The Beauty Diary by Beck Sullivan: The $26 “holy grail” lip mask and eight other amazing Korean skincare products
These amazing Korean skincare products have shoppers queuing for hours to get their hands on them. This is why.
Korean women know what’s up when it comes to skincare.
For decades, they’ve been using amazing serums and masking everyday, while the rest of us plebs were still stuck on a basic three-step routine.
While Korean women are known for their extravagant 10-step skincare regimens — that involves cleansing, cleansing again, then applying toner, essence, ampoule, serum, moisturiser, a mask, eye cream and sunscreen — no one normal has the time or the patience to do that.
Instead, we can just borrow a few of their beauty secrets.
While Korean beauty is fun and there are some amazing products out there, it’s important to remember that this is a beauty culture that strives for perfection.
South Korea, often dubbed the “plastic surgery capital of the world”, has the highest per capita rate of cosmetic surgery around the globe. It’s normal to see women strolling around the streets of Seoul with surgical bandages strapped to their faces, recovering from yet another operation. Sadly, many young Korean women report feeling inadequate about the faces they were born with.
Skincare should help us celebrate our natural faces, enhancing what we like and letting ourselves improve on things we’re not thrilled with.
The awesome Korean skincare products listed below won’t give you a whole new look, because who wants that? They’ll just make the gorgeous face you’ve already got a little bit glowier.
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LANEIGE LIP SLEEPING MASK
Price: $26
Available from: Sephora
If you find your lips are always cracked and dry, this could be your solution.
Korean brand Laneige is famous for their masks and this lip one is amazingly hydrating, plus it’s pink and smells like berries.
It’s got rave reviews online, with hundreds of rabid fans taking to Sephora’s website to label this mask a “miracle worker” and “MY NEW HOLY GRAIL” (yes, in all caps). Even the tough-to-impress review site Makeup Alley has dozens of users who say they would “gladly repurchase this over and over, because you get a tonne of product and you only use a tiny little bit at a time”.
This mask can be used as a regular lip balm during the day and at night you can put a slightly thicker layer on to plump the lips while you sleep. Some people find this product to be quite sticky, but that’s probably because they’re using too much. A little goes a long way.
It comes with a little wand applicator but that’s super annoying and fiddly, so just chuck it in the bin and apply with your fingers instead.
DR JART CERAMIDIN SERUM
Price: $79
Available from: Sephora
If I ever meet THE Dr Jart I want to marry him, because he has created so many of my favourite skincare products. Literally everything this brand creates is amazing.
They have a whole range of “Ceramidin” products, containing ceramides. These are naturally occurring fats we already have in our skin’s outer layers that help the skin retain water and moisture.
There are nine different types of ceramides found in our skin, some that appear on skincare labels as things like “ceramide NP”, “ceramide EOP” and phytosphingosine and sphingosine.
There are at least five different ceramides in this serum and it leaves the skin feeling super hydrated and supple.
There’s also a moisturiser version called Ceramidin Cream ($82) if you’re looking to go nuts on ceramides. Can you tell I’m obsessed?
COSRX TRIPLE C LIGHTNING LIQUID
Price: Varied from site to site, about $30
Available from: Soko Glam, Style Story
The internet is constantly on the hunt for an excellent affordable vitamin C serum and this is one that constantly comes up in many “best of” lists. It regularly sells out, thanks to its 20.5 per cent concentration of ascorbic acid, one of the most popular and stable forms of vitamin C.
Korean beauty products have fully infiltrated the Australian market, with big Korean brands like Dr Jart and Laniege stocked at Sephora, but there are loads of smaller brands like COSRX that you can only buy online.
There are some great online stores that focus solely on Korean beauty, such as Solo Glam, Nudie Glow, Yes Style and Style Story. There’s also Peach and Lily — a skincare brand whose own website also acts as an excellent educational resource for discovering new K-beauty brands. You must follow Peach and Lily’s Instagram account and the personal account of founder Alicia Yoon if you’re always on the hunt for new goodies.
