Review: Mizon black snail all-in-one cream

Snail creams have been extremely recently. Personally, when I first heard about snail creams, I felt a little weirded out. Snails? That's a little crazy. However, after hearing about the amazing benefits of snail mucus, I really wanted to try a snail cream for myself. I ended up choosing the Mizon black snail all in one cream, which I purchased from Jolse last year!

Snail mucus benefits the skin in many ways; it hydrates, firms, softens, and even brightens the skin. This snail cream contains peptides and vitamins that help maintain the skin's elasticity. Lastly, this product is paraben-free and contains no artificial fragrances. Perfect!

 Packaging 

This simple, opaque black jar contains 75mL of product.

 Physical Properties 

The product itself is milky white in color and scentless. The texture is a bit slimy and bit sticky. However, this is unnoticeable after the product absorbs. The cream is not thick at all.

 Ingredients 

Overall, all the ingredients listed are pretty good. There is only one that got flagged red--triethanolamine. This compound is commonly used as a pH balancer for many cosmetic products. It is a mildly basic compound that can cause allergic reactions in some people. Triethanolamine can also be shortened to TEA in some ingredients list.

Snail Secretion Filtrate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Butylene Glycol, Synthetic Wax, Hydroxyethyl Acylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Triethanolamine, Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glyocol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tropolone, Adenosine, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Allantoin, Pathenol, Allium Sativum (Garlic) Bulb Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Morus Alba FruitExtract, Rubus Coreanus Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract, Black Sugar Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract,  Charcoal Powder, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Sepia, Porphyra Tenera Extract, Polygonum Fagopyrum Seed Extract, Vitis Vinfera(Grape) Fruit Extract, Coffea Arabuca Fruit Extract Inonotus Obliquus (Mushroom) Extract, Mirabilis Jalapa Seed Extract, Piper Nigrum (Pepper) Seed Extract, Fagus Sylvatica Seed Extract, Anona Cherimolia Fruit Extract, Dictyopteris Membranacea Extract, Rose Extract, Cinnamomum Cassie Bark Extract, Aronia Melanocarpa Fruit Extract, Rhus Semialata Gall Extract, Prunus Mume Fruit Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Copper Tripeptide-1, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Lecithin, Olea Europaea(Olive) Fruit Oil, Phytosterols, Squalane, Butyrospermun Parkii (Shea Butter), Ceramide 3, Rh-oligopeptide-1, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Beta-Glucan, Disodium Edta, Phenoxyethanol

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 My Opinions 

I like the cream! It's definitely very refreshing and moisturizing. While the initial application is a little sticky, the stickiness quickly disappears as the product is absorbed into the skin, leaving my skin quite soft and prepped for the day or night. A plus for me is that you only need a little of the product, because it spread very well! 

The only down side I noticed is that this jar packaging makes it very easily for contamination to occur. Unfortunately this product did not come with a spatula to keep the product sanitary. This is one reason why I prefer moisturizers that are in pump or tube form!

 Rating 

    

 Where to purchase 

Cosmetic Love - $17.57
Jolse - $19.99

Amazon - $23.25

Beauty haul: Innisfree Jeju hand creams

I'm super excited to share my first experience with Innisfree, a Korean brand that focuses on natural beauty products! Lucky for me, I ordered when they were offering BOGO for hand creams and free shipping over $30! I just had to stock up on some hand care products, especially since my hands are always dry in this dry, Californian weather! 

This is how the package arrived--in a box labeled Innisfree. Lol. All the products were well packaged and Innisfree even put all the hand creams in a smaller, white box--how convenient that my creams weren't spilling all over the place~ hahaha.

For this order, I purchased 12 Innisfree hand creams for US$27, making each hand cream $2.25 each! This is, in my opinion, a great deal, considering that Innisfree creams are contain natural ingredients and are so cute to carry around! They're not bulky at all~ I also purchased 1 eco-finger mask mask for $3, so I could get the $30 minimum for free shipping (code: NEWYEAR2)!

Additionally, each order comes with three samples and a scratch coupon (free shipping, 10% off, or 20% off)! For samples, I choose the green tea seed serum, soybean firming serum, and Jeju volcanic pore essence. However, there many other samples that you can from--currently, there are 13 sample choices. 

from left to right, top to bottom: camellia, narcissus, peach, daphne, rose, gardenia, and lotus.

Here's a closer up of all the hand creams from this order! I can't wait to try them! Of course, I didn't buy all 12 hand creams for my own personal use. I'll give giving some away as gifts! :) I believe they'd make a cute addition to any gift bags! I already have someone in mind! Hope she likes them :D

If you buys are interested in these hand creams, Innisfree has a buy 2 get 2 free deal right now! AND if you put in the code NEWYEAR2, you can have free shipping! They currently a bunch of other deals, too!

