In a world of new skincare launches arriving every single day, it can be hard to know how to build a skincare routine and what skincare products you actually need. Even as a beauty editor, I get pretty overwhelmed by the sheer amount of skincare brands on offer, and I’ve been burned before when overdoing skincare actives such as retinol and chemical exfoliators, or simply chopping and changing products and trying too many things in my routine. Having sensitive skin, I like to favour barrier-restoring products in my routine, and that’s where Korean skincare comes in.
While Korean skincare has been buzzy for a long time, I’ve been seeing more and more Korean skincare brands all over my social feeds lately. So, I Whatsapped my friend Steven, who has the most amazing glass-like skin—so much so that it’s actually kind of distracting when I’m talking to him—and has a special interest in Korean skincare. I asked for his recommendations and immediately got my hands on some to try myself. And after chatting to the Who What Wear UK team who swear by Korean skincare brands, I made it may mission to test a Korean skincare routine for a full month. Below are the best Korean skincare products and brands that are now firm favourites.
Best Korean Skincare
Innisfree
Innisfree
Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen SPF50
Out of everything I tried, this SPF was a firm favourite that I’ll continue using in my routine. The beauty of Korean skincare formulas is that they are so lightweight and this SPF is no exception. It has a cream-gel texture that melts into a water-like texture when you apply it. It comes in a mineral SPF formula (pictured here) and also a chemical SPF version depending on your preferences. It absorbs so quickly and feels undetectable on the skin, making it a great sunscreen to wear underneath makeup too.
Innisfree
Cherry Blossom Glow Jelly Cream
Acting affiliate editor Florrie Alexander tells me that her and her friends are totally obsessed with this jelly-like moisturiser which gives you immediate glass-like skin on application. It also helps to make dull skin more glowy long-term too, thanks to the addition of brightening niacinamide and cherry blossom.
Innisfree
Green Tea Enzyme Vitamin C Brightening Serum
This is another hero product from Innisfree which is a big bestseller. It’s a brightening serum powerhouse with vitamin C and green tea, which helps to fade dark spots, pigmentation and post-acne scarring while leaving your skin glowing. You’ll also find hydrating squalane and hyaluronic acid to leave your skin feeling plumped and juicy.
Laniege
Laneige
Lip Sleeping Mask – Vanilla
We can’t talk about Korean skincare without mentioning Laneige. You’ll probably best know the brand for it’s viral Lip Sleeping Masks, but it also offers some brilliant skincare too. I’d say that the Lip Sleeping Masks are genuinely worthy of the hype. They are thick and balmy (you only need to scoop out the tiniest amount with the included spatula—my last pot lasted me well over 6 months) and coat lips with long-lasting hydration. They also come in a variety of delicious-smelling flavours (I’d highly recommend the watermelon mango and chocolate flavours too).
Laneige
Cream Skin Cerapeptide Toner and Moisturiser
This one was a new discovery for me and apparently it’s one of Laneige’s bestsellers. It’s a hydrating toner with a milky texture that hydrates and tones at the same time. It’s a watery texture that you can pat onto the skin after cleansing and before applying other serums or SPF. It does a great job at hydrating the skin without making it feel greasy and my sensitive skin liked the ceramide formula that helps to repair an impaired skin barrier. It left my skin looking glassy and hydrated almost immediately.
Laneige
Bouncy and Firm Sleeping Mask
Copy editor Georgia Seago put me onto Laneige’s incredible masks (“I rate the Cica Sleeping Hydrating Face Mask,” she tells me), and now I don’t know how I lived without them. I tried the Bouncy and Firm Sleeping Mask a couple of nights a week, which has a delightfully thick, almost sorbet-like texture to it that instantly plumps and forms a hydrating barrier on the skin overnight. On the nights I slathered this on my skin, I woke up to hydrated and bouncier skin—it truly lives up to its name.
Dr Jart+
Dr.Jart+
Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment
This product is truly great so I’m not surprised that it is one of Dr Jart+’s bestselling products. This is a moisturiser with a green tint that magically transforms into a beige tone on contact with the skin, which helps to neutralise redness. I have some mild rosacea around my nose and this does a great job at concealing it. The main (and big) downside is that this only suits those with fair or light skin tones, as it can leave a white cast on medium to deep skin colours. But if you experience redness and don’t necessarily want to wear a lot of makeup, this a great alternative if you have fair skin.
If you have very dry or sensitive skin, you might want to consider this one, especially for the colder months of the year. It’s a buttery moisturiser that is packed with ceramides to help restore a compromised skin barrier (read: irritated or sensitised skin) and helps to leave skin feeling calm and comfortable. It’s like the thick winter coat of your skincare routine to lock everything in and shield your skin from the elements. Those with oily or breakout-prone skin might find it too heavy, however.
