Three Korean Cosmetics Worth the Hype

Salut! It's Yoko, food blogger.

Today I want to share the cosmetics I bought on my recent trip to Busan, Korea.

Korean cosmetics are cheap and often cute, so it's hard to decide which to pick,

but I checked Instagram beforehand and asked friends, so I was able to get products with great reputations!

Shop at Olive Young for Korean Cosmetics

By the way, I bought everything in this post at Olive Young.

Olive Young is like Korea's Matsumoto Kiyoshi (a Japanese drugstore chain), with a huge range of cosmetics, and customers keep streaming in as if they're being sucked inside. lol

Its skincare and sheet masks are especially well stocked,

so it's a good place to go first, and to look for souvenirs too.

Now let's get started with the first one.

I've included how each one felt to use, so I hope it helps.

COSRX One Step Original Clear Pad

Toner-soaked pads are the big trend in Korean cosmetics right now!

One of the most popular pad brands is COSRX.

The package is recognizable by the drawing on the lid of a man caring for his skin.
(His name is apparently MR.RX...)

At Olive Young it reportedly sells one every 29 seconds,

and it won awards at the 2018 Korea and Singapore cosmetics awards.

The pads come in three package colors: red, blue and green.

The red One Step Original Clear Pad is for exfoliating,

the blue One Step Moisture Up Pad is for hydration,

and the green One Step Green Hero Calming Pad is for sensitive skin.

The red contains 1% BHA, which has a peeling effect, and the blue contains 0.5%.

The green is for sensitive skin, but it contains 0.25% PHA, so like BHA it also helps with exfoliation.

BHA is oil-soluble, so if you want to focus on pores, go for red or blue.

PHA works gently, so if you have sensitive skin, green looks best.

Each color also has other ingredients, like propolis and mugwort extract.

Dead skin isn't a big concern for me and I wanted hydration, so I chose blue!

The lid seals tightly, and there are 70 pads inside.

One side of each pad is flat and the other is textured. The textured side is handy for exfoliating and removing makeup.

I think the flat side works well as a light morning cleanse.

When I actually used it, it removed light makeup all by itself.

It also smooths out rough skin!

I once used a soap with AHA and my skin felt squeaky tight,

and afterward it got shiny, but that didn't happen here,

so I think the peeling strength is just right. It's good for people who worry about dead skin but want gentle ingredients.

Dr.Jart Cicapair ReCover Cream

I can't resist dermatologist-type cosmetics, so I bought this stylish one.

The name Dr.Jart+ comes from "Doctor Join Art."

It's a dermocosmetic brand* that pursues beauty by combining scientific research with artistic inspiration,
*Dermocosmetic = dermatology + cosmetics

and it's sold not just in Korea but in 36 countries, including the US and Europe.

They apparently avoid chemical ingredients harmful to the body and use only carefully selected, low-irritation ones.

So, what is "Cicapair"? You may be wondering.

It has nothing to do with deer (shika). lol

There's a medical silicone gel sheet used to heal skin damage,

such as C-section scars and keloids. That sheet is called CICA-CARE,

and "cica" came to be used in the names of beauty creams as a word for regenerating damaged skin.

So it doesn't refer to a specific ingredient,

but the cream contains extracts of centella asiatica, houttuynia and yarrow, which help skin recover from irritation,

and in particular madecassoside, a component of centella, is said to calm and repair inflammation and also have a brightening effect.

My cheeks are always a little red from mild inflammation, so I bought it hoping it would help.

There's a spatula inside the box, so you can keep it clean to the end.

And this is what it looks like when applied.

From the package design I thought it might turn from green to skin tone right away, but the color doesn't change that quickly.

It spreads so well that an amount the size of your pinky nail might cover your whole face.

When you spread it, it turns slightly white and gives a brightening effect. It's semi-matte.

It doesn't cover much, but if you scratch your skin with a nail after applying it, a skin-colored cream comes off,

so I think the color really does change.

True to its soothing claim, it doesn't sting, and on the red areas I felt it calm down a bit.

It's also SPF 30, so I recommend it if you want to take care of irritated skin and protect it from UV at the same time!

Goodal Green Tangerine Vita C Dark Spot Serum Set

This one is selling like crazy right now. It's a super popular cosmetic!!

As the name Vita C suggests, it contains 70% cheonggyul extract, which is rich in vitamin C, plus a vitamin C derivative,

and it helps improve spots, freckles and dullness.

Cheonggyul is Korean for unripe green tangerines,

which can only be harvested for four weeks a year and have about 10 times the vitamin C of ordinary tangerines!

The natural ingredients are extracted by soaking them slowly in cold water for 120 to 130 hours, so it has a fresh, refreshing green tangerine scent.

It also contains no artificial colors, none of 20 ingredients considered harmful, and none of 14 additives such as parabens and ethanol, so it feels safe.

I bought the set that includes both the serum and a cream!

It comes with a full-size serum, a mini serum, and a mini cream containing vitamin E.

Vitamin E works synergistically with vitamin C for healthy-looking skin.

For example, vitamin C can remove the reactive oxygen that causes aging and acne,

and vitamin E works on the hydroxyl radical, a highly oxidizing form of reactive oxygen.

Vitamin E loses its effect once it binds with reactive oxygen, but together with vitamin C, vitamin E is restored.

The serum has a thick texture that spreads really well, and the green tangerine scent feels great.

It feels a little sticky right after applying, but turns smooth within a few minutes.

The cream has little vitamin C capsules in it, which makes it feel even more effective. lol

I like that it's light and not oily.

Since I started using it, the redness in my skin has clearly calmed down and the dullness is gone,

so honestly this is my favorite of everything in this post.

I didn't know about it on my trip. A friend told me it was good, so I bought it on the spur of the moment.

When I got back to Tokyo and looked it up, a popular Korean beauty YouTuber (a company employee, "A") had a video

introducing it as a cosmetic you absolutely have to buy in Korea, and I was surprised.

In an experiment comparing spots and dullness after two weeks of use, there is a clear effect.

↑The red areas are spots and dullness Quoted from Goodal's official site.

I'm curious about the toner pad, sheet mask and intense cream too!

For now, I'll keep using the serum and cream for a while.

So those were three recommended Korean cosmetics!

Korea has so many more cosmetics, so have fun choosing.

See you next time. Au revoir!