Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream Review
Affiliate Links I Bought This October 5, 2013 | Asian Skincare, Skincare
A few months ago, I finally reached the Mizon snail care portion of my very long list of skincare products I want to try. I was pretty excited about it since I’ve heard so many good things about the line. I decided to try everything in the range with the exception of the BB Cream. I find the recommended order of usage for this line interesting – it’s very different from the usual convention of starting with the lightest product and building to the heaviest. Instead, Mizon designed the line to begin with the All in One Repair Cream, followed by the Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule, then the Snail Repair Eye Cream, the Snail Repair Gel, the BB Cream and finally, the Snail Repair Hydro Mist. I’ll be reviewing the products in Mizon’s recommended order of use (except for the Snail Repair Hydro Mist, which I’ve already reviewed); today I’ll be talking about Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream.
What is it?
Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream ($19) is a skin cream that claims to help heal damaged skin, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, brighten skin tone, reduce acne marks (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), moisturize, protect skin from environmental damage, and increase elasticity. That’s a lot of claims for a single product!
I am unsure whether this product is considered a moisturizer or a treatment. I’ll talk more about why I’m confused about it in just a bit, but for now, let’s just say I’m not sure what type of product this is.
Ingredients:
Snail Secretion Filtrate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Dimethicone, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Butylene Glycol, PEG/PPG-17/6 Coploymer, Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glyocol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tropolone, Adenosine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Artemesia Absinthium Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Gentiana Lutea Root Extract, Alcohol, Camellia Sinesis Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Copper Tripeptide-1, Human Ogliopeptide-1, Propylene Glycol, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Beta-glucan, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Disodium EDTA
There are lots of plant extracts in this formula, all of which provide either antioxidant or anti-inflammatory benefits, and in some instances, both. The extracts are nice, but here are the active ingredients that really stood out for me:
Snail Secretion Filtrate – It’s worth noting that this product is comprised of a whopping 92% snail mucin. Snail mucin might still be icky to some, but there is no denying the power of the exciting, skin-friendly antioxidants, proteins, elastin, and glycolic acids. It’s also antimicrobial, and in addition to being shown to effectively promote wound healing in a couple of in-vitro studies, there was a newer study released in April of this year that showed snail secretion to be effective when it comes to repairing photodamage. It’s especially helpful for acne, overall skin tone, and reducing acne scarring. (Study: Effects of Snail Secretion Filtrate on Photoaged Skin)
Sodium Hyaluronate – Often referred to as hyaluronic acid, this ingredient is able to hold up 1,000 times its weight in water. This humectant also does a great job attracting and maintaining water in the skin, and promotes blood circulation and nutrient absorption.
Copper Tripeptide-1 – Promotes skin regeneration and possesses antioxidant activity. Copper Trieptide-1 has been proven to increase collagen and elastin production. In one study, it was shown to be more effective than Vitamin C and retinoic acid for skin regeneration. It’s also a potent anti-inflammatory ingredient. There have been numerous studies conducted on the efficacy of this ingredient. For further reading, here’s a great summary of the anti-aging benefits of Copper Tripeptide from the Journal of Aging Research & Clinical Practice (PDF).
Human Ogliopeptide-1 – Often called EGF (an acronym for Epidermal Growth Factor) in skincare products, Ogliopeptides are molecules that are used in medicine to help treat wounds and burns, assisting in the regrowth of skin. They work by increasing cell growth, and in addition to helping with cell and blood vessel growth, they also play a role in collagen and elastin production. I had a hard time locating any studies that are specifically focused on Ogliopeptide-1 (that doesn’t mean they don’t exist – it just means I couldn’t find one), but this is a very interesting study concerning the efficacy of Ogliopeptide-10 (PDF), which showed it to effectively stimulate collagen production without any serious side effects.
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 – This is an especially interesting ingredient – you might already be familiar with it under its occasional trade name, Matrixyl. Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 is a cell-communicating, chain protein that has been scientifically proven to stimulate the production of both collagen and elastin. There is even one study that concluded Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 was just as effective as retinol for repairing UV damaged skin. For more information, check out this 2005 study: Topical Palmitoyl Pentapeptide Provides Improvement in Photoaged Human Facial Skin
According to COSDNA, this ingredient list does have a few potential acne triggers. Obviously Cetearyl Alcohol is one, which ranks a 4 out 5 as a potential acne trigger and a 3 out of 5 as a potential irritant. The other red flag is the Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, which ranks a 3 out of 5 as a potential acne trigger.
