During our recent trip to Asia, we did some shopping – shocking! 🙂 We knew that Seoul was the place for K-Beauty purchases, and that was part of the intrigue of visiting there. We will take you through the products we bought and what we like about them. We also picked up a few things in Hong Kong, Hanoi, and Tokyo, and will share those as well.
SEOUL
Shopping Focus: K-Beauty
Glass skin. Snail Mucin. PDRN (salmon DNA). What do these have in common? All originated in Korea and have taken the skincare world by storm.
Korean beauty/skincare brands have skyrocketed. Known for their leading-edge technology and ingredients, they focus on skincare (vs. makeup) and emphasize prevention and maintenance – primarily hydration, skin barrier health, and layering of products. They also deliver these top formulations at lower prices due to lower markups, efficient manufacturing, and fierce competition. Korean brands are also known for moving faster with trends and R&D.
You can get many K-Beauty brands in the US, and Sephora and Nordstrom now have entire K-Beauty sections in their stores. However, please note that some Korean products sold in the US may differ from those sold in Korea due to regulations (e.g., some newer UV filters used in Korean sunscreens are not yet approved in the US). Serums, toners, and moisturizers tend to have the same ingredients when sold in the US.
Korean powerhouse retailer Olive Young is rumored to be opening a store in LA next year. We did our big shopping haul at their new flagship store in Seoul, Olive Young Town, which serendipitously had its grand opening the day of our visit. It’s huge and overwhelming – SO MANY PRODUCTS. An ambassador took us around for 2 hours, helped us find things we knew we wanted, and recommended lots of new things.
How did we prepare for this? We put together a spreadsheet by product category before we entered the store, using Instagram and other referrals/research (Chat GPT!), and then shopped with our helper by category:
So, what did we get?! Below is what we purchased and our initial thoughts. We’ve only been using them for a couple of weeks, so it’s a bit too soon to say that all our fine lines and dark spots have disappeared! Also, the prices were so good – we each got maybe 20 products each, and nobody spent more than $300.
Below, we have broken out the products we purchased by product type: Cleanser, Toner, Serum, Cream, Masks, and Sunscreen. We then break it down by each brand we tried.
K-Beauty Items We Purchased, By Product Type
Cleansers:
Torridin Dive In Cleansing Foam: I (Jo) now use this daily, and I’ve never been good about washing my face!
Toner:
Medicube PDRN Pink CICA Soothing Toner: Neither of us was a toner user, but Jo likes this one. It’s supposed to help improve hyperpigmentation in the inner layers of skin in just 2 weeks by replenishing moisture 10 layers deep. Need some more time to see full results, but so far so good!
Serums: Vitamin C (use in AM) and Hyaluronic Acid (AM or PM)
COSRX Vitamin C: We both have been using this every morning and love it. It has 25% Vitamin C, which is super high. Will definitely repurchase.
medicube PDRN Peptide Serum: PDRN is all the rage right now, and this serum is said to cleanse the dark spots and improve elasticity. Rather than being a super runny serum, this one feels thicker when applied, and from the recs we got about this brand and this product, we will for sure continue using it to see if it reduces dark spots.
BIOHEAL BOH Probioderm 3D Lifting Ampoule: This was a new-to-us brand that our sales associate said was great for mature, dry skin. Sign us up! It contains Probioderm™, Core V-builder™, and 17 peptide complexes and is said to be good for lifting and firming the skin. It’s also a thicker serum, and we are liking it.
Torriden Dive In Serum Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid: Hyaluronic acid is something we’ve been told for years to add to our daily routine, in addition to Vitamin C. We are liking this brand and the feel of the product.
InnisFree Vitamin C GreenTea Enzyme Brightening Serum: Audrey turned us on to this brand before the trip, and once there, we saw it in the cosmetics stores as well as in their own stand-alone stores. Chrissie has been using this Vitamin C, in addition to the COSRX one above. Audrey, her husband, and their kids all swear by this brand.
