized as a week, which is a useful way to test whether the fermented-rice range suits your skin before committing to the full-size bottles. After the mask comes off, carry straight on to the serum emulsion and the cream; there is no need to re-apply the essence lotion underneath it or over it. Doing both is the most common way people end up with a routine that feels sticky and blame the wrong product for it, when the real cause is two versions of the same step stacked on top of each other.

Best for: replacing the essence lotion once or twice a week.

[[product:naia-sake-kasu-essence-face-mask-7-pcs]]

Who should skip this routine

Fermented rice ingredients are the whole point of this range, so if sake lees or rice ferments have not agreed with your skin before, there is no version of this routine that avoids them. The range is also scented: the essence lotion is described by reviewers as having a citrus and essential-oil scent, and the brand uses Noto hiba essential oil across the line, so it is not the right choice if you buy fragrance-free by policy. Five steps is also genuinely five steps, and a routine you abandon in February is worth less than three products you actually use, so if you know from experience that you will not keep a five-step routine up past the first fortnight, start with the essence lotion alone and build from there rather than buying the whole line at once.

Your next step

Decide how many steps you will realistically do before you decide which products to buy. If the honest answer is two, buy the essence lotion and the serum emulsion and skip everything else, since those two carry the sake lees and the rice bran between them. If it is three, add the foam wash. Buy the cleansing gel only if you actually wear makeup or daily sunscreen, and the cream only if your skin is dry or your winter is. If you want to try the fermented-rice ingredients before committing to full sizes, the seven-sheet mask pack is the shortest way in. For which products suit which skin concern rather than which order they go in, see our NAIA sake lees picks, and our Japanese sheet mask guide covers the mask step more widely.

FAQ

What order do NAIA products go in?

Cleansing gel, then foam wash, then essence lotion, then serum emulsion, then cream. In the morning, skip the cleansing gel and usually the cream.

Does the sheet mask go before or after the essence lotion?

Neither. The sheet mask does the same job as the essence lotion, so use it instead of that step on mask nights, then continue with the serum emulsion.

Where is NAIA made?

NAIA describes itself as a nature science cosmetic brand from Oku-Noto, on the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa, Japan, and builds the range around Noto ingredients including hiba essential oil and kikusumi charcoal.

What is an essence lotion?

It is a Japanese format that sits between a toner and a serum: applied to damp skin straight after washing, thicker than a toner and more concentrated, but lighter than a serum.

Which NAIA product should I buy first?

The Sake Lees Clear Essence Lotion. It is the first step that carries a meaningful concentration of the fermented rice ingredients, and it holds 5.5 out of 7 across 42 reviews on @cosme.

Can I use NAIA in the morning as well as at night?

Yes. The foam wash, essence lotion and serum emulsion are the morning steps. The cleansing gel is for evenings only, and the cream is optional in the morning unless your skin is dry.