Beauty / Vol. II Best Of 4 products · Updated September 10, 2026

THE BESTKOREANSKINCARE

Four days, eleven clinics, one suitcase I had to buy on the way home.

Pharmacy shelves of Korean skincare, Seoul
Myeongdong · the third pharmacy that day
A haul of Korean skincare laid out on the bed
Round Lab 1025 Dokdo toner bottle
Celimax noni serum among the bathroom bottles
bought the second suitcase for this →
Lauren tested
Words & testing · Lauren Fowler Open story ↓ Photograph · Lauren
Filed under
Beauty / K-Beauty / Best Of

Tested over
11 months

Prices checked
09.10.2026

Published
May 18, 2026

Best by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Every product here was bought with my own money or tested for at least six weeks. No brand has paid to be included, and nothing is ranked higher because it pays more.

I went to Seoul for four days and came home with a second suitcase. Not a joke — I bought it in Myeongdong at ten at night because the first one would not close.

A year later, this is what is still in the bathroom. Everything else was either a duplicate of something I already owned or a thing I bought because the packaging was beautiful, which is a real and recurring problem.

The ShortlistJump to a product
01
Beauty of Joseon serum and Anua 10+ held up against the hills
Beauty of Joseon
buy four ↓
The $18 one that beat everything✦ 2027 Winner · Best Sunscreen
Beauty of Joseon

Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+

I have tested more sunscreens than is reasonable and this is the one I hand to people. It sinks in like a moisturizer, sits under foundation without rolling, and costs less than lunch. I buy it four at a time.

Why I love it
No white cast, no pilling under makeup, no sunscreen smell.
Good for
Every skin type · Under makeup · Daily · Humid climates
The verdict
the $18 one that beat the $60 ones
Shop — $18YesStyleOlive YoungShips worldwide
02The obsession
Medicube

PDRN Pink Peptide Serum

PDRN was everywhere in Seoul and I was ready to be unimpressed. Two weeks in, someone asked what I had done. That is the entire review.

Why I love it
Skin looks lit from underneath the next morning. Every time.
Good for
Dull skin · Before an event · Post-clinic
The verdict
the one people ask about
Shop — $32YesStyle
PDRN cream and Madecassol tube
Medicube
03
Round Lab 1025 Dokdo toner bottle
Round Lab
Round Lab

1025 Dokdo Toner

Bought in Seoul because everyone in the shop had one in their basket. It does nothing dramatic and everything steadily — after a month my skin was smoother and I could not point to a single other change.

Why I love it
Hydrating without stickiness, and gentle enough for every day.
Good for
Texture · Sensitive skin · Layering
The verdict
the boring one that fixed my texture
Shop — $20Olive Young
04
Dr. Jart+

Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment

Goes on green, turns skin-coloured, and takes ten years off a bad-sleep face. I keep one at home and one in the travel bag.

Why I love it
It corrects and treats at once, which almost nothing does.
Good for
Redness · Rosacea-prone · No-makeup days
The verdict
redness, gone by breakfast
Shop — $52Amazon
A haul of Korean skincare laid out on the bed
Dr. Jart+

Where to actually buy it in Seoul

Olive Young for everything, and the Myeongdong flagship if you want the full experience — it is open late, it is chaos, and the staff will hand you samples of things you did not ask about. The prices are the same as the smaller branches, so shop wherever is closest to your hotel.

Skip the duty-free counters at Incheon. The selection is worse and the prices are not better, which was a surprise to me and an expensive one.

What I would not bother with again

Sheet masks in bulk. They are wonderful and you will not use sixty of them, and they expire.

Anything with a twelve-step promise. The routine that survived the trip is four products long, and two of them are on this list.

The haul8 frames · Four days in Seoul
A haul of Korean skincare laid out on the bed
The second suitcase
Round Lab 1025 Dokdo toner bottle
Celimax noni serum among the bathroom bottles
Beauty of Joseon serum and Anua 10+ held up against the hills
Buy four
Pharmacy shelves of Korean skincare, Seoul
Myeongdong
A Seoul street in the evening
Working from a café in Seoul
The recovery day
Fresh blowout in the salon mirror
Questions
Is Korean skincare actually better?

Better value, reliably — the sunscreens and the gentle hydrating layers are genuinely ahead and cost a third of the Western equivalents. For actives like retinoids, I buy Western or get them from a dermatologist.

Can I buy these outside Korea?

All four are on Amazon and YesStyle now, at a small markup. That was not true three years ago and it is the reason the haul suitcase has stopped being necessary.

What is PDRN and does it do anything?

It is a salmon-DNA-derived ingredient that was everywhere in Seoul. I was ready to be unimpressed and two weeks later someone asked what I had done to my face. Make of that what you will.

Best by Lauren Awards 2027
xo Lauren
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