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When you come to Korea and go shopping on Myeongdong skincare alley, you’ll see tons of stores and you’ll see hawkers outside trying to lure you in with a free sheet mask and they’ll try to speak your language. But how do you know what to buy and who to trust? I think the best strategy is to do your research before hand. My tip is to figure out what your skin type is and then find other bloggers or beauty product reviewers with a similar skin type and kind of use that as a guide. If you have oily skin and you’re taking product recommendations from people who have dry skin, you might end up with something not suited towards your skin type.
There are different categories of brands. There are some that are marketed towards teenagers and people in their early 20’s and that have pretty low prices and bright colors and use cute characters like Pokemon and Peko Chan, and other mid-range brands, and then high end brands that you can find in the department stores. I’m going to be talking about some mid-range Korean Beauty brands and I picked a mix of both beauty and skincare.
Neogen Dermology
Neogen Dermology is a pretty well known brand. They seems to always be on top of the latest beauty trends. I do use try to keep some of their exfoliating bio peel gauze toner pads on hand, and I think that’s their most famous product – they are good for exfoliating. But they also have a lot of other popular products like the real ferment micro essence and the green tea cleanser. I ordered the green tea cleanser from YesStyle and its supposed to be for oily, combination, or acne-prone skin. It has a pH of 8 which is 1 notch higher than neutral. The active ingredient here is fermented green tea extract so if you’re sensitive to ferments you might want to avoid this one. My skin loves fermented ingredients though. Green tea has antibacterial, anti inflammatory and anti-aging properties. After using the cosrx low ph cleanser I haven’t found any other cleanser that I liked but this one is nice. It’s a foam but it actually feels kind of creamy when you put it on your face. It’s really gentle and leaves my skin feeling clean but not dry. Most cleansers given you kind of a dry squeaky feeling afterwards which I don’t like but this one is super gentle yet still effective. It is not really suited towards my skin type but I wanted to try it, and it performed well.
I’m From
I’m From uses natural ingredients like ginseng, honey, rice, sea buckthorn leaf, and it lists the origin of its primary ingredient, right down to the name of the farm where it was harvested. I’m from manufactures all its products in Korea. I believe that the honey mask and the ginseng serum are really popular. But I am actually not a big fan of wash off masks and I really don’t like the smell of Ginseng, and I really wanted to try some products from this line so I decided to try the Rice Toner and Vitamin Tree Water gel. I used them together and I liked both of them. The rice toner contains 77% rice extract which is the active ingredient. It has a really milky look to it and I’m guessing that’s the little bits of crushed rice in there? You have to shake it before using it. The rice is supposed to remove dead skin cells to create smooth, moisturized skin. The toner itself is unscented and very watery. If my skin is in good condition, it takes this toner well but if you have dry skin, it can sting. When my face was a little chapped and dry from travel, this toner stung my face. But if your skin is in good condition it’s nice hydrating toner. The vitamin tree water gel is ideal for oily skin but suitable to all skin types. The active ingredient here is sea buckthorn leaf which is antioxidant containing malic and acetic acid which are AHA’s and chemical exfoliants. So this is something you want to use at night band perhaps not during the day. A little bit goes a long way. If you use too much it won’t absorb into your skin very well. Its very light yet still hydrating so I think it’s a perfect summer moisturizer.
iUnik
iUnink is a relatively new indie Korean skincare brand, i believe its only 2-3 years old. it stands for I… ideal, U… unique, N… natural, I… ingredients, K… knowhow. It calls itself a “minimalist skincare brand” because it has simple packaging and minimal ingredients, and try to simplify skincare steps. I looked at their ingredient list and it looks kinda long but I decided to try this anyway. I have seen this brand at Aland and I decided to try the black snail restore serum because I love all things snail. I think the propolis one is the most popular though. So the first thing I noticed what the size and the price. This is a huge bottle for a serum and it costs about 16,000 won which is less than most serums. This particular product focuses on nutrition, anti-aging, brightening and wrinkle care. It also claims to provide elasticity to the skin while smoothing and nourishing it. It contains 70% snail secretion filtrate which is less than the cosrx snail mucin essence. So the texture of the serum is quite watery and thin, and while it’s very hydrating I would kind of consider this more as an essence than a serum. I think of a serum as something that’s super concentrated and gives you a power dose of nutrients and goodness and I just don’t feel that this serum does that for me. It does have a nice hydrating effect but I think I prefer the Cosrx snail mucin essence to this because it has more of a plumping effect on the skin. There’s nothing wrong with this product though and I’m planning to try the propolis serum next.
Cosrx
This is my favorite K beauty brand. I like this brand because I feel that their products are super gentle yet effective and I haven’t tried a cosrx product that has irritated my skin. My favorites are the low pH Good Morning Cleanser, Aloe Soothing Sunscreen, Advanced Snail Mucin 96 Power Essence, the Balancium Cream, and the Honey Ceramide Eye Cream. When I have a pimple, their Clear Fit Master Patch does a great job at drawing out all the moisture and pus and helping it clear out overnight. I also really like the Moisture Up Toner Pads for busy days. The only Cosrx product I did not like was the snail mucin sunscreen. I didn’t really like the texture, I guess it felt kind of sticky like sunscreen you would use when you’re going to the beach on your body. I much prefer the texture of the aloe soothing sun cream which feels like a light lotion. I will stick to using my snail products separately from my sunscreen.