Dr Jart+
Premium BB Beauty Balm SPF 50
This is genuinely one of the best BB creams I’ve tried—and a real favourite amongst the WWW team too. No joke, everyone who tries this is instantly converted. What makes it special is that it makes your skin look like your own, just better. It has a balmy texture that gives a plumping effect (by some sorcery, it seems to make my enlarged pores look smaller too) as it glides onto the skin. There are only four shades available, but are each designed to flex across a spectrum of tones from deep to fair. It leaves the skin with a radiant finish that isn’t overly dewy, but makes you look like you’ve had ten hours or sleep.
Glow Recipe
Glow Recipe
Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops
Glow Recipe is one of the most popular Korean skincare brands around. You’ll probably have heard of the Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops, which are designed to provide both an instant glass-like glow to your skin while enhancing skin clarity over time with niacinamide, which helps to brighten hyperpigmentation. This really helps to hydrate the skin while giving you a dewy finish (you can even mix these in with your foundation for extra glow) and they also come in a tinted version with a sheer bronzed tint that adds another level of radiance to lacklustre or dull skin.
Glow Recipe
Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops
I personally think this one doesn’t get the air time it deserves—it’s been a game changer introducing it into my routine. I have oily skin around my T-zone and I’m prone to getting shiny through the day when wearing makeup. These lightweight serum drops are like a serum-primer hybrid, leaving a velvety matte finish that helps excess oil throughout the day while making my makeup both apply flawlessly and stay put throughout the day. I usually concentrate a couple of drops just on my chin, nose and forehead and it’s made all the difference in mattifying my skin without drying it out either. Plus, it contains salicylic acid and strawberry enzymes which help to leave pores looking less noticeable and clear of build-up.
Glow Recipe
Watermelon Glow PHA+BHA Pore-Tight Toner
Inspired by a popular pore treatment in Korean facials, this toner is another of Glow Recipe’s bestsellers. It’s designed to both hydrate the skin and exfoliate, while unclogging skin congestion and leaving pores looking minimised. Both the PHAs and BHAs (poly-hydroxy acids and beta-hydroxy acids) work by gently exfoliating the skin without causing irritation while watermelon extract and cactus water help to flood the skin with hydration, leaving it looking dewy, radiant and bouncy.
Erborian
I’m cheating here slightly as this isn’t strictly skincare, but, Erborian’s skincare-makeup hybrids are too good not to include in this list. I’ve been using this for years and it’s one of the few BB creams I’ve actually finished down to the very last drop. It’s infused with ginger and liquorice extracts that help to soothe the skin as you wear it (I genuinely see my skin looking calmer towards after taking this off at the end of the day) and it provides your skin with a plumping tint that is perfect if you don’t want anything heavy. It lightly conceals, smooth and blurs the skin with a radiant, filtered finish. The brand says it leaves a mattifying finish but I’d say it leans on the side of dewy, but that being said doesn’t separate on the oily areas of my skin either. Like other Korean makeup brands, I’m hoping we’ll see a more extensive shade range, but otherwise I can’t fault it.
The CC cream is another of Erborian’s bestsellers and is lighter in texture and coverage than the BB cream. I recently introduced this to a friend and they now use it religiously. It’s a white cream with encapsulated pigment particles that burst on contact with the skin to adjust to your natural skin tone. It also contains centella asiatica to help calm and soothe the skin as you wear it.
If you’re someone who has rosacea or skin redness, I’d highly recommend this version of the CC cream. It has a green tint which helps to neutralise redness and blemishes, and like the CC cream, it transforms as you blend it into the skin. This also contains centella asiatica to help leave your skin looking and feeling calmer too.
Cosrx
COSRX
Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
This product went crazy-viral on TikTok and is a big bestseller. According to the Who What Wear team, this is a nice hydrating product but perhaps a little overhyped. That’s not to say it’s not good, just that beyond adding a lot of hydration to the skin, this won’t do too much more. It contains 96% snail mucin, which works wonders for plumping and hydrating the skin without leaving it greasy or oily.
COSRX
Niacinamide 15 Serum
If you have oily or breakout prone skin, this serum is definitely worth a try. It contains a high percentage of niacinamide and zinc to help reduce sebum production while leaving pores looking less noticeable over time. It’s lightweight and sinks in instantly, making it a great safeguarding product to wear underneath makeup if you’re prone to shine throughout the day.
