13 Best K-beauty Skincare Products

When I first moved to South Korea to teach English in my twenties, the terms “sheet mask,” “BB cream,” and “glass skin” were nowhere to be found in my vocabulary. But it wasn’t long before my newfound Korean friends and infinitely stylish high school students introduced me to what would become my new and lifelong obsession: K-beauty. 

Korea has a 2,000-year history of producing innovative beauty treatments. Long before the advent of cryo masks and hyaluronic acid serums, ancient Koreans first created eyebrow ink from soot, face powders using ground rice, and cleansing soaps made with mung beans. Toners and moisturizers were crafted from fruits and vegetables; porcelain containers of face creams have even been unearthed from the undisturbed 18th-century tomb of a Korean princess discovered in 2015. It wasn’t until the late ’90s and early 2000s that Hallyu, a.k.a. the Korean Wave, began to wash over the world, exporting pop music, television dramas, and of course, makeup and beauty secrets around the globe. Today, K-beauty is flourishing worldwide, with the South Korean beauty market predicted to be worth over $14 billion.

Over the four years I lived in South Korea, I tried and tested hundreds of products. After my teaching job ended, I became a travel and beauty writer and eventually moved away, but my love of K-beauty has never waned. In fact, before they became widely available globally, I had my best Korean friend mail me care packages filled with my can’t-live-without products. While I no longer live in South Korea, I still consider the country my second home and I try to make an annual pilgrimage to Seoul, where I sample new products and stock up on old faithfuls. 

Nowadays, there’s no need to travel to Seoul or find a new Korean bestie since many of the 13 best K-beauty skincare products are available online at Amazon and Sephora. Here are the skincare items, from a magic-in-a-jar moisturizer and a line-smoothing eye cream to an all-in-one SPF BB cream, I recommend picking up to start your own K-beauty regimen. 

Mixsoon Bean Essence

Perhaps you’ve heard of the glass skin K-beauty trend? Started in 2017 by Korean beauty influencers, glass skin simply means having skin so luminous and dewy that it resembles glass. One brand associated with this trend is Mixsoon. Introduced to me by a flawless-skinned Korean friend, the minimalist beauty brand has me falling head over heels with its high-performing formulas. In the crowded world of K-beauty, Mixsoon stands out for its streamlined packaging, commitment to clean beauty, and its vegan and cruelty-free ingredients. 

In fact, the Bean Essence is often praised for being the vegan version of snail mucin, another beauty trend that took Seoul by storm in the mid-2010s. As a vegan myself, I adore this brand and keep my cabinets well stocked. I start my morning and evening skincare routine by generously applying this slightly sticky soybean essence on my face and neck. I use it twice weekly as an exfoliator and daily as a hydrating essence to create a flawless base.

Mixsoon Bean Cream

As anyone with dry or sensitive skin knows, finding the perfect hydrating face cream is akin to finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: impossible — or so I thought before I discovered K-beauty. Now, I have the Mixsoon Bean Cream as I continue my search for this elusive moisturizer equivalent of a leprechaun. 

The ultra-comforting soybean cream somehow feels simultaneously thick and light and leaves my skin looking immediately plump and supple. This is the one product that I literally take everywhere with me — my desert island item, if you will — and the product I envision an older (but likely wrinkle-free) version of myself will cry over if they ever discontinue it.

Mixsoon Bean Eye Cream

Bear with me as I wax lyrical about one more Mixsoon product. My love affair with Mixsoon continues with the Bean Eye Cream. Fermented soybeans and hibiscus extract make up this antioxidant-rich eye cream, which I have found really helps to brighten and tighten the area around my eyes. When I’m getting ready, I pat on a generous layer before applying under-eye concealer, a step that I find creates a soothing and hydrating base that ensures my makeup doesn’t settle in, ahem, the fine lines.

Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics 

There’s a reason why this simple tube of sunscreen has such a passionate fanbase. Packaged in a minimalist white tube adorned with elegant Korean Hangul writing, this powerful SPF 50 sunscreen is like none I’ve ever used. It’s lightweight, blends effortlessly, and feels more like a fancy face cream than a sunscreen. It leaves my skin feeling hydrated and dewy with no sign of a white residue or that telltale seaside sunscreen smell.

Mediheal Collagen Essential Mask

I remember well the day I discovered the Mediheal flagship store, a veritable holy grail for skincare enthusiasts. I was fresh off a 12-hour red-eye flight and my skin was acting up from the dry air on the plane. A friend of mine had suggested I try a Mediheal mask, so I made the subway journey through the Korean capital to bustling Myeong-dong, Seoul’s trendiest shopping district. The ultramodern emporium is packed with row upon row of sheet masks and skin-perfecting lotions and potions. That day, I grabbed the N.M.F Intensive Hydrating Mask and applied it immediately upon returning to my hotel. Twenty minutes later, the dry, flaky patches on my face had been transformed into happy and hydrated skin. 

After my first Mediheal miracle, I knew I had to try the brand’s vast array of formulations. Ranging from Tea Tree Blemish Control to the Placenta Revital Essential Mask (yes, you read that correctly), there really is a mask for every skin need. Nowadays, in addition to the hydrating variety, I swear by the Collagen Essential Mask to keep my skin feeling firm and lifted.

