Review: The Saem Cell ReNew Anti-Wrinkle Mask E.G.F + Snail Complex + Syn-Ake

This mask was the reason why I started getting interested in snail mucin products. Before going to Korea, I've never heard of The Saem before. The only brands I've heard of were the ones with popular BB cream lines like Skinfood, Missha, TonyMoly, Etude House, Baviphat. But after trying this mask out I decided to try out more The Saem products and even bought some of their other masks to try out, like The Saem Chaga White Liposome Biocellulose Sheet (Whitening Mask).

When I use a sheet mask I look for several things. First is, of course, effectiveness. Second is whether or not it can stick on my face and feel comfortable (or even better, I don't feel it being on my face after awhile). This is because I don't have the patience nor the time to sit there for 25-30 minutes. I need to be doing something while I put on this mask and if I need to fix it every minute because it's falling off my face then that's an instant fail. Third is whether or not it absorbs. If I don't feel a difference in the wetness of the sheet mask after 30 minutes.. then there is a problem with the compatibility of the mask with my face.

Description (taken from hope-inablog.com):

• EGF is known to activate skin cell regeneration
• Snail Complex provides skin resilience and nutrition
• Syn-Ake (similar to botox) provides anti-wrinkle care
• The ingredients work together to increase the skin's production of collagen and elastin to improve the skin's natural healing ability and resistance
• It is an excellent anti-aging skin rejuvenation product which acts on wrinkles, loose skin and accelerated aging

My impression:

I thought that this was a very good mask! Good for me to acknowledge The Saem as a good brand and try their other products. This was the first snail product that I tried and the first The Saem product that I tried so at first I didn't have any means of comparison. But I tried a few other masks while I was in Korea and ended up liking this snail mask so much I bought 2 packs of 10 masks. I'll be comparing some of these masks down below.

So let's first look at effectiveness. When I took the mask off, my skin felt moisturized, skin tone felt more evened out, the redness was gone and the little bumps on my lower cheeks were also gone. Now, I also experienced the same effect as Missha's Super Aqua Cell Renew Sleeping Mask, but I thought that this mask was more effective in those areas than the sleeping mask, especially in the moisturizing and even skin tone aspect. I also thought the effect lasted longer in that I can go without using snail products for ~2 days and I will still have great skin. With the sleeping mask, if I don't use it everyday, when I come back home the next day I found I didn't have the same great skin anymore.

I don't have wrinkles yet so I can't say much about the effectiveness of the Syn-Ake component. I'm also not familiar with using skin products with EGF in it, so I can't say much about that either.

Second is how it sticks on my face. This mask was VERY comfortable, the MOST comfortable mask I've ever put on. I hardly felt anything and it stuck on my face even when I moved around (I try my best to not move my face but there will be small movements for sure) and laughed. It's a very thin mask so one might think it's easy to tear but that also makes it very flexible so it sticks onto your skin, which is very important because I want to make sure my face is absorbing the essence as much as I can! With The Saem Chaga White Liposome Mask, the mask was rather thick so even if I smoothed out the air bubbles, after I move my face a few times, the air bubbles come back. This mask also did not slide off so I didn't have to pay attention to it while I was doing other stuff, which was excellent.

Third is absorption. Well, this essence absorbed quickly on my face. At the end of 30 minutes, I could feel the mask getting dryer. Totally not like the messy affair using the Skinfood Omija Whitening Mask where it felt like putting a tub of lotion onto my face and having minimal absorption afterwards. Of course, this is also because the mask itself stuck on my skin well so my skin could absorb it to begin with, unlike the Omija Whitening Mask that kept falling down my face!

The only problem about this mask is... it's not accessible on eBay. I guess The Saem is still a fairly new brand and not many people have tried it yet. But if you ever get the chance to go to Korea, please try it out!

Summary:

Moisturizes, evens skin tone, evens bumps, calms redness
Absorbs well, effect lasts long
The most comfortable mask I've put on, doesn't fall off my face
$3 a mask in Korea. Inaccessible on eBay =\

Quality: 4.5/5 because it's the most effective and most comfortable mask I've tried (0.5 marks off because I couldn't see any contribution of Syn-ake and EGF to my skin)

Value: 5/5 because it's 3 ingredients in 1, my face absorbs most of the essence, around the same price as most sheet masks but very effective!

Repurchase? If I ever go to Korea again, yes I will.