Snails. They have wreaked so much havoc in the K-Beauty world. Why havoc? BECAUSE THEIR SECRETION IS FREAKIN AMAZING AND IT HEALS YOUR SKIN AND MAKES IT AMAZING AF but also YMMV hehe! Gosh the word secretion is so weird.

Also I’m so glad I got to sneak YMMV (Your mileage may vary) in one of my posts, now I really feel like a K-Beauty blogger. Initiation complete. ☺️☺️☺️

Mizon makes some of the best snail skincare and they’ve stolen many hearts with this product, so many that I’d call this a cult favorite product. They also have some of the weirdest product names out there too. This ‘cream’ isn’t really a cream, at least for me, it’s not an occlusive you use to seal hydration from essences and ampoules. The AIO snail cream is sort of like a thick essence, and I find that when I use it like an essence, I get to reap all the snaily benefits. Again, this too may be a YMMV situation, but then again, Mizon themselves placed this product as the first step in their entire snail skincare regimen.

Okay, we’ve chatted enough, let’s get down to business.

In this post I’ll be talking about:

The ingredients of the product including a little briefing on some of the ingredients on the list.

How to use the product, its consistency and how it smells

What this product did for me and why I like it

What I don’t like about this product

The product’s claims and if this product has met them

Ingredients

Snail Secretion Filtrate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Dimethicone, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Butylene Glycol, PEG/PPG-17/6 Coploymer, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glyocol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tropolone, Adenosine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Artemesia Absinthium Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Gentiana Lutea Root Extract, Alcohol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Copper Tripeptide-1, Human Ogliopeptide-1, Propylene Glycol, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Beta-glucan, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Disodium EDTA

CosDNA analysis.

4 yellow flags and 2 red flags. Potential acne triggers include cetearyl alcohol, stearic acid, hydrogenated vegetable oil, dimethicone, triethanolamine and butylene glycol. Irritants include cetearyl alcohol, hydrogenated vegetable and carbomer.

Now here’s the thing, the chances of this product being mean to your skin are low, because the rest of the ingredients in the formula make up only 8% of the product, but still, patch test! Always patch test, don’t be like me and excitedly put all the things on your face and have it explode.

Spoiler alert, I’m going to be spilling the beans on one of the reasons I love this product, avert your eyes if you hate surprises.

92% snail secretion filtrate!

Can I get a yassssssss? YASSSSSS.

A little intro on snail secretion filtrate. Often called snail slime or snail mucin, It’s the slime a snail secretes as it makes its way along this harsh world to lubricate its path and help it slither along, it also helps it stick to surfaces. This slime is rich in glycoproteins, which are proteins with carbohydrate attached to them that play a great role in the communication between cells. So glycoproteins = CELL phones… huehuehue #punsthatdeservePUNches

The slime is also rich in elastin, proteoglycans and peptides. There’s research that suggests can stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, increase fibronectin protein production and stimulate increased proliferation of fibroblasts. Collagen and elastin are groups of proteins found in connective tissue, which connect other kinds of tissue or organs in the body. Collagen provides rigidity to the skin and keeps it firm. It’s found in the middle and fatty layers of the skin. Elastin provides, you guessed it, elasticity to the skin so that when you make a facial expression, you have the option to go back to your bitchy resting face and not have to smile forever, and ever and ever… Fibroblasts are cells that secrete collagen, elastin and a lotta other stuff man and I just don’t have the patience. The skin’s healing process is led by these cells which repair skin by creating scabs/scars and replenish collagen to rebuild the structural integrity of the skin.

Fibronectins? They’re glycoproteins also secreted by fibroblasts that bind components of the extracellular matrix, a happy bunch of molecules secreted by cells that provides structural and biochemical support. Extracellular matrixes obvs vary in different multicellular structures, in the same way that different people have different support needs. Someone with anxiety might need someone to calm them down and help them not freak out about everything while someone who’s going through a rough time might need someone to talk to and get feedback that can possibly make things better. But common functions of extracellular matrixes are cell to cell communication, cell adhesion and differentiation. Meaning that all of these matrixes can get cells to talk to each other and shake hands, and then make them hug so tight they adhere to each other and help cells change into different cell types. One of these extracellular matrix components is collagen, yay familiar term appearance!

Proteoglycans are also a component of extracellular matrixes, they’re what exists between cells in an organism, like a filler. Like water, butylene glycol and glycerin in most skincare products, and like frosting between layers of cake. Peptides are made up of amino acids, like proteins, and have the same chemical structure, but shorter. Peptides are active molecules that send signals to your cells, and when collagen breaks down after watching the latest Game of Thrones episode, it forms specific peptides that sends signals, gives skin the monday vibezzz and tells it that it’s damaged and needs to make more collagen.

Do with that information what you will.

The problem with snail mucin is that while it’s beneficial for the skin and has produced great results, insignificant research has been done on exactly how and why snail mucin does what it does to your skin. Interested in reading a study? Here’s a reassuring one!

We have some other nice ingredients on the list too. Adenosine, a cell communicating ingredient that increases production of the dermal fibroblast proteins, aka collagen and elastin aka YAY!

