Our resident pharmacist answers your most-asked K-Beauty questions
Also known as K-beauty, Korean beauty typically refers to skin, hair and bodycare that originates from South Korea. Korean formulas are often made from natural ingredients, such as ginseng, bamboo and green tea, which are likely to be derived from antioxidant-rich botanical extracts. Many of these innovative ingredients focus on skin barrier health, in particular centella asiatica, which is rich in amino acids to help strengthen your surface layer and keep your complexion protected.
There are many Korean beauty moisturisers on the market that will promote healthy-looking skin. I recommend the COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All-in-One Cream, as it is packed with skin-replenishing snail mucin, which helps to support a radiant, glowing finish. It’s also high in humectants to help draw moisture into skin, working alongside other hydrating ingredients such as sodium hyaluronate and panthenol to help soften and soothe.
Top Korean skincare brands – such COSRX, Holika Holika, Erborian, Dr Jart+ and LANEIGE – have made their way into many modern-day routines, celebrated for their science-backed, efficacious ingredients. Some Korean brands also turn to multi-purpose formulas to help customers get more out of their beauty products – like the Holika Holika Aloe 99 Soothing Gel, which can be used as either calming after-sun care, or on your hair to help soften your strands!
You’ve probably heard of LANEIGE’s Lip Sleeping Mask, but the Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Eye Cream is a great hydrator for parched, dull-looking contours. The brand’s blue hyaluronic acid helps to deliver plumping moisture to the skin, complete with a silky, sensorial texture that works to smoothen the appearance of fine lines and brighten the look of dark circles.
There are many good K-beauty CC Creams on the market, but for redness-prone or uneven-toned skin, Dr Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment might be the perfect addition to your regime. It helps to nourish, soothe and calm your skin with its neutralising formula, helping to minimise the appearance of redness with a blend of green pigments and tiger grass. It even changes colour to adapt to your skin tone, working to brighten and even out your complexion!
Discovering makeup in the 2010's era of full glam was always going to lead me to beauty writing. A lover of pop culture and language, my content is always rooted in modern day trends. My beauty holy grails are the LANEIGE Lip Glowy Balms, L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream, detox masks for my skin, and any hair product that promises to repair, hydrate, and strengthen!
