When I saw this brand was targeted at people with acne, I HAD to have it! I bought most of the COSRX line as soon as I could. I was finding that although my other Korean products were great at things like texture correction and other stuff, I could really use a product that treated acne AND did all that great stuff too!My previous essence was the Missha Time Revolution Essence, which is a holy grail product for most, but I gotta say I like this COSRX one better in almost every way: The texture, the packaging, the price point, and of course the RESULTS!The bottle has a pump for easy dispensing of the product. The texture of this product is interesting: it is a little gooey (not in a gross way). It has a natural scent which is pleasant and not strong at all, and it absorbs quickly without feeling tacky. Two pumps is enough to cover my face and neck, so I appreciate that a little goes a long way (as seems to be the trend with most Korean products!)I've only been using this essence for about 10 days. I use it after the toning step (I have been using ETUDE HOUSE Collagen Moistfull while I slowly introduce the COSRX BHA Skin Returning A-Sol).My skin is already showing a more even tone, the redness of my cheeks and chin is not as prominent, the fine lines on my forehead are less noticeable, and the tiny blackheads around my chin have been reduced. My skin's texture is smoother and feels more hydrated overall. I'm so excited to use all my new COSRX products together and I'm blown away by how effective this /single/ product is. This definitely bodes well for the rest of the collection!If you've never tried an essence I absolutely recommend this one! « less

It removed my redness and gave me a more even skintone. However, it did not remove my acne as I had hoped for. However, it managed to get rid of some of the acne. I have a realy sensitive and oily skintype. The essence has a very sticky texture. I do not recomend using it every morning and evening if you have oily skin, as it then can cause more breakouts. Its a wounderful product, would buy again!

I bought this mainly for hydration purposes and found that while it has noticeably helped heal my excessively dehydrated skin, it also helps reduce redness and irritation from my acne and I think it's even helping heal my hyper pigmentation and scarring (probably through hydration). And although I try my best to resist; I'm a picker (I know, I know, I'm the worst) and when I attack my congested pores, I'm always left with lingering redness and in some cases actual breakouts the next day. One time I did this after I started using this product at night, knowing I would pay for it the next day, and I looked in the mirror after I woke up and I was SHOOK. No redness and no new breakouts. At first I was like well I got lucky this time, but I've admittedly done it a couple times since then and I started to realize it was this product that was saving my skin from the recovery process. I use it morning and night, it sinks in pretty quickly and doesn't affect the application or longevity of my makeup. Also, the super SUPER fine lines (they almost looked like micro tears in my skin) I noticed I was getting from dehydration have improved, and overall I'm impressed with what this product has done for my skin so far. I'm also acne prone and haven't gotten any breakouts from this product. I would definitely recommend. Obviously, not everyone will have the same effects, but from my experience it's worth a shot if you're looking for hydration and redness/irritation reduction.

I'm always skeptical about trying things that sound more or less like a fad product, but my skin has been so angry and irritated from stress and lack of sleep that I needed to take a leap of faith and slug up. I am SO HAPPY that I did. First, let me remind anyone reading this that this is snail slime. Plain and simple. The texture is a little funny at first. But oddly enough, I love it. It absorbs so easily into my skin, with little to no tackiness. I use it twice a day, and it's become my favorite part of my otherwise bare bones and simple routine. My skin calmed down (redness and pain from adult acne) pretty shortly after my first application. As in, an hour or two. After a few days of using it twice daily, I noticed that my acne was healing faster, and my somewhat sensitive skin wasn't getting near as irritated from the retinol I'd been using. On a deeper level, my skin felt like it was healing. It only took three days for me to notice the texture of my skin becoming more plump and smooth- which is crazy. This did not stop my breakouts or help with hyper-pigmentation from previous breakouts, but it's not really supposed to. It helped them heal faster, calmed redness (thus reducing the pain of my acne), and in my opinion, prevent new hyper-pigmentation, and dramatically smoothed the texture of my skin. For that, I am beyond grateful. It's also not a moisturizer, but helps with elasticity. Haven't noticed a difference in laugh lines, but didn't expect to. This does not have a smell, and the bottle comes with a handy pump. The product is sure to last you a while, as I use 2-3 pumps of it twice a day (sometimes more, since I live in a humid climate and have taken off my makeup or showered mid-day a few times) and after a month, there's still 2/3 of the bottle left. I've never written a review for a beauty product, but I just can't get enough of this stuff. Highly recommend for anyone else with combo/sensitive/acne-prone skin.

After having an allergic reaction to a high-end Western serum, I applied this to my forehead at night after toning with a hyaluronic acid toner, and before using my soothing aloe vera gel, and the next morning my skin was clearer and less irritated. After using this for two to three days, the harsh red bumps on my forehead had nearly completely healed. The parts of my skin that didn't suffer from the allergic reaction were also smoother and clearer than before - the hydration this serum gives is subtle but still noticeable.The product is scentless, and whilst it is thicker than other snail serums, it doesn't feel heavy or uncomfortable on the skin, and doesn't leave any residue: these qualities are due to the essence having such a high concentration (96%) of the snail mucin, with the remaining 4% being the wonderfully hydrating and plumping hyaluronic acid. This makes such a nice change from other snail serums which are mixed with so many other ingredients that the snail mucin ends up being diluted to such an extent that you don't feel like it's doing anything to your skin.Overall, I've been so impressed with this product, as it's been perfect for my sensitive, acne-prone, combination skin. « less