K-beauty made simple

The world of Korean beauty can be overwhelming for newbies - but fear not! Here, you’ll find a comprehensive guide to K-beauty and Korean skincare, from head to toe. 

 

K-beauty’s infamous glass hair is as simple as 1,2,3! 

Sleek, smooth, and soft - K-beauty can do this and more for your hair!

Once you step into the shower, the first thing you’ll reach for is your shampoo. DAENG GI MEO RI’s Vitalising Shampoo is perfect for daily use and suitable for all hair types - even if it’s rough and damaged. Powered by a 33% blend of traditional Korean herbs, this shampoo is set to deeply condition and lift sebum from the scalp. 

For softer, nourished hair, try pairing your shampoo with DAENG GI MEO RI’s Vitalising Treatment. Formulated with anti-oxidants like Calamus Water, this treatment leaves hair looking silky, with users noticing less tangles in their hair after just one application. 

To prepare your hair for styling, KUNDAL’s Macadamia Ultra Hair Serum is here to help. Infused with an oil-rich blend, this serum is set to moisturise the hair and protect it from heat styling. It also works to smooth split ends, leaving your hair feeling strong and resilient. 

K-beauty believes that your body is a temple

If you want your body to feel soft, look radiant, and smell divine, these K-beauty products are just what you need!

Give your skin the love it deserves with SOME BY MI’s AHA BHA PHA 30 Days Miracle Clear Body Cleanser - a viral K-beauty body wash to rid your body from acne. Korean skincare isn’t just for your face - it’s also for your arms, back, legs, and anywhere else that needs a bit more TLC. This body cleanser is formulated with Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus, and Salicylic Acid, all known for exfoliating, soothing, and freeing the skin from inflammation and acne. 

APRILSKIN’s Carrotene IPMP™ Soothing Body Lotion will prevent your skin from becoming dry and tight after the shower. Formulated with Ceramides and APRILSKIN’s unique Carrotene IPMP™, it works to hydrate skin, but also soothe redness and relieve acne. This helps to reinforce the skin barrier, as well as give the appearance of healthy, balanced skin. 

Korean Skincare - where K-beauty shines!

Korean skincare has received mass attention worldwide in recent years - particularly on social media and in the West. With its dermatologically-led formulas that result in dewy, healthy glass skin, there’s no confusion as to why Korean skincare is so popular. 

The 10-step Korean skincare routine is designed to enhance the health of your skin. Focusing on rebuilding the skin barrier, hydration, and self-care, Korean skincare requires patience and consistency to get the best skin possible!

Step 1 - Oil Cleanser

An oil cleanser is an essential part of any Korean skincare routine. This is the first step of double-cleansing, which is a popular K-beauty method of clarifying the skin. Oil cleansers remove oil-based impurities like sebum, makeup, and SPF from the skin.

Gentle and nourishing, PURITO’s From Green Cleansing Oil is suitable for all skin types - even those with sensitive skin! It’s formulated with Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, and Olive Fruit Oil to melt away impurities while hydrating your complexion, leaving you feeling refreshed and purified. 

Step 2 - Water-based cleanser

The final step of double-cleansing is using a water-based cleanser to remove any oil left on the skin, as well as water-based impurities like dirt and sweat - truly an integral step in your Korean skincare routine. 

AXIS-Y’s Sunday Morning Refreshing Cleansing Foam is ideal for those who want to feel thoroughly cleansed without feeling stripped of moisture. Powered by AXIS-Y’s patented Aquaxyl complex, this cleansing foam is designed to maintain skin hydration levels and maintain the strength of your skin barrier.

Step 3 - Exfoliator

Korean skincare uses  mild ingredients to slowly exfoliate the skin. Over the weeks, you’ll notice that your skin looks smoother, brighter, and more balanced as these exfoliators gently slough off dead skin cells.

With 2 million units sold globally, MEDICUBE’S Zero Pore Pads have garnered worldwide attention for their effective formulation. Focusing on decongesting pores, removing blackheads and smoothing the skin, this exfoliator is great for giving you glass skin.

Step 4 - Toner

Korean skincare toners are non-abrasive and help the skin to absorb the active ingredients in your routine. They are essential to balancing the skin’s pH levels, giving you healthy-looking, hydrated skin. 

With its thick and luscious texture, NACIFIC’s Uyu Cream Toner addresses your skin’s moisture levels. Suitable for sensitive skin, it's packed with 5 types of Ceramides which brighten the skin as well as strengthen the skin barrier.

Step 5 - Essence

Lightweight and packed with antioxidants, essences in the K-beauty world are designed to absorb efficiently into the skin. They also optimise the absorption of serums and moisturisers, treating your skin on a cellular level. 

Crafted with locally extracted Mugwort straight from Korea, I’M FROM’s Mugwort Essence is great at soothing and restoring the skin. Containing 100% Mugwort, this product draws on traditional Korean beauty practices to soothe irritation and deeply nourish the skin. 

Step 6 - Serum/ampoule

Serums and ampoules are a little thicker than essences, providing more targeted care, making it a Korean skincare essential. They are highly concentrated with star ingredients like Retinol and Panthenol to improve the appearance of wrinkles, dryness, dullness, pigmentation, and so on. 

ANUA’s bestselling Niacinamide 10% + TXA 4% Dark Spot Correcting Serum helps to lift dark spots and hyperpigmentation, while also brightening a dull complexion. It’s a beloved K-beauty product that has done wonders for Korean skincare enthusiasts’ skin, leaving it balanced and healthy.

Step 7 - Masks

From overnight masks to clay masks, masks are a K-beauty favourite. They give your skin a quick boost of nourishment and hydration. Offering multiple benefits like exfoliation and calming redness, these masks help to reinforce the skin barrier.