Performance
Packaging
Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream comes packaged in a tub. The tub is made of thick, sturdy plastic that has the look of amber glass.
Smell
There is no added fragrance in this formula, so this cream doesn’t smell like much of anything.
Application
Mizon’s suggested use for this is to apply it as the first step in your skincare routine on a cleaned face, which is how I used it. I used a generous pearl sized amount to cover my whole face. Applying this product first seems counterintuitive, since I would normally apply my products in order from the lightest consistency to heaviest, but I trust Mizon’s instruction.
The All in One Snail Repair Cream absorbs quickly – within a couple minutes or so of application. I expected this product to feel like a moisturizer, but I was surprised to find that it really doesn’t behave like one at all. My skin did not feel especially hydrated with this product, and on it’s own, it certainly wouldn’t be enough to moisturize my dry skin type. This leads to believe that even though it’s a cream, it should be thought of as more of a treatment than a moisturizer. I find this confusing because I generally associate the word “cream” with moisturizer, and also because of the inclusion of the phrase “All in One” in the product name.
To me, “All in One” indicates that this product is meant to take the place of multiple products in a skincare routine, but the fact that it isn’t moisturizing, and that it’s only the first step in a multiple product skincare line suggests otherwise.
Results
I used Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream for a nearly 2 months. For most of that time, I used it in conjunction with the rest of the Mizon snail repair line, and I found that even with the rest of the products, I needed additional moisture for my skin. I even tried doubling up on the amount of Snail Repair Cream I was using to see if that would moisturize better, but it didn’t. Eventually, I began adding additional moisture in the form of aloe mixed with Baobob Oil just after applying the Snail Repair Ampoule, which did the job perfectly. I think someone looking specifically for a snail-based moisturizer would be disappointed in the All in One Snail Repair Cream’s lack of moisturizing properties. It could, perhaps, be enough for someone who has very oily skin, but even then, I would worry that the lack of moisture would further cause the skin to overproduce sebum.
As a treatment, however, I did see some positive results. My skin felt and looked smoother after just a couple of days of use, and those effects continued throughout the entire testing period. I don’t really have a lot of wrinkles or fine lines, but I noticed a small improvement in the slight smile lines in my upper cheek area. I imagine this was probably a result of the subtle skin-plumping effect I was getting from the hyaluronic acid content. The All in One Snail Repair Cream also seemed to help accelerate the lightening of my post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation marks a bit. I have used other products that did the job better, but this cream is still a notable performer.
The Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream did not break me out, but when my monthly hormonal acne flare-ups came along, it didn’t do a lot to stop it. To be fair, nothing really does (not even my prescription retinoid) – my hormonal breakouts are brutal! I also had a pretty gross cystic breakout from a reaction to a different product I was testing at one point, and the All in One Cream didn’t do much for that either. However, it did not make it worse, which is worth something, I suppose. There are only a couple of products I’ve ever tried that help with those reactive breakouts; unfortunately, this one was not one of them.
Overall, I thought the Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream was okay. The lack of moisture was a turn-off for me, but if I disregard that aspect and think of this more of treatment, it’s an alright performer. I like that it wasn’t irritating, and that the active ingredients in this formula have a lot of anti-aging potential. As mentioned previously, someone with extremely oily skin might appreciate this product more, but as for me – I just need more.
Pros:
+ Contains a nice array of proven anti-aging ingredients
+ Absorbs quickly, non-greasy
+ Made my skin appear smoother
+ Somewhat brightening
+ Helped with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation marks
+ Didn’t have any positive or negative effect on active acne
Cons:
– Not moisturizing
– Didn’t have any positive or negative effect on active acne
– Didn’t brighten as much as other products with similar claims I’ve tried at this price point
Skin & Tonics Rating:
Performance: 3/5 – Okay anti-aging effects in terms of making skin feel smoother and firmer, but it’s lack of moisturizing properties was disappointing.
Quality: 4/5 – Nice, solid packaging. Ingredient list includes many great anti-aging actives, as well as a couple of potential acne triggers.
Value: 4/5 – You get a lot of product for the money, and a little goes a long way.
