Where does this ampoule go in my routine?

After toner and before moisturizer, morning and evening. Anything thinner than an ampoule 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.

Is this the Korean-market ampoule or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Snail Secretion Filtrate and all. We match this ampoule to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

Does this ampoule contain fragrance?

Yes. The ingredient list names Fragrance and Parfum. They sit on the panel printed on this page, so you can read the position for yourself before you buy. If fragrance components are something you avoid, this ampoule is not the one.

What else is on the list besides Snail Secretion Filtrate?

Niacinamide, Adenosine and Zymomonas Ferment Extract. The order they are printed in on this ampoule'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: Ceramide NP, Glycosphingolipids and Cholesterol.

Dr.G

Royal Black Snail Ampoule 30ml

Name: Dr.G Royal Black Snail Ampoule 30ml
Brand: Dr.G
SKU: 5050820480
Price: 47.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Royal Black Snail Ampoule is Dr.G's ampoule serum (30ml), built around Snail Secretion Filtrate and Squalane. It is used after toner and before moisturizer, as the routine's concentrated treatment step. This is the same formula Korean shoppers buy off the shelf in Seoul, not a version built for US retail.

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$47.50

30 ml

$158.33 per 100 ml

Korean-market formula
Ships from California or direct from Korea
Korean barcode and batch code intact

Suited to: Dry skinCompromised barrierDehydrated skinSensitive skin

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Snail Secretion Filtrate in an ampouleRoutines that want Snail Secretion Filtrate and Niacinamide in one stepFilling the ampoule step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Snail Secretion Filtrate ampoule sold on Korean shelves

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$47.50

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How it works

The Royal Black Snail Ampoule is a 30ml ampoule, used after toner and before moisturizer, morning and evening. The humectant it is built around is Snail Secretion Filtrate, named first on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Niacinamide, Adenosine and Zymomonas Ferment Extract, 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 ampoule format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the ampoule Dr.G sells in Korea, Snail Secretion Filtrate and all.

Key benefits

Snail Secretion Filtrate, the humectant this ampoule is built around
Niacinamide and Adenosine on the same list, actives
Zymomonas Ferment Extract on the same list, a ferment
Ceramide NP on the same list, a barrier lipid
Glycosphingolipids and Cholesterol further down the same list
Hydrolyzed Royal Jelly Protein and Beta-Glucan further down the same list

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

#25

Fragrance on the list

1 of 4

39 of 39 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.
Water(Aqua/Eau) 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.
Glycerin humectant: Glycerin is the most used humectant in skincare. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and holds it there, and it is one of the very few ingredients whose hydrating effect is settled science rather than marketing. Higher amounts feel tacky, which is why it is usually blended.
Propanediol humectant: Propanediol is a plant-derived glycol used in place of propylene glycol. It hydrates, carries actives into solution, and gives a lighter, less sticky slip than glycerin at the same strength.
Squalane emollient: Squalane is the stable, saturated version of squalene, a lipid human skin already makes. It is a light emollient that absorbs quickly, does not oxidise, and is one of the few oils widely considered safe for blemish-prone skin. Most cosmetic squalane is now from sugarcane or olive rather than shark.
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.
Niacinamide active: Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
Maltodextrin film former: Maltodextrin is a starch-derived sugar chain used to carry powdered extracts and to form a light film. It also gives a soft, smoothing feel.
Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate is a mild sugar-derived emulsifier that holds oil into water and thickens slightly.
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer thickener: This is a synthetic thickener that gels quickly and holds an emulsion stable across a wide pH range. It gives a light, non-tacky body.
Glycereth-25 Pca Isostearate emollient: Glycereth-25 PCA Isostearate is a water-dispersible emollient that softens skin and helps oils and water stay mixed. It reads as light rather than rich on the skin.