Creams:
Aestura AtoBarrier 365 Cream: We are all addicted to this product and use it day and night. It’s a very thick cream that moisturizes and is designed to protect your skin barrier. It goes on as the last step. Before we left for the trip, a 50+ Sephora salesperson showed us selfies of her neck before and after using this for 2 months, and the results were incredible. This is a good one that we will all buy on repeat.
Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Capsule Cream: We love these little capsules of salmon PDRN concentrate that, upon bursting, help care for blemishes, brighten the complexion, and deliver a powerful brightening toning effect.
Probioderm 3D Lifting Cream: Chrissie and Audrey bought and are loving this moisturizer. It’s super thick and really helps with a super dry face. Time will tell whether it lives up to its claims of firmer-looking skin and reduced signs of aging, but so far, we are really happy with how it makes our skin feel.
medicube PDRN Pink Hylauronic Moisturizing Cream: We are really liking medicube products, and this one has both PDRN and hyaluronic acid in it – a great combo for aging skin.
BIOHEAL BOH Panthecell Repair Cica Cream Mist: We were both given this as a freebie and love it. It’s sort of like a spray-on light moisturizer that is supposed to strengthen the skin barrier (“skin barrier” is a real thing these days if you haven’t noticed!), and provide instant hydration. Jo sprays it on after washing her face, and Chrissie keeps it on her desk and sprays throughout the day.
Masks:
Olive Young has an entire mask department in its flagship store, and we bought many, many masks! There are a variety of mask types, each with a specific purpose, and we focused on a few key brands we had either used before or heard good things about, or that were recommended to us in-store. The type of mask varies, depending on its ingredients and intent. Some are designed to be worn for multiple hours/overnight, allowing time for your skin to absorb the products in the mask, and others are designed to be worn for 20 minutes or so.
Biodance Bio Collagen Real Deep Mask: We are big fans of this collagen mask! Designed primarily for intense hydration, pore minimization, and improving skin elasticity. It needs to be worn for multiple hours or overnight, turning from white to transparent as the active ingredients (collagen and hyaluronic acid) are absorbed into the skin. Once it looks like tissue paper, it’s ready to be taken off, and your skin looks amazing.
Biodance Rejuvenating Caviar PDRN Real Deep Mask: Same company as above, but different ingredients. This is a PDRN sheet mask designed for intensive anti-aging, deep hydration, and skin rejuvenation.
Biodance Refreshing Sea Kelp Real Deep Mask: This sea kelp version is designed to intensely soothe, hydrate, and balance skin, particularly for those with oily, sensitive, or acne-prone skin.
Mediheal Hyaluronate Mask: Our Olive Young sales associate raved about this brand in general, and this mask in particular, for our mature skin. It is meant to be worn for about 20 minutes and is formulated to replenish moisture, improve skin texture, and lock in hydration for long-lasting softness.
Mediheal Rose PDRN Mask: Same brand as above, this Rose PDRN is particularly effective for achieving a, glowing, “glass-skin” look and tackling signs of aging or fatigue.
medicube PDRN Pink Vita Coating Mask: More PDRN goodness! Designed to provide intense hydration, skin regeneration, and a “glass skin” radiant glow. It is particularly good for addressing dullness, uneven skin tone, and loss of elasticity in just 10–20 minutes.
medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask: We were asked by friends to bring this back for them since they love this product so much. This is a peel-off sleeping mask designed to provide intensive overnight hydration, elasticity care, and a “glass-glow” finish by morning. It works by forming a protective film that locks in active ingredients while you sleep to fight sagging and dullness. We should have bought more of this one!
Sunscreen:
Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Rice+Probiotics 50ml Triple Set: Chrissie has been using this product for years and swears by it! It doesn’t feel “sunscreeny” at all, but rather just like a moisturizer, and her kids also use it.
Beauty of Joseon Matte sun stick: Mugwort + Camelia Double Pack: This stick is genius – easy to apply on your face, hands, and arms. It’s good to keep one in your purse and one in the car for fast reapplication of sunscreen throughout the day. It’s great to also use on your lips, and to put on your hands/arms while driving.
