The recent emergence of Korean skin care in the United States has brought new beauty standards that we didn’t even know were possible to achieve. These skin care products are designed to give you the trending “Glass Skin” look.
What is Glass Skin?
“Glass skin is a term for exceptionally smooth, even-toned and lustrous skin that’s so flawless it has the appearance of glass,” stated Jude Chao, beauty expert and founder of Love, Jude skin care. Essentially, glass skin forms from deep hydration, resulting in seemingly clean, luminous and poreless skin. When your skin reaches this level, it is the healthiest it could possibly be.
Korean VS. Western skin care
Why would we choose to opt for K-Beauty products to achieve the Glass Skin look? Western skincare brands usually focus on drying and deeply exfoliating the skin to rid of imperfections, which can be very effective for many people. Although, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, 50 million Americans suffer from Acne annually and may have combination or oily skin. Many popular products in the U.S. are therefore targeted towards exfoliating oily skin, including well-known ones like the Neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser and The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Exfoliating Peeling Solution. When used correctly, these products have immense benefits for those in need of deep exfoliation, but for most people who use them regularly it may over exfoliate and deeply damage their skin barriers.
On the contrary, Korean beauty brands are ahead in innovation of their products, often tailoring their products to provide the deepest hydration and repair damaged skin barriers. These products are often designed to feel light on the face and made from natural ingredients that are great for irritation and sensitivity, resulting in having skin baby soft. A downside of using Korean skincare is that it is not easily accessible in the United States as most beauty retailers do not carry a lot of their products. Instead, we ordered Korean products from Wishtrend, a site with one of the largest selections of Korean skincare. We integrated K-Beauty products into our daily routines for 3 months and these are our newly found holy grails:
Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Facial Toner
The original Klairs toner is fantastic, but this toner is our favorite version specifically because it is unscented. This version of the toner is essential-oil free, making it non-irritating and perfect for sensitive skin. It also consists of centella asiatica extract which is anti-aging, hydrating, and balances the skin’s pH level.
Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Serum
This serum contains centella asiatica extract and Sodium Hyaluronate, a stronger derivative of Hyaluronic acid, resulting in a greater hydrating effect.
Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream
The most lightweight moisturizer that is perfect for deep hydration without clogging your pores. It has super gentle and natural ingredients that soothe sensitive skin while renewing through antioxidants.
Found at Sephora:
Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Liquid Toner
This serum is so life changing it’s unbelievable. It is so extremely lightweight that it feels like you’re simply putting water on your face. But this serum is packed with fig, centella asiatica, and phyto extracts that relieve dryness and the loss of firmness and elasticity. Just one day after using this serum, we were surprised to see a prominent glow.
Dr. Jart+ CICAPAIR™ TIGER GRASS COLOR CORRECTING TREATMENT SPF30
This product is perfect for redness and irritation by containing centella asiatica that soothes irritation and green tones that neutralize redness. In addition, it contains Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide SPF 30 that protect from both UVA and UVB rays. One issue with this product is that although it is helpful for redness in lighter skin tones, it is not suitable for darker skin tones.
Dr. Jart+ Premium BB Tinted Moisturizer with Niacinamide and SPF 40
Say goodbye to your foundation when you get a hold of this SPF BB cream. This medium coverage tint is extremely lightweight and skin-like yet covered almost all acne and redness when we tried it! It is also hydrating and calming for irritated skin due to its formulation containing niacinamide. Unfortunately like most tinted sunscreens, this product comes in just four shades that leave little space for darker skin tones. We hope this exceptional BB balm will produce this formulation for a larger variety of skin tones; everyone needs this holy grail product!
