Etude House Darling Cream Review

This Darling Cream is quite special! It contains the latest craze in skin care - snail slime extract. It may sound weird, but it is perfectly safe and no snails are harmed in the process of making it. The extract is not made out of snails, but instead of a sticky slimy trail that they leave when they crawl around. Snail slime prevents a snail from being injured when it crawls over sharp surfaces because it has regenerating properties. There is some scientific research regarding effectiveness of snail slime in treating burns and wounds, and general word of mouth among beauty bloggers indicates that snail creams work quite well, sometimes even miraculously.

So what does it do? Snails creams are touted as being able to stimulate collagen, moisturize, and most importantly, heal acne and reduce post-acne hyper-pigmentation and red marks. They are an all-in-one type of product targeting various issues. My particular concern is acne and red marks. I am less concerned with wrinkles for now, as I have been using sunblock over the years and the sun has been kind to my skin.

For my starter snail cream I chose this Etude House Darling Cream, pretty much on a whim. I ordered it from Pretty and Cute, a Korean skincare store here in the US (not affiliated.) I can definitely recommend this store as it has a good selection of products and fair prices.  I have not read reviews prior to purchasing this cream, so I am not sure what other bloggers think about it.

Etude House is famous for its cute packaging and inexpensive products. This cream comes in paper box containing a 50 ml glass jar and a spatula for hygienic application.

This cream contains 73% snail slime extract and looks and feels like a normal night cream: white and thick.

I use this cream at night as the last step of my routine. It goes on smoothly and is absorbed pretty quickly. I do not use it every day, but alternate it with my AHA night cream. I have been recommended the AHA cream by my cosmetologist against acne, but I do not think that it is that great on its own. I have seen a considerable improvement in my skin over the last three months which I attribute to my new complex routine and constant moisturizing, including the addition of the snail cream.

I can attest that this cream does not cause any breakouts. When I wake up in the morning, my skin feels tight and the redness is always subsided. Sometimes I still get slight inflammation, which this cream keeps under control. Since I have not been using it every day, I cannot say that it is miraculous in clearing acne or whitening your skin, but it is definitely good as a moisturizer for oily, acne-prone skin.

OVERALL: Highly recommended for oily skin. Good moisturizer and does not cause breakouts.

Ingredients: Snail Secret Filtrate, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olfefin), Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Betaine, Stearyl Dimethicone Ulmus, Davidian Root Extract, Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Extract, Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Piper Methysticum Leaf/Root/Stem Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycyprhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Soluble Collagen, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Cnidium Officnale Root Extract, Pueraria Thunbergiana Root Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydrogenated Lcithin, Polysorbate 20, Sodium polyacrylate, Trideceth-6, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprlyl Glycol, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Water, Xanthan Gum, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Folic Acid, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, Raffinose, Tromethamine, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Fragrance