These are the best K-beauty serums of 2023!
Haruharu WONDER Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner -$9.99
This reminds Cassandra of Kombucha for your face! There's also a lavender version, but this can make the face tingle. So luckily, they've created this fragrance-free option. Black rice is an amazing antioxidant, and it goes so well underneath your sunscreen. If you’re oily, and you’re looking for a little hydration or a boost under your sunscreen, you could use this instead of a moisturizer. Or if you have dry skin, you can layer this along with other toners or serums to give yourself a boost of hydration.
Jin Jong Sung Soothing Moisture Skin Essence
This product has everything you’d want in a moisturizer, which is amazing because it’s very rare to find ceramides in a nice essence formula. This essence contains hyaluronic acid, beta-glucans, ceramides, collagen, and peptides.
The product is like luxury K-beauty. It's a hydrating, beautiful, and skin-supportive essence. It’s almost like a less expensive version of the SK-II. It’s more of a gelatinous, viscous formula though. This is a fabulous product for someone who wants the feel of both luxury skincare and K-beauty.
Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner 200 ml
If you’re looking for something that is less expensive but gives similar results, this works very well too. This is the first K-beauty essence that Cassandra ever tried. Cassandra primarily uses this on her face, but you can put it on your chest, back, and body. It has a jelly consistency, but it doesn’t feel overly suffocating on the face. It feels beautiful and gelatinous. The ingredients are fragrance-free and so simple. The first ingredient is astragalus membranaceous root extract.
This also has arginine. Arginine is a phenomenal amino acid. There have been medical studies looking at arginine, and it has been shown to increase the vaso-endothelial growth factor. More simply, this helps your skin create new, healthy blood cells that bring nutrients into the skin. This is a beautiful essence, and it is so lightweight and nice on the skin.
If you’re looking for a refresher throughout the day, this is a great option.
Cassandra loves this spray. It's basically niacinamide in a spray bottle. It also includes tranexamic acid and vitamin C. So, this is such a brightening toner that can help with pigmentation and unevenness in your skin. And even though it's K-beauty, it still has great actives. They're just at a low amount since K-beauty is so gentle.
You can soak your K-beauty toners or essences in two of these and put them under your eyes.
Torriden - SOLID-IN Ceramide Lip Essence
If you want a lip product that doesn’t make your skin feel drier when you use it, this is the one. This has ceramides, petrolatum, and it’s fragrance-free. It gives your lips all of the hydration it needs but doesn't make your lips dependent on it. It truly nourishes your lips over time. This also has jojoba which is one of Cassandra’s favorite ingredients. If you’re looking for an effective lip balm, this is the one.