K-beauty has some really interesting and bizarre ingredients: horse oil, donkey milk, goat milk, snake venom, bee venom, and snail slime. Nothing ever really piqued my interest since I took them all as marketing gimmicks. I would probably never have tried the Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream had my friend not passed a tube on to me. The concept and promises of snail mucus are appealing but I am not 100% sold on it from this product alone.
Mizon's description:
Containing of Snail Secretion Filtrate 74%.
Mucin in snail secretion helps to repair damaged skin and give clear and smooth skin. The snail gel cream absorbs quickly thanks to the fresh and lightweight formula and reinforces skin repairment.
Hyaluronic acid in the formula gives skin rich moisture and keeps skin smooth all day long.
Centella, portulaca, and green tea extract prevent skin troubles and protect skin from the outside harmful factors while soothing skin.
Adenosine, the certified wrinkle care ingredient, improves fine wrinkle problems.
Peptides and 5 kinds of vitamins firm skin.
* The formula is free of artificial coloring, fragrance, and paraben to minimize skin irritation.
Directions
Apply an appropriate amount on face after cleansing, dabbing until absorbed.
Ingredients
SNAIL SECRETION FILTRATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, GLYCERIN, BIS-PEG-18 METHYL ETHER, DIMETHYLSILANE, POLYSORBATE2-, SODIUM HYALURONATE, CARBOMER, GLYCOSYL TREHALOSE, HYDROGENATED STARCH HYDOLSYATE, TRIETHANOLAMINE, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, DIMETHICONE, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, CAPRYLYL GLYOCOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, CENTELLA ASIATICA EXTRACT, PORTULACA OLERACEA EXTRACT, CAMELLIAS SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, NELUMBO NUCIFERA FLOWER EXTRACT, BETULA PLATYLPHYLLA JAPONICA JUICE, TROPOLONE, COPPER TRIPEPTIDE-1, ALLANTOIN, PANTHENOL, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, PALMITOYL PENTAPEPTIDE-4, ADENOSINE, DISODIUM EDTA
Cream 45 ml
Mizon (Korean retail): ₩19,000
RoseRoseShop: ₩19,000 (sale ₩6,080)
Peach & Lily: USD $18.00
Amazon: USD ~$8.00-10.00
iHerb: USD $8.34
Packaging
The box that the cream comes in doesn't have any information in English to help sell the benefits of snail slime. I tried to Google translate the Korean; it mentions something along the lines of how the slime has the ability to "restore skin strength and vitality" and "provide smoothing effects" for skin texture and wrinkles. There are many beauty blogs, beauty/fashion editorials, and Western-catering e-commerce sites that claim snail mucus to have impressive healing capabilities while having great moisture holding power.
For a product that retails close to $20, the packaging is surprisingly basic. I presume the price is due to the "74% snail secretion" that makes this cream so special. I can only imagine how many snails and how much time is needed to produce the number of gel creams people demand.
The packaging looks and feels like an inexpensive drugstore lotion that come in a standard plastic tube with a twist off lid. If something comes in a tube, I generally prefer it to have a flip-top lid; one less thing to fumble with during my morning and night routines.
At 45ml/1.52oz, it is a great size for traveling, especially via air since the tube comes in under the 100ml/3.4 oz limit. The Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream seems to be on promotions often so I wouldn't count the price tag as a disadvantage. Heck, my friend generously gave me this tube saying she purchased a set of two for ~$12.
Color, Texture, Finish, & Scent
Since the product is formulated without synthetic colors and fragrances the gel cream is cloudy-clear straight out of the tube and scent-free. It turns more transparent as it is worked into the skin. There is an initial tacky sticky feeling one would assume snail secretion to have, but that sensation doesn't last. It doesn't even look glossy for long. The gel absorbs pretty fast and I can barely feel any residue once my skin drinks it up.
How I Apply
Moisturizer // Generously applied all over the face and neck. First rubbed the cream between my palms and then patted it in.
Spot treatment // Very generously dabbed onto scabs, dried-out burn wounds, and pimples.
Thoughts & Recommendations
As a moisturizer for combination skin with a lot of flakes, there are better products out there. It isn't deeply moisturizing no matter how much I apply or even if I combine an oil with the gel cream. The more normal and oily parts of my face felt alright, but the drier and flakier areas have a tendency to feel a little tight and even look flakier as the day progresses. It doesn't work well under any mattifying makeup.
