Aside from just wanting moisturization in my routine, I want a final step that has anti-inflammatory and skin repairing effects. With those requirements in mind I started looking at products with snail mucin, an ingredient that is widely known in Korea for have skin-repairing benefits, several months ago. After some careful research, I settled with A'Pieu Essential Source Vital Snail Finish Cream, which contains 80% snail secretion filtrate.
To clear up any possible confusion, this Finish Cream is *different* than the A'Pieu Essential Source Snail Vital Cream which is another product in the same line. Although the A'Pieu Essential Source Snail Vital Cream comes in the same jar and design as this Finish Cream, it doesn't have the word "finish" on the label and it's meant to be applied after your toner/essence step in your daily routine.
Now, the A'Pieu Essential Source Vital Snail Finish Cream....
Now, the A'Pieu Essential Source Vital Snail Finish Cream....
The texture is quite thick and not easily spreadable. The cream itself is a bit beige in colour and feels a bit sticky or tacky when I apply it on my skin. However, once it warms up between my hands and skin, it's not so bad. It absorbs ok, but still leaves a bit of a sticky finish on my skin. I don't really mind that because I prefer the moist feel on my skin, especially since it is still cold and dry where I live.
Very thick product as you can see in the pic! ^
I used about half of this A'Pieu product, but it ended up not agreeing with my skin. It stung my skin a bit, especially if I leaned a little too hard on my AHA/BHA products to help clear up any active break outs. I believe this moisturizer also caused some redness I was experiencing at the time I tested it.
As for its promised benefits? I didn't notice any visible effects to my skin, despite using it for several weeks to ensure that I could track the cream's progress effectively. I was really hoping to like this product, since I've had some success with snail mucin products before. Unfortunately, I had no luck with this particular snail product. My best guess is that some of the other ingredients in the formulation irritated my skin.
Ingredients/CosDNA
As you can see from the CosDNA analysis above, the product has several ingredients that score 1 or 2 in both the acne and irritant trigger category. Another cause for concern is Amaranth (color) and BHT (preservative); both score in the red zone for safety. Hmm... A'Pieu, is it really necessary to put color in a cream? It's not even a nice color too! It's just some off looking, weird, beige shade. Hmph.
On the flip side, A'Pieu did add a lot of great herbal and plant extracts into the formulation. For example, panax ginseng, Japonica root extract, hibiscus extract, and even seawater! And last, but certainly not least, the product contains a wonderful 80% of snail secretion filtrate!
Verdict?
This isn't a product I'd recommend. The texture is too thick, spreadability isn't great, feels a bit tacky, and doesn't deliver on the results because the formulation irritates my skin. I think there are many other snail mucin based products out there that are more effective than this one. And probably cheaper too!
It's such a shame because I had high hopes for this product! Boo.
Efficacy
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Price
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Formulation
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Design
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Total
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A'Pieu Essential Source Snail Vital Finish Cream
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2/5
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3/5
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2/5
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4/5
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11/20
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You can purchase this product at the following, trusted e-shops:
W2Beauty** - $34.40 USD (free shipping)
RoseRoseShop - $18.48 USD (shipping extra)
**If you are a first-time buyer at W2Beauty, you can enter in my sponsor code 25809502 when you register an account, and you'll receive a $5 discount towards your first order!
