Mizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream Review

Hi everyone! Today's review is on Mizon's Snail Recovery Gel Cream. Mizon is a lesser-known Korean brand, but these days it's getting more attention for its snail line, consisting of a mist, gel, cream, ampoule, eye cream, sleeping pack, and BB cream. I've only tried the gel and the BB cream, but i'm looking forward to trying the rest of the line (and other Mizon products) in the future! If you didn't know, concept behind snail mucus is that it heals the snail quickly if it gets a cut or any kind of injury on its skin, and it's supposed to do the same on human skin. You may think it's gross to rub snail mucus on your face, but it's been filtered and sanitized and it is a lot healthier than all the chemicals in most products.

Something really nice about Mizon is that they have an authentication sticker on the top of their boxes. With the black market cosmetic industry on the rise, there's no such thing as being too safe. There is only 45mL of product in this tube, and I go through it pretty fast since I love using it. However, it is really cheap. This is a repurchase (which I bought at a much higher price than I should have because of where I bought it) but my first tube was only $6.10CAD from Sasa. On Mizon's official site, it's listed for 9,000KRW (marked down from the original 19,000KRW) if you're unfamiliar with Korean currency, it's roughly $9CAD marked down from $19CAD, so your best bet is to buy from Sasa imo.

Something really impressive about this product is that its key ingredient (snail secretion) is actually at the top of the ingredients list, meaning it's the highest in concentration. Damn impressive! I know on the front it says it contains 74%, however I've seen other products that say they contain 50%+ but snail secretion is near the bottom of the ingredients list, so seeing it at the top of the list confirms the 74% claim. This is the first time I've ever seen a product that has its key ingredient as the very first thing listed (to be fair, some things work better in lower concentration such as tea tree or vitamin E oil, but I'm still impressed!)

There are also loads of other nice ingredients located further down the list such as hyaluronic acid, camellia sinensis extract (the plant which many teas are made from such as green, white, black, oolong, etc.), centella extract which is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, lotus extract, Japanese white birch extract, and more.

The packaging is just a simple tube, nothing really special. Pale pink with maroon typing. The snail on the front is pretty cute I think though.

The end is just a small hole which you have to squeeze product out of. I know some people don't like this, but for this product it works because the gel isn't runny at all so you don't have to worry about product leaking out or anything. Even if you stand it up on the cap, it still doesn't get messy since the cap is pretty tightly fit to the tip of the tube. It's easy to dispense as much product as you want from it, be it a tiny little drop or a huge blob.

This is about how much I usually use. It's pretty much just a translucent gel that has a tiny grey tint to it, which is hardly noticeable and disappears as soon as you rub it in.

 The bottom picture is after I rubbed it in and let it absorb for maybe 5-10 seconds? It absorbs really fast without leaving any dewy finish, but also doesn't mattify. It just looks like nothing's there.

As for the actual effectiveness of the product, from my experiences it is soooo amazing! The reason why I love this product so much is probably because of the snail mucus and not necessarily the product itself, but I still recommend it because it has the highest concentration out of all of the snail products I've seen on the market (besides the cream from the same brand.) My skin gets so much better when I use this. I noticed that my breakouts heal a lot faster, my skin looks a lot plumper and less tired, and the biggest change I've been noticing lately is that my acne scars are fading really fast. Honestly, no matter what skin type or skin concern you have, I think everyone could benefit from using snail secretion in their skincare routine (unless you're allergic to snails.) The way I use this is like a serum, after cleansing and toning but before moisturizer. While this does add a little bit of moisture to my skin, I would not recommend it as a moisturizer because it does not offer enough hydration. Even the oiliest of skins would need more moisture than this. I love this product so so so much and will probably always use it. (Okay maybe not, I want to try Mizon's cream which has a snail mucus concentration of 92%. But anyways i'll always have either this or that.) This is the only product of any kind that I would actually call "Holy Gail." I super recommend it and at ~$6 there's really nothing to lose!

I usually don't like doing rave reviews because I don't want to get anyone's hopes too high in case they don't like it. Keep in mind everyone's skin is different and reacts differently to stuff than another person might. But give this a try if you want to and I really hope you see results as good as I have!

I hope you enjoyed my review, have a nice day everyone!

My Beauty Diary Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Mask Review

Today I'm going to be reviewing the My Beauty Diary Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Mask! The first time I bought this was actually accidentally since I mistook it for the Arbutin-A mask (I need to learn how to read things). At first I was disappointed since I got the wrong mask. I had been using a mask really similar to this, the only difference being that the other one had a cleaner ingredients list, it fit better, and was about 5x more expensive. When I ran out, I decided to try these out and I was pleasantly surprised!

I'm definitely not new to MBD masks. In fact, they used to be my favourite mask brand until I branched out and found other masks. I actually forgot how good they were, and while they're no longer my #1, I'd say they're still in my top 3 favourite mask brands, and the quality for the price can't be beat.

Something slightly disappointing about this mask is the fact that the key ingredient, Hyaluronic Acid (AKA Sodium Hyaluronate) is quite far down on the ingredient list, meaning it's quite low in concentration. However, there are still a lot of good ingredients located near the top of the ingredient list, such as aloe juice, pineapple extract, marshmallow root extract which is known to sooth the skin, and many more. This mask also is fragranced, which can be irritating. However, I don't find that the ingredients list affects how the mask works, because it does work really well.

MBD is quite famous for soaking their masks in quite a lot of serum/essence, and this mask is no exception. As you can see from the picture above, there's 23mL in each mask. For reference, the average foundation contains 30mL of product, or 1oz. So take a look at your foundation, that's roughly how much essence is in just one mask. 

