Review: Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Cream

I've always wanted to try the Etude House collagen line and luckily this was a complimentary sample that came along with the Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil that I bought on eBay. I'm going to be 25 soon so I want to incorporate an anti-aging/anti-wrinkle prevention product into my skincare regimen.

Description (taken from eng.theskinfood.com):

• Contains more than 30% of fine collagen and hyaluronic acid that is high in moisture
• Enriched nutrition and moisture cream that fits tightly like glutinous rice cake. 
• Texture with perfect fit amplifies moisture, and keeps moisturized finish for long. 
• No-paraben, no-mineral, no-benzophenone, and no-talc
• After your emulsion, apply moderate amount at the last step of skin care. Spread gently according to skin texture, and tap gently for absorption.

My impression:

For collagen products, I've so far tried Skinfood Gold Caviar Collagen Serum and Cream. Since it's prevention, it's hard to gauge whether a product is effective or not but those two did not impress me. I do have some visible fine lines on top of my forehead but both of those products did nothing to them.

This is just a one-time use sample so I did not expect any changes to the firming of my skin or the fine lines on my forehead. However, I was trying to see if this cream was compatible for my oily/combination skin. It's not a very rich cream, so it glides on my face easily and it doesn't feel like I'm suffocating my pores. It doesn't leave my face sticky either and it felt pretty comfortable having this cream on my face.

My nose, however, got really oily within 10 minutes and I started to see a few small red bumps so I had to rub it off my nose just in case they were going to grow into pimples the next morning.

The next morning, the cream was all absorbed. The fine lines on my forehead didn't improve and neither did the firmness of my face but but that was expected since it was just a one-time use. However, I did feel that my face was sufficiently moisturized.

On a side note though, I have rediscovered my appreciation for Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Sleeping Mask and HadaLabo Shirojyun Arbutin Whitening Essence. I didn't put any of that the night before and today when I woke up, despite being moisturized, my face was back to its unhealthy brown-yellow tinge. Not the healthy tan type, but the lack-of-sleep-stressed-unhealthy dark yellow color. Not good. Will be using those two tonight for sure because school resumes tomorrow!

[Edit Feb. 4 2013]: For those who are interested in collagen creams, I just tried It's Skin Power 10 Formula CO Effector with Phyto Collagen and it has given me impressive results. It's hydrating but also helps brighten my skin making it vibrant the next day. Maybe worth a try if you can get a sample somewhere!

Summary:

No breakouts but my nose did get oily and a few red bumps before I decided to wipe it off
Moisturizes well, can't judge firming and anti-wrinkle effect in a one-time use sample
$22 for 50ml on eBay

Grade: 2.5/5 because it's moisturizing but it gave me a super oily nose and also red bumps on my nose

Value: 4/5 because it's a pretty cheap collagen cream compared to Skinfood's gold caviar collagen line

Repurchase? No, I think I'm going to keep trying other collagen creams first before going back to this one