27 more explained

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emollient: Shea Butter is the fat pressed from the shea nut, rich in oleic and stearic acids and unsaponifiable plant sterols. It is a heavy emollient and partial occlusive, which is why it sits in balms and night creams rather than in essences.
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract plant extract: Dioscorea Japonica is Japanese wild yam, whose root is naturally slippery with mucilage. Its extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned feel.
Caprylyl Glycol preservative booster: Caprylyl Glycol is a glycol that conditions skin and, more importantly, strengthens a preservative system so less of the traditional preservative is needed. It appears in most modern formulas built without parabens.
Hydrolyzed Corn Starch absorbent: Hydrolyzed Corn Starch is starch broken into smaller fragments. It gives a silky, powdery slip and absorbs a little oil.
Malt Extract plant extract: Malt Extract comes from sprouted barley and carries sugars, amino acids and B vitamins. It is used as a conditioning, hydrating extract.
Hydrogenated Lecithin emulsifier: Hydrogenated Lecithin is lecithin with its unsaturated bonds filled in, which makes it far more stable. It emulsifies and is the standard shell for the liposomes that carry actives into the outer layer of skin.
Beta-Glucan polysaccharide: Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide from oats or yeast. It holds a large amount of water, forms a soothing film, and is one of the ingredients formulators reach for in products aimed at reactive skin.
Adenosine active: Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.
Phytic Acid chelator: Phytic Acid comes from rice bran and other seed husks. It binds metal ions, which keeps a formula stable, and it is also used as a very mild exfoliant.
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative booster: Ethylhexylglycerin softens skin and boosts a preservative system, which is why it is nearly always sitting beside phenoxyethanol or 1,2-hexanediol. It also cuts down the odour bacteria produce, so it turns up in deodorising products.
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.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is the light fraction of coconut oil, with the heavy parts removed. It is the workhorse emollient of modern formulas: it softens skin, dissolves oil-soluble actives and absorbs without the greasy weight of a whole plant oil.
Fragrance(Parfum) fragrance: Fragrance, or Parfum, is a single declaration standing for a whole scent blend, which can be dozens of materials. Regulators allow it as a trade secret, so a list showing only this word does not say what the scent is made of. It is the most common trigger named by people with reactive skin.
Vitex Agnus Castus Extract plant extract: Chaste tree extract, carrying flavonoids and iridoids. It is used as a conditioning plant extract.
Sucrose humectant: Sucrose is table sugar, used here as a humectant. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and, in a scrub, doubles as the physical grain.
Phenethyl Alcohol preservative booster: Phenethyl Alcohol is an aromatic alcohol with a faint rose scent. It works as a preservative booster and a light solvent, and it is common in formulas built without traditional preservatives.
Hydrogenated Phosphatidylcholine emulsifier: Hydrogenated Phosphatidylcholine is the stabilised form of the main lecithin phospholipid. It builds the liposome shells that hold an active together in a formula.
Sucrose Stearate emulsifier: Sucrose Stearate is a sugar-based emulsifier chosen for a light finish in formulas built for reactive skin.
Stearic Acid fatty acid: Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid from plant fats, and one of the three lipid classes skin's own barrier is built from. In a formula it thickens, stabilises the emulsion and can be turned into a soap-style cleanser by adding a base.
Hexyl Laurate emollient: A light ester emollient with a dry, fast-spreading feel. It also helps dissolve powders and pigments evenly.
Ceramide NP barrier lipid: Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy.
Palmitic Acid fatty acid: Palmitic Acid is a saturated fatty acid present in skin's own lipids. It thickens a formula, stabilises the emulsion and softens skin.
Zymomonas Ferment Extract ferment: A ferment of zymomonas, the bacterium behind agave based fermentation. It supplies sugars, peptides and organic acids and is used as a conditioning ferment.
Hydrolyzed Royal Jelly Protein protein: Royal jelly protein broken into shorter water soluble fragments. The smaller pieces spread more evenly than whole protein and are used as a conditioning protein.
Honey Extract humectant: Honey is a natural humectant loaded with sugars and trace acids. In a formula it holds water at the surface and leaves a soft, cushioned feel.
Glycosphingolipids barrier lipid: Glycosphingolipids are ceramide-family lipids carrying a sugar group. They belong to the same lipid structure between skin cells and are used to make a formula feel more conditioning.
Cholesterol barrier lipid: Cholesterol is the third of the three lipids the outer layer of skin is built from, with ceramides and fatty acids. Formulas that carry all three are following the ratio skin itself holds.

How to use

Use it twice a day after the watery step, on a clean face and before any cream.
Warm a small amount between the fingertips first, then press it over the cheeks, forehead and chin.
Give it thirty seconds to settle before the next layer goes on, which is what keeps anything from balling up.
Avoid applying it to skin that is completely dry after a long gap, since a thin layer spreads much further on damp skin.

Worth knowing

Patch test this ampoule on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Snail Secretion Filtrate on the list.
This list names Fragrance and Parfum, so skip it if fragrance components are something you avoid.

Complete the routine

This itemDr.G Royal Black Snail Ampoule 30ml$47.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepDr.G Red Blemish Clear Soothing Cream 50ml$27.50
The last step of the morning, over everything elseDr.G Green Mild Up Sun Plus SPF50+/PA++++ 50ml$30.00

Total for 3 items$105.00

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