Overall: 3.7/5
Where to Buy
I bought mine from Ruby Ruby Shop on eBay for $18 plus free shipping. Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream is also available from the following Skin & Tonics approved sellers:
W2Beauty – ($20 + free shipping, get a $5 voucher by entering my sponsor code at sign-up: 025605)
F2Plus1 (eBay Seller, $19 + $2.50 shipping)
This post contains affiliate links. Shopping these links helps support this site! Full disclosure.
Doesn’t sound like you were overly impressed. How do you feel about these products vs. the Benton?
Oh, Benton wins, hands down! In terms of visible results, this line isn’t even in the same class. This was an okay product – certainly not the worst I’ve tried – but I’d read so many rave reviews about it before trying it, I’m actually kind of surprised it wasn’t a better performer.
How about in comparison to the Missha snail line?
Hi Diana! I personally saw better results from the Missha line across the board. It found the Missha products to be far more moisturizing, the brightening effects were more visible, and the lightening of my post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation marks was more dramatic.
I have the treatment & moisturizer from the Missha line. I’m not that crazy about the smell though. I guess the biggest benefit of the Mizon snail line would be that it’s fragrance free then?
Yeah, the fragrance free aspect of Mizon is definitely an advantage. I personally enjoy the way the Missha products smell, but the smell is really intense! I can definitely see how it’s a turn-off for a lot of people.
I just started trying out the newer Mizon Black Snail Repair Cream, which doesn’t have any Cetearyl Alcohol in it. I’ve only been using it for a few days, so I can’t say what kind of results it produces yet, but it does have a much better ingredient list. If you are thinking about trying the Mizon line, I would recommend the Black Snail Repair Cream instead of the original based on ingredients alone. 🙂
I’ve been interested to see the rest of the line, because as you probably know, I love the Recovery Gel. This one seems okay, but not ‘wow’ enough for me to buy it. 😛 Then again, I’m oily enough that I would probably find it more moisturising. Lol. Great information, as usual.
Wow… this is such a big letdown! :/ I was looking so forward to getting this (mostly to clear up pimples), but seeing how it didn’t really do much for your breakouts, eh…
I’m glad that I didn’t actually buy this yet, LOL. Saved me some money.
I think I’ll stick to getting the Benton snail stuff instead of this.
Hey Dana! I definitely had much better results with the Benton. I was a bit let down by this product as well, mostly because I had heard positive things about it from a couple of other people. Everyone’s skin is different though – this product does have some great ingredients, so even though it was mediocre for me, it could still be someone else’s miracle treatment! 🙂
That is true, but I also wasn’t aware that it had Cetearyl Alcohol in it either, and I don’t think my skin is fond of that very much! My skin has been very irritated and reactive lately, so I’d rather not take a chance…of what it could do. 😛
Also, do you know if the Missha snail cream has Cetearyl Alcohol in it, too?
The Missha snail cream does not contain any Cetearyl Alcohol! 🙂 Here’s the full ingredient list for the Missha snail cream:
Snail Secretion Filtrate, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Alcohol Denatured, Adansonia Digitata Seed Extract (Baobob Seed Oil), Arbutin, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, PEG-11 Methyl Ether Dimethicone, Sea Water, Portulaca Oleracea Extract (Common Purslane Extract), Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate / Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Centella Asiatica Meristem Cell Culture, Xanthan Gum, Fragrance (Parfum), Hydroxyisohexyl 3 – Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool, Limonene
I just ordered this cream together with the serum and gel. I wish I read your blog post before I put in my order 🙁 I guess I’ll just have to use it and see how it’ll perform on me and maybe I’ll order the benton skincare line on my next haul.
You never know, Claudia – a lot of people seem to like this product, so maybe it will work well for you! My experience was lukewarm at best, but everyone’s skin is different. I’d love an update on how it works out for you once you’ve used it for a bit! 🙂
I tried all 3 at the same time,big mistake on my part. In just 2 days my skin reacted badly. Tons of tiny clogged pores showed up and some have whiteheads. I tried to cut the all-in-one cream and only use the serum and gel,still the same result. Yesterday I only put on the serum with different gel moisturizer I owned and it seemed fine. I’m going to use the cream again today just to see if it also one of the culprit. my skin is sensitive to Cyclopentasiloxane,every time I put on any foundation with that ingredient I had tons of clogged pores that came to the surface and turned into cystic acne later on. I tossed out most of my foundation & bb creams leaving me with 2 foundie and 2 bb creams. It’s so hard to find foundation without that ingredient. I browse the whole sephora foundation and found only 2 liquid foundations without Cyclopentasiloxane. I can’t use mineral powder foundation because i have lot’s of dry flaky healing acne spots. do you have any recommendation on what foundation/bb cream will work for my sensitive skin?
