in my perfect world... all skincare would be packaged like Korean skincare.

K-Beauty and skincare has always been at the top of my list when it comes to things I want to learn more about.

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Sure, I have the LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask and Glow Recipe’s Pore-Tight Toner - LANEIGE being a South Korean skincare company and Glow Recipe a Korean beauty-inspired brand - but I really wanted to get into the brands and products that might not be in the Sephora designated Korean beauty section.

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As an avid reader, I have to admit that I do tend to often judge a book by its cover. I find myself reading the backs of the books with the bright colors or dynamic fonts on the front, even if they’re a genre I don’t usually gravitate towards.

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The same goes for me and K-Beauty.

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Before I even dove deep into the science and ingredients behind many Korean products, I became obsessed with the packaging.

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Don’t get me wrong, Charlotte Tilbury’s glitzy display catches my eye every time I step into Sephora, but the simple red and pink color palette of Peach & Lily products or the blue, pink and yellow gradients on most every Then I Met You essence or balm made me eager to get my hands on the best K-Beauty had to offer.

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So where’d I go first? 

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Only Gen Z’s farmer’s almanac - TikTok.

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After making my own list of skincare wants and seeing what TikTok advised me to purchase, I settled on two products: Elizavecca Milky Piggy Wrinkle Care Revitalize EGF Retinol Cream (K-Beauty offers many things, short product names is not one of them) and the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner from Haruharu Wonder. Retinol and hyaluronic acid were both ingredients absent from my routine, so these two items felt like the perfect way to dip my toes into the Korean skincare pool.

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After opening the product and showing them off to the few friends on my Snapchat story (beauty guru wannabe ok?), I put them to the test that night.

 

Here are my thoughts.

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Elizavecca Milky Piggy Wrinkle Care Revitalize EGF Retinol Cream - what drew me to this product - other than the adorable pig on the packaging - was the consistency. It is no exaggeration to describe this cream as more of a retinol glue. It’s quite tacky and extremely thick; for some that might not be what you want in a cream, but it’s exactly what this dry skinned girl was looking for. I use it as a night cream and find it, despite its texture, to cause my skin to feel a little tight afterwards, so I always mist my face with Caudalie’s Grape Water post application. There’s so much product that it’ll probably take me over a year to empty it out, but if things continue as they are, I’ll be buying it again when that happens.

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Haruharu Wonder’s Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner - if you are even the slightest bit into skincare, you’ll know that hyaluronic acid is fantastic for you; it’s known for moisturizing and also reducing lines and wrinkles. After I wash my face, I apply this toner using a cotton pad. Then, just because it’s so good, I also put some on my palms and press it into my skin like a serum. It’s super refreshing, moisturizing and includes black rice, which apparently has all kinds of benefits when it comes to skin. While the retinol cream is certainly not for everyone, this toner definitely seems more universal; I would quickly recommend to someone wanting to incorporate hyaluronic acid into their routine.

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While I’m still a Korean skincare novice, I had the best time educating myself on what makes these products so beloved and how natural and harsh-free ingredients can do wonders for all of us. 

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In my perfect world… I would’ve discovered Soko Glam years ago.