REVIEW: TONYMOLY INTENSE REPAIR LIVE SNAIL LINE (SKIN, LOTION, ESSENCE AND CREAM)

When it comes to acne treatments, people often think of ingredients like benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. My favorite, however, has to be snail mucus because it's gentle and non-drying. Today I'd like to talk about the skin, lotion, essence and cream of Tonymoly Intense Repair Live Snail line.

• Tonymoly Intense Repair Live Snail Skin: 

(Source: tonymolyvn.com.vn)

I received a tiny sample bottle of this as a GWP. One thing that I dislike about Tonymoly's sample bottles is that it's so hard to get the products out, even when they are in liquid form! This "skin" is actually a toner. I don't like it because it's sticky and does nothing for my skin. Needless to say, I won't purchase this.

• Tonymoly Intense Care Snail Lotion:

I also got this as a GWP. This "lotion" is the equivalent of a light moisturizer. Ii feels sticky at first but quickly absorbs into my skin and provides a little bit of moisture. I don't see any skin improvement though, so I definitely won't buy it.

• Tonymoly Intense Repair Live Snail Essence and Cream: 

(Source: tonymoly.ph)

This was the first and only product from Tonymoly Intense Repair Live Snail line that I purchased. I quite liked it as it helped cure my acnes and moisturized my skin well. However, it felt sticky on my skin and didn't seem to absorb at all. It also failed in preventing future breakouts. I prefer It's Skin Prestige Creme D'escargot to this, so I don't think I'll repurchase. 

A sample tube of the Tonymoly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream was included in the essence box. It felt super sticky and didn't do anything to my skin, so I wouldn never buy it!

Score:

• Skin: 5/10
• Lotion: 6/10
• Essence: 7/10
• Cream: 5/10

If you're looking for a good and acne treatment, definitely try the Tonymoly Intense Repair Snail Essence, but there's no need to buy other products in the line, really.

REVIEW: IT'S SKIN PRESTIGE CREME D'ESCARGOT

Most of my skincare products are quite affordable. However, once in a while, when I feel like my skin is really really bad, I'd splurge on a high-end product. I bought It's Skin Prestige Creme D'escargot when I suffered from hormonal cystic acnes on my chin and my philtrum earlier this year. They often came around that time of the month, took about a month to heal, so just when the old ones disappear, the new ones came up T-T They were huge and quite painful to the touch. Since the regular acne treatments just didn't work on them, I bit my tongue and purchased this insanely expensive cream. It cost me 2,863,000 VND (about US$136). And yes, I still shudder every time I think about the price >.<

Description: First class luxurious cream contains mucin (snail mucus), the ingredient with superior cell restoration, moisturization, and skin trouble relieving effects, and EGF (epidermal growth factor), through the combination of which creates a synergy effect to regenerate damaged cells, the fundamental cause for skin aging.

Size: 60ml

Packaging: The jar is gorgeous and it comes with a small spatula for those who don't like dipping their hands into the cream.

My opinion: This is hands down the most expensive cosmetics product I've ever purchased. So was it worth the price? I have to say, yes. It has a light citrusy scent that snail products seem to have. The moisturizing property is okay, nothing to write home about. It didn't make my skin feel smooth or plump. It absorbed fast coz of its light texture but still felt sticky on my skin. If you have dry skin, this won't be enough for you. But I bought this to treat my cystic acnes, and for that purpose alone, it worked great! The cream got rid of my pimples in less than a week! And while I was using this, I stopped having any new acnes! So, it cured and prevented acnes at the same time! However, it didn't work on the small bumps I had under my skin and it failed to fade away my old acne scars. I was heartbroken when I ran out of this coz my pimples started coming back around that time of the month T-T Around 2 months ago, I was lucky enough to receive some samples of this cream. However, it seemed that this time my skin had got used to this product, coz it didn't have any effects whatsoever on my skin. It neither cured nor prevented acnes. And no, it's not because the formulation has changed coz the full-size product and the samples were manufactured at around the same time. This happens to all acne treatments I've used: after a while, my skin becomes immune to them and they stop working for me (yeah, my skin is cunning like that). But you know what, in a weird and twisted way, I'm kinda glad that it's no longer effective on me coz it means I don't have to buy it again :"> Besides, thanks to my new skincare routine and my (relatively) healthy diet and lifestyle, I rarely get cystic acnes now (cross fingers), just some odd zits around that time of the month (they are small and often go away after a few days), so I no longer need any acne treatments :) I'd still recommend this cream for those who suffer from severe acnes coz it's a gentle, non-drying yet effective acne treatment :)

Pros:

- Moisturizing enough for oily skin

- Effective on curing and preventing hormonal acnes

- Gentle and non-drying

- Gorgeous packaging

Cons:

- Not moisturizing enough for dry skin

- Ineffective on under-the-skin bumps and old acne scars

- Feel sticky on the skin

- My skin becomes immune to it

- Insanely expensive, especially in Vietnam 

Repurchase?: No, coz my skin has become immune to it.