Hey Claudia! I’m so sorry that happened to you! The Cyclopentasiloxane sensitivity is such a pain. Mine isn’t quite as severe as yours – I can usually tolerate the ingredient in foundation, presumably because there is a layer of primer between my skin and the foundation.
Fortunately, I know of a couple of foundations that do not contain it, and luckily, they are both really amazing foundations – among my favorites, in fact. One is the Kat Von D Lock-it Tattoo Foundation. That one also contains no fragrance, and since it’s full coverage, it will do a great job covering your acne spots while they heal. The other is Guerlain Parure de Lumiere. That one is definitely on the pricey side, but I’ve had good luck finding it on eBay for less, and have not had issues with fakes. The Guerlain foundation is medium coverage, and gives a lovely lit-from-within effect. It does have the trademark Guerlain fragrance in it (it smells like violets), so if you’re sensitive to fragrance that’s something to keep in mind.
For BB Cream, I know that the Missha Perfect Cover does not contain any Cyclopentasiloxane. That also happens to be one of my all-time favorites.
I’d love to know what you end up trying and whether it works out for you. I’d also be curious to know if the Mizon cream breaks you out the same way the gel cream did. Please keep me posted! And best of luck! 🙂
Yes the Kat von D is one of the 2 foundies I keep. The other one is revlon Whipped foundation,but I rarely use it. The bb creams are the Garnier bb cream for oily/combo skin and lioele beyond the solution bb cream. I checked the ingredients for missha m perfect cover and I’m so confused because in some post it contain Cyclopentasiloxane and on some its Cyclomethicone and both post date is 2013. Maybe they reformulate? It seems the mizon cream didn’t irritate my skin at all yesterday. So I’m going to use it just to finish it up. I think I’m going to try Clinique stay matte foundation next. I don’t have much luck with primer either, I tossed my tarte clean slate primer and too faced prime and poreless. Any suggestion?
The day I found out my skin sensitivity to Cyclopentasiloxane was a very sad day lol When I went through my base makeup collection and found out 80% of them had to be tossed out it was like a picture from a manga comic book with dark clouds surrounding me lol
The two primers I like most are Urban Decay Brightening & Tightening Complexion Primer Potion and Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer. Neither of them contain Cyclopentasiloxane, and so far, I haven’t experienced any breakouts or irritation from either primer.
So, concerning the CycloP content in the Missha Perfect Cover – the official, current ingredient list (according to the Missha US website) for Perfect Cover lists Cyclomethicone as the ingredient. However – your comment made me suspicious that Cyclomethicone is just a different name for CycloP. I did a little research – there are some people who say the two names are interchangeable. However, the most reliable information I found, such as this abstract from the International Journal of Toxicology, indicate that though the two ingredients are very similar, they are not identical. The difference seems to be in the siloxane chain length of each compound. I’m not sure how this would translate in terms of your skin’s sensitivity – it’s possible that you could be fine with the Cyclomethicone. Or you could wind up having the same reaction as CycloP – either way, I’m glad you asked about it. I enjoyed learning more about both of them!
I know that Cyclomethicone is from the same family as CycloP but it seems like I’m fine with CycloM,I did an experiment to confirm this. I put on my lioele beyond the solution bb cream and my skin seems fine and no new acne pop up by the time I took it off at night. Today I put on holika holika petit essential bb cream and my face was itching the whole day and when I took it off-behold- a new acne showed up on my forehead. sigh.
