Review: Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence

After trying out Benton's Aloe Propolis Line without any negative reactions I added their Snail Bee High Content Essence into my skincare routine (both day and night).  My dry skin has inched closer and closer to being "normal" during these past few years and I wanted to try an "essence" product to to see if this would give me that additional boost of moisture I was lacking as well as control my acne-prone skin.

Asian skincare collections regularly include products that are unfamiliar to Westerners.  When I first started exploring different types of skincare routines I had serious trouble differentiating what an essence, serum, ampoule, etc accomplished and was clueless about the order in which to use these products.  Thankfully the blogging community came to my rescue and I found ample information on where to start.  Even though I'm a latecomer to skincare as a hobby/lifestyle, I don't mind benefiting from others' expertise and experience in helping me figure things out. =D

The gist is the thinnest layers (toner, serum, etc) should be applied first, followed by successively heavier products (essence ---> gel/lotion ---> cream moisturizer).  It's not necessary to use everything as I modify based on day vs night or according to the weather.  Certain products are never skipped (toner, BHA, light moisturizer) but others can be optional for me (acne treatments, serums or heavier moisturizer) depending on my needs.

The Snail Bee High Content Essence combines the popular snail extract along with bee venom as the star ingredients.  Supposedly the venom stimulates skin to produce more collagen and elastin as a reaction to its toxicity, thereby slowing down the onset of wrinkles, improving hyperpigmentation & scars and perhaps fighting acne.  I'm not within an age group that needs wrinkle care as a priority, but prevention is always a good idea and I don't use any other specifically anti-aging products at present so may as well start.  Also, anything anti-acne is great because I still deal with troubled skin even in my 30s.  >_<

As usual for a Benton product the ingredient list is full of actives, low on fillers and has practically zero acne triggers -- yay!  The hygienic pump flows well without interruption and the plastic bottle is very sturdy.  The overall feel of the brown cardboard box and bottle is more simple and no-frills (as opposed to the girly cuteness I associate with Korean designs) in keeping with Benton's image.

This has been my first time using essence but over the last 4 months I've easily integrated it into my morning/nighttime routines after toner and before moisturizer.  The gel-like texture is clear and has no discernible smell.  I love the fast absorption and how I can immediately slather another product over it without issue, a huge time-saver when it comes to my lengthy skincare routine.  When I use this essence plus a light moisturizer during daytime (under BB cream) I stay nicely hydrated throughout the entire day and don't ever see skin flakes or dry spots appear.  For nighttime I take no chances and have a heavier cream moisturizer seal everything in so I can't really say how it would perform under similar circumstances for nighttime.

I don't have anything else to compare this essence to but I'd seriously hoped snail filtrate and bee venom would turn out to be the magic ingredients I'd been missing all along to destroy my acne.  There were such positive online reviews about how they could detoxify and calm down troubled skin so I expected to find a Holy Grail product that would flatten out my skincare woes.  If my expectations were set at "10" then this essence came out at a "6-7" overall.  Unfortunately, I just don't feel there's been a huge decrease in my breakouts, healing time or resulting hyperpigmentation.

The upper half of my face has been 95% acne-free over the last few months and my cheeks have been smoother/brighter with less obvious pores/redness but I'm not sure if that's due to this essence or my Paula's Choice Liquid BHA (I started that over 6 months ago).  I really wanted this product to get rid of the cystic spots I get on my lower cheeks and chin but I'm still seeing quite a bit around that special time of the month.  It may be that I have a complicated set of reasons (hormones, stress, etc) for these breakouts and I'm actually receiving more benefit from this essence than I realize, but after 4 months of use I'm still unsure.

I'm bummed it didn't zap away my breakouts completely but I will slowly finish up this essence.  The high quality ingredients, smooth texture and fast absorption make it an easy addition to my skincare routine.  Who knows, maybe my troubled skin needs to purge for a total of 6 months before I get the clear results other bloggers have documented.  At any rate, if I do notice an improvement later I'll be sure and update this review!  Fingers crossed =D

Summary

• Packaging:     5/5 (hygienic; easy to control flow; opaque)
• Smell:             5/5 (no fragrance, just the way I like it)
• Performance:  3.5/5 (hydrating; absorbs fast & layers well; questionable benefits so far)
• Value/Price:   5/5 ($10-20 for 60ml bottle; long-lasting)
• Recommend? Maybe (for relatively clear skin needing a hydration boost)
• Repurchase? Maybe (if my breakouts improve within next few months)