May 7, 2013

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream Review

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream Set

I’ve had Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream in my stash a while now along with Tony Moly Intense Live Snail Eye Cream as well since they came as a set.

I believe Paris (My Women Stuff) either had a Holiday in Korea or somewhere else when she purchased these for me on request and it’s been quite a long time since she sent them to me so much so that I’m nearly done with the facial cream and have completely used up all the eye cream at this point.

I think perhaps they have been two of my first Snail Skincare products outside of Etude House’s snail moisturizer. Since that time I’ve tried a whole host of products with snail secretion including BB Creams, masks, sleeping packs, etc…etc….Snail is kinda an old trend at this point and Korea (and other Asian companies) are now moving on to venoms. Oh lawd…how does one keep up with all these skincare crazes?

Let’s take a look at Tony Moly’s version of Snail Cream and see how it holds up.

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream

Snail secretion is such a tricky substance as it is basically toted as the cure all for your skincare. Whitening, brightening, moisturizing, hydrating, anti-aging, skin repairing, you name it and supposedly snail secretion is the cure all for it. If I knew twenty years ago that snail secretion was going to prevent aging I would have been rubbing snail on my face way back when.

I notice many of these snail creams come in a variety of different sets. For example, Missha’s newest snail moisturizer comes with a sleeping pack. I kinda sorta think its nice to purchase skincare as a set as you get a good value and some extras to try out.

In this case you end up with a full size moisturizer and a full size eye cream. I can’t recall the price but knowing Tony Moly and Korean beauty pricing it was probably twenty dollars or so.

According to Tony Moly the formula is an excellent way to regenerate skin and keep it looking healthy and smooth. Compared to Missha’s formula I’m not entirely impressed. Although moisturizing this is a thicker cream versus Missha’s quick absorbing gel that has an odd citrus metallic-y scent. It proves a little bit of a pain to absorb and feels like it is sitting on top of your skin but still provides moisture none the less. I was using it as a nightly moisturizer and felt like it made my skin very oily and shiny come morning. For this reason I avoided using it in the day. Unlike Missha’s version which allows me to wear either in the AM or the PM thanks to the quick absorbing gel consistency.

It’s an odd product because through the wear it feels very hydrating but once you rinse your face in the morning you don’t feel like its done anything particularly beneficial. My flaky areas are still rather patchy.

The eye gel is also equally disappointed. This is a quick absorbing gel with leaves a dewy finish under eyes. It provides very little moisture to my drier eyes and tends to have a watery formula which makes for impossible application in the morning as it ruins my concealer application.

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Moisturizer

Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream Swatches

Overall, I’m not a huge lover of Tony Moly Intense Repair Live Snail Cream as there are plenty of variations of snail products to explore that offer far better options in my opinion.

If you are interested to try it Sasa.com as well as a variety of E-bayers sell this.

What are some of your favorite snail skincare products?

I purchased this item.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • blue

    u pretty much summed up my experience with the tony moly snail line as well muse 🙂 it didn’t heal my dry areas either, just kind of “covered it up” a bit. but was kind of uncomfortable while it was on my skin, like my skin never absorbed the serum or the cream. i think the only thing that was worth trying from their line was the ampoule set that came with the sleeping pack.

      • blue

        very, i think they wasted the high amount of snail extracts in the formula by putting so much cones in it. i’ve actually had much better luck with snail serums than snail creams. the serums are more concentrated and actually do help my skin. the current one i’m using as has snail extract, bee venom, and egf in it. got 3 backup bottles of it 😀

          • blue

            the brand is “benton”. all the ingredients are in english, u can get it on gmarket (cheaper $$) or ebay (more expensive). their snail mask (leave on for30 min) is the best one i’ve tried so far. it really does hydrate my skin, unlike other ones i’ve tried. i feel like i can get away with not using moisturizer after it but i still use a little, just to lock in the hydration. they only have 4 products in their line (aloe-bha toner, soothing gel, snail serum, snail mask) but they work well on my skin; quality products. i’ll email you the links muse, since i don’t think i can post it.

          • the Muse

            do email it blue I’d be interested! sounds good! never heard of benton!

