Korean Skincare I've Been Loving

I am currently in a Korean skincare discovery spiral. I don't know how many times I need to mention this but my blogger friends have just the right energy to influence people around them and I am people. My desire to discover more Korean skincare brands was sparked by several skincare posts I read in the blogosphere, Danielle's Beauty Blog, Minaeshi and Lab Muffin to name a few. 

To be fair, South Korea has always been the real deal when it comes to skincare. They invented many skincare formulas and technologies that are just genius in my book. To me, while they are always evolving and innovating the most effective skincare products, it isn't always about the products; it's a culture, and their methods and techniques can go a long way.

In today's post, I am covering my recent Korean skincare finds that I have been loving and I thought this would be a nice place to start for someone like me who's interested in Korean skincare but doesn't quite sure where to start. I have been getting some requests on it on my Instagram too, so that's great hey?

Korean skincare I have been loving:

Pyunkang yul essence toner

Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner is one of the Korean skincare that I have been most curious and excited to try. I am a huge advocate of hydrating toners and I can't imagine my skincare routine without them. I have gone through bottles of the COSRX Snail Mucin Essence which is always a favorite of mine, but I wanted to see what other gems may be out there. 

I know it's only been a couple of months but this toner is now one of those products I can't go a day without!

It's a wonderful hydrating toner with a slightly gel-like texture. Almost watery but it has a nice body to it and it glides like a dream. It's hydrating, without being sticky or heavy. It plumps up my skin well, improves my texture and doesn't cause me acne. At this point, I think it also reduces some inflammation I have on my skin. 

Did I mention this toner only has 7 ingredients? It's alcohol, fragrance and essential oil-free. Does that not make you want to try this toner for yourself? I think this is a wonderful hydrating toner for all skin types including sensitive and acne-prone skin (I still recommend patch testing despite how amazing the ingredients list might look).

A little heads up for my dry or dehydrated skin sisters out there, you might want to layer this toner to get optimum hydration for your skin.

Overall, I highly recommend this hydrating toner if you're looking for one. I will definitely go with the 200ml version next!

COSRX one step original clear pad

Similar to the AHA BHA toners, the COSRX One Step Original Clear Pad is an exfoliating toner but in a pad form as opposed to liquid inside a bottle. I think this is genius and convenient. The pads are heavily soaked and saturated with toner and are textured for some gentle physical exfoliation action. 

My skin appreciates anything that has a gentler formulation hence why I picked up this exfoliating toner. It's infused with tea tree oil and a gentler alternative to salicylic acid. One thing that's blowing my mind, even in my first few uses, this exfoliating toner makes my pores appear smaller and less visible! That's the thing I love about salicylic acid — it thoroughly cleanses your pores.

The product has a subtle citrus scent that I find really fresh and soothing. However, I can't say the same for my sensitive skin folks out there. The scent/ essential oil could be sensitizing to your skin. There's no stinging sensation upon application on my skin. It didn't break me out, works well for pore maintenance. Non-drying, but offers good oil control and reduces excess sebum. Overall, a pretty decent physical and chemical exfoliator in one.

If you're in the market for a gentle yet effective toner, give this one a whirl!

COSRX aha/bha clarifying treatment toner

"How many actives do you actually want?" "Yes."

I KNOW. Please don't question my skincare choices. LOL. I tend to have no self-control when it comes to discovering new skincare products. I am all in when it comes to products that can make my large pores look less visible. That's it. Acid toners are all the rage for their acne-banishing abilities, pore maintenance and gentle exfoliation. I am always sold T_T

Anyway, I don't feel the need to talk about this too TOO much because you probably know how an AHA/BHA product works — it gently exfoliates, cleans the pores makes them look less visible, helps remove acne scars over time, yada yada yada. 

I have extremely oily skin and it just soaks this toner up like an energy drink. My skin loves it. It doesn't dry out my skin, it helps with my skin texture and I always wake up with a clearer and brighter complexion. My makeup also looks even better when I use this COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner before makeup application because it smooth out the canvas.

Holy-grail worthy? I would say, definitely! 

 Axis-Y spot the difference blemish treatment

As someone who gets major period breakouts every month, I am always on the lookout for an acne treatment that I can use specifically in problem areas without affecting my entire face. It's always a struggle for me to find a good spot treatment that works BUT won't dry out my skin at the same time. 

I think the AXIS-Y Spot The Difference Blemish Treatment has answered my calls. It has the perfect formula that is designed to provide quick relief and noticeable results even for the most sensitive skin. I absolutely love the gel texture and little beads which burst and mix upon application. It absorbs well into the skin and leaves no sticky residue. 

When I first applied this spot treatment, it was at night and I applied it to my two active breakouts on the chin. The next morning, one of the breakouts had almost completely vanished, and the other had become less red and painful. I have tried this spot treatment on active breakouts as well as the ones that are just beginning to surface and I would say it works well on the active breakouts more. 

I think after about a week of use, all of my active breakouts have greatly reduced and not as much scarring too which is always good. I would highly recommend this if you're like me who's always on the hunt for blemish treatments that can repair the skin barrier as well. We love a good multi-tasker.

Phew, that's a long one! All in all, I am pretty happy with my purchase and finds. I have discovered some of the amazing Korean skincare products and I would love to tell you that Korean skincare is not the be all end all. But what I did notice: incorporating more Korean skincare in my routine definitely helped with lots of my skin concerns and it's something that I plan on continue doing. 

*Some links used in this post are affiliated links, which allows me to earn a small commission when you buy the product using my link. No commission is earned through clicking links. I'm not being paid to mention any specific brand in this post. Thank you for supporting the content that makes my blog possible.

Have you used any of the Korean skincare products mentioned?