As a spot treatment, I was pleasantly surprised. It does seem to heal wounds and blemishes a little faster than if I had not use the cream. The concentrated spots of dry skin around scabs came off more easily and any bumps flattened out a smidge quicker. Nothing is instantaneous, however. The scabbiness doesn't go away after only one spot treating session...more like multiple times a day for several days.
The gel cream is nice to use on wounds if it's sitting on my vanity. This product just isn't so amazing that I would go out of my way to repurchase it for the sole purpose of treating burns and blemishes. I won't miss it when I finish up the tube. However, I am slightly more interested than before in trying higher concentrated snail creams. We'll see...
When everyone says lasering is a "permanent" hair removal option, I was imagining the results to last a good year at least...even without having to continuously re-laser body parts I wished to be hairless in. I could accept the fact that it isn't a one-session-and-all-hair-begone method. I can accept that it takes multiple attempts to fully "kill"/pause the hair follicles. But I was not expecting the results to revert, nearly, 100% after going laser free for 3 months when I completed 13 sessions (6 months) of bi-weekly treatment using the at-home tria Hair Removal Laser 4X system.
Click to see the progression of hair loss: 1 month. 2 months. 3 months. 4 months. 5 months. 6 months.
Granted, tria doesn't say anything about how hair would grow back if the user stops lasering altogether. All they promise is that there should be a significant difference in the amount of hair after 3 months of bi-weekly usage. However, if we apply some logic here...the laser does what it is supposed to and deactivates the hair follicles from growing at the roots, it should theoretically not reactive once the laser isn't applied anymore—right?
Here are the possible reasons I can think of to explain what happened:
- hair follicles reactivated.
- tons of new follicles formed.
- the laser wasn't strong enough for the follicles to stay dormant long term.
- hormones are to blame. (I do have a history of PCOS, which tends to elevate male hormones. It's supposed to be under control but I guess it could still be affecting my hair growth.)
Upper lips.
Nothing to really update here. There hasn't been any loss or new growth of hair. What was there 6 months ago when I first started lasering and what was there 3 months ago right before I stopped lasering is what is there right now. When I shave it off, it grows back at about the same rate as well.
Knuckle hairs.
Just like with the 'stache hairs, the knuckle wispies situation is also the same.
Armpits.
The area that showed the most drastic results during the lasering also did the same after halting the treatment. I noticed the hairs growing again even during the first month after I called it quits back in June. Over the last 3 months, the regrowth after each shave regained the dreaded aftershave itchiness sensation. It seemed to get more intense with each corresponding shave as well. Hairs slowly grew in darker and coarser. The only thing that hasn't come back, yet...knock on wood, are the terrible in-grown hairs I was so prone to before.
3-Months Laser-Free Thoughts
I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the tria Hair Removal Laser 4X. At this point, I cannot say for sure if it is my human error's fault, my uncontrollable internal issues, or tria's issue.
Given my results while consistently lasering...I do stand by my conclusions from the last post: worth it when compared to the effort needed for manual plucking (my preferred method) and when compared to the cost of professional services.
Home lasering isn't worth it for the time required for self-treatment. Professional lasering costs a lot but the wait-time in between seems to be longer. No matter what the reason is for my regrowth if I see the best results only when I continually laser, I would have to do commit myself to 26 sessions/year plus or minus some with shaving in between. I cannot ever pluck, wax, or depilate any hairs since the roots will be then non-existent and the lasers would have nothing to zap. It is a big commitment to make to those two methods of hair removal, but one that I guess I have made already since didn't return the device.
The only options I have now are to lift my temporary lasering ban earlier than expected. I also have more freedom to leave the hairs be, especially in the armpit region, to grow out now that Fall is here and the weather should technically be cooling down. Until I decided to actually consult a dermatologist or other licensed professionals about the underlying issues, I guess this is the end of the written journey for the tria Hair Removal Laser 4X.
A list was made. I told myself just one of each product type for the upcoming colder weather: toner, essence, serum, and moisturizer. I still walked away with a good 3 sets of products that can last me well into 2018. Whatever happened to self-control?
When prices are that good, my ability to restrain my hands from moving before my head is severely blocked. I am talking about skincare goodies that are full-sized and mostly $10 each; at that price, it is even better than what is available at American drugstores.
The first tables that greeted customers were filled with $15 yellow-labeled items. Mostly serums and essences from various brands.
Right next to those were the $10 green-labeled items, which accounted for a majority of the sale (other than sheet masks). A variety of cleansers, toners, and moisturizers to choose from. There was a small selection of makeup. Not-yet-released brands of Peach & Lily was also in this category.