The Plant Base
The Plant Base makes products that are free of parabens, mineral oils, pigment, and synthetic fragrances. The Plant Base produces hypoallergenic products formulated with natural plant extracts and certified organic ingredients. The are against animal testing. I believe that their time stop collagen ampule is the most popular product and I really wanted to try this. The Plant Base Time Stop Collagen Ampoule claims to be anti-aging, firming & lifting, and nourishing. The main ingredient is a whopping 76.53% Hericium Erinaceum (Mushoom) Extract to help prevent skin damage with adenosine as the active ingredient to strengthen skin and promote collagen production. The packaging is really cool and unexpected. It looks like a regular bottle but there’s actually this medicine dropper attached to the top and it feels so high tech and unique!
Heimish
Heimish is a really chic brand. It launched in 2016, and focuses primarily on makeup in neutral shades suitable for everyday wear. All Heimish products are cruelty-free, made without parabens and manufactured in Korea. I already use their cleansing balm and I’ve been wanting to try these rose hydrogel eye patches. i really like them. First let’s start off with how they look. The packaging is nice and has a tight seal so that they don’t get dehydrated. It comes with a little spatula which is really handy to scoop out the patches because they are quite sticky. The eye patches are light pink and shimmery and just so pretty. When you put them on they have a nice cooling sensation and they feel really nice. They adhere really well to the face and definitely have a moisturizing effect. My under eye area felt very plump and well hydrated after using them. I can’t say that they helped with dark circles or wrinkles but maybe you have to use them for a longer period of time to see effects.
by Wishtrend
by Wishtrend is the parent company to a lot of K beauty brands, including dear Klairs. In addition they make some of their own products under the Wishtrend brand and their most popular products are the vitamin C serum and the mandelic acid toner. a Kbeauty retailer and they started their own line of products. When I first opened the mandlic acid toner and smelled it, I felt a little apprehensive because it actually smells like acid. It’s scary. but its supposed to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells and also brighten and improve skin texture. Its’ a gentle AHA thats really good at removing dead skin cells. I tend to get a lot of dead skin hanging off the sides of my nose right where it hits my face and this is good for getting rid of that after a couple uses. I use it right after cleansing and not every day, maybe 3 times a week or so.
Papa Recipe
Papa recipe – This brand actually has a store in Garosugil that looks like a ship! Papa Recipe is famous for their honey masks. These masks are really nice. They are super hydrating and they stick you your face really well. After using them my skin feels and looks plumper and very hydrated.
Isntree
Isntree – is & tree is a combination of the words “island”, “natural” and “tree” together to inspire its brand name and guiding philosophy. The brand’s products are all made-in-Korea and free from animal-testing. I tried their hylauronic acid toner which is one of their most popular products and it definitely delivered. The texture is very thick for a toner and it is almost last thick as some of the snail mucin essences that I’ve used. It is also ultra hydrating and leaves your skin feeling really nice and bouncy. It has 50% hylauraunic acid.
Klairs
Klairs is a really popular indie beauty brand. They are on par with Cosrx, in that they make simple products without a lot of fragrance, and focus on ingredients rather than marketing and packaging. Their Supple Preparation Toner is really popular, but personally I really liked their Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask. It’s really fun and jiggly and helps your skin to absorb a Vitamin C serum. The combination really helps to brighten skin. Klairs sells a Vitamin C serum together with the Vitamin E Mask as a set. Their Midnight Blue Calming Cream is also quite popular, as is the Rich Moist Soothing Cream.
3CE by Style Nanda
3CE – this is the makeup brand by style nanda. Style Nanda is a super popular brand in Asia among millenials, and last year it was acquired by L’oreal. 3CE or 3 Concept Eyes is the makeup brand. They have great packaging but their prices tend to be higher than a lot of other Korean beauty products. I believe their velvet lip tints are the most popular products but I decided to try one of their blushes. I just thought it was really pretty. The blush itself was ok. It can be very pigmented depending on how you use it, especially if you get just the pink color. It looks a lot more natural If you mix them. And it has his really pretty blush color. But I think I prefer American blushes like benefit and NARS.
Disclaimer: This review is based on my own personal opinion and experience using the products referenced herein. Please keep in mind that everyone has different skin and body chemistry, and what works for me may not work for you. I am not a dermatologist or qualified health professional. However, I strive to always provide my honest feedback and review of a product based on my own personal experience. I will sometimes read the label and/or repeat claims made by the manufacturer on its website, but I do not personally conduct any scientific experiments or research to verify the claims myself. You should not take these claims as absolute truth. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer of the product.