As someone who has traveled to Seoul twice in the past year, I’ve gone from having a professional curiosity of Korean beauty (I have been reporting on the category for over a decade, after all) to a personal passion for all things K-beauty. After multiple visits to Olive Young (Korea’s biggest beauty retailer), I’ve come to appreciate the diversity of brand identities you can find in South Korea. While we often talk about how ahead of the curve the technology and formulations are, what’s lost in that discussion is the heart of each brand. While some champion a very playful tone, others focus on a futuristic vibe, and still others pull from Korea’s long history to create their formulas.
Beauty of Joseon is one such brand. While many know their name from the viral TikTok SPF (more on that later), the brand is inspired by hanbang, which is the traditional Korean medicine that uses herbal ingredients and modern science to help enhance skin’s own recovery processes. The brand uses ingredients that are typically used in hanbang—like rice, ginseng, red bean, and green plum—in recipes that are inspired by Korea’s Joseon era and updated for modern day.
If your experience with K-Beauty is predominately rubber masks and jelly creams, the rice toner and mugwort serum may not seem very flashy, but if you’re looking for results, you don’t need to look any further than this edited, herbal line. At 42 and a beauty editor for over two decades, I’ve tried my fair share of beauty products from all over the globe, including the full line-up of Beauty of Joseon’s products (yes, including the Relief Sun SPF that was all over your FYP last year). After a few weeks of patting, pressing, slathering, and wiping, I found a few favorites that were transformative enough to incorporate into my already well-established routine.
From the aforementioned rice toner to under-eye masks that made my perimenopausal face look like I actually slept, plus—to my utmost surprise—the reformulated SPF that’s made with FDA-approved sun filters, here are my six favorite Beauty of Joseon skincare products. The best news? Not a single one of them is over $25—seriously.
The Best Beauty of Joseon Skincare Products
This wing-shaped hydrogel under-eye patch is infused with panax ginseng root water, bakuchiol, collagen, peptides, adenosine, and retinaldehyde to help smooth fine lines, reduce puffiness, and visibly brighten dark circles. Stabilized retinal is considered to be a more effective version of vitamin A, according to many cosmetic chemists and dermatologists, because it’s one step closer to the prescription version (tretinoin) than retinol. Use it after cleansing and before makeup for an instant cooling and hydrating boost. It can also be placed on any areas that you want to target wrinkles to smooth and plump, like the neck, smile lines, or forehead lines.
What I Love: The scent on these patches is so refreshing and herbal (I’m a sucker for anything ginseng) and unlike a lot of under-eye masks I’ve tried, these actually stay in place once you apply them, so you can walk around and live your life with them on. Did I mention they’re sparkly?
What I Don’t: There is a teensy bit of a tingly feel along with the cooling sensation, so those with extremely sensitive skin might want to proceed with caution.
Review for MC: I’ve always been wary of putting anything retinol around my eyes, but as my fine lines have gotten more prominent with age, I’ve been a little less hesitant. I brought these along during a business trip to Chicago and after a sleepless night and a long day of travel, they felt fantastic on my dry, puffy eyes. I noticed an immediate benefit, with my undereye bags looking less prominent after 20 minutes and my entire eye area appearing brighter and more refreshed. These are definitely a repurchase for me and I plan to keep them stocked in my skin-care stash.
The very first product the brand created, the Dynasty Cream is a hydrating moisturizer that infuses your skin with nourishing ingredients as it balances and creates subtle radiance. Made with 2 percent niacinamide, two percent squalane, 29 percent rice bran water, and five percent ginseng root water, it helps keep skin healthy, dewy, and protected without disrupting its natural oil production.
What I Love: While a glassy skin look is near and dear to my heart, I’ve started to gravitate more towards a satin skin finish that’s a little more subtle. The Dynasty Cream gives my complexion the perfect amount of moisture without making me look greasy or extra shiny. It also is a fab base for layering my concealer or a cushion compact on top of—nothing pills up or slides off five minutes later.
What I Don’t: I found it’s not quite thick enough for my nighttime application, especially in the dry Colorado air where I reside, and I’ve had to layer a thicker hydrator on top to get the moisture my parched skin seems to drink up while I sleep.
Review for MC: Of all the K-Beauty products I’ve tried, I’ve struggled the most with daily moisturizers. I’ve found a few I love for nighttime application but haven’t found anything that’s both lightweight enough to wear over top of my multiple toners, essences, and serums without making me look extra shiny. Glass skin is all well and good, but as my wrinkles deepen, I don’t love that shine as it can make my wrinkles very prominent. I find butter skin—a velvety, creamy radiance to be more flattering on my 40+ skin. Dynasty Cream is a moisturizer that helps fill that void, creating deep hydration on my perpetually dry skin without the slick texture and appearance. It’s the perfect morning moisturizer on its own or under makeup.
A unique blend of oil-absorbing powder, hydrating rice extract, and antioxidant-rich rice amino acids, this dual-layer milky toner moisturizes dry skin as it balances excess sebum for a refreshed, glowy skin effect with hydration that lasts all day long.
What I Love: This bi-phase toner feels like it does all of the things: hydrates, soothes, reduces excess sebum, and adds a subtle glow. It’s a multitasker that will make you wonder what you ever did without it.
What I Don’t: It’s very watery, so be prepared to get messy when you are splashing and pressing this into your skin. You can put it into a cotton pad to avoid this but I’ve always done the press-and-pat method to get my circulation going. To each their own.
