So I got some free samples with a recent order, and some of those samples were for a Skin79 BB cream I hadn't tried before: Snail Nutrition. I went searching online to see what this "snail" thing was all about and found this:
- Enriched Snail Secretion Filtrate with self protecting properties maintains the skin natural and healthy.
- Protecting the skin from both UV A and B, the tri-functional snail BB cream brightens the dark and dull skin tone, and maintains the skin clean and supple with its whitening and wrinkle-improving effects.
- Containing 45% of the Korean Snail Secretion Filtrate, it bestows sleek and lustrous texture to the skin by preventing skin damages, and keeps the skin moist and healthy by forming moist protection layer.
- With soft and moisture texture it is easily absorbed into and blends well with the skin, maintaining the skin transparent and bright for a long period of time.
Wait, what? Snail secretions??? I suppose people have tried stranger things in the name of beauty, so I went ahead and opened a packet to try.
First thing I noticed was the scent - it's strong. It's not gross or "snail-y", it's perfumey and it lasted a long time. I've had it on for hours and can still smell it. It's not entirely unpleasant, but I prefer unscented products as fragrance is usually a major irritant.
The consistency was not quite as thick as most of Skin79's other BB creams. The color was very pale, with the same slight grayish cast that you sometimes get with Asian BB creams. Being really pale, I happen to like that aspect and think it matches my skin better than something that is overtly pinkish or yellowish, but if you have a strong undertone to your skin, it may not match very well.
It blended nicely with fingers, didn't sink into my pores, and evened out my skin tone pretty well. I would call it a light to medium coverage, and it's somewhat buildable. It felt very moist and stayed dewy, so if you have less than my uberdry skin, you may want to use powder or a setting spray over it.
A few hours later, something odd happened. My face felt tight. I didn't see anywhere in the product info I could find where this product was specifically supposed to have tightening properties ("moist protection layer"?), but I swear it sure felt like it - like when you use a gel product and it dries and shrinks up just a bit. It wasn't dramatic or uncomfortable or anything, just unexpected. I can't say that I actually *saw* any evidence of tightening, but I sure felt something. Could just be that my skin is dry again - I'm having a horrible time with it this winter.
I probably won't continue to test this product beyond the original sample packet (I used maybe a third of it to do my entire face) just because of the scent, but overall I think it's a nice product. It's very affordable, a little goes a long way, and if you are pale and don't mind the fragrance, it might just be worth trying. I have some samples you can have lol. If you want to buy it, it's available online at Amazon for about $20US for 40g or there are smaller sizes (15g) and deluxe samples ($4+shipping) for sale also.
Have you tried this product? What do you think of it? What's your favorite BB cream?
