Is K-Beauty Still the Outsider in Western Skincare?

Is K-Beauty still an outlier in western skincare? Or considered a fringe subcategory for hardcover skincare nerds? In many ways it still seems to be but it's come a long way since we were all shocked by headlines of 10-step routines and snail slime from a few years back.

We're starting to see Korean skincare products in mainstream shops (Boots now stocks Cosrx), and K-Beauty products are regularly appearing in celeb skincare routines - model Emily Ratajkowski caused a frenzied sell-out of Cosrx Snail Mucin Essence following an Instagram Q&A with fans when she credited it with helping to fix her "freaked out" skin during quarantine.

And for a few years now we've seen "Best of K-Beauty" headlines in mainstream magazines and newspapers but more recently Korean skincare products have started cropping up in overall best-of-skincare lists. The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask made Vogue's Editors' list of their "hero" skincare products of 2021 and we're not surprised. People love it! It's full of humectants for hydration, Vitamin C, and antioxidants, to help heal and nourish lips while you sleep.

Obviously we're big advocates for Korean skincare but the proof is out there - Korean and Korean-inspired skincare isn't going anywhere in Western cosmetics and with good-quality ingredients, relentless innovation, and exceptional value, it's no mystery why.