Every year, new Korean beauty brands hit our shores and although K-beauty junkies can now get their fill of Iope’s Air Cushion at the Amore store x Lazada or stock up on 3CE’s cult favourite lipsticks at Sephora, we’re always on the lookout for more options. These are the K-beauty brands that haven’t landed in Singapore, and you should totally look out for them if you plan on visiting Seoul.
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Text: Hidayah Idris, CLEO / Additional text: Zoe Zeng, Arissa Ha
If you’re looking for affordable makeup in Seoul, head to one of the A’PIEU stores. Sure, there are a lot of cheap beauty products in Seoul but this brand offers products that cost from $5.50. Plus, the payoff for the colours are good, so definitely worth the buy!
Atoclassic was developed by the Wooboo Health and Skin Research Centre which has over 100 years of experience in herbal skincare. Their Real Tonic Soothing Origin Essence has a gel-like texture and is packed with herbal goodness to soothe any skin woe.
Cruelty-free and full of natural ingredients, Benton is most popular for their Snail Bee High Content Essence, which is widely praised by beauty gurus and k-celebs alike for its moisturising and calming effects. For those with dry and irritated skin, we’d also recommend giving the Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack a try, as it promises to nourish and hydrate skin, while also improving skin tone and texture.
Colorgram:TOK is still rather new on the Korean beauty scene, but fans of K-pop-inspired makeup are sure to enjoy the shimmery, pastel shades offered by the brand. The Milk Bling Shadows, which are smooth and long-lasting liquid eye shadows, are particularly great for getting your shine on when you’re on the move!
If beautiful packaging is a must for you when it comes to beauty products, Coringco is the way to go. With their pink-themed makeup and nourishing skincare products, Coringco stands out from the crowd by also offering a wide range of adorable makeup applicators and tools.
Innovative and exciting, Eco Your Skin offers a lots of new ways to nourish your skin with textures and formulas quite unlike any other. Try their Lavender Bedside Mask that helps to both soothe you to sleep as well as exfoliate your skin.
Specialising in pampering and anti-ageing skincare products, this high-end brand uses ginseng in all of its formulas. With an emphasis on incorporating traditional Korean herbs, the products help rejuvenate and improve the complexion, as well as firm and lift the skin.
Whether you’ve just pulled an all-nighter, stayed out in the blazing sun for too long or indulged in one too many unhealthy treats, this aptly named brand really summarises the aftermath of subjecting our skin to all of the above. It specialises in skincare that treats your tired and irritated skin, offering everything from ampoules to creams and their popular Jelly Masks—which promote soothed, bouncy and radiant skin.
Available at all Olive & Young stores in Korea, Neogen products are designed to be powerfully effective with lots of science behind their design. One to look out for is the Bio-Peeol Gauze Peeling Wine which uses alphy hydroxy acid and resveratrol in 30 exfoliating pads which feature one rough side for the manual scrub and a smoother side to soften the skin.
Part of K-Beauty giant Amorepacific (parent company of Laneige, Sulwhasoo and Etude House), Primera is known to be an eco-friendly, environmentally conscious brand which doesn’t use mineral oils and parabens, focusing instead on botanical extracts. Their new natural skin primers are moisturizing and smooth out the skin (plus the packaging is super chic).
Life in the city means dealing with air pollutants, skin irritants and allergens every day. As an indie brand inspired by the lush and natural environment of the forests, Pureforet’s products help to counter these effects by focusing on soothing and purifying the skin. Those who find themselves suffering from irritated and sensitised skin will find the Pureforet Centella series particularly useful, thanks to the calming and antibacterial benefits of ingredients like centella asiatica, tea tree oil, shea butter and willow extract.
Free of textural enhancers and fragrances, Pyunkang Yul is a skincare minimalist’s dream. Created by a Korean clinic specialising in oriental medicine, all of their gentle and mild traditional Korean ingredients are carefully chosen so your skin is safe and pampered at the same time.
Another traditional Korean brand that’s become popular today, Shangpree has over 25 years of experience and is best known as a spa brand. Their Marine Energy Eye Masks are extremely popular thanks to their calming algae that depuff tired eyes and hyaluronic acid that moisturise. The texture also ensures they stick to your contours without slipping.
You might know their founders Son Daesik and Park Taeyoon as the celebrity makeup artists that appear on Korean TV shows, but did you know that they also have their own brands? One such brand is Son & Park. They offer a range of makeup and skincare, but we swear by their Beauty Water, which contains willow bark and papaya extract to gently exfoliate your skin and preps it for the rest of your beauty regime.
Korean but created in New York, Too Cool For School is all about creativity and experimentation. Their makeup is fun and flamboyant but they’re best known for their Egg Mousse skincare packs that minimise pores while hydrating the skin. The packaging is super cute too.
TPSY is perfect for all lazy girls everywhere, with products designed to be minimum effort, maximum creativity. A great example is their Two Drink Minimum Eye Shadow Pencil which is highly-pigmented, smudge proof and long-wearing.