A'Pieu renewed their Essential Source Snail line sometime in the fall last year I believe, and instead of the Essential Source Snail Cream they released the Essential Source Snail Vital Cream (whew that's a mouthful). From what I know, the difference between this cream and the previous cream is that they feed the snails with red ginseng, which somehow makes the snail filtrate more healthy(?) for your skin, and nutritious. I'm not sure if the red ginseng actually makes a difference. ^^; Anyways, let's start with the review~
어퓨 에센셜 소스 스네일 바이탈 크림
Name: A'Pieu Essential Source Snail Vital Cream
Price: 24,000원
Size: 50 ml
Directions: Apply a thin layer after cleansing before using toner (skin).
Ingredients: Snail Secretion Filtrate (80%), Water, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Ginseng Extract, Carrot Seed Extract, Macadamia Seed Extract, Amaranth Seed Extract, Carrot Seed Extract, Camu Camu Seed Extract, Panthenol, Jojoba Seed Extract, Adenosine, PEG -32, Ethyl hexanediol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PPG 26 Buteth 26, Glyceral Caprylate, Disodium EDTA
To be honest I thought this cream didn't have anything that was bad in it, but after looking at the ingredients (which I should've done in the beginning OTL), there's actually quite a few ingredients that scored just so-so in terms of safety. I'm not very knowledgeable at all when it comes to ingredients, but if you look at the list of ingredients I uploaded onto COSDNA here and click on the names of them, you'll get more information. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to give you more information on the good and bad ingredients, but for now COSDNA will have to do. ^^;
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| Dimensions: 6 cm x 6.2 cm x 8.5 cm |
The box is very plain and simple, but the jar itself is completely different from what you would expect from such a plain box.
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| Diameter: 5.8 cm | Height: 8 cm |
The jar is absolutely gorgeous and the color looks like pale gold. The lid is made of plastic and the jar is made of glass, but it seems pretty sturdy, although I would still be cautious when handling it if your floor is made of wood or tiles.
There's a protective lid (I think it's made of rubber) on top of the opening of the jar. However a lot of times it's actually stuck to the bottom of the lid. ^^;
A spatula is also included, although the shape is a bit strange.
There isn't really any scent at all. If you lean in to smell it, it just smells... fresh? I don't really know how to explain it, but unless you lean in super close you won't smell anything.
There isn't any color to this at all, and it's like a gel cream. However according to A'Pieu this is actually a skin booster that you're supposed to use before applying a toner. I thought that was kind of strange at first since it is a cream, but now I see why. Although the texture is very similar to a gel cream, this isn't very moisturizing. > < I have combination skin and this probably provided as much moisture as a normal toner would. So people with dry skin wouldn't find this useful as a cream at all, although people with very oily skin might like it.
You don't need a lot, I only use about this much every time.
The cream is really easy to spread and absorbs extremely fast. Even though it contains 80% snail filtrate, it's not sticky at all. It's also light and kind of watery (not in the way that it's runny, but it kind of feels like those aloe gels), which is probably why it's not very moisturizing.
This cream didn't work out at all for me, and it actually caused me to get little bumps on my forehead where I usually break out. I thought it was this other product that was doing that but turns out it's this. I used this for nearly a month before I figured that out (I felt so foolish when I did OTL). What's funny is that when I gave this to my mom to try, it didn't break her out at all. It really depends on the person I guess, because I've seen a lot of positive reviews on this cream by Korean bloggers. I would say that it slightly brightened my skin a bit, but it's not really noticeable. Other than that this was a disappointment. :/
Pros
-Not sticky
-Gorgeous packaging
-Includes spatula
-Lightweight
-Absorbs quickly
-Brightens skin slightly
Cons
-Not moisturizing enough
-Somewhat expensive
-Broke me out
-Not travel friendly
Overall Score: 2/5
Repurchase? Definitely not, but from the amount of positive reviews I've seen from other people, I wouldn't tell anyone not to buy it.
Where to buy:
iBuyBeauti $32.99 (free shipping)
W2Beauty $31.33 (free shipping)
What about you?
Would you be interested in trying out this snail cream? What other snail creams have you tried before?