K-Beauty Brands We Tried:
COSRX:
This brand got broad US appeal when its snail mucin essence took off here a few years ago. This time, we tried their Vitamin C Serum, which has a whopping 25% Vitamin C, and we are loving its smooth texture. It’s now part of our daily routine and will continue to be!
Beauty of Joseon:
Interestingly, this brand is more well-known in the US than in Korea. They’ve done a great job marketing here, and we were told numerous times in Seoul that they are just getting to know this product (it’s widely available now at Olive Young) and that they like it. Chrissie has been using their sunscreen for over a year now and loves it because it’s super lightweight and feels like a moisturizer rather than a sunscreen.
Innisfree:
FabLister Audrey N., who was on our trip, loved this brand prior to going to Seoul. Her boys and husband also love it and have noticed better skin since using it. She stocked up on their roller ball eye cooler (her kids keep it at their desks for daily use to reduce dark circles under the eyes), their best-selling Vitamin C Green Tea Enzyme Brightening Serum, and more.
Biodance:
We were big fans of the Biodance Collagen Masks before our trip, and after speaking with others in Korea, we heard opinions that echoed our own. And there are literally hundreds of masks available there… These are just so good.
Aestura:
This brand was highly touted to us both at Sephora before we left and in Korea. We LOVE their skin barrier cream. You put just a small amount on as the last step of your routine to lock everything in and to protect your skin barrier. It leaves your skin so moisturized. It’s a “desert island” product for Chrissie. Now we want to try their other products as well.
medicube:
This was a new brand we hadn’t heard a lot about prior to our trip, although it’s carried in Sephora. If you’re looking for a brand that has PDRN as a key ingredient, this is the one for you. Numerous people in Korea recommended it to us, and we like their products we’ve purchased/are testing (see above).
Probioderm:
This was recommended to us by a few people in Korea as being good for mature skin, especially in terms of moisturizing. We are liking their serum and cream a lot and find they deliver on the moisturizing promise.
Other Non-Beauty Items Purchased:
Eyeglasses:
We all got new prescription glasses in Seoul. They were not rock-bottom cheap, but they were less than in the US, particularly progressives. They also do an eye exam for free, if needed, or you can bring your prescription. Some of our glasses were ready the next day, and others were shipped home at no cost. Upon the recommendation of a Korean friend, we went to a small local shop, Love Optical, run by Park Sang Won, located in the Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center, near the Lotte department store. He was terrific. Bring your own frames, or he also sells frames. Other larger chains either just sold frames (that you then had to take somewhere else for the lenses) or were more $$$.
Fake Designer Handbags:
Chrissie got a nylon ‘Prada’ cross-body bag for $18 at the same underground mall as the glasses place (above). The handbags have “no name” brand tags (so they won’t get in trouble with the counterfeit police), and they swap out to the correct brand tag after you buy the bag.
HONG KONG
Shopping Focus: We didn’t do much shopping here, despite Hong Kong feeling like one big shopping mall, because we knew things would be cheaper in Tokyo. We enjoyed going to a few smaller boutique clothing stores in the Central District, in particular:
- Merci852: Paris designed, made in China. Jo got some great jeans here, and they also had some great tops and jackets.
- Le Bac (Cashmere): 44 Hollywood Road, Central. They had wonderful cashmere, but we didn’t end up getting anything.
- Button Hole: (high-end knockoff clothing like Zimmerman, Dior, Ulla Johnson, etc.) G/F, 58-60 Peel Street, Soho, Central, Hong Kong. One of our friends got some beautiful dresses at about 75% off the designer prices.
- Japan Home Store: If you’re looking for everyday items like phone chargers, reading glasses, ziplocks, etc. this is the place!
HANOI
Shopping Focus: Hanoi is known for its counterfeit goods, including purses, shoes, outdoor activewear, and more. These are sold everywhere; it’s not hidden behind a random back door, and the quality is good. Hanoi also sells lots of silk clothing, which you can have made to order. It is also known for its lacquerware, but we didn’t see nearly as much of it on display as we had on past visits to Hanoi, when it was everywhere.
