Versus

COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence Versus Topicals Faded Serum

Essence
Serum
Korean Brand South Korea
American Brand United States

Updated on March 17, 2025

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe . They have a total of 2 ingredients in common

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin, sensitive skin, scar healing and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, parabens, silicones or sulfates

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

What's inside (and what isn't)

What's inside (and what isn't)

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Benefits

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products
Faded Serum

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Soothing

Allantoin plays a role in soothing and moisturizing the skin. Because of this, it is often added to products with strong active ingredients.

Some studies have shown this ingredient can promote wound healing with higher concentrations.

Allantoin is derived from the comfrey plant but produced synthetically for cosmetic products to ensure purity.

Learn more about Allantoin

When to use

21,160 Routines
48% use in am
52% use in pm
97% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->
949 Routines
32% use in am
68% use in pm
70% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence 12 ingredients

3.6 /5
from 344 ratings
Hydrating (97) No Scent (79) Works Well (68)
cgi's avatar

cgi

1 year ago
Review

this snail mucin essence really is one of the best ones out there— it's a holy grail. this product was my very first impression of cosrx, and the short ingredient list is very surprising with how effective it is. i've been using it for about a year now, and it's become a staple in my routine. after my first couple weeks of use, a lot of my dark spots disappeared and calmed down my hormonal acne & Show more

#expensive
#hydrating
#light
#absorbs well
robinorr's avatar

Robin Orr

10 months ago
Review

This ruined my face! I didn’t know that my dust mite allergy also made me allergic to this. I used it for five months and everything seemed fine, but then I started to get a goatee of fungal acne with big red patches. I’d also been getting a lot of big pimples in my hairline from it. It’s taken me months to understand what happened and to soothe my sad skin. Be warned not to jump off the bridge Show more

#broke me out
#irritating

Topicals Faded Serum 35 ingredients

3.8 /5
from 12 ratings
Works Well (5) Strong Scent (5) Great Value (3)
AshN.'s avatar

AshN.

1 year ago
Review

(Tried Nov 2022) One of the few brightening creams that I tried where I actually saw results. I only ever applied this as a spot treatment and not all over. Giving it 4 stars because I did find it slightly irritating and the smell was rather strong, so I ended up switching over to applying it as needed. I think the $18 Mini version was more than enough for me!

#great value
#irritating
#strong scent
#works well
bsabrina's avatar

bsabrina

2 years ago
Review

give it time to fade dark spots-glowy skin comes faster
Love this product. I was worried about all the actives in it because of my sensitive skin, but I had no reactions or breakouts. It takes some time to fade dark spots & acne scars but after a few weeks (3-4) they should be noticeably lighter or almost gone. I noticed my skin seemed glowier and more clarified within a week or two. No noticeable Show more