Deep Dive: The Secret Truth of Secret Key’s Snow White Milky Pack – Product Review and Recommendations
Snow White Milky Pack Review
If you've been a longtime fan of K-beauty brands, chances are you've come across Secret Key. They've been around for almost two decades and design gentle products based on nature. They create products that use prime, traditional Korean ingredients to create a lasting, strong effect. One of their most famous products is the Snow White range - infused with glowing niacinamide to create a lighter, brighter skin tone.
As one struggling with facial redness, especially around the nose and cheeks, I was curious about the Snow White Milky Pack - a soft treatment that is designed to gently calm and cover redness and provide an even cover for the face. It is said to deliver a pearl finish and refresh and hydrate all at once!
So, what is the magic behind this product and does it deliver on its promise for brighter skin?
What's in the bottle?
Niacinamide - a fan favourite of every top Korean beauty product. It's purified Vitamin B3 which, when applied to the skin, reduces pigment and blemishes and leaves a soft glow.
Cyclopentasiloxane - This is a fancy word for a 5-chain silicon molecule, that sits gently on the surface of the skin. It's combined with dimethicone (in this pack) to create a soft protective barrier that holds throughout the day.
These, along with other silicons in the product, are feather light and partially evaporate. It also interacts with the little hairs on your face and outer skin cells to create a soft, silky feel.
Mica - base pigment of topical creams and foundation, that adds a pearly shine. Added to a variety of make-up to improve glow and prevents products from feeling thick on your face.
Titanium Dioxide - UV filter that absorbs harmful radiation before it can reach your skin. Acts as a sun-protective layer that prevents your skin having a reaction to sun throughout the day (reduced redness in summer). This helps combat other ingredients in the cream (parabens) that make your skin more sensitive to the sun!
Sodium hyaluronate - acts the same way as hyaluronic acid, by drawing water deep into skin and producing a plump, healthy glow.
Remaining items: preservatives, colours and emulsions that help the product remain stable, and spread and stay on your face (there's a lot of ingredients in the list).
It essentially has the build and ingredient list similar to a foundation or concealer - except one that has been carefully engineered to spread and sit on your face with utter smoothness and gentle glow (with a boost of niacinamide and hyaluronic acid of course).
There was promotional material from some sites and stores selling it as "contains milk proteins" - but there was no evidence of that in the ingredients list I could find (which is odd). It appears that Secret Key named it solely for the "creamy, milky" tone up effect and not for its ingredients list, as they do not claim to have any milk/cream inside either.
What Does It Do?
It's essentially a makeup product, designed to gently lighten your skin by one shade and product a more uniform, bright glow. This product is designed as a "wash off" mask - that you leave on for 2-3 minutes to do its magic.
Let's see if it works!
The Results
Here is a snapshot of my skin before any interaction with the Snow White Milky Pack. Mild redness, some spots and overall uneven skin tone with large pores.
I first applied the Snow White milky pack to my cheek and waited for 5 minutes, scrolling through my phone. Then I went to wash it off - it requires an oil-based cleanser as this cream is actually quite stubborn and was not happy to leave my face.
After two washes, here was the result! My skin tone did appear more uniform and had a slight tone-up effect – the difference was very subtle.
I actually found the wash off aspect to be quite annoying and I'm not sure how you are supposed to wash off the mask without rubbing or using a towel (as per instruction). Instead, there is a residue that remains on the face - because surprise! There's a lot of careful emollients that were placed inside the product to keep it ON your face. It’s not an easy wash off product.
So, I changed tactics. The next day, I tried incorporating a small amount of the Milky Pack into my morning skincare routine. This picture is with the addition of the Milky Pack. It worked as the ingredients say it should - as a mild, moisturizing make-up product! It helps smooth out my pores, creates a charming "blurry" effect and lightened the redness in my cheeks. It wasn't too oily or drying and really suited my oily skin type. In fact, on Secret Key’s official website, there are a few people who also prefer to use it this way!
After a brush of my favourite sunstick (Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick), I was ready for the day! And I actually really liked the Milky Pack like this. It has all the ingredients of a foundation, without creating too harsh a colour. It formed a protective layer on my skin, sealed in moisture, and helped reduce the redness on my face.
Final thoughts
This is such an interesting product - it is quite popular in Korea and has had growing popularity outside of it. Perhaps I completely bungled the instructions - but I could not work out the wash off aspect.
If you have advice on how to trial it in a better way, feel free to leave a comment!
Otherwise, if you are looking for a primer/foundation type product that does not have you commit to a strong colour, but reduces redness and evens out your skin - I thought the Milky Pack worked well. I have oily, acne prone skin and the light coat did not increase breakouts or cause irritation, and it stayed well in place all day!
Maybe give it a try and see for yourself.
