Assalamualaykum ^^

Woah, I am a little bit late trying this hyped product but it's better late than never, right? 

Talking about essence, well... probably there are many products out there at the market to mention, but what if we're adding snail mucin? Most of Korean beauty addicts probably will come out with this essence from COSRX as the first pick. Who doesn't know Advanced Snail Mucin 96 Power Essence? You? Then, please welcome, because I'm going to review this hyped essence.

COSRX is a really famous skincare brand to begin with; their products have been loved since the very beginning of their launch day around 2015. Many people love their effectiveness to help with various problem like acne, blackhead, skin texture, and other problem you often find in damage skin. I personally don't have highly damage skin, my big issues are dullness and some dark spot because I didn't take a good care of my skin until I am 24 years old.

Firstly, I'm going to give a brief description about my skin to guide you; my skin is combination which oily in T-zone area and normal for the rest of my face. I have tiny amount of dark spots from acne and a little bit hyper pigmentation around my nose area. However if it's coming to texture, my skin is in danger; so I really want my skincare to help my skin becomes smoother. Snail mucin is a famous Korean ingredient to help with that problem, so that's why I've been dying to try this essence!

With 96% of snail mucin, I really have a high expectation since my previous essence had helped me a lot too with 90% which is lower than this COSRX one. So, before I get too distracted let's just jump right into the review.

Packaging

COSRX products mainly have the same packaging, it comes with a bottle of translucent white tube made of plastic glass. They don't look cheap because the bottle is quite thick and sturdy, it almost feels like glass but less heavy so it's a really good point for me. I bring COSRX product with me when travelling a lot because I don't have problem with them spill out everywhere since the cap is super tight and secured.

This essence also has the same concept and it looks just like their lotion which I also have reviewed before; the only difference is with the written description on the packaging. It also came with a beige colored carton package, it has ingredients list on which you'll discharge anyways after first use. They provide English description in the packaging as well, so another plus point.

Thing I really appreciate from their packaging is their pump; it prevents any bacteria from our fingers to transfer to the product like always happens to product in a jar packaging.

How the packaging for each side looks like

Formula

First of all, can we talk about their ingredients list? It only consists of twelve ingredients and that says a lot. They really do focus on the good things in order to make a skincare product, unnecessary thing like fragrance is none to find. If you're curious, please find the list below:

Snail Secretion Filtrate, Betaine, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Arginine, Allantoin, Ethyl Hexanediol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol

The 96 in the name of this essence refers to the percentage of snail extract they have inside, I do believe this is the highest snail mucin I've ever found in a skincare product. So yeah, my expectation is just increasing every time I go deep-searching for this famous snail mucin essence. And maybe, because of the high amount of snail, this essence is a little bit too slimy for my liking. I won't say it's a bad side yet but it is so odd to put such a weird texture on my face.

When you try to get the product from the bottle, it stretches like slime - a clear one, and it hardly ends. You have to get used to the texture in order to apply this because unlike the Benton essence that quickly change to water-like formula when rubbing, this essence stays with its sliminess which makes us wait a little bit longer for this product to fully absorb onto your skin. I don't have a problem when I'm not in a rush, but when I wake up late and only have like 5 minutes for skincare routine then I always tend to ignore this essence.

Scent-wise, it doesn't have any fragrance which is good because I think my nose cannot really handle all kind of fragrance. For example, my Skinfood Premium Tomato Toner, that one has a tomato fragrance that is not cooperating really well with my smell sense.

The slimy texture is something to get used to

How to use it

Essences are used after cleansing and toning your face, so for me I'm using it after my hydrating toner which is the Natural Pacific Real Rose Floral Toner as I'm writing this review. I'd like to use two pumps of the product, apply it with my clean index finger and then spread it over my face. And yes, the texture, man... it's just something you really have to learn to love. Gently rub it until it's fully absorbed then I'll apply my lotion, SPF and call it a day! For night routine, yes I use this twice a day, I will apply this before my skin having its sheet mask treatment ;)

Performance

This essence, you guys, is living up the hype. After three weeks, I could totally tell my skin texture is so much better and I only change my essence and toner to my skincare regime. I know that it's not my toner since it's more for brightened up my skin, so I truly believe this essence helps me a lot. I still have texture on my temples but I swear I can feel the improvement. It also heals my acne scars and I am so happy about this!

Since this essence is the purest snail product so it claims the simplest thing a snail mucin can achieve which helps your skin to be smoother as it keeps it hydrated, I'll give a 5/5 for COSRX because it just aims right at the target. It doesn't give many false promises which is good considering an essence for me is something you have for helping your skin for the next step which is serum/ampule with extra treatment for your skin and also calms your skin as well. This essence easily have those two requirements checked! Well done.

The element of surprise is coming from the healing effect it has for my acne scars; it surely fades away my acne scars. I was mistaken at first that the improvement is because my toner, however after I stopped using that toner, and keep using this essence. My skin is even better and better day by day; the scars and dark spot disappear and I'm in love with this essence.

To conclude everything, I'm going to list down what I love and what I don't love below.

What I love
👍 Help to make your skin smooth
👍 Help to fade away acne scars
👍 Affordable
👍 Simple and nice packaging
👍 No fragrance
👍 No alcohol

What I don't love
👎 Too slimy
👎 A little bit too long to absorb to the skin

Do I recommend this?
Yes, a lot! Especially if you're looking for a snail product then this essence is the first pick!

Will I repurchase this?
Yes, I would stick to this essence for my skincare regime for a while because I'm really happy with the result.

See you on my next post~