COSRX
Acne Pimple Master Patch
I know so many people who swear by Cosrx’s spot stickers, and I love them too. They’re made from hydrocolloid which work by absorbing the gunk inside the spot while forming a protective layer over the blemish as you wear it (great if, like me, you’re a picker). When a big spot strikes I pop on one of these to wear overnight and by the morning, the spot has either completely disappeared or has flattened out considerably.
Skin1004
Skin1004
Madagascar Centella Ampoule
I bought a mini sized bottle of this one on a friend’s recommendation and now I’ll 100% be buying a full size bottle. It’s incredibly gentle and only had six ingredients, one of which being centella asiatica, which is known for calming and soothing the skin. The watery serum texture is so lightweight and sinks in immediately, making it great for layering underneath other serums or moisturisers as an extra line of defence without being overly heavy if you have oily skin.
Skin1004
Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Blue Serum
If you’re wanting an extra layer of moisture, this serum is like a tall glass of water for the skin. It contains five different types of hyaluronic acid, as well as centella asiatica to calm and soothe reactive skin.
Skin1004
Madagascar Centella Toning Toner With Hyaluronic Acid & Mild Phas for All Skin Types 400ml
The brand also has a great toner with its hero ingredient, centella asiatica, as well as gently exfoliating PHAs that helps to softly slough away dead skin cells to reveal glowing skin underneath. You’ll also find hydrating hyaluronic acid in this one too, making it a great step to include in your routine if you have sensitive skin that is prone to breakouts or looking dull.
Beauty Of Joseon
Beauty of Joseon
Rice Sunscreen With Rice Water & Prebiotic Complex SPF50+
I’d been seeing this one all over my social feeds and news writer Natalie Munroe confirmed to me that it’s genuinely worth the hype after buying a tube herself. Naturally, I had to secure one to try myself and I’ve loved using it. Unlike some SPFs, this one isn’t heavy or clogging. It has a gel-cream texture that melts into the skin into an almost watery fluid that is truly undetectable on the skin and dries into a velvety finish while leaving the skin feeling hydrated. It’s a dream to wear alone or underneath makeup.
Beauty of Joseon
Ginseng Cleansing Oil
This cleansing oil is so beautiful and rivals some of the luxury ones I’ve tried that are four times the price. It makes light work of melting away even the most stubborn of makeup with the lightest of pressure, from foundation to waterproof mascara. It leaves the skin feeling hydrated and comfortable after cleansing, and my complexion felt noticeably more supple after using it. Just be sure to remove it thoroughly, as it could break out acne-prone skin types.
Beauty of Joseon
Glow Serum Propolis + Niacinamide
When Beauty of Joseon said glow, they meant it. This gel-serum contains 60% propolis, which hydrates, softens and soothes the skin, while the addition of niacinamide helps to reduce the appearance of enlarged pores and control oil production too. I’ve noticed that my skin looks more dewy and glassy since using it.
Torriden
Torriden
Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Mask (1pc)
Affiliate manager Jerrylyn Sagquiped told me she’s obsessed with Torriden’s face masks and influenced me to try one myself. Korean sheet masks are elite, but this one is one of the most hydrating that I’ve tried. The mask is drenched in the brand’s Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Serum, and instantly plumps and hydrates the skin, leaving it bouncy and with a dewy gleam. I’ll definitely be stocking up on a couple of add into my routine once a week.
Torriden
Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Serum (50ml)
The formula also comes in a serum, which deeply hydrates the skin and leaves your complexion looking glass-like. The gel-to-water texture floods skin with moisture, while malachite (which gives the formula it’s blue hue) allantoin and panthenol help to calm and soothe. This is a great hydrating product for everyone to have in their routine for extra hydration year round, whether it be day or night.
Torriden
Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Multi Pad (80pcs)
This hydrating toner pads are infused with the same hydrating products as the mask and serum, but with the addition of BHAs to gently exfoliate and unclog pores. But what’s genius is that they can be used in multiple ways. You can swipe them over the skin as a toning step in your routine before your serum and moisturiser, or apply them as mini sheet masks on the skin, which Koreans call ‘toner packs’ for a more intensive treatment.
Hero
HERO COSMETICS
Mighty Patch Original Spot Patches
Think of Hero as your one-stop shop for all things spot patches. These hydrocolloid patches are some of the more affordable around (this pack contains 72 stickers) and they absorb the gunk inside spots to help them deflate. They’re great if you’re prone to picking your skin as they form a protective barrier too.
HERO COSMETICS
Mighty Patch Invisible+ Spot Patches
These ones are even more undetectable, so they’re ideal for wearing during the day if you want to heal a spot without them being noticeable.
HERO COSMETICS
Mighty Patch Surface Spot Patches
If you’re prone to multiple blemishes in certain areas, these extra large patches are great for treating several spots in one go thanks to their rectangular size.
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