Skin & Tonics : Skincare Guides & Product Reviews

Snails and BB creams are two of my favorite things right now, so I was pretty pumped to finally get my hands on this Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB Cream. This BB Cream is a new release here in the US (although it’s been available in Asia and Australia for a while now). I’ve been curious about it for quite some time, and was actually beginning to wonder if they would ever release it here.

I’ve been using it regularly (but not daily) for about a month and a half, and I think I’m finally ready to pass my judgment!

Oh, one thing – I apologize in advance for the sad product pictures. For some reason, I found this bottle very difficult to shoot. It’s much nicer to look at in real life, I promise.

What is it?

Missha has a lot of BB creams in their lineup. The thing that makes Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB Cream so special is that it contains a pretty fair amount of snail slime. If you’ve missed my past posts on snail slime and skincare, here’s a quick recap on why it’s a thing:

The science behind how snail slime works is that the proteins, glycolic acids, and elastin contained in the slime help snails heal quickly as they move across sharp twigs and rocks. The idea is that applying the snail mucin to our own skin allows us to reap the healing benefits. There has been at least one study that confirmed the skincare benefits of snail slime, found in the January 2008 journal, “Skin Pharmacology and Physiology.” The study was conducted by a group of scientists in the US and Spain, and concluded that, “Skin care products that include the soluble serum [snail mucin] help to orchestrate the correct assembly of the extracellular matrix, and avoid excess or abnormal scars, including acne scarring.”

In addition to the snail slime, this Super Aqua Snail BB Cream contains other ingredients of note. They include:

Morus Alba Root – This is actually a Mulberry extract, and is used for its skin lightening properties.

Scutellaria Baicalensis Root – This is Chinese Skullcap, a plant often used in TCM to treat skin conditions because of its anti-inflammatory properties.

Portulaca Oleracea Extract – Usually referred to as Common Purslane Extract, it contains essential fatty acid Omega 3, as well as Vitamins A, B, and C.

Here’s the full ingredients list for this BB cream:

Snail Secretion Filtrate, Titanium Dioxide, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone Arbutin, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Sulfate, Amorphophallus Konjac Root Extract, Calcium Stearate, Talc, Cyclohexasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sorbitan Olivate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Beeswax, Hexyl Laurate, Ozokerite, Propylene Carbonate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Adenosine, Centella Asiatica Meristem Culture, Lactobacillus / Honeysuckle Flower Extract / Licorice Root / Morus Alba Root / Pueraria Lobata Root / Schizandra Chinensis Fruit / Scutellaria Baicalensis Root / Sophora Japonica Flower Extract Ferment Filtrate, Lavender Flower Water, Peach Flower Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Water, Hydrolized Hyaluronic Acid, Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Lentinus Edodes Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Angelica Keiskei Leaf / Stem Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Rice Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, 1-2-Hexanediol, CI 77491, CI 77499, CI 77492, Fragrance

When I ran it through COSDNA, I didn’t find anything alarming in the irritant or acne potential department. Spectacular!

Additionally, this BB cream has SPF 30/PA ++ UVB/UVA protection. The sunscreen in this BB cream is a physical sunscreen (Titanium Dioxide) so it’s a very stable form of UV protection. However, the amount of BB cream you would need to apply to get the amount of sun protection listed on the label is an unreal amount that no woman in her right mind would ever apply. The sun protection is nice, but don’t skip your stand-alone SPF when you wear this (or any makeup offering SPF).

Claims

Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB Cream promises a fresh, natural glow as well as wrinkle repairing, whitening, and sun protection benefits.

Performance

As a makeup, this BB cream has nice, smooth texture that is very similar to that of Missha’s M Signature Complete BB Cream. It’s thinner than Perfect Cover. Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB Cream unfortunately only comes in one color. The Missha website states that this BB cream color is similar #23. I find the color is somewhere between #21 and #23, but it’s actually a much closer match to #21. If you are somewhere between NC15 and NC25, this color will probably work great for you. If you are any darker than NC25, you’re going to look like a ghost (with really nice skin) if you put this on.

Left to Right: M Signature Real Complete BB in #21, Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB, M Signature Real Complete BB in #23

The coverage Super Aqua BB Cream provides is light to medium – just the right amount for the warmer weather. The finish is slightly dewy, and the coverage is smooth and non-cakey. I haven’t tried it with a primer, but without a primer I can go for about 5 or 6 hours before needing to touch it up.

The amount of moisture it provides is adequate for my dry skin as long as I’m wearing a moisturizer underneath it. I think it would perform beautifully on oily skin as well!

In terms of skincare benefits, I haven’t seen any miracles. To be fair, I’ve only been using this a couple of days a week. It is possible that I might have seen more lightening or anti-wrinkle benefits if I wore this every day. I can say, however, that I have not experienced any breakouts from using this product, and it does keep my skin looking moist and bright.

It has a very light fragrance, similar to the fragrance in Perfect Cover BB Cream but not as strong.

Overall, I think this BB cream is a solid offering from Missha! I reach for this often and it is my go-to choice when I want good, natural looking coverage without a lot of fuss.

I’m lucky enough to be in the small demographic of skin colors that match this BB cream, but I’d love to see Super Aqua BB released in more shades!

Before – No face makeup, just moisturizer.

After – Freshly applied Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB Cream. I used a small pea-sized amount for my whole face.

All made up with Super Aqua BB Cream! And some blush. And some contour powder. And eyeshadow. And some eyebrow powder. And eyeshadow. And eyeliner. Oh, and lipstick.

Where to Buy

Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail BB Cream is available on the Missha website for $30. I did find one eBay seller who has it for $20 plus $4 shipping.

Skin & Tonics Rating:

Performance: 3/5 – Moisturizing, natural looking light to medium coverage. As a makeup, its only weakness is its extremely limited shade selection. As a skincare product, I didn’t see anything remarkable.

Quality: 4/5 – Lots of nice skincare actives, nothing irritating or acnegenic

Value: 4/5 – $30 is a pretty decent price for a good Korean BB cream.

Overall: 4/5