  • Tohnia

    Too bad this was a disappointment, a Tony Moly store just opened in my local mall! We now have a Holika Holika, Tony Moly, AND a Face Shop just opened up! I’m in skincare heaven! 🙂

    I love Tony Moly polishes, they’re so fun! I’m going to pick up some of the cute Tony Moly products you’ve reviewed over the last few years. 🙂

  • Paris B

    OMG Muse, I’d forgotten about this! LOL I found it too heavy and oily and wasn’t all that thrilled about it. Gave it to a friend who broke out after using it. I think the snail craze has past to be honest. Its not the craze of CC Creams! 😀

    • the Muse

      ME TOO! 🙂 I was running through my review picture files yesterday and came across images for it and said to myself, “Holy cow I didn’t review this yet!” yeah the entire snail cream has def died down, now I’m seeing venom rubbish lol! I LOVE CC CREAMS! ;-D ha…I am completely in love with some of these newer cc creams launching in Korea at the moment. I order you to try the Tony Moly one, it’s incredible ;-D!

      • Mediterranean Maven

        Hi, Muse! At your suggestion, I tried and absolutely love the Tony Moly Goddess Aura CC Cream. It’s so kind and gentle to my sensitive, dry skin and it evens out my skintone very nicely. I don’t have the ashy color with this CC cream that I get with the Skin79 BB Creams (even though after powdering, it becomes a nonissue) because the Tony Moly CC Cream has a nice warm undertone that goes very well with my Fair skin. I have been also using the Tony Moly Intense Snail BB Cream and like the finish and color of that too. Have you reviewed it yet? Would you review it, please, if you haven’t? Love to hear your thoughts about it. Thanks again for your suggestions!

        • Isabella Muse

          yay! Happy to hear it MM! 😀 that’s fabulous! I recently tried out the Hope Girl CC Cream too and liked that just as much! I didn’t review the nail variation but def will do a review soonish! aww always my pleasure so so so glad you love it!

  • Angel

    I’m still up for trying the slime. I’m just having a hard time finding one without silicones. I’d wake up to a face of zits. But imma keep looking! Glad to know I can check this one off the list as it sounds like a dud for you.

    • the Muse

      angel wish I can recommend a cone-free one but I notice many are packed with ’em :-/ Yeah, this you can def skip!

  • Jessica Arndt

    Hi dear, i follow your blog since a few weeks and i never comented here. I completely love your reviews and i think your blog is the best western blog with asian products reviews. So, congratulations for your work!

    About Snail products, did you already try the Mizon one? A lot of people say good things about this.

    (I dont know if i wrote something wrong… my english is not that good.)

    TC!

    • the Muse

      hi jessica good to hear from you today 🙂 thank YOU! your comment made my day 😀 the mizon one is actually incredible ;-D I’ll review it shortly…! It’s quite good and deserving of the raves ;-D

      Your english is great!!!!!

  • Laura

    I’ve only heard good things about Mizon’s Snail Recovery Gel. I have some ordered and on its way to me, it’s only like $4.50 at KoreaDepart or $6 on ebay, I think?

    • Janet

      I’m a big fan of Mizon’s Snail Recovery Gel–I think I’ve gone through about 4 tubes now, and I have more on the way. It’s such a light gel formula that it’s great for oily skin.

  • blue

    sent u the links muse! yea, they’re a small company, underrated, but i’m glad they have a small amount of quality products instead of a large line where everything’s only ok.

    • the Muse

      hey blue thanks I’ll take a look tonight appreciate that 😀 I agree…I love variety but sometimes a few GOOD products versus many mediocre ones is key!

  • smashinbeauty

    Such a sham about this product.. I am looking into other snail products, thanks for the review

  • Mascara mom

    I got the mizon snail el recovery cream after reding your review an love it! It really does repair skin acting up. My sister had similar remarks, it really does lp skin recover.
    You do a great service in reviewing and introducing these off-shore brands. Often times i fin something tempting on ebay/korean e-store and think, let me first see what The Muse has to say about it…just let go of my intention o buy aminute vibrating puff thingamajig….thanks a bunch!

    • the Muse

      LOL mascara mom 😀 sure I can’t convince you on that vibrating puff? I’m so glad to hear it worked for you! 🙂 I’m really flattered the review helped you! 🙂 <3!