Last month, I highlighted some potential skincare resolutions. For those of you who jumped on board or are rethinking your beauty routine, there are upcoming skincare trends that may interest you and support your skincare health. Here’s a rundown.
If this past summer you or the little ones in your life got swept up into the KPOP Demon Hunter of it all, you won’t be surprised to learn that K-Beauty trends are on the rise. Korean skincare has been popular in the West for quite some time.
Back in 2019, various beauty blogs and magazines touted the 10-step Korean skincare routine full of toners, serums, and primers.
For the current iteration of this trend, the focus is on innovation with multi-functional products like serum-moisturizing duos and techy treatments.
The Beauty of Joseon, a Korean-based brand available at Sephora, offers dual-purpose products like the Calming Barrier Serum, which reduces redness while strengthening the skin barrier. I personally use Glossier’s Futuredew, an oil-serum that’s packed with plant-based extracts for gleaming, well-nourished skin. You can use this as a moisturizer and serum in one. I also like it as a morning eye cream/primer in addition to my daily moisturizer.
On the treatment end of this trend, you can get really high-tech with ultrasound gadgets to stimulate collagen, like Clarius’ Ultra-High Frequency Ultrasound Handheld Scanner, which is esthetician-level equipment. Or, for a more realistic beauty budget, there’s Nuive’s Collagen Night Wrapping Mask, which is a serum turned sheet mask overnight. When peeled off come morning, it reveals the glass skin glow purported by Korean beauty standards.
The overnight mask may also seem extreme; however, it speaks to another trend, slow-release skincare. The types of products that tout being slow-release are those with encapsulated formulas. Or, in other words, they wrap potent ingredients in tiny moisture capsules for controlled release. Overnight masks are the prime example of this feature, with the hours-long wear to help deeply penetrate skin as you sleep. You’ll see slow-release in retinoid-based serums and creams like Inkey’s Starter Retinol Serum that features encapsulated retinol. The encapsulated ingredient works like a cushion to target uneven skin tone, texture, and fine lines while reducing the risk of irritation of sensitive, dry, or flaky skin. As the name suggests, this is a “starter” for first-time retinol exposure. If you’re a seasoned retinol user, then check out the same brand’s Advance 0.2% Retinal Serum, which features a high-strength retinol to reduce the five signs of aging.
While retinal encapsulated serums may seem fancy (read expensive), it doesn’t mean more cost-effective basics won’t give you satisfactory results. When it comes to cleansers and moisturizers, simple is often best, especially if you are using fancy serums to address your skin concerns. For daily use, a product like CeraVe’s Hydrating Facial Cleanser for normal to dry skin will serve you just as well as something twice the price. For oily, acne-prone skin, try Byoma’s Blemish Acne Clearing Creamy Cleanser available at Target. Then moisturize with Cetaphil’s daily Hydrating Lotion or e.l.f’s Holy Hydration Daily Moisturizer, especially if you’re layering on additional serums, sprays, and sunscreens. Keeping your basics on the cheap end allows you to invest in high-quality secondary products that are built to do the heavy lifting.
And speaking of lifting, there seems to be a shift away from skincare that works hard to products that support, calm, and destress. Think of it like skin wellbeing with creams and serums purporting hero ingredients like matcha and green tea with increased antioxidant properties, such as Tirtir’s Matcha Calming Cream available at Ulta. This calming and firming pudding-textured lotion is meant to soothe, strengthen, and reduce redness. Pair it up with the brand’s Matcha Calming Skin Toner to double down on the destress and redness-reducing effect. To really wind down and support skin health, there’s Dermalogica’s Biolumin-C Night Restore Serum available from Sephora. This product also features vitamins A, C, and D, which, when worn overnight, will restore the skin’s moisture barrier while being lightweight and won’t clog pores.
On the opposite end of calming, relaxing skincare is the multitasking products that work to minimize the number of steps and products in your routine. Remember the 10-step Korean beauty regime mentioned above that was a huge skincare trend for years? Well, now, fewer products that work harder with fewer steps are all the rage. And to be honest, multi-step skincare takes time, costs money, and can sometimes be counterproductive with too many lotions and potions trying to work all at once. You may find it more to your skincare routine to replace toners and serums with a moisturizer packed with active ingredients like Dr. Idriss’s Major Fade Active Seal Dark Spot Vitamin C and Peptide Gel Moisturizer from Sephora. This multipurpose product hydrates, fades the look of dark spots, and supports the skin barrier. I like my lotions with SPF, so I’m looking at Murad’s Superactive Mattifying Oil + Pore Control Moisturizer with SPF 50 from Ulta. Sign me up to hydrate, minimize pores, and get high-level broad-spectrum protection any day of the week. These types of creams help you do less to your skin, as in using fewer products with fewer steps, but still address your skin priorities effectively.
So, whether or not your skincare goals are clearing up your skin, revamping your routine, fighting signs of aging, or combating dryness, maybe some or all of these skincare trends will speak to where you’re at right now to put your best self and face forward.