The packaging of the mask itself is quite cute! i love the pale raindrop things and the lace detail at the bottom.

The back of the mask shows the ingredients in English and Chinese. I think the sticker on the back of the box was placed by the shipping company, so if you see this in stores it might not have the ingredients list in English on the box which is kind of annoying, but it will have it on the mask. I think the top explains how to use the mask in Chinese, however it is not translated into English. I don't think this is a huge issue though since it's pretty self-explanatory.

This is how the mask packet looks when you open it.

It's folded up neatly with a plastic layer covering one side of it. Not a very good explanation, but you'll see in another picture later.

This is how it looks when you unfold it! A little scary looking honestly. But as you can see there's 3 incisions at the bottom of the mask to make sure it can fit a variety of people's face shapes.

This pic cracks me up so much OMG

Anyways, you can see the plastic covering better here. (i look dumb because the plastic part was weighing the mask down and it was falling off, so i just took the picture quickly)

And here's how it looks once you peel the plastic part off. As you can see, it fits pretty well and it's pretty transparent. (actually a little too transparent, you can see too many flaws showing through. smh) but I think the transparency is good, especially if you're on an airplane and want to prevent your skin from drying out. Since it's quite see-through, people walking in the aisle probably won't even notice you're wearing it. One problem though (which won't be a problem for most people using this) is that it fits weirdly around my eyes because my nose bridge is so fucking huge. However, if you have a normal sized nose you shouldn't have this problem.

So overall, I would give this mask a 4.5/5 because it's effective and doesn't break me out. Also, the mask fits pretty well and it's translucent. You can feel that the mask is high quality despite the affordable price. .5 of a point taken off because of the addition of a synthetic fragrance which isn't good for your skin at all. I would recommend this to pretty much anyone with any skin type except for super, super, super sensitive skin (because of the fragrance.) My skin type is combo and it doesn't make me oily at all (at least not more than usual.) So if you're looking for sheet masks to try, definitely check this out!

Shiseido Perfect Whip Cleansing Foam Review

Hey guys! I'm back with another review, this time for a cleanser by Shiseido. I'm pretty sure everyone knows of the luxury brand Shiseido that you can buy pretty much anywhere in the world, but this is not the same thing. Shiseido has multiple different lines of products in Japan, ranging in price. This is from their more affordable "drugstore" range, so unfortunately if you live outside of Asia you will probably have to order online. 

I had heard a lot of rave reviews on this product but I probably would have never picked it up if I hadn't have picked it up if I didn't see it at my local Asian supermarket. This is my second tube, so obviously I'm glad I decided to try it!

The packaging is quite basic but not ugly. I like it since it's quite unisex so it can be used by anyone (since I know a lot of men refuse to use stuff with feminine packaging). It's also convenient since it's in a squeeze tube. The tube is quite soft so it's not difficult to squeeze product out. It's similar to a tube of toothpaste.

The hole is rather large but it's not a problem since the product itself is quite gooey and thick so you don't have to worry about anything leaking out. I also like it because it's easier to visualize how much product you're using. I usually use an edamame bean sized amount.

This is roughly the amount I use. I might use a little more if I want more foam.

As you can see, the texture is quite gooey and thick as I mentioned above.

Here's the back of the tube with the ingredients list, which is unimpressive to be blunt. It's not bad, but nothing on there really jumps out at me. It's a very basic ingredients list for a cleanser.

The cleanser itself is also quite basic. It offers no other function other than to thoroughly cleanse the skin, which is not a bad thing! Especially for people with sensitive skin or people who like to keep their skincare simple, this is a really good cleanser. I don't really see the point in having fancy ingredients or special functions in your cleanser since it's only on your face for about a minute, then you rinse it off. It doesn't really have time to do anything spectacular to your skin so I prefer cleansers when their only purpose is cleansing. If they only have to do one job, they're gonna do it quite well, right? haha

This is the perfect cleanser (for me) during spring and summer because it cleanses thoroughly and leaves your skin feeling clean but not dry. In the winter I prefer something more gentle and slightly moisturizing like a cleansing milk or cleansing gel which is why I choose to use this in the warmer months.

The commercial above shows the model achieving a perfect shaving-cream-like lather just by massaging it in the palm of her hand and adding water. I tried that when I first got it, and it did work into an impressive lather, but it took over 5 minutes and it was not as thick as the foam shown in the commercial. This is how it looks when you just rub it between your hands with water for about 15 seconds.

What I suggest is that you use a foaming net with this cleanser. When used with a foaming net, you get a very thick foam like shaving cream that feels really nice on the skin. It also means you're being gentler on your skin since the thick foam acts as a sort of cushion between your hands and your face.

This is what it looks like when used with a foaming net lol. I only used around the amount shown in the picture above.

As for makeup removal, it does remove makeup quite efficiently. I only used this once to remove makeup, only because I wanted to include it in my review since it's probably something people want to know. I usually use cleaning oil to remove makeup before going in with a cleansing foam. I don't recommend using cleansing foams to remove makeup because you would have to use it twice. Once to remove the makeup and a second time to cleanse your skin. Doing this could cause your skin to dry out, which is why I recommend to use a separate makeup remover.

Overall, I really enjoy this cleanser! I won't say it's my HG since I prefer different cleansers for different purposes and different times of the year (and I like trying new products), but I can say I will probably always have a tube of this in my bathroom since it is such a good cleanser. As an overall rating, I would give it 5/5 stars.

Thank you for reading, I hope you found this review helpful! Have a nice day!