Unlike a lot of people I know, I didn’t really engage with the K-beauty phenomenon when it first emerged in the early 2010s. This is largely because I tend to get overwhelmed by beauty products – I’ve used the same foundation since I was about 17 (L’Oréal True Match, if you’re wondering) and I also have sensitive, reactive skin, so I’m nervous about trying lots of new things on my face, lest I end up a red, blotchy mess. This changed, however, when I visited Seoul.
Visiting for work, I was with a group of colleagues who could not stop talking about Olive Young. “I have honestly never been anywhere so exciting,” enthused one person; “I’ve considered booking all of my holidays in South Korea, just so I can shop for skincare,” said another. I was baffled. Of course, the best skincare products can make you feel like a better version of your usual self, and some really do yield dramatic results. But the latter consequence is quite rare, I’ve found, so this seemed like unfounded hysteria. What I should tell you, therefore, is that there’s nothing unfounded about it.
After being in Seoul for about 24 hours, I had heard enough to know that I needed to investigate. From my hotel room, I started where all truly brilliant journalists start: Google. Immediately, I found too much information – this wasn’t going to assuage my feelings of overwhelm. I glossed over articles, marvelled at pictures with no context and watched terrifying videos of women detailing procedures for which they’d flown from America to Seoul especially, spending hundreds of thousands of pounds to have slightly alarming things done to their faces. I did not want this.
Instead, I knocked on the door of my most-informed colleague, who gave me a product to try. It was JUNGSAEMMOOL’s Essential Mool Cream, which I immediately didn’t understand. It’s a combination between a moisturiser and a primer and is like a very thin, watery serum (‘mool’ is Korean for ‘water’). I applied a few pumps to my bare face before applying my make-up and – this is in no way hyperbolic – I was astounded by the results. The ‘glass skin’ I had heard everyone banging on about suddenly appeared before my eyes, as the product transformed from a rich essence into a watery lotion that was absorbed quickly. I found that my make-up was easier to apply and looked better – no surprise, really, as it was smoother and more hydrated than usual. Formulated by one of South Korea’s leading make-up artists, Jung Saem Mool, she founded her eponymous brand in 2015 and is largely credited with pioneering the very idea of glass skin.
My face, after applying all of the beauty products I bought in Seoul
Everyone gave me compliments at dinner. I was hooked. The next day, I headed straight to my nearest Olive Young, one of which is on (nearly) every corner in Seoul. A bit like the Sephora of South Korea, the shelves are groaning under the weight of creams, potions, masks and maybe a thousand other products you haven’t even imagined. With the disposition of a contestant on Supermarket Sweep, I engaged the help of a very patient, apparently unfazed employee, as I manically asked her – via the help of a translation app – to show me the best products for my skin.
I specifically wanted a cream-based cleanser, as well as a face mask that will make me look as though I’ve never even seen a stressful situation. Not only did Seoul’s Best Employee Of All Time find those things for me, she found other products, too, from which I’ve genuinely seen brilliant results.
Here, please enjoy the five skincare products that I now refuse to live without. If I do, I am pretty sure my face will fall off and/or I will suddenly look 10 years older than I am. Either way, I’m content to keep ordering these very affordable products as and when I need them – and I think you should, too.
The Essential Mool Cream
I fear I may become a broken record (see above), but this really is a transformative product. It gives you such a great glow, a bit like you’ve just had a really fantastic facial. What I would say is that it’s a bit sticky, so less is more. I found this out the hard way when I started liberally applying it to my face, only to look as though I’d been dunked face-first into the hotel swimming pool. One or two pumps is all you need: apply it to your face after your SPF and then wait a few minutes if you’re then using make-up.
I recently bought two for under £30 from Stylevana, a retailer that’s safe and reliable, and that I would recommend. Just be aware that delivery isn’t super-speedy – my order took just over a fortnight to arrive.
The Cream Cleanser
Since the incomparable Rowan Hall-Farrise (trainer and facialist for QMS) told me that I should only be using cream-based cleansers for my skin type, I haven’t looked back. I do still love this one that she recommended but, in Seoul, I found another favourite. The Make P:rem Safe Me Relief Moisture Cleansing Milk somehow manages to be really gentle and also brilliant at removing the most stubborn of mascaras. I rub a small amount all over my face at the end of the day, wash off with warm water and my skin feels incredibly soft and nourished. Plus, you can buy refill pouches when you’ve run out.
The SPF
Since I attended an event where I was encouraged to put my face into one of those scanners, which then produces a very haggard likeness of you and shows you all the areas of your skin damaged by the sun, I have been scared into using SPF every single day of the year. As a result, I have become quite obsessive about finding the right one: this is it.
I know the brilliance of this particular product is widely known but, as a former skincare dum-dum, it took Olive Young’s best and brightest to alert me to its existence. It’s not greasy, it doesn’t leave any kind of cast, and it contains skin calming ingredients. It’s also SPF 50+, which is really the most important thing. Trust me, if you’re one of those people who thinks they can just apply that factor eight tanning oil and sit in the sun (my mother), try putting your face in one of those harbinger-of-doom scanners.
The Collagen Pads
Something our favourite shop assistant practically pushed on me was the Biodance Collagen Gel Toner Pads, which, after using them for nearly two months, have genuinely improved the overall quality of my skin. These dual-sided pads are soaked in collagen, hyaluronic acid and galactomyces ( a nutrient-rich yeast with brightening and hydrating properties) that exfoliate, hydrate and leave skin feeling soft and plumped.
I use one after cleansing in both the morning and evening, and my skin feels much softer and bouncier as a result. Think of these pads a bit like a mini instant face mask that you can use every day.
The Face Mask
One thing I did know I wanted to find in Seoul was the perfect face mask. I have become slightly preoccupied with sheet masks in recent years, largely because it just feels like a lovely treat to put one on and watch Rivals in the bath. I have found, however, details of my leisure time aside, that the good ones do really make your skin look better.
I had tried Anua before my foray into Olive Young (contrary to appearances, this article is not sponsored) and really loved the brand’s Soothing Collagen masks. Now, that love has turned into an almost concerning level of obsession over the PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum mask. I know, quite the mouthful. PDRN, otherwise known as salmon sperm, is the ingredient that stimulates collagen production, and therefore these masks have a significant skin-plumping effect. They also leave you with a glorious glow, and skin really does feel hydrated and refreshed. Whether or not you combine yours with Rivals is entirely up to you.