$22 and $30-something red- and orange-labeled items, respectively, were on a table farthest away from the entrance. A small array of their bestselling and most luxe brand's serums and essence.
The $6 blue-labeled items made up a small corner of the location. Mostly knick-knacks and travel-sized products: mists, acne spot treatments, etc.
2 for $3 purple-labeled items and $3 pink-labeled items dominated a ton of space. Sheet masks galore from Peach & Lily's own brand and every brand in-between.
Peach & Lily sample sale
This year was the first time I visited the Peach & Lily sample sale. I don't know what happened the previous 2 years but I am glad I didn't pass up the chance to visit this time around. The K-Beauty sample sale took place at 393 Broadway New York, NY 10010 from 8AM-9PM. I had some time to stop by mid-morning and there was already no visible line outside the store. Bag check was quick as well.
Unlike what I read from last year's accounts, there was no 20-min time limit this year—in fact, I was in there for about an hour picking items, reading labels, asking questions, and trying to be sensible with my haul. Products were quickly restocked, testers were available, and everyone there was extremely helpful.
I came out with 3 of the $6 items. 10 of the $10 items. 1 of the $15 items. and 1 of the $22 items. All are completely new brands to me; the reason why Peach & Lily is so appealing. A good bunch of the items is for tackling moisture and hydration. A select few are for treatment: acne-scars, brightening, anti-aging, etc.
Ground Plan 24 Hour Secret Mist Plus 60ml, $6 (to be released)
ATOCLASSIC Real Tonic Soothing Moist Mist 150ml, $6 (orig. $19)
Abib Facial Soap Black Brick 100g, $6 (to be released)
Abib Hydration gel 75ml, $10 (to be released)
Abib Hydration creme 75ml, $10 (to be released)
Olivarrier Dual Moist Toning Lotion 180ml, $10 (to be released)
Olivarrier Dual Moist Hyaluron Essence 100ml, $10 (to be released)
Olivarrier Emollient Extra Comfort Cream 75ml, $10 (to be released)
Aromatica Sea Daffodil Aqua Toner 130ml, $10 (orig. $23)
Eco Your Skin Vitamin C Booster 10ml x3, $10 each (orig. $29)
Be the Skin Botanical Nutrition Power Toner 150ml, $10 (orig. $29)
Be the Skin Botanical Nutrition Power Serum 50ml, $15 (orig. $39)
the Lotus Essence with 89% Lotus Leaf 125ml, $22 (orig. $64)
All the brands I walked out with were on my to-try list. The only brand I couldn't get my hands on was the Let Me Skin modeling masks in the pill-shaped containers; they were all sold-out by the time I got there. Even though I was interested in some Mizon and Dr. Dream goodies, I decided to stop myself considering how many things I had already stashed into my shopping tote. Plus, Dr. Dream items were mostly in the $15 and $22 groups.
Innisfree NYC
To leave the newly opened Innisfree in Union Square with a boat-load of products when I have a new stash of skincare is too crazy. But since that is their first American physical outpost, I had to stop by at least once to do some eye-shopping. Let me pretend to relive my Seoul travels just for 30-minutes!
I was surprised by how many customizable makeup and skincare products the brand had. Between the vast array of pot masks and toppings, cushion compact designs and formulations, the color makeup pans with eyeshadows, blushes, and even concealers & correctors, my mind would have been severely overwhelmed had I gone in with intentions to buy things.
The haircare section is typically the one section of beauty stores I move right past, every single visit. I am super low-maintenance with my hair and giant bottles of warehouse-sized Dove or Herbal Essence shampoo is good enough for me. However, that doesn't mean my oily roots don't bother me. I just never paid attention to specifically target it like I do with my facial skin issues. Innisfree's My Hair Refreshing Exfoliating Oil piqued my interest as I visited the shop on second-day hair: oily, flat, and in need of attention. I bought it on a whim, but hope it will show some good results.
Amazon
One category of product I didn't notice much of at the Peach & Lily sample sale was cleansing oils and balms. If they had, I would have gladly picked up one or two items since I go through those the quickest. My wallet is still in shambles from the massive haul so I turned to Amazon for the second time ever to buy skincare with some gift card money: the ever-so-popular Heimish All Clean Balm. Many people compare it to the Banila Co. cleansing balm line. For something that has slightly more product and a lower price, I had to give it a try. Missha's Air In Cushion Puffs found their way into my cart as well since I have been getting a tiny bit fed up with the effort it takes to wash those guys.
