Bio-Essence 'Bio-Energy Snail Secretion Repair Serum' Review

To be completely honest, this was a bit of an impulse buy. I had been wanting a serum or an essence to fit into my routine, and I needed to spend a bit more to qualify for free shipping from Sasa... so I chose this one without giving it too much thought. It doesn't accomplish everything it claims, but it does have some good things going for it. More after the jump.

Where to buy:
sasa.com - $34.00 for 160ml

If anyone knows any other reputable online stores where one can buy this, please let me know! :)

Description: I could not find a pre-written description of this product, but it's basically a serum that claims to use snail secretion extract to leave your skin smooth, moisturized, repaired and even (among other things). The only reason I've even heard of Bio-Essence was because it was one of the first products to pop up on Sasa while searching for snail products. I did some research, and it's apparently a Singaporean brand established in 1985, and its big thing is trying to compete with the international brands that dominate the market there. From what I can see, it basically just produces products based on popular trends, kind of like Secret Key? Whatevzzz, I only bought it because it was a serum that claimed to use Snail secretion.

Claims to:
~ absorb rapidly
~ repair and refine skin
~ smooth, soothe, and protect skin
~ repair pimple scars and marks
~ reduce fine lines and wrinkles

Ingredients: Unfortunately I am unable to find the box it originally came in, which had the ingredients listed on it. I do recall that Snail Secretion extract was very low on the list, one of the last 5 ingredients or so (don't take my word for it). This means that it has a relatively little amount of snail secretion extract stuff in it, especially compared to the likes of Mizon's Snail Repair Ampoule which contains 80% snail extract. I will update this if I can find more information.

Packaging: Not cute at all, but still pretty nice. I think it's definitely going for a more mature look with the gold to transparent gradient, but I am not really a fan of the look tbh. However, I do find the application method neat! Like most ampoules (all?), the top unscrews to reveal a neat-o dropper thing that I don't know the name of! You press down on the top to draw up the product inside, and press down to release it again.

Unscrewed top!

I do have some complaints about the packaging besides its ugliness. 1) The top can be hard to press down at first. In the first few weeks of owning it, I definitely almost dropped it multiple times from difficulties with trying to dispense the serum. 2) I feel like it doesn't get enough of the product in one go. I wish I could say that I only needed one dropper full of the product, but it only gets half full at most (now that I'm 2/3s of the way through with it, it gets maybe 1/3-1/4 full). While not the biggest deal, it's still pretty annoying.

The most serum I can get at once, AKA not enough.

Scent: Bio-Essence's Snail Secretion Repair Serum has a scent... I'm not sure of what, but it's there. It reminds me a bit of flowers and swimming pools. It's not a bad scent at all, but it lasts awhile. I actually quite like the smell so I enjoy how long it lasts, but if you're unlucky enough to dislike the smell then it would be super annoying to use everyday.

Swatch: The serum is runny and light, and it absorbs quite quickly. I think the serum could also be described as slippery, almost. It spreads fairly easily, but I still need a pump or two to fully cover my face. When using it night and day, the bottle empties fast.

As you can see, it's quite runny!

After it's been absorbed, it leaves my skin moist and supple ~

Results: First of all, let me just say that this is amazing for making your skin immediately moisturized, softened, and smooth. When I use this combined with my other moisturizing products, my skin is softer than anything I can describe, AND I don't have any issues with shine or greasiness! It just leaves it supple and smooth.

On the other hand, I haven't seen any other benefits from using it. It doesn't make my skin glow, it doesn't help fade marks, it doesn't help with wrinkles or any of the other things it claims to do. Considering this claims to be a snail secretion repair serum, you would think that it would do atleast some of the things that snail secretion is supposed to do. But it doesn't. All in all, I'm not entirely sure that it's worth that much money. I feel like you can spend your money more wisely, and get more bang for your buck. I'm happy to finish this product off, but I won't be repurchasing. I think I'll order that Mizon ampoule next, hmm.

What's left after about 6 weeks of using it once or twice a day.

Conclusion: Final score 3.5/5

Pros

• super moisturizing without leaving my skin shiny
• makes my skin amazingly soft and supple
• absorbs quickly
• nice smell
• hygienic bottle

Cons

• doesn't help my marks fade
• doesn't help my skin's evenness
• I go through it quickly
• a bit too expensive for how quickly I use it
• smell lasts a long time
• ugly bottle
• difficult packaging at first

This has been amazing for moisturizing my skin when I need it, but the fact that it doesn't accomplish the very thing that snail products are used for really damages it in my eyes. That fact combined with how quickly I use it means that I don't think that it's quite worth the price I paid for it. If it was $10 cheaper I would probably repurchase, but for now I will keep on looking for a better serum or essence (or both).