To purchase these hand creams, check out:

Innisfree - 4 for $9 ($2.25 each + free shipping over $30)

W2Beauty - $9.68 each + free shipping

Jolse - $5.98 each + free shipping

Have you ever tried Innisfree's hand creams? If so, what do you think of them? If not, which one would you like to try?

Review: my new InstaNatural facial routine

Hello everyone! I'm currently at home and chilling! It's been such a blessing to be able to sleep in everyday and eat yummy, home cooked meals! (I've been having chicken curry with rice for lunch recently!! So delicious~~). Anyways, on to the main topic :)

Today, I will be doing a quick review of some additions to my skincare routine: InstaNatural eye gel, eye serum, vitamin C serum, and retinol cream. InstaNatural is a skincare brand with a vision to provide "safe, effective, and affordable skin care products." It uses organic and natural ingredients, and their products contain no sulfates, parabens, or alcohols! Isn't that wonderful?

If you take a look at the Amazon reviews, you'll see that InstaNatural has a great reputation. All the aforementioned products have a 4.5/5 rating or higher! I don't know if I have ever seen such high ratings before on Amazon! So, when I received these products, I was very excited to try them out.

Before I dive into the reviews, I want to let you know the order in which I use these products. After washing my face with the Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser (from Black Friday!) and applying the Etude House toner, I use either the eye serum or eye gel, then the Vitamin C serum, and lastly the Retinol cream.

Youth Express Eye Serum

Amazon rating: 4.8/5

This serum has a beautiful orange color (probably due the natural ingredients) and has a pleasant citrus smell. Don't worry, this color doesn't stain your skin! The kojic acid is used for its whitening/brightening effects, while the hyaluronic acid gives the serum a very moisturizing property. The caffeine has anti-inflammatory properties that helps reduce eye-puffiness and dark circles. Lastly, vitamin C has protect again pre-mature aging. 

MY OPINION:

This serum is definitely very moisturizing! After using the serum, my eyes seem as if giving a sigh of relief. This is moisturizing aspect is great for me, because my skin has been feeling very dry and dehydrated recently. Furthermore, I only use one drop for both eyes--meaning this product can last for a long time. After using it, I do feel as like my eye area seems brighter! I can't say anything about the serum's effect on wrinkles or fine lines, though!

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Vitamin C Serum

Amazon rating: 4.6/5

InstaNatural's vitamin C serum is great. Although it is vitamin C serum, it also contain other, good-for-your-skin ingredients. The ingredients include: vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, ferulic acid, and vitamin E. The latter two ingredients are good to look for in any vitamin C serum, because they help stabilize the unstable vitamin C. Once again, hyalauronic acid is great for its moisturizing properties. The serum also includes many healthy oils that nourish your skin.

MY OPINION:

I really enjoy using this serum. Like the description on Amazon states, the serum is thicker than the typical water-based serums, so the product is easy to spread and absorbs quickly into the skin. After using this serum, my face feels moisturized and smooth! I typically use 3-4 drops for my face, so one bottle will last a good time! Additionally, the price for the serum is GREAT! $16.75! Most vitamin C serums are extremely expensive, so this one is great for gals looking to save money~ There are a couple downsides: after applying the serum, my face feels a little sticky. However, this stickiness shortly disappears after the serum absorbs into the skin. The other downside is that, maybe due to the oils in the serum, my face seems to be a little more oily than usually. And with this oiliness, my face seems to break out a little more (but not badly). 

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Retinol Moisturizing Cream

Amazon rating: 5.0/5

The retinol cream actually has more than just retinol. There's vitamin C, green tea, hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil, and shea butter. Retinol (vitamin A) promotes the growth of skin cells and can counteract signs of aging. Retinol also increases the skin's production of collagen, which helps make the skin appear more plump and elastic. Green tea is a natural antioxidant helps reduce breakouts and helps soothe irritated skin. It also helps with dark eye circles! Hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil, and shea butter all have great moisturizing properties.

MY OPINION:

This cream is quite wonderful. The morning after using this cream, my skin definitely felt more elastic and "squishy." :P I felt like my skin was noticeable brighter, too! Unfortunately, the only downside I noted was that this cream isn't quite as moisturizing as I had hoped. Maybe since it was a cream, the consistency wasn't what I was used to--moisturizers/lotions/emulsions--something more liquid-y. The cream is almost like a body butter consistency, so it doesn't spread as easily as typical moisturizers. 

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Since winter time can be quite drying for the skin, these products are great addition to for any skincare routine! Hope you guys will have the opportunity to check these products out!

Where to purchase?

Eye Serum - $23.95

Vitamin C Serum - $16.75

Retinol Moisturizer - $23.75

What products are a must-have for your winter skincare routine?

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