Review for MC: I’ve been flooding my skin with creamy toners that are overflowing with ceramides, so this balancing toner was a big change of pace for my skin. Instead of drenching my complexion with a layer of lipids, the Rice Milk was a balancing act that both hydrated and controlled oilier sections to leave me with a dewy, satiny finish instead of a glassy glow. Granted that oil is not a huge problem for me at this stage in life (and after a bout of Accutane in my early 30s), but I still have the occasional blackhead and a T-zone that’s oilier than the rest of my face, so the balancing act it pulled was cool to experience, especially the fact that it did all of that without drying out my skin. Everything felt soft, even, and calm after application.
An SPF and skincare hybrid, this chemical sunscreen uses four different FDA-approved UV protectors to shield skin from the sun. It also infuses hyaluronic acid, rice extract, niacinamide, and panthenol to create a face lotion with a texture that feels like a lightweight moisturizer and leaves a sheer, ultra-glowy finish on the skin. It even provides water resistance for up to 80 minutes and is clinically tested to provide an SPF 52 and PA ++++ (the highest rating of protection grade against UVA rays).
What I Love: I’ve tried a lot of avobenzone-based SPFs in my 20 years as a beauty editor and I can confidently say this is the most elegantly formulated one that I have put on my face. Even after putting multiple layers on, it still didn’t feel heavy or tacky and didn’t leave any trace of a white cast, which does not happen often with sunscreens that use FDA-approved filters.
What I Don’t: Having tried the Korean version this is based off of, I’m biased and prefer that due to its whisper-light texture and sheerness on the skin. However the brand is limited on the ingredients it can use in the U.S. due to the FDA only allowing a small amount of decades old chemical filters, so the brand has to work with what they’ve got.
Review for MC: Of all of the products I tested from Beauty of Joseon, I was the most surprised by the Day Dew. I came back from my last trip to Seoul with five tubes of the brand’s Relief Sun Rice + Probiotics SPF, which is the sunscreen that went viral on TikTok last year. It was briefly sold in the U.S. until the FDA found out and ended the party, because the sun filters used in it are not ones that have been approved here. You now can only order it from Korean retailers, which means paying tariffs. The brand created Day Dew as a way to ensure U.S. customers could still get an SPF from the brand, but it uses FDA-approved filters, which are widely considered to be heavier and less advanced than those used in Korea. But somehow, the brand managed to make them feel lightweight and look sheer and glowy on the skin. While you can definitely tell the difference between the U.S. and Korean versions, it’s subtle and the Day Dew is one of the most pleasant SPF’s I’ve slathered on my face featuring avobenzone.
This creamy rinse-off mask purifies the skin as it softens and brightens. It blends upcycled extracts from makgeolli (a type of fermented rice wine), plus rice hull powder to gently remove dead skin cells, and hydrate and illuminate your complexion. Honey soothes and hydrates, while kaolin clay absorbs excess sebum and degunks your pores for a gentle, harmonizing scrub.
What I Love: My skin felt so soft and had an amazing texture after using this and I noticed a few whiteheads that had been popping up around my nose were brought closer to the surface so they were easier to remove. I also loved that my overall complexion was brighter and had a more even-toned appearance.
What I Don’t: While this did a fab job at clearing up the surface of my skin, I didn’t see much improvement in stubborn blackheads deep in my pores. Granted that’s not the nature of physical scrubs, but I would have liked a bit more pore purification or at least a dislodging of a few blackheads to make them easier to remove.
Review for MC: I don’t usually turn to physical scrubs to exfoliate my skin, preferring to use chemical exfoliators to help soften fine lines and get rid of the occasional blackhead that crops up every few months. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I wound up liking the experience of the Glow Mask, from the light honey scent to the gentle sloughing sensation of the rice hull powder. My skin was noticeably softer after 15 minutes with it on and it imparted a velvety look and feel to my skin—almost a soft lens, filtered appearance when I took my after photos. I don’t think it will replace my usual AHA/BHA/PHA exfoliating routine, but I definitely plan on incorporating it into the rotation to brighten, soothe, hydrate, and soften my skin.
Made with retinal liposomes and ginseng extract, this powerful eye cream targets dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines while still being gentle on the delicate eye area. That's thanks to the time-release liposomes that both stabilize the retinal and ensure it releases slowly so it doesn’t irritate the skin. The lightweight serum texture absorbs quickly and hydrates without feeling tacky or heavy on the skin. Skin is brighter, more hydrated, and fine lines look visibly plumper.
What I Love: Eye creams tend to feel greasy on me and I wind up with watery eyes and streaks running down my cheeks midway through the day/night. The hybrid gel-lotion texture of this serum is thick enough to stay put but airy enough that it won’t irritate my Goldilocks eyes and wind up halfway down my face instead of where I need it.
What I Don’t: Not much, honestly. If I had to nitpick, I am still a little hesitant around retinol and my eyes, so I am overly cautious and only apply it at night, just to be extra safe.
Review for MC: Once you hit your 40s, you really start to understand what all the fuss is about with eye creams. If I have a sleepless night (all the more common as I start to experience the joys of perimenopause), I’m guaranteed to wake up with giant under-eye bags. I’m also starting to notice my eye area looks more hollow and my fine lines are becoming noticeable from the nosebleed section where I used to have to get up close and personal with the mirror to find them. Of course, there’s only so much an eye cream can do to address those, but I’ve started to become religious about using them day and night, whereas in my 30s I was a bit more laissez-faire. Eye creams that deliver tangible benefits are a high priority in my routine, of which the Revive Serum is definitively one. Two weeks of nightly use and my eyes look brighter, my fine lines a little less glaring, and I think I look more refreshed (or, at least that’s what I tell myself when I walk out the door). Extra credit: If you layer the Revive Serum underneath the Revive Under Eye Patch, you get a supercharged eye treatment that will level up both products.
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