MARY & MAY’s Collagen Peptide Vital Mask gives you a daily boost of hydration and radiance. Containing Collagen and Adenosine, this mask is an anti-ageing holy grail, increasing the elasticity of the skin and giving your complexion a youthful glow.

Step 8 - Eye care

Korean skincare prioritises eye care as it can bring radiance to your face. Formulated to have anti-aging benefits and to target hyperpigmentation, eye creams and serums rejuvenate the skin around the eyes to balance your complexion.

For a quick refresh, ABIB’s Collagen Eye Patch Jericho Rose Jelly helps to de-puff and brighten the undereyes. Packed with 10,780ppm of Vegan Collagen, this eye patch works to smooth out wrinkles and improve skin elasticity. 

Step 9 - Moisturiser 

Moisturisers help lock-in all those active ingredients that you applied to your skin and provide essential hydration throughout the day and night. They are also designed to strengthen the skin barrier, protecting it from impurities. 

Snail Mucin is having a viral moment, particularly in cream form. COSRX’s Advanced Snail 92 All in One Cream contains 92% Snail Mucin, which penetrates hydration deep into the skin to reinforce the skin barrier. 

Step 10 - Sunscreen 

The final step to your morning Korean skincare routine is sunscreen. K-beauty emphasises the importance of using sunscreen daily - even on overcast days. They protect the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays and blue light that can accelerate ageing and cause sun damage, ensuring your skin is left youthful-looking and supple.

Lightweight and leaving no white cast, there’s a good reason why SKIN1004’s Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF50+ PA++++ is a K-beauty cult favourite. It provides full protection against UVA and UVB rays, preventing premature ageing and sun damage. Its Hyalu-Cica complex, blending Hyaluronic Acid and Centella Asiatica, hydrates while soothing redness on the skin's surface, giving you a supple and irritation-free complexion. 

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Now your skin is clean and prepped, it’s time to enhance your natural beauty with Korean makeup! K-beauty focuses on highlighting your dewy complexion, while implementing bright and playful colours. 

Primer

Every good K-beauty makeup routine starts with a primer. It helps to fill in the pores on your skin, ensuring your foundation stays on better, and, most importantly, gives your skin a long-lasting glow. 

ETUDE HOUSE’s Sebum Soak Pore Primer is a trending K-beauty product in Korea, perfect for oily skin. It’s a lightweight and oil-free product that smooths rough patches of skin and hydrates it, giving you a supple complexion. It’s ideal for oily skin in particular, giving you a smooth base ready for makeup.

Foundation / BB Cream 

Like an artist starts with a blank canvas, every K-beauty lover knows you need to begin with a fresh base to prepare your skin for blush, brows, and eyeshadow.

BB Cream, like DR CEURACLE’s Vegan Kombucha Tea BB Cream SPF30 PA++, combines the best of both worlds - makeup and Korean skincare. BB cream is a lighter-coverage version to foundation, making it ideal for everyday use or for those who want coverage that embraces their natural skin texture. This BB cream by DR CEURACLE harnesses powerhouse skincare ingredients like the brand's very-own Vegan Tea Complex that purifies, balances the skin, and hydrates the skin. 

Foundation offers more coverage than BB cream. However, unlike Western cosmetics, K-beauty foundation is formulated to not be heavy on the skin, avoiding that much-despised cakey look. TIRTIR’s Mask Fit Red Cushion SPF40 PA++ is a multi-award-winning viral sensation popular in Japan.  It offers high-coverage and a long-lasting finish that can be worn all day and night without touch-ups! It’s formulated with Niacinamide and Propolis Extract to brighten and balance your complexion, leaving you with a flawless semi-matte finish. 

Brows

Makeup enthusiasts should know that eyebrows play a key role in defining the structure of the face. K-beauty takes this concept to the next level, creating the perfect feathery, natural-looking brows!

ETUDE HOUSE’s Drawing Eye Brow has a brush to fluff up brows and an angled tip for precise application, allowing you to achieve your perfect brow shape. 

Eyes

What better way to play around with K-beauty than with eye makeup! 

• Eyeshadow

K-beauty eyeshadow trends focus on using soft, bright colours, as well as using glitter for a touch of fun! 

DASIQUE is a classic K-beauty brand that has been beloved by many K-pop idols and makeup artists. Their Shadow Palette in Violet Knit embraces a cable-knit aesthetic with soft pinks and cozy browns. They combine matte and glittery textures, giving you the best of both worlds. 

• Eyelashes

Whether you want dramatic lashes or something more subtle, ETUDE HOUSE’s award-winning Curl Fix Mascara is all you need to enhance your K-beauty makeup-look. Designed to not clump or droop, this mascara allows you to wear it confidently throughout the day. 

Blush

A big trend now in the West, no one does blush better than K-beauty! While focusing on vibrant colours, K-beauty blushes are easily blendable, giving you a natural flush. They also include Korean skincare ingredients, ensuring your complexion is hydrated and plump. 

ROM&ND’s Better Than Cheek is an iconic K-beauty product, known for its lightweight and highly-pigmented pastel hues that help give your cheeks a girly flair. Its powdery texture gives your skin an airbrushed finish which blurs blemishes and uneven skin texture. 

Lips

Glowy, juicy, and shiny lips are a massive K-beauty trend that has swept the West! Particularly, K-beauty fanatics love to use gradient lips to their makeup routine as it gives a doll-like effect to the lips.

NACIFIC, partnering up with one Korea’s biggest bands, ATEEZ, gives K-beauty fans a chance to replicate their favourite K-pop looks. Their Limited Edition Shine Mood Slick Lip Tint Set is perfect for busy people looking for glossy yet long-lasting lip tints. Designed to enhance your natural lip colour, these tints give you a plethora of options to pick depending on your mood - whether it be a natural nude, or a powerful red.