Nothing dramatic, but my skin has been steadily better for a full month. It behaves under everything else I use and it never pills on me. I'd call it a reliable product with no surprises, which I mean kindly.
COSRX
Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (1.69 fl. oz / 50ml)
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is a 50ml essence whose ingredient list carries Snail Secretion Filtrate alongside Allantoin and Arginine.
4.8 (8)50ml
$45.98 per 100 ml
- Korean-market formula
- Ships from California or direct from Korea
- Korean barcode and batch code intact
- Suited to
- DryDehydratedSensitiveCompromised barrier
- Helps with
- DehydrationCompromised, over-exfoliated skinBarrier weaknessVisible redness and reactivity
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One email, the moment this exact unit is back in stock. Not a newsletter and not a sequence, and your address comes off the list the second it is sent.
In stock now
$30.00
$25.00
$27.50
- 30-day returns
- Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
- Tracked delivery to your door
Key benefits
- Snail Secretion Filtrate, the humectant this essence is built around
- Allantoin on the same list, an active
- Arginine on the same list, an amino acid
- Sodium Hyaluronate and Ethyl Hexanediol on the same list, humectants
- Panthenol further down the same list
- Snail Secretion Filtrate named first on the manufacturer list printed on this page
Key actives
1Snail Secretion Filtratehumectant
Snail Secretion Filtrate is the mucin a snail produces, filtered for cosmetic use, and it is the ingredient the Korean snail category is built on. It carries glycoproteins, hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid, and it is used for hydration and a smoother-looking surface. It is the entry this essence is named after, and the list carries it.
7Sodium Hyaluronatehumectant
Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it. It is named seventh on this essence's list, alongside Snail Secretion Filtrate.
8Allantoinactive
Allantoin is a comfrey-derived compound used to condition skin and soften the outer layer so it feels smoother. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily irritated skin. It is named eighth on this essence's list, alongside Snail Secretion Filtrate.
9Ethyl Hexanediolhumectant
Ethyl Hexanediol is a glycol that hydrates and makes a formula less hospitable to microbes, the same double role 1,2-hexanediol plays. It is named ninth on this essence's list, alongside Snail Secretion Filtrate.
12Arginineamino acid
Arginine is an amino acid that does two jobs here: it holds water in the outer layer of skin, and it neutralises acidic gelling agents, which is why it often stands in for a synthetic pH adjuster. The panel names it twelfth on this essence's list, beside Snail Secretion Filtrate.
Inside the formula
Inside the formula
- 1Snail Secretion
- 7Sodium Hyaluronate
- 8Allantoin
- 9Ethyl Hexanediol
- 12Arginine
Where each key active sits on the declared ingredient list, by entry number. Position is proportion: the further forward, the larger its share.
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (1.69 fl. oz / 50ml)
Where does this essence go in my routine?
After toner and before serum, morning and evening, on damp skin. Anything thinner than an essence goes on before it, and anything richer goes on after. If you are adding it to a routine you already like, give it a week on its own first, so what you see is the Snail Secretion Filtrate and not three changes at once.
What else is on the list besides Snail Secretion Filtrate?
Allantoin, Arginine and Sodium Hyaluronate. The order they are printed in on this essence's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Snail Secretion Filtrate sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Ethyl Hexanediol and Panthenol.
Not on the ingredient list below: fragrance or parfum, denatured or SD alcohol, essential oils, silicones, parabens, sulfate surfactants, mineral oil or petrolatum and added color.
Full INCI (13): Snail Secretion Filtrate, Betaine, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Ethyl Hexanediol, Carbomer, Panthenol, Arginine, Aqua/Water
Ingredient list read from incidecoder.com on 9 September 2026.
13 of 13 explained
- Snail Secretion Filtrate humectant
- Snail Secretion Filtrate is the mucin a snail produces, filtered for cosmetic use, and it is the ingredient the Korean snail category is built on. It carries glycoproteins, hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid, and it is used for hydration and a smoother-looking surface.
- Betaine humectant
- Betaine is a sugar-beet-derived humectant that cells use to hold water. In a formula it hydrates and takes the edge off cleansers and acids, which is why it often appears alongside them.
- Butylene Glycol humectant
- Butylene Glycol is a small glycol that does two jobs at once: it holds water in the top layer of skin and it dissolves plant extracts and actives that plain water cannot. It also thins a formula, which is why watery Korean essences lean on it.
- 1,2-Hexanediol humectant
- 1,2-Hexanediol is a glycol used for two reasons: it holds water like glycerin, and it makes a formula harder for microbes to live in, so less traditional preservative is needed. Korean formulas use it heavily for that second reason.
- Sodium Polyacrylate thickener
- Sodium Polyacrylate is a polymer that absorbs many times its weight in water. It thickens a formula and holds water in a gel against the skin.
- Phenoxyethanol preservative
- Phenoxyethanol is the most widely used cosmetic preservative outside the paraben family. It keeps a water-containing formula from growing bacteria and mould, and is capped at one percent in most markets, so it always sits low on a list.
- Sodium Hyaluronate humectant
- Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
- Allantoin active
- Allantoin is a comfrey-derived compound used to condition skin and soften the outer layer so it feels smoother. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily irritated skin.
- Ethyl Hexanediol humectant
- Ethyl Hexanediol is a glycol that hydrates and makes a formula less hospitable to microbes, the same double role 1,2-hexanediol plays.
