As I run out of my beloved SU:M37 night cream and I was hunting for some kind of serum or ampoule, I thought I will give the popular brand Mizon a chance. I already love their snail eye-cream and I wanted to explore some other products from Mizon. I have quite sensitive skin, with lots of redness and irritation around my nose and mouth and as I am in my ‘very late 20’ I wanted products that are gentle, moisturising and wrinkle care. So as the weather got cold, and I grew more conscious of my age, I bought the Original Skin Energy Peptide 500 and the Bee Venom Calming Fresh Cream both from Mizon.

Peptide 500

A part of intense moisturising, I don’t really target my newly born wrinkles in my skincare routine. Even though many creams advertise themselves as early 25+ wrinkle care products, I was largely ignoring them. Maybe I was in denial. Around my birthday in September, I finally took the bold decision to target this growing concern. And then I realised with terror, that winkle care anti-age skincare products are, for most of them, very pricey. Having studied economics, I realise this is because target customers of these products (women over 30) usually have a higher purchasing power than younger women, and thus skincare brands can charge higher prices. Revolted against this ‘price manipulation’ mechanism, I was on the hunt for a good while still cheap anti-wrinkle product. Mizon became my target brand for this hunt. It is a middle-range Korean skincare brand, known for delivering on its promises while keeping the prices low. I was torn between a couple of Mizon’s serum type products, and I finally chose the Original Skin Energy Peptide 500 serum.

The promise: The Original Skin Energy Peptide 500 serum, contains a concentrated 45% Peptide formula. This serum (or ampoule?) has a non-sticky rich solution, that promises to deliver long lasting moisture while protecting the skin from harmful effects of the environment. Peptides are often used for their anti-age properties in skincare. They are amino acids that make up the proteins in the skin and thus help prevent the visible effects of collagen loss. Through some elaborate chemical process that I won’t venture into explaining, they encourage the skin to rebuild collagen.

First impressions: The consistency of this serum is very watery, and is delivered by little drops. The serum is transparent and has no smell – sensation-wise, it’s a bit as putting drops of pure water on your face. I feel this product integrates well in an elaborated skincare routine, as it absorbs fairly fast and doesn’t leave a sticky or greasy feeling. I use it in my morning and in my evening routine, usually around step 3 or 4 (after double cleansing, and the Hada Labo lotion). Despite using it twice per day, I feel this little bottle lasts for a long time, as you don’t need too much product by application.

Ingredients: Water, Copper Tripeptide-1, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Beta Glucan, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Tropolone, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Human Oligopeptide-1, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Pentapeptide-13, Disodium Edta

Effect: I feel it is extremely difficult to judge anti-wrinkle products, as they usually take a long time to show effects. Also, the initial effects are more to prevent new wrinkles rather than fading already existing ones. In general terms, this serum didn’t give me any adverse reaction and integrates well in my multi-step routine. I also like that it has a fairly short list of ingredients, even if I do not understand most of them. Having no smell whatsoever, can be for some a big advantage (meaning less artificial fragrances and such) but it also diminishes the application experience, making it a bit too ordinary.

Where to find it: I got my Peptide 500 serum at Peach and Lily, they also carry other types of serums from the same line like the Collagen 100 that also has anti-age properties.

Hot edit (as spotted on reddit) the Peptide 500 serum, along with other serums of the line, is now available for a promotional price of 14.61 $ at RRS!

Bee Venom Calming Fresh Cream

Along with snail slim, starfish and pig collagen extract the latest buzz in Korean skincare is around Bee Venom – and just as for the previous ingredients, I try not to think too deeply about the production process for this skincare. As my skin gets easily irritated, I like that this Mizon cream had “calming” in its name. That’s what actually persuaded me to give it a try. Both the serum I chose and the cream from Mizon contain Peptides, so it sounded like a good match for my routine.

The promise: The Bee Venom Calming Fresh Cream contains Vitamin E, B5, peptides and other nutrients to help to leave skin looking healthier. Bee Venom contains anti-inflamatory properties and is used in skincare products for its anti-age properties. Fun-Fact spotted from a Marie Claire article: “Bee venom breaks down cell membranes, which tricks your body into thinking it’s under attack. It responds by increasing circulation, triggering the production of collagen and even relaxing facial muscles. This helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles, which is why some use bee venom as a natural alternative to Botox”.

First impressions: This Mizon cream, has a half gel half creamy consistency and a delicate flowery smell. It is a little bit difficult to take it out of its pot without the help of a cream spatula, for some weird reason this gely-creamy product is difficult to grab. I am using this cream once per day, in the evening, so I don’t really mind that it is not so practical (but looking for the spatula would definitely get on my nerves in the morning!).

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate, Glyceryl Stearate (and) Peg-100 Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Water (and) Sodium Hyaluronate, Water (and) Glycerin (and) Beta-glucan, Bee Venom, Propolis Extract, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol (and) Ethylhexyl Glycerin (and) Tropolone, Polysorbate 20, Hydrogenated C6-14 Olefin Polymers, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Caprylic/capric Triglyceride, Cyclopentasiloxane (and) Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane (and) Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Acrylates/c10-30 Alkly Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Mangifera Indica (mango) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii(shea Butter), Olea Europaea (olive) Fruit Oil, Helianthus Annuus (sunflower) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Water (and) Butylene Glycol (and) Copper Tripeptide-1 (and) 1,2-hexanediol, Adenosine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Allantoin, Panthenol, Epidermal Growth Factor, Disodium Edta, Fragrance

Effect: This Mizon cream is a moisturising and calming product. I didn’t get any skin irritation after using this cream, and I don’t feel the need to put an additional layer of sleeping mask on top of it. My skin is maybe slightly less red, more moisturised and soft but as for the wrinkle care properties it is quite difficult to judge.

Where to find it: The Bee Venom Calming Fresh Cream from Mizon is available on Peach and Lily in the US and on Amazon and Koreadepart.

Judgement time! I will give both products a little 4 out of 5 Kinbeauty rating because they have interesting ingredients, were non-irritating for my skin, and delivered on most promises (even though the anti-age part is still uncertain).

Also, if you are interested in reading the special Beauty issue from the Korea magazine featured in pictures in this post, you can read it for free at Korea.net.

(PS note – the included links in this post are not sponsored and I won’t get any financial benefit from them – I just added them for your convenience)