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Skin, K-beauty, Korea trips and the beauty industry — ask and share
In an Olive Young haul, the item everyone argued about was a setting spray
On Taiwan's PTT forum (MakeUp board), someone shared an April haul from Olive Young in Korea: Espoir's glow foundation, Clio's snowflake highlighter, So Natural's setting spray, a Too Cool For School aegyo-sal pencil, Ba
0 0How to Choose Korean Shampoo: Oil Control, Hair Loss, and Repair
The shampoo section at Korean drugstores is huge, so choosing based on your needs makes things much easier:
0 1Olive Young's K-beauty edit is now inside 500+ Sephora stores in the US
Since August 20, 2026, Sephora has been selling an Olive Young-curated K-beauty selection across the US. The basics: 19 Korean brands, including Abib, BANILA CO, beplain, Cell Fusion C, make p:rem, Torriden and WELLAGE I
0 0Do you trust K-beauty rankings, or do they just make things viral?
Real-time rankings, award shelves and "No. 1" stickers are everywhere in Korean beauty retail. Some shoppers treat them as a shortcut. Others think they feed a loop: a product ranks, gets more shelf space, sells more, ra
0 0Daiso Korea beauty finds: why tourists leave with full baskets
Daiso in Korea is not just household goods — the beauty aisle has low-priced skincare, makeup tools and brand collaborations. Stock changes fast and popular items sell out.
0 1First trip to Korea as a guy: what skincare should you actually buy?
Plenty of men tag along to a Korean drugstore with a partner or friends and end up staring at the shelves: so what do I buy? The usual approach in men's skincare threads is few but solid: Cleanser: a fresh type for oily
0 0Korean dermocosmetics: why "pharmacy-style" skincare keeps growing
Brands with a clinical, minimal look — often linked to dermatology or pharma companies — have become a big part of Korean skincare shelves. Short ingredient lists and barrier-focused claims Clinic-adjacent storytelling S
0 1Olive Young Hongdae Town: what's on each floor and what you can actually try
Olive Young Hongdae Town opened on April 26, 2024 at the entrance to Hongdae's "Walking Street," built as an experience-first store rather than a plain shelf-and-checkout shop. At three floors and roughly 991 square mete
0 0Men’s Skincare in Korea: All-in-One Products and BB Cream
Men’s skincare is quite common in Korea, and it’s normal for drugstores to have dedicated men’s sections. Popular choices include “all-in-one” products and “lightweight BB cream or tone-up products.”
0 1Why European retailers keep adding K-beauty shelves (and what they ask brands for)
K-beauty sections have been showing up in more European drugstores and online retailers. Buyers are attracted by sunscreen textures, gentle actives and price points, but they also ask practical questions early.
0 1Do you wear sunscreen every day, even in winter?
Everyone remembers it in summer, but when the weather turns cloudy and cold, we often skip sunscreen. Quite a bit of UVA still gets through in winter, and snow increases reflection, too.
Poll
Winter sunscreen, honestly
Pick one to see the results
0 1Lines around the block for a men's beauty popup: the numbers behind it
When CJ Olive Young opened its first Men's Beauty popup in Seoul, the turnout surprised a lot of people. The Korea Times put numbers on it. From the report: Over 12,000 visitors in 10 days (Aug. 30 to Sept. 8, 2024), wit
0 0Olive Young Awards 2025: the skincare staples that topped their categories
The 2025 Olive Young Awards recap splits skincare into eight categories: toners, serums/essences, moisturizing creams, masks, cleansing, lip care, sun care and patches. Two headline winners: Toner: Round Lab 1025 Dokdo T
0 0Why a lot of men in Seoul wear BB cream (and how to try it subtly)
In Korea, a light tone-up cream or BB cream on men is pretty ordinary — think "evened-out skin", not "makeup look". Drugstores even have men’s-only sections.
0 1A 5,000-won Daiso serum vs a department-store serum: are the ingredients enough?
A recent Korean report describes the Myeongdong Daiso skincare aisle packed not only with tourists but also with men who didn't used to shop for skincare. Prices sit around 1,000–5,000 won, and products made with pharma
0 0Gyeongui Line Forest Park, Yeonnam-dong: how to walk it and where to stop for coffee
Gyeongui Line Forest Park is what Seoul built after burying an old railway line underground: a roughly 6.3-kilometre green corridor running from Mapo-gu into Yongsan-gu. The Yeonnam-dong stretch near Hongdae is the most
0 0Rare in Korean neighbourhood stores, huge abroad: the Beauty of Joseon puzzle
A post in r/KoreanBeauty from someone who has lived in Korea for close to ten years: they had never seen Beauty of Joseon on a shelf, even at Olive Young, and did not know a single Korean who used it. They understood it
0 1Leaving Seoul with one free kilo of luggage. What fills it?
Everyone who shops in Seoul knows the moment: the suitcase is closed, the scale says there is room for about one more kilo, and you are standing in a drugstore. Forum threads about Korea hauls tend to split into camps: S
Poll
One free kilo in your suitcase leaving Seoul. What goes in?
Pick one to see the results
0 0How did K-beauty first get you? Tell us your origin story
Everyone who ends up on a K-beauty forum has a first moment. For some it was a sheet mask from a friend's trip, for others a K-drama close-up or a video about double cleansing at 2 a.m. The origin stories people share mo
0 0Men's brow grooming, Korean style: tidy, not drawn on
Ask Korean men's grooming creators where to start, and eyebrows come up almost as often as skincare. The goal is usually a clean, straight-ish brow that looks natural, not a sculpted arch. A basic routine people describe
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