- Carbomer thickener
- Carbomer is a synthetic polymer that only gels once a base neutralises it, which is why arginine or tromethamine sits nearby on the list. It gives the clear, non-stringy gel texture a xanthan formula cannot reach.
- Panthenol humectant
- Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
- Arginine amino acid
- Arginine is an amino acid that does two jobs here: it holds water in the outer layer of skin, and it neutralises acidic gelling agents, which is why it often stands in for a synthetic pH adjuster.
1 more ingredient explained
- Aqua/Water solvent
- Water is the base almost every serum, toner and cream is built on. It dissolves the water-loving ingredients and sets how light the finished texture feels. On an INCI list it is usually first, which only means it is the largest single ingredient by weight.
- Market
- Korean market, the version sold in Korea
- EAN (barcode)
- 8800311122628
- Made in
- Republic of Korea
- Volume
- 50ml
- Category
- Essence
- Actives
- Allantoin, Panthenol, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Sodium Hyaluronate
- Ships from
- California or Korea
Orders ship from California or direct from Korea with tracked delivery to your door, and both routes carry the same Korean-market release. Shipping is free on orders of $100 or more. Returns are accepted for 30 days, by mail.
We split shipments free, so one out-of-stock item never holds up the rest of your order.
Where this unit came from
- 1Seoul
Bought as Korean-market stock - 2Barcode
Listed against the Korean barcode on its box - 3California or Korea
Ships to you from either, as the same Korean-market release
We stock the version of a formula that is sold in Korea, not the release a brand prepares for another market under the same name. The barcode in the specification above is the Korean-market one and it is printed on the box you receive.
Every unit keeps its original barcode and batch code intact, so the unit in your hands can be checked against the brand’s own records.
Every order ships from California or direct from Korea, and returns run for 30 days.
Every claim on this page traces to the unit in the box, the barcode, the batch code and the price you can read for yourself.
How it works
The Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is a 50ml essence, used after toner and before serum, morning and evening, on damp skin. The humectant it is built around is Snail Secretion Filtrate, named first on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Allantoin, Arginine and Sodium Hyaluronate, so the humectant is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Snail Secretion Filtrate stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the essence format rather than by the list alone. COSRX sells this Snail Secretion Filtrate essence in Korea, and this is that version.
How to use
- Use the Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence after toner and before serum, morning and evening, on damp skin.
- A small palmful, pressed over the face and neck in two passes rather than rubbed in.
- Toner first, this second, then your serum and moisturizer. It is the layer that thins the ground so the step above it spreads instead of sitting.
- Twice a day, every day. Do not use it in place of your moisturizer; an essence is a water layer, not the lid on top of one.
Worth knowing
- Snail secretion filtrate is animal-derived, so this is not a vegan formula.
Reviews
Write a reviewWrite a review
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (1.69 fl. oz / 50ml)
How it felt, how your skin took it, what you layer it with. Straight answers help the next person choose.
4.8/ 5
8 reviews
- 5 stars6
- 4 stars2
- 3 stars0
- 2 stars0
- 1 star0
My skin felt rough before and it is noticeably smoother now. I can feel the difference every time I wash my face. It's light, it disappears into the skin, and it hasn't irritated me even once in a month.
The change was slow and then it was obvious all at once. My skin looks even and feels smooth when I touch it. I haven't changed anything else in my routine, so this gets all of the credit.
There's a light coolness when I smooth this on, and it never leaves that draggy feeling on my skin. My redness around the nose settled by the second week. Simple, pleasant, and no scent to complain about.
I use this between my toner and my heavier night cream and it never fights the other layers. Absorbs quickly, no scent, no breakouts along my jaw. My skin feels plumper in the morning and my makeup lasts longer than it used to.
The flaking under my chin cleared up in about a week. I stopped layering three things and just use this after toner. It feels cool going on and my skin looks calmer when I wake up, no tightness in the mirror.
The snail essence is thinner than I expected and sinks in without leaving a sticky film. I used it at night for a few days before writing this, and it fit fine into my routine. It arrived from Korean Pharmacy quickly, with the label intact and no leaks.
The bottle looked a little weird at first, but the texture is thin and slippery in the best way. It soaked in fast without that sticky snail thing I was worried about. My skin felt soft and a little more hydrated the next morning, even under moisturizer. Shipping was quick and the packaging kept it intact.
We’re on gram!
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COSRX, Korean-market original
The Original Korean Formula essence from COSRX, 50ml formulated with Snail Secretion Filtrate and Allantoin, shipped from California or direct from Korea.
Verify your unit when it arrives
Verify your unit when it arrives
Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.
COSRX verifies units itself. Find the verification page on cosrx.com and enter the batch number and expiration date printed on your unit. Read them off the package rather than from us, which is the point.
Source: COSRX FAQ
On the unit itself
- The Korean-market barcode, unaltered from the retail package.
- The manufacturer’s batch code, exactly as the maker printed it.
정품Genuine article, Korean-market stock
What professionals say
What professionals say
What skin-care professionals say about the key actives in this formula, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.
The hyaluronic acid and peptides in snail mucin may stimulate the production of collagen and elastin.
Hadley King, MDClinical instructor of dermatology, Weill Medical College of Cornell, Women's Health Allantoin can tone down the dryness of the individual cells. It increases the water content of the skin, which means it helps to hydrate and moisturize.
Wilma Bergfeld, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
1 more professional perspective
Hyaluronic acid helps bind water to collagen, which traps water in the skin. That helps make the skin more plump and full-looking.
Samantha Stein, PA-CDermatology physician assistant, Cleveland Clinic
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