A beginners guide to Korean beauty and skincare

What is K-Beauty?

The core of korean skincare and beauty is focused on nourishing and making your skin healthy and glowing, the dewy skin has come to be known as glass skin. Although many may associate K-Beauty with the 10 step skin care routine, many suggest it's not necessary to do quite as much. Here are some tips on setting up a korean skin care routine and makeup routine and which products are best for the job.

Skincare:

1. Cleanse, Cleanse, Cleanse

Arguably one of the most important steps in your skincare routine is cleansing, so don't skimp on the significance on putting some extra time on cleansing your skin. Within Korean skincare many will often recommend cleansing your skin 3 times:

1st Cleanse: Use cleansing tissues to clean or similar to remove stubborn impurities and makeup. Make sure to remove the worst visible impurities, don't forget eyes and neck.

2nd Cleanse: Use an oil cleanser to remove oil impurities and build ups in the skin.

3rd Cleanse: Wet your face and hands and using a foaming cleanser, spend a few seconds building the foam in your hands and then cleanse your face for about 30 seconds. This will remove water based impurities.

Doing this before applying your makeup as well as at the end of the day, will help get rid of impurities and leave your skin clean, fresh and primed for skincare products.

2. Nourish

Nourishing your skin using serums, toners and essences will help nourish, rehydrate and heal your skin. It may seem like there are many products to keep track of but these are the top three to add to your routine that will make a big difference.

Toner: This water based product removes any last trace of impurities from your pores, as well as helps prime your skin to absorb more of the coming products in your skincare routine. You can add an essence to your routine after applying your toner but before your serums, it is sort of a mid way product between the two.

Serum: Serums come in many different shapes and sizes, but are essentially highly concentrated products that fullfil a specific function and adresses a specific issue such as redness, ageing, dryness, blemishes and so on. Find serums that will align with the result you're looking for. Remember if you're using several serums to do some research on product compatibility as some serums can cancel out another ones effect, the order of which you apply the products is also important and can give vastly different results.

Moisturise: The final step in your skincare routine should be to moisturise and lock in all the products you have applied to your skin. The moisturiser you use will depend strongly on your skin type and what your skin needs. Find one that works for you and that helps your skin the best, don't forget to take into account season, weather and climate.

A pro tip is to tap on water based products as it will help with absorption and improve blood flow in your face.

3. Exfoliate

Exfoliants are an important part of a skincare routine, it's usually not done on a daily basis as it tends to be a bit rougher or stronger on the skin as it targets deeper impurities in the skin. Essentially exfoliation is the removal of dead skin cells and build up from your outer layer of skin - the epidermis. With exfoliants you can choose between either a physical or a chemical exfoliant.

Physical Exfoliant: This exfoliant uses a granular scrub which physically buffs or abrades your skin's surface and by doing so removes dead skin cell build-up, this helps remove impurities and gives you glowy skin. Scrubs can be used 2-3 times per week. It's important to choose the right physical exfoliator, as the wrong one can cause micro tears on your skin.

Chemical Exfoliant: These exfoliants are acids that get rid of dead skin cells. There are various concentrations ranging from gentle chemical exfoliations to chemical peels which require a dermatologist appointment. Salicylic acid and AHA are common chemical exfoliants that are carried by most skincare brands. These exfoliants should be used according to instructions, don't overdo it as this exfoliant is strong. You may also need to start with gentle exfoliants and build to the stronger ones. But chemical exfoliants are great at ridding the skin of impurities and leaves the skin glowing.

4. SPF

Sun protection is one of the most important steps to help protect your skin from UV rays that cause wrinkles, loss of firmness, dullness, uneven pigmentation, ageing and fine lines. So make sure to make this is part of your daily routine. From Korea there has also come some great SPF products that you can reapply throughout the day and that goes on top of your makeup.

Makeup:

1. Light Makeup

The iconic Korean makeup look is the dewy look, which in essence is a no-makeup-makeup look, with focus on a natural looks with gentley enhanced features, dewy skin, rosy cheeks and lips with bright eyes.

2. Flushed peach or sweet berry

Peachier tones are often used for cheek, lips and eyes. Different peachy and berry colours are popular choices and give a fresh and youthful look. Tints are often used for both cheeks and lips to create a subtle long lasting look. For lips a softer and blurred lip line is common, in contrast to the western sharp lip line looks.

3. Let your eyes sparkle

In general the Korean makeup look is much softer than the western makeup look. Especially when it comes to the eyes, a soft eyeliner in brown emphasises the eye without being too sharp or over powering. The soft peach and berry colours or brown neutrals are great for creating a soft eye look that still pops. Often a soft glitter will be added to the bottom lash line and the middle of the eyelid to create a glittering eyes. One of the current mascara trends is the so called anime lash, were lashes are separated and group together in to 6-7 distinct strands that give a distinct look as often seen in anime.

Key products

Here are some popular Korean beauty products that are our favourite must-haves.

1. Snail Mucin

One of the perhaps most underrated products to come from Korea might be Snail Mucin. This powerful serum gives incredible glow and locks in moisture like no other while also getting rid of skin irritation and hydrating your skin. Snail mucin also promotes collagen production, aids in skin healing and regeneration. The most popular snail mucin product is COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence.

2. Face Masks

Although face masks have been around for a while, Korean face masks are on a different level and you can find a multitude of different options that will sort out the most specific skin issues you may be having. Make a habit of using a face mask a few times a week to help nourish and refresh your skin.

3. BB-Cream

One of the first K-beauty products that became a staple in the western beauty market was BB-cream. BB stands for beauty balm or blemish balm. A BB Cream has less coverage than a foundation but more than a tinted moisturiser, while also offering a bunch of additional skincare benefits. The most noticeable difference between a BB cream and a tinted moisturiser is that it can prime your skin as well as moisturise.

4. Cushion Compacts

Although cushion compacts still aren't widely accessible in the western market yet, they are available to some extent. Cushion compacts is essentially a liquid foundation that sits inside a sponge which one picks up using a makeup pad and then pats onto the skin. The cushion compacts are extremely popular in Korea and offer many skincare benefits as well as a dewy flawless coverage that will give you that glowing look. You'll be able to find a large range of benefits and coverages, although the colour range may still be quite limited. The compact packaging also means that the product is great for bringing with you and perfect for touch ups on the go.

5. Pimple Patches

Perhaps one of our favourite products are the invisible blemish patches. These have become wildly popular and are essentially small round transparent patches that you can put on a pimple or blemish. Not only does it greatly reduce the appearance of the blemish but the patch itself actually contains ingredients that will help purify and purge the blemish, so you don't need to squeeze it, simply remove the patch at the end of the day and it will have extracted the impurities. This is a must-have product for breakouts, and as an added bonus, you can apply your makeup as normal on top of the patches.