APRIL SKIN AND SIGNATURE SOAP ORIGINAL
Price: Varied, about $20
Available from: April Skin online, Yes Style
April Skin is another Korean beauty brand that’s massive overseas but hard to get here.
Charcoal face soaps are a new K-beauty trend that anyone with acne or blemish-prone skin should jump on board. I know it feels weird and perhaps counterintuitive to wash your face with soap, but this product gives you that squeaky clean feeling so many of us are searching for.
Charcoal is a great detoxing ingredient that helps remove impurities from the skin. This soap also contains naturally-derived oils (coconut oil, grape seed oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, lavender oil) and shea butter, so it also hydrates the skin.
DR JART CICAPAIR RE-COVER SPF 30+
Price: $60
Available from: Sephora, Nudie Glow, YesStyle.com
Dr Jart’s Cicapair range is excellent for sensitive or inflamed skin, because the ingredients are super hydrating and calming.
There literally is no other product like Re-Cover on the market. It’s a skincare-makeup hybrid that’s looks like a thick green balm, but when applied changes colour and becomes beige, giving you a little bit of light coverage.
Friends of mine who suffer from redness say this is perfect for reducing those skin issues and also feels incredibly nourishing.
Re-Cover has a similar texture to Weleda’s Skin Food, so if you don’t like thick, heavy balms, this probably isn’t for you.
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COSRX ACNE MASTER PIMPLE PATCHES
Price: Varied from store to store, but about $5-$6
Available from: sheetmaskshop.com.au, Soko Glam, Style Story, YesStyle, Look Fantastic
You know those big nasty blind pimples that always seem to arrive just before an important event where you want to look cute? These awesome pimple stickers are the solution.
They’re best applied onto pimples that have just been popped (FYI, you can read my ultimate guide to killing off a pimple here). They suck all the gross juice out from your breakout and prevent the head from refilling with sebum.
Apply the pimple patch onto clean skin then pop on your skincare. In the morning, peel the sticker off and you’ll find your big red mountain will be completely flat.
It will still be red, but the flat surface makes the pimple much easier to cover up with makeup.
INNISFREE SHEET MASK
Price: $3.15
Available from: Innisfree stores or online at innisfreeworld.com
Innisfree is an affordable Korean beauty brand recently arrived in Australia. They have massive stores in Melbourne and Sydney, or you can buy their products online.
The stores are beautiful, but can be very intimidating. There’s a towering wall of sheet masks that claim to solve every skincare problem under the sun and they’re all very cheap.
Steer clear of the “natural” ones with random ingredients like rice or bamboo. You’re here to put scientifically-backed ingredients on your face, so look for masks in the “Skin Clinic Mask” range, which contain things you’ll recognise like vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, BHAs, AHAs.
Don’t get distracted by all the masks with berries on them. Just go eat a punnet of real, fresh berries instead.
INNISFREE ANTI-AGEING UNDEREYE MASK
Price: $5.73
Available from: Innisfree stores or online at innisfreeworld.com
Under-eye masks are great to use in the morning before a big event. They have an immediate plumping effect on the skin, hydrating under the eyes and often reducing some fine lines.
Unlike full-face sheet masks, you can actually go about your life normally while wearing these.
I’ve been known to wear them on my morning walks when the sun is yet to rise, so no one can see me. Once or twice I’ve forgotten to take them off, but the weird looks are worth it for that gloriously plump skin!
DR JART CERAMIDIN FACE MASK
Price: $38 for a packet of five
Available from: Sephora
Yes, it’s another Dr Jart Ceramidin product.
These face masks are insanely amazing and perfect for giving the skin an overdose of hydration, thanks to the ceramides and five kinds of hyaluronic acid.
Pop one onto clean skin before bed if your skin is feeling especially dry. Make sure you scoop out any excess serum from the packet and slather onto your face, neck and décolletage. Wake up with deliciously dewy, hydrated skin.
If you have a beauty question or a product you’d like us to road test, DM me on Instagram or tweet me.