When you see a Korean woman, chances are that you won’t be able to guess their age. Korean woman are obsessed with beauty and know all the best beauty secrets and products. American women want in on K-beauty too! The best part is that we don’t have to fly across the world to get our hands on it. We love Korean beauty because it offers natural quality ingredients with happy designs that make you LOVE skincare routines.
I went to an Asian grocery store with my friend Tomo once and had so much fun shopping the beauty aisle…the walls were filled with beauty products. She convinced me to try some sheet masks and I’ve been hooked ever since. Asian grocery stores, Birchbox, Sephora and Sokoglam are great places to shop if you’d like to sample some of the best Korean beauty products.
Korean beauty is known for their enormous quantity of sheet masks, BB creams, essences, and serums packaged to look fun and cheerful. K-beauty products are all the rage and have been for quite some time.
What should you try?
Cleanser
How ever long you spend applying your makeup, should be the same time amount cleaning it off. The Korean mentality is more comprehensive and detailed than the American approach to skincare. It all starts with a cleanser. Try Phytowash cleansing foam and massage in circles to brighten skin.
Exfoliator
Exfoliating with a natural scrub like the Skin Food Black Sugar Wash Off Mask really brings your skin back to its younger days. Concentrate on the t-zone or where you see blackheads.
Refresher/Toner
Toner can help remove pollutants along with any residue from your cleansers, while also restoring your skin’s pH balance. It soothes and preps your skin to absorb the next step…the essence. Place SU:M37 Water-full Skin Refresher/Toner onto a cotton pad and wipe your face and neck.
The Essence
The foundation of a Korean beauty routine starts with hydration…considered the most important step to Korean women. Waterest essence is a soothing moisturizer that purifies and hydrates skin with a blend of natural botanicals.
Serum
Serums (Ampoules) are super-concentrated versions of essences, and are often referred to as serums and boosters. Dr. Jart+ Premium Time Returning Serum is an intensive anti-wrinkle serum that supports natural regeneration and restoration of damaged skin and wrinkles. Serums help to brighten skin, fading sunspots, and smoothing fine lines.
Sheet Mask
My favorite product! Wrap the face for fifteen to twenty minutes to intensively deliver hydrating and anti-aging ingredients to the skin. Use one or two times a week for an instant and lasting glow. Manefit Bling Bling Hydro Gel Masks are soaked in ingredients like collagen, which they in turn soak into your skin. Korean sheet masks is luxuriously thick, cooling and soothing and gives my skin intense hydration.
Eye Cream
Gently tap Etude House Moistfull Collagen Eye Cream around the eye area for better absorption.
Moisturizer
Korean women are all about layering…generously massage the Etude House Moistfull Collagen Emulsion (the Korean translation for “moisturizer”) with gentle strokes so that it really sinks deep into your skin.
BB Cream
BB cream stands for beauty balm. It’s packed with benefits and SPF. Use the BB cream in the morning for a dewy and luminous look. Try Dr. Jart+ Premium BB SPF 45 for the ultimate BB.
What’s the order of application?
A smart method for applying your Korean products is from the most lightweight to the heavier textures. This is because lightweight textures are designed to penetrate (usually essences or serums) versus heavier textures that create a barrier to keep skin hydrated (usually moisturizers or creams). So after cleansing, use your toner, then serum or essence, then moisturizer.
Why is it great?
There’s a huge difference between the American approach…the faster I can get ready the better. In the American ideal, beauty is supposed to look effortless…a sun-kissed California girl. Korean women devote much more time to their skin and it shows. In Korea, beauty is associated with hard work. Helena Rubenstein said that “there are no ugly women, only lazy ones.” Korean skin care is a part of every day self-care…not about vanity. K-beauty is amazingly effective and fun! Like Mikey said, “Try it, you’ll like it!”
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