CycloP also the caused of my itchy and flaky scalp and of course my back acne. Ever since I switched to silicone free shampoo my bacne is a lot better but since it’s hard to find conditioner without cycloP I have to make sure to wash my back with bar soap after I rinse out the conditioner and use different towel to dry my hair. Just shoot me lol
Thank you for answering my question,I love your blog =)
If you could please review the black version 😀 Mizon Black Snail Cream. I heard it has better ingredient 🙂 Thanks
Hi Ken! It does indeed have better ingredients. I definitely plan to review it one of these days! 🙂
This broke me out after like a week or so, i’ve been using it for a month now and it just give me more pimple and acne. Scars doesn’t fade either. However, it does absorb quick and goes on smooth. Skin seems to brighten, i’m not sure. I used it together with the snail recovery gel cream. My skin is combination oily. Very disappointed about the product. I’ve always suffered from acne, and tried many different products. This one broke me out more 🙁 I’m thinking of trying the Benton snail line, do you have any suggestions??
I LOVE the Benton snail line! I’ve had a lot of success using it when my acne is bad. It really calms things down and seems to make my active spots heal faster. Are you looking specifically for a moisturizer suggestion? I have a few ideas about ones that would work well with combination oily skin!
Hey Linh! I’ve had great luck with the Benton line. It’s one of my all time favorites. I recommend the Snail Bee Essence and the Steam Cream if you’re looking for brightening effects. Benton does have a new lotion out, which is lighter than the cream. I haven’t tried it yet (it just arrived today!), but I imagine it’s a bit lighter than the steam cream. That might be more appealing for someone with combination oily skin! 🙂
Thanks for the honest review. I was thinking of buying this product but after reading your review that it did not moisturize well I think I’ll try another snail cream. Any suggestions?
Hi Trish! I think the Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Cream and the Benton Snail Bee High Concentrate Steam Cream are both excellent snail creams. 🙂
An interesting article and new snail cream here: Taking the “Ewww”… out of snail cream http://medicinezine.com/wellness-lifestyle/beauty/ewww-snail-cream/
Hi-
I am trying korean skin care products for first time. Have lot of pimple marks and tan on my skin and being Indian origin – getting right shade of BB creme was always a challenge.
Now, this cream dint do any wonders for me. Been using for more than a week. Just being positive, since it’s not magical may be using longer might be worth a wait.
On the other side, I have combination skin and I am pretty oily on my T zone. This cream really dries my face. If I smile or move my lips, I could see dry areas around. So, not very impressed so far.
I know I am a little late jumping onto the Korean skincare bandwagon! But I have learnt a lot through your blog and I love it! I have been using some Mizon products including this one and so far, I like them. My skin feels great! I was wondering if you have tried the Mizon Returning Starfish Cream? I have been hearing a lot of good things about it, I am very curious to try it out but no one seems to have any reviews on the cream.I would love to hear your opinion on it.
Also, have you tried any of the Tony Moly prestige snail lip treatment or the stick? I have a terrible habit of biting my lips and am scouting for some lip products that can help my lips heal. Any suggestions?
Hi! I’m waiting for my cream to arrive and I’m really quite confused on when to use this. It said that this should be use as the first step on your skincare routine. Does it mean before I cleanse my face and tone? Or after cleansing? Sorry for this dumb question. Thanks anyway!
Hello, I know it has been 2 years since the post but I was wondering if you followed the routine in the morning or night. I am really new to skin care (still looking to start) and I’m not really sure when I am supposed to do this. I have a bad problem with loads of wrinkles around my eyes (I’m only 16, not quite sure how). Do you think this would help? On a side note, every routine I’ve read of online says not to apply anything until you clean your face. I thought these products did that. Is there another product I should use or do they just mean with like soap or in the shower?
How did the Black All In One Snail repair stack up against this?
hi.. pls what products can you recommend for dark knuckles and feet treatment?
For oily/combination skin this product will fit.. I love this product because it has matte look after you applied..and also I felt that my skin become smoother ..
Thank you for the really informative review – have you tried the Missha Super Aqua Snail Cream – I found it very moisturising – you can read my review if you like at
https://byebeautyblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/snail-cream/
I was looking into the Mizon snail eye cream – have you used this at all?
I’m fairly new to the kbeauty world, so while I don’t have very many other products to compare this one too, I have to say that the snail repair cream is tied for my favorite product so far! I think one of the big differences is that I have oily/breakout prone skin and live in a hot, humid environment (hello, deep South!) So for me, the moisturizing properties of this (which might be underwhelming for some) are a perfect balance for my skin type and the fact that on a 100+ degree day with 60-70% humidity, my skin can’t really take anything heavier. We’ll see how it holds up once the drier winter months roll around, but I just wanted to second the comment that everyone’s skin (and environment) is different =)