Mediheal Paraffin Foot Mask

One of my favorite things about Seoul is that, in many public parks and gardens, you’ll find reflexology paths meant to be walked on barefoot to massage your feet. Call me vain, but I realized that, before I indulged in one of these “barefoot shiatsu courses,” I needed some foot beauty maintenance. I decided to try the foot version of one of my favorite face masks. Enter, the Mediheal Paraffin Foot Mask. 

The slipper-like plastic pouches enrobe your feet in exfoliating paraffin, softening urea, and moisturizing shea butter to give your skin a velvety texture. I noticed my callouses and dry heels were smoothed after the 20-minute immersion. Now I always travel with these foot masks, which feel amazing after a long day on your feet.

Dr. Jart+ Cryo Rubber Face Mask With Moisturizing Hyaluronic Acid

Despite the slightly creepy-looking packaging depicting a face seemingly coated with brightly colored paint, the Dr. Jart+ Cryo Rubber Face Mask is the gold standard of Korean face masks. While I adore the Mediheal mask mentioned above for its hydrating properties and $2 price tag, the $16 Dr. Jart+ Cryo Rubber mask takes hydration to new heights with the brand’s cryotherapy technology, which simultaneously cools the skin while reducing inflammation and redness. The mask really does cool down upon contact with your skin so is especially nice on sultry summer evenings. I like to keep the mask in the fridge to give my skin the ultimate cooling treatment.

Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Moisture Watery Cream

Before I moved to South Korea, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that Seoul was a modern megalopolis, but as for anything outside the capital, I was clueless. What I discovered was a country filled with natural beauty, ranging from emerald-hued tea fields to snow-capped peaks to semi-tropical islands. Koreans adore being in nature and that love of natural beauty is harnessed in many of the country’s skincare products. One in particular I’ve come to rely on is Nature Republic’s Super Aqua Max Moisture Watery Cream.

This little jar of magic is made with deep sea water sourced 3,000 feet below the surface and is filled with minerals and plant nutrients. The gel-like texture creates what the brand describes as a “moisture film” that coats the skin and keeps my face feeling comfortable for hours.

Holika Holika Pig Nose Clear Blackhead Three-step Kit

The K-beauty market is massive and can be overwhelming to navigate. But one rule of thumb is that some brands are geared toward specific age demographics. While Holika Holika caters to twenty-something skin, one product I constantly buy despite having aged out of their recommended bracket is the Pig Nose Clear Blackhead nose patches. Despite the quirky name, supposedly chosen because pigs have no blackheads, the powerhouse patches work to treat and clear your pores of both blackheads and whiteheads.

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

I came late to the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask Launched in 2015 by Amorepacific Group, one of South Korea’s largest skincare and cosmetics companies that owns over 30 health, beauty, and personal care brands, the product has a reputation for “selling like hotcakes,” which is how a marketing director from Amorepacific Group explained it to me while I was interviewing them back in the day — so I knew I had to try it. 

As someone on a mission to find the perfect lip balm, I have a lot of stipulations when it comes to lip products. It can’t be too sticky, too dry, too glossy, or too sweet. Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask ticks all these boxes. The thick texture glides on easily and melts into a not-too-gooey balm. It stays put overnight, makes my lips look decidedly plumper, and comes in not-too-sweet flavors like mango, berry, and vanilla. Let’s just say there’s a good reason why this lip mask has been one of the company’s top-selling products for years. 

Innisfree Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Serum

One of the first brands I discovered upon living in Seoul was Innisfree. The plant-powered products are all sourced from Jeju Island, a honeymoon hot spot and Korea’s equivalent of Hawaii, where volcanic peaks, tangerine orchards, and tea plantations give the island a back-to-nature vibe. My particular favorite from the brand is the Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Serum, which has since become a go-to for skincare enthusiasts thanks to its hydration and glow-boosting properties.

It’s also got a great backstory. The company tested 3,301 varieties of green tea to find one that’s the most beneficial to the skin when applied topically. They named it Beauty Green Tea, and it’s now the world’s first and only green tea harvested exclusively for skincare products.

Skin Food Black Sugar Mask

Some people think that the spread of Confucianism in Korea in the 13th century led to women ditching cosmetics and embracing a more natural and modest appearance. They instead focused on skincare and used creams and toners crafted from the products they had at hand, namely fruits and vegetables. The K-beauty brand Skin Food brings these ancient principles to a modern audience with its food-inspired products. From an egg white cleanser to broccoli-infused face masks, Skin Food dishes up a skincare feast. My favorite of the delectable products is the Black Sugar Mask. The burned vanilla scent smells like a freshly-baked cake and the fine texture of the scrub is gentle enough to use daily.

Erborian BB Cream With Ginseng and SPF 20

While BB cream was originally invented in Germany, it wasn’t until the K-beauty craze in the 2010s that it really took off. Suddenly, beauty influencers, K-pop stars, and K-drama celebrities all began advertising BB cream and it became a global phenomenon. But when it comes to BB creams, not all are created equal. When shopping for BB cream, I began to feel like Goldilocks in the famous fairytale — this one is too dark, this one is too light, and so on. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon the Erborian BB Cream With Ginseng that I found my “just right.” The creamy texture conceals imperfections, evens out my skin tone, and blends seamlessly, plus it contains SPF 20 and is made with a vegan formula. 

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