Fake Designer Handbags: We each got some bags from the many stalls in the Old Quarter (ranging from about $8 for a Louis Vuitton wallet to $20-$30 for a Goyard tote or other name-brand bags, but be sure to haggle).
Clothing:
- Chrissie got a nice linen shirt from Lo’s Corner. The owner swapped out some buttons for different colors while we waited.
- Tan May Design: Chrissie got a black velvet jacket with a bright pink silk lining that she loves. This 4-story shop is very nice for clothing, embroidered linens, and homewares. It was the nicest shop we visited, with the most variety.
- Ginkgo Concept Store: We all bought beautiful silk scarves here, each with a different historical story from Vietnam printed on it. They sell a variety of nicely made home and fashion items. Good for gifts.
- Ceramic items: Chrissie got some small ceramic bowls for one of her children.
Other stores we visited but didn’t make purchases from:
- Anna Wang: High-end designer clothing knock-offs. Gucci, Valentino, etc.
- Silky Vietnam & Airashi Silk: Custom silk clothing. You can get clothes made, but it may take a few days, so do it first thing if you are interested.
- Huong’s Jewelry: Pearls are their specialty.
- Hanoia House: High-end lacquer (but not tons of inventory/choices).
- Dong Xuan – the city’s largest and oldest covered market. This indoor market is a bit chaotic and has a bit of everything. A few of us bought nice fake Longchamp and Goyard totes.
- Night Market on Friday and Saturday night at the Old Quarter by the end of the lake.
TOKYO
Shopping Focus: Tokyo is a huge city that offers everything, and with a strong dollar and tax-free status, it’s now a great place to buy certain things, specifically Japanese brands like Uniqlo, Muji, Tiger, Sacai, and Comme des Garçons. We set our sights on Japanese denim and Tiger shoes.
- Onitsuka Tiger shoes aren’t currently available in great supply in the US due to their popularity, and they are twice the cost if you can even find them. We went to eight different Tiger stores (it was a fun way to visit lots of different parts of the city!), and each was packed with shoppers. We all got multiple pairs of sneakers, and we all bought the same silver pair. That photo above is not a store display…it’s all of the shoes that just three of us purchased!
- Sacai is a Japanese brand that Jo was familiar with (if you watched The Morning Show, Stella wore a lot of Sacai). Jo got this sweatshirt, and Alison got this jacket. The “splicing” of different fabrics together is amazing with this brand. It is available at the Mitsukoshi store in Ginza, and they have a standalone store in Omotesando. Items cost about 50% less than in the US.
- Japanese denim is a THING. We didn’t do a deep dive into this sector, but three of us bought jeans at 45R Denim in the Tokyo Midtown Galleria. They had great denim, along with other items like interesting button-downs and tees. Jeans were more than half off the US prices.
- Itoya is an amazing 12-story, beautiful stationery/art store in Ginza. They have anything related to stationery that you can think of. Chrissie got an interesting portable pen/pencil case as a gift for an artist (also on Amazon!), some handmade children’s embroidered washclothes, and others got various gift items.
- Issey Miyake is a Japanese brand known for its beautiful pleating, craftsmanship, and wrinkle-free materials. They have separate men’s and women’s stores, and by accident, we first tried on pants in the men’s store! But… after trying on the pants in the women’s store, we realized we not only liked the fit of the men’s pants better, but they were also less expensive. Jo and one other friend bought really interesting men’s pleated pants similar to these.
- Don Quixote Mega Store in Shibuya. This HUGE cheap mega store is a horrible shopping experience – 7 floors stuffed full of every cheap thing in the world you might need, with loud awful music blaring. Jo almost had a nervous breakdown on Floor 2. It’s an experience that you only need to have once! Chrissie did pick up an overflow bag here, and Jo got Matcha flavored Kit Kats and some “lip fondue” lip gloss for friends.
Other stores we visited, but didn’t make purchases from:
- Muji Flagship (Ginza)
- Uniqlo Flagship (Ginza)
- Omontesando. High-end shopping area with brands like Herno, Sacai, Aspesi, etc. Tiger Shoes too.
