Friday confession: I’ve been putting snail slime on my face! Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but this BB cream I’ve been trying does contain 45% of snail secretion filtrate, one of the most popular (and probably unusual, or at least for us) ingredients in skin care in South-Korea. Before you think about going DIY on this one (seriously, don’t), read my review of the Skin79 Nutrition BB Cream first!
I picked up a tube of this BB cream during my trip to Barcelona. Although I had already set my mind on buying the hot pink version because it was so popular, the snail ingredient really drew me in to give this one a go as well. The tube really small to the point where I wonder if it’s really okay to be selling this as it just seems like a deluxe sample (5 ml), plus it was also expensive (I paid € 2 at that time). However, you do get enough product to last you an entire week, so it’s ideal to take with you on a trip. I’m going to London in 2 weeks, but couldn’t really wait no more after a good experience with the Skin79 Hot Pink Beblesh Balm.
As with most Korean beauty products, Skin79 is endorsed by a Kpop group, in this case the “Brown Eyed Girls“. Celebrity endorsements mean big business in Korea and you could even say the rising popularity of K-pop & Korean dramas, also known as hallyu (Korean wave), is a big part of the reason Korean beauty is doing so great now overseas.
The biggest draw-in here is of course the Snail Secretion Filtrate, which is said to bestow sleek and lustrous texture to the skin by preventing skin damages and keep the skin moist & healthy by forming a moist protection layer. I have absolutely zero complaints about the amount of moisture this BB cream. That, and the brightening (= called whitening in Asia) effect gives the most marvelous natural glow to the skin and the little excess on the oilier T-zone can be easily covered with some powder.
Another thing I like to see is a high level of sun protection. This BB cream has SPF45 and protects the skin from both UV A and B, an important quality especially if you have fair skin that is susceptible to dark spots like mine. As for colour I’ve noticed this one is although still suitable for fair skin tones, warmer than the Hot Pink Beblesh balm. The hot pink one can easily look gray and needs some colour correcting afterwards, whereas the Snail Nutrition BB Cream both looks natural and improves my complexion by giving it some warmth. Love it! It does a good job at evening out my skin tone, although blemishes and dark circles will require some extra help of a concealer.
Photo: wearing nothing but BB cream, mascara and lip gloss.
If there’s one thing I really don’t like about this product, it’s the godawful smell. At first I thought it had gone bad, but I hadn’t even touched it yet. A quick search on Google taught me I wasn’t the only one experiencing the same odor. I can’t really explain what it smells like, it just stinks! Luckily, that quickly disappears after applying because otherwise this review might have looked a bit differently. If you’re someone who can’t get over fragrances in products, then this isn’t for you.
Overall the product does a great job at blending in with my skin and making it look more youthful and glowing. It keeps my face moisturized throughout the day and gives my complexion a nice warm hint of colour. Would I buy this again? Probably yes. Besides the bad fragrance, I’m really happy with how this product performs on my skin and I like it even better than the much hyped about Hot Pink Beblesh Balm!
Skin79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream (sample size 5 ml) – € 2,95
Skin79 is available at Primor (Spain) and several online webshops.
Beware of counterfeit products though!
Oh ja, je huid ziet er echt goed uit zo! Jammer van de geur wel, maar ehh.