REVIEW: A'Pieu Essential Source Snail Vital Finish Cream

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....


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 
IngredientFunctionAcneIrritantSafety 
Snail Secretion Filtrate
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Cyclomethicone
Solvent,Antistatic,Moisturizer
Emollient
00
Niacinamide
Cetearyl Alcohol
Surfactant, Emulsifier22
Butylene Glycol
Solvent,Moisturizer10
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract
Plant extract
Portulaca Oleracea Extract
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Emollient,Plant extract
Daucus carota Sativa
Emollient,Astringent
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Extract
Emollient
Amaranth
Pigment
Panax ginseng
Myrciaria Dubia Seed Extract
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Extract
Plant extract
Tocopheryl Acetate
Moisturizer,Antioxidant00
Adenosine
Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract
Oenothera Biennis Flower Extract
Astringent,Plant extract
Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil
Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/
Vine Extract

Plant extract
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Laminaria Japonica Extract
Corchorus Olitorius Leaf Extract
Plant extract
Nelumbo Nucifera Root Extract
Polyglutamic Acid
Moisturizer
Betaine
Antistatic,Moisturizer
Theobroma Cacao Seed Extract
Antioxidant
Seawater
Tocopherol
Antioxidant22
Dipropylene glycol
Solvent,Moisturizer
Jojoba esters
Emollient
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient,Emulsifier
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/
Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Surfactant
Sodium Polyacrylate
Ethyl Hexanediol
Solvent,Fragrance
PEG-100 Stearate
Surfactant10
Stearic Acid
Surfactant,Emulsifier20
Ethylhexyl stearate
Emollient
Glyceryl caprylate
Emollient,Emulsifier
Octyldodecanol
Solvent,Fragrance,Emulsifier
Trideceth-6
Surfactant,Emulsifier
BHT
Preservative
Dextrin
Disodium EDTA
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Fragrance
Fragrance

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
Price
Formulation
Design
Total
A'Pieu Essential Source Snail Vital Finish Cream
2/5
3/5
2/5
4/5
11/20



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!

5 comments:

  1. Manisha Anwari212 March 2015 at 20:01

    oh no :( it must be easily spreadable. I don't like it when I put a product on my face and it just..sits there

    https://www.bloglovin.com/people/manishaanwari2-11510825

    ReplyDelete
  2. SusanIvanova2257 .18 March 2015 at 11:22

    Mh, I only skimmed the ingredient list but it has niacinamide quite on top.
    That would explain why your skin tuned red after chemical exfoliants. It is one of my alltime favourite ingredients, as it is rather moisturizing, helps against pigmentation issues, and in higher concentrations even acne. I love the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo+ (european version), which contains about 4% of it. Some studies have found this concentration to be as effective as antibiotic creams whithout the side effects.
    The downside is however, that using it after an low pH product can make your skin red for a short time( B3 Flush).
    Also it helps against pigmentation, but not by directly lightening spots, like hydroquinone would do for example, but by inhibiting dark pigment rising to the surface. So it does help, but only slowy.
    But then again it may help with glycation and fine lines and wrinkles(Olay use this ingredient a lot).
    So all in all I think the pros weigh out the few cons.
    Then again this is only the most likely reason for the redness you experienced. You may have had an reaction to the phenoxyethanol or one of the plant extracts or even something else.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Many of my other products contain niacinamide and I never use them right after my low Ph products as you mentioned since they cause flushing! I'm 100% sure that it was the other ingredients I had a reaction to since I used this cream only during my night routine when I don't use any harsh AHA/BHA products. It may have reacted to the prescription retinoid but non of my either high concentration niacinamide products have either, so I'm curious why this product would! Usually, I always make sure to use my acid products in the morning too or I alternate days with niacinamide.

    I still wouldn't recommend this product to readers. I think money for value isn't there either. I did not judge this product by its ability to lighten pigmentation solely and yes, I'm very well aware that fading pigmentation takes a long time. I judged this product mainly on the Snail mucin benefits it boasted, such as soothing, anti-inflammation, and skin repairin, which it didn't deliver on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, I agree spreadability is important! :) I don't like the super sticky filmy feeling on my skin :(

    ReplyDelete
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