Sodium Hyaluronate, is not hyaluronic acid just FYI. It’s the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which doesn’t get to enter the skin surface so easily. Sodium Hyaluronate however, can move into the deeper layers of the skin with a lot more ease! Which is great because it can hold up 1000 times water its weight. Being the powerhouse humectant rascal that it is, it causes light swelling AKA plump and bouncy skin hollllaaaaaa! Hyaluronic acid is also naturally found in the dermis and is the fluid that lubricates joints and other things!

Arnica Montana flower extract, Artemisia Absinthium extract, Achillea Millefolium extract. Sciencey names for Arnica, wormwood and yarrow. All of these have great anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. Yarrow is actually rich in flavonoids aka antioxidants!

Camellia Sinensis leaf extract aka green tea. Super rich in antioxidants, which protect the skin from free radicals that damage cells and cause premature aging. Green tea is actually anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory. It’s just great is what it is.

Centella Asiatica extract, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, but it doesn’t end here. This plant extract seems to be quite the power herb! It has the ability to increase blood supply to a wounded area, jack up the level of antioxidants and promote fibroblast production! Which is great because fibroblasts make collagen and collagen equals youth. It contains vitamins A, B, C and D and a bunch of minerals ranging from zinc to selenium, and what’s cooler, is that it contains chemicals known as triterpenoids that stimulate the production of collagen! Yay more collagen! Also it has amino acids and flavonoids. It’s basically super great at helping out with wound healing and actually increases the tensile strength of new skin and can stimulate the production of collagen which is always great.

We have some nice peptides, like the Copper Tripeptide-1 and Human Oligopeptide-1 aka EGF aka Epidermal Growth Factor. Copper peptides can promote collagen and elastin production as well as promote the production of glycosaminoglycans, and by the way, hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan, it’s also one of the main components of the extracellular matrix that contributes a lot to cell proliferation aka more cellzzzz, EGF also contributes to cell proliferation, stimulate the synthesis of hyaluronic acid and other cool stuff! It can also whiten skin aka brighten skin and fade dark spots by promoting the growth of new cells that replace those that UV radiation has damaged, it recedes the number of melanocytes in the skin. Cool stuff.

Rubus Idaeus or red raspberry extract is great for hydrating and anti-aging. It’s also involved with ceramide production! I won’t get into it.

How to use

I like to use it as an essence at night, but for my oily skin, it could maybe give me enough moisture if used with other essences during the daytime. On it’s own, it doesn’t really give you enough, even for oily skin. Which is great for me because I ❤ layering. A little goes a long way!

Smell

I didn’t really smell anything until I yanked the smell particles into my nose with a mighty whiff and the only thing I can say about it is that it kind of smells like some of Dermal’s sheet masks. It’s barely noticeable so yay!

Consistency

It’s like a slightly runny cream that’s kinda slimy. You might think of it as an emulsion that’s slightly thicker and a bit slimy. So basically slimy, but not like old horror movie zombie guts slimy but just slightly. I’ll post the pictures I found on google of Mizon’s um… brochure/pamphlet(?) talking about their product, stating its claims and who it’s for and stuff like that.

What I like about this product and maybe even why:

92% snail mucin

I found that when I used this product, my acne was at bay. At bae.

Heals acne scars and even cuts! I slathered some on a cut on my foot a few times on one day, and the wound healed significantly faster!

Absorbs quickly

Doesn’t smell like anything. While I love nice smelling things, some skin types don’t. So everyone can indulge in this! Yay!

Made my skin soft and plump

Great ingredient list

Didn’t break me out or clog my pores and close all the comedones

A little goes a long way, so it can last a while.

What I don’t like about this product:

Not moisturizing enough

Didn’t brighten my skin

As you can see, I love this product. The fact that it isn’t super moisturizing is sometimes a plus because I want to sneak in other essences too. Also, slathering on a lot of this product didn’t seem to bring me any more snaily benefits than using a small amount, so a little does go a long way. Even after using more than necessary, it lasted me more than 3 months – score! As for pores and wrinkles, I can’t say much because I thankfully don’t have to deal with large pores or wrinkles. Well I do now because #tretface. Or somewhat near #tretface.

My rating: 4.5/5. Only taking away half a point because it didn’t moisturize enough.

Would I repurchase? HELL YES. But only after I try the Cosrx Snail 96 essence, the Mizon Black Snail cream and the Mizon Snail Repair EX cream from their M line. Also what is this EX thing?

Where can I buy this product?

Available on Jolse for $16.70. Jolse is the boss bitch of samples and has free shipping!

On eBay for $17.22. More free shipping!

On Wishtrend for $17.81. I love Wishtrend, even if free shipping is for orders over $69. They have an amazing range of products too!

Get it on Amazon Prime for $16.71 and get it in like two days! Yasssssss.

(All opinions expressed are my own, this product was purchased by myself with the money I earned selling cakes, cookies and cupcakes. I know, I know, so cool. None of the above links are affiliate links but PRAY THAT SOMEONE THINKS I’M CREDIBLE ENOUGH AND THAT ONE OF THESE DO TURN INTO AFFILIATE LINKS WAAAA!)

I hope you enjoyed this review! I’ve spent a whole day researching, reading, taking notes and trying to convert sciencey words into dumb talk, hope I wasn’t too bad at it! Haul and other posts coming up soon!

What’s your favorite snail product or what are you currently loving on that beautiful face of yours? Let me know in the comments below!

– Asphodel.