Review: Tiam Snail and Azulene Water Essence

Can be purchased on Yesstyle HERE – You can use my affiliate discount code to receive 10% off your purchased (At no further cost to you): CVQFZA

Price: £14.03

Volume: 180ml

Made in: South Korea

Description: (one of 3 products from Tiam’s Snail and Azulene Line)

– Formulated with 87% snail secretion filtrate and azulene extracted from chamomile to soothe irritated skin and leave it moisturized.
– Prevents moisture loss and restores skin balance.
– Alcohol-free.

Directions: Apply after cleansing into the palm of your hand and pat in to aid absorption. If you want more hydration, layer this product up.

Tips on using:

• You can also use this as a facial mist
• The company recommend you can use this to apply on the back (for bacne)
• Can also create a DIY calming sheet mask with this
• You can put this toner in the fridge (to enhance its cooling effect) and then drench your cotton pads in the cold product and thus apply on angry / irritated skin to calm it down. (I would say however I’m not too much of a fan of applying very cold product onto the skin).

How I use it: I have actually emptied this product into a nail remover dispenser and have used a cotton pad to apply and swipe this product on. I don’t layer as for me (oily and sensitive skin), one layer is enough to hydrate!

For dry skin / extremely dehydrated skin: I think 2 layers are needed.

1. After cleansing, pour a moderate amount onto the palm of your hand.
2. Apply to the entire face and gently pat for better absorption.
3. Apply multiple layers for a better moisturizing effect if necessary.

Key ingredients:

-Snail Secretion Filtrate – conditioning

-Betaine (moisturising)

-Allantoin (soothing)

Also – there are a lot of fermented

-Panthenol (to strengthen the skin barrier).

Lactobacillus / soybean / sacharomyces (contains these ferment filtrates too for skin conditioning).

Ingredients List: Skincarisma has uploaded the full ingredients list breakdown (i.e. with EWG ratings and Comedogenic ratings) HOWEVER take EWG and Comedic ratings with a pinch of salt!. Here is the LINK

As you can see – they have added A LOT of conditioning ingredients so it should really help hydrate and nourish the skin.

Not a fan of the -Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil and
-Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract (these are ‘fragrant’ ingredients).

Texture: Very ‘wet’ on the skin initially, not a balling up / tight-gloopy texture. This takes a while to absorb into the skin, but once it’s in there, it does feel like it’s helped hydrate my skin. On my instagram – you can see the video swatches of this product. It runs down my hand pretty quick so you can tell it’s quite thin although it’s a near-serum consistency. Not oily or greasy. Doesn’t provide that typical gloopy texture that snail mucin provides.

Note: this product has a slight blue tinge due to the Azulene.

Fragrance?: This smell exactly like the Snail and Azulene Sleeping Mask (A little less strong) and therefore the Cosrx Oil-free Birch Sap Moisturiser.

Good under makeup?: This has been ok for me. Although similar in texture to the hada labo gokyujun lotion, applying too much of this product has NOT balled up for me.

What I like:

• The hydrating effect of this product
• The not too strong fragrance (weaker than the sleeping mask)
• Doesn’t absorb so fast it disappears but absorbs well enough that I feel like this has ‘watered’ my skin well.
• The large volume (180ml)
• The texture (i.e. it’s not a gloopy gel – it’s close to the hada labo gokyujun lotion).
• No oily / greasy feeling
• Did not irritate my skin
• Didn’t have that typical gloopy texture that snail mucin provides.

What I don’t like:

• Didn’t ‘cool’ or ‘calm’ down my skin. But this is because (thankfully) my skin hasn’t been inflamed recently so I haven’t been able to tell if this has ‘calmed’ or ‘cooled’ down my skin.
• This is used as a toner, so the product is NOT enough to fully hydrate AND moisturise the skin (requires moisturiser on top at least).
• Don’t like ANY fragrance in my products.

Overall Rating and Conclusion: 4/5

I would say this is a dupe for the Hada Labo Gokyujun lotion (the basic one), however as this contains Azulene it may help you with calming the skin. also due to the mucin, this COULD help brighten your skin. But unlike the gokyujun, this has not balled up for me. I do think this helps slightly plump and definitely hydrate oily skin. Hasn’t irritated or angered my skin. Also hasn’t become oily or greasy on me.