I started my K-beauty routine about four years ago. I’d love to say I immediately had glowing results—but the truth is, I was doing a lot of things wrong and getting nowhere near the skin I wanted.
I fell into the trap of buzzwords and celebrity influencing, buying products that weren’t right for my skin type. Some did nothing; others broke me out. That meant wasted product, plenty of discouragement and, most importantly, no consistency. We’ve all been there: we buy the hype product, it doesn’t give, and then we’re the ones giving… giving up!
I feel like I cracked the code about two and a half years ago. The secret was simple: learn about ingredients. Once I started understanding which ingredients work for different skin types, I could see past the packaging and marketing bull. A product is only as good as what’s inside it—and that knowledge helped me find products that worked for me. I started seeing results in my own skin, and in the skin of the thousands of customers who have trusted my suggestions.
So, what’s all of this to say? I’ve managed to condense my routine into one that’s doable, keeps me consistent and gets me results I’m obsessed with. Here are my non-negotiables and my top hot tricks for keeping my skin chef’s kiss.
It all starts with my PM routine. In my opinion, this is where your next day’s success lies. Your AM routine actually starts the night before—with a good old slug. Don’t worry, we’re not switching from snail mucin to putting actual slugs on our faces. The term “slug” is for the shiny effect you get from layering skincare. (Insert gif of Moana’s shiny crab here.) By the end, I’m a little glossy, in the best way.
I’m an evening-shower girly, which works perfectly with my routine. I start with an oil cleanse on a dry face. This is so important: if my face or hands are already wet, the oil cleanser starts emulsifying straight away. I want to massage the oil onto dry skin first and give it time to work over my face before adding water. Then I gently massage, add water to emulsify, and rinse.
If I wore makeup that day, I’ll oil cleanse twice, patting my face dry in between. The first cleanse takes off the makeup; then I go in again with the oil on dry skin. Once that second round is gently massaged in, I emulsify and rinse it off. No aggressive scrubbing—just a nice gentle massage.
Next comes my water-based cleanser. These come in all sorts of forms: gel, mousse, bubble, foam and even mochi-style. The point of this step, for me, is to make sure there’s no oil residue left. I always say this is where you should spend the least money, because a cleanser is on your face for such a short time. A low-pH cleanser is a good place to start if you want to avoid stripping your skin. There are hundreds promising all sorts of things, so choose one that suits your goals, but don’t expect your cleanser to be the skin-changing step.
After my shower, while my face is still damp, I drench it with hydrating toner—ideally within a minute of getting out. This is my first layer. I’ll usually put on my lip sleeping mask here too, so my lips can lock in some hydration while I’m busy with the rest of my face.
I let the toner sink in for about 15 seconds, although that first layer is usually the thirstiest, so I move pretty quickly to layer two. That takes a little longer to settle, and then I apply layer three. If my skin is exceptionally dry—especially in winter—I might add a fourth or fifth layer. If I’m using a treatment toner, that goes on as my last toner layer. Starting with damp skin helps my toner give my face that extra burst of hydration.
Then I apply a layer or two of essence. This is usually where I like to introduce a ferment or probiotic. After that comes serum. At the moment, I alternate between a heartleaf calming serum and a retinol or retinal serum. I keep it to one serum layer, then move on to eye cream.
I’m a die-hard fan of MARY&MAY TXA Eye Cream, and I believe I always will be. It doubles as a hyperpigmentation spot cream for me, so I apply it where I need it on my face, too. I wrap everything up with night cream. Mine is thicker and more luxurious than my day cream. I want it to help seal in all those previous layers while I sleep.
Et voilà: the PM slug.
My morning routine is much simpler, because I’m usually rushing a bit. I spot-clean away any sleep or night grub with a muslin towel—or my handy, permeable, hypoallergenic towel by BENTON—then go straight in with toner. I use two or three layers, followed by a non-active serum, day cream and SPF.
Because I haven’t cleansed, scrubbed or stripped my skin in the morning, it feels like the benefits of my PM routine can still shine through all. day. long. It’s quite magical.
The biggest change for me wasn’t adding more steps; it was learning what I was putting on my skin and choosing products that made sense for it. My routine is now consistent, doable and full of products I actually enjoy using. That’s my version of glass skin: not chasing every shiny new thing, but finding what works for me—and waking up a little glowy from the night before.