“Yuru pibu” may be desirable in hydrate-centric, 0-stepping, hyper-complexion-conscious Korea, but does the shiny porcelain “SoKo” look appeal?
Is glass skin still on-trend? Of course. Many words are bandied around for the perfect complexion – dewy, pearlescent, luminous, and honey”, but only one word for the ideal is Flawless. The quest never dies. Glass skin is a permanent trend.
But do we want to look ceramic and our makeup look like it’s been put on by a watercolor miniaturist? Do we really want to be dollish? Do we aspire to be non-filter, polished, and super glossy? or, as the Koreans would say, “chock chock” and “kkul-gwang” … seemingly so.
There are many products offering the way to flawless oriental-esque glass skin – Neogene, Maybelline New York Studio’s glass spray, Rose Marie Swift’s RMS Luminizer, Glow Recipe, L’Oreal Infallible Pro Glow, Son & Park Beauty Water, Skinceuticals, Rodial, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Surratt Beauty Dew Drops Foundation, and Algenist Genius.
Glossier offers its Dewy Look set, Hourglass No 28 Primer Serum, Isamaya Skinlacq Triple Hyaluronic, Westman Atelier Highlight Stick, and Pat McGrath Labs Dewy Sin Rose 001 Essence.
Glass skin is an art form. It is so easy to bodge up. There is a fine line between glassy and reflective, and between looking your best and looking embalmed. Dolphin skin and the glazed doughnut look are not to everyone’s taste.
For a traditional look, traditional K-Beauty products are still the go-to. Such as Saturday Skin Waterfall Glacier Water Cream, Charlotte Coo’s Then I Met You Birch Milk Toner, Zeroid Foaming Cleanser, Awelle Licorice, Obagi Hydrate Foaming Moisturizer, Pyngkamg Yul, and, of course, Peach And Lily.
Born in South Korea, Alicia Yoon moved to the US at the age of one. She studied at Columbia University and Harvard Business School, where the founders of Birchbox were classmates. She worked for the Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, and Goldman Sachs. “I managed a portfolio of companies to analyse their capital structure and evaluate their creditworthiness for our trading group. I would then help structure trades to mitigate Goldman’s credit exposure to these companies. I would also help evaluate the credit risk in leveraged buyout transactions!”
Alicia founded Peach & Lily (www.peachandlily.com) in 2012, quickly becoming the US maven of K-Beauty and Hanbang.
Hanbang is linked to a form of ancient Korean holistic medicine that utilizes herbal ingredients used within topical skincare solutions, in a bid to bring together internal and external health.
It’s not uncommon to see ingredients like hyaluronic acid pair with more traditional ingredients like ginseng root extract, green tea, Rehmannia, sacred lotus, bamboo water, and houttuynia cordata — also known as heartleaf.
The more adventurous might try placenta, donkey milk, pig collagen, and snail slime mucin.
Peach & Lily popularized the term “Glass Skin” after launching the Glass Skin Refining Serum and pioneering the glass skin movement in 2018.
Comments Alicia: “Skincare is a way of life in Korea. There’s a very open culture of sharing about skincare. Everybody is a dermatologist!
“The Korean standard for how people want to treat their skin is unparalleled in other parts of the world. Women are so skincare savvy… they know exactly what they need. The all-in-one approach in American products is not something you’ll see in Korean products.
“I’ve struggled with eczema my whole life. I grew up just with Cortizone 10, taking baths in baking soda, my mom putting oatmeal packs on me, and me drenching myself in lotion. It was never a scientific approach. But in beauty school- I trained in Gangnam as an aesthetician- the first thing you learn is how to take care of all different types of skin. It’s all about the science of it. And the philosophy. In Korea, people know that you don’t get beautiful skin overnight. It’s a long-term approach that seeks to improve the skin from the inside out.”
Yoon, who describes herself as a big mister and SPF user and a toner rotator, recommends many products – Shangpree, Joanna Vargas, Be The Skin, Lagom, Banila Co, Cremorlab, Espoir, Iope, and Peach Slices. Her e-commerce business was built on curating the best of the best beauty must-haves.
The granddaughter of a serial entrepreneur, she has always seen skincare as a form of overall wellness and self-care, versus a hobby or vanity thing. Korea to try. In her younger days, she was a fan of Saengreen and oregano oil supplements.
“I’m constantly trying new skincare products so my face is a lab of sorts! I can’t live without Aromativas Calendula Juicy Cream moisturizer. It goes everywhere with me.
“There isn’t really a limit on how long you should use the same product before changing. It’s more than your skin type can change, so you need to adapt to your skin.”
Alicia believes the key tenets of skincare are immutable – removal (cleansing), hydration, balance, nourishment, and protection. The name and meaning may have changed. But the end hasn’t. Call it glass or what you like, according to Alicia, we all share the same dream of what she calls that glow, that translucent radiance which comes from really healthy skin.
We’re seeing this huge desire for skin not to necessarily ‘look more beautiful,’ but to really have skin be healthier.
We approach skin care as a form of taking care of your overall health. That’s what glass skin is: it’s not glossy skin, it’s not fake skin, it’s not filtered skin. It’s that vibrancy when skin is so healthy, that luminosity, that clarity, that smoothness.
