You can’t go to Korea without seeing the sights: Gyeongbokgung Palace, N Seoul Tower, Myeongdong, and, for beauty enthusiasts, Olive Young. The Korean retailer has become as much a part of the Seoul shopping circuit as the city’s department stores and street markets, known for shelves packed with the latest skincare, makeup, and haircare used by the biggest K-celebs in the world. Which is why it’s probably also responsible for a fair amount of excess baggage on the flight home.
Now, if you’re a K-beauty devotee, you’ll know that some Olive Young favourites have already found their way to Malaysia, through retailers like Watsons and Guardian. But while individual Olive Young hits are slowly being made available here, the retailer’s wider selection has been kept largely on the other side of the Korean Strait. That changes with a new partnership with Sephora, which brings more than 180 products from 20 Korean beauty brands to Malaysia from 2 September onwards.
The Olive Young Edit—as it’s known in Sephora stores—is a growing catalogue of K-beauty products picked by Korea’s own Olive Young team, with the selection informed by the tastes and trends coming out of the peninsula. So, if your skincare haul has ever left you wondering how you were going to fit everything into your suitcase, here’s the good news: some of it is now much closer to home.
These are the products to know and the skin types they’re best suited to.
Beplain Mung Bean pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam
The humble mung bean is a standard product in Korean kitchens. But it also happens to be a standout ingredient in the global skincare market. Beplain’s Mung Bean pH-Balanced Cleansing Foam contains mung bean in both extract and powder forms, which actually serve different purposes in one formula. The extract helps to cleanse and soothe the skin, while the powder acts as a gentle exfoliating effect to clear away impurities. If there was any product to try on this list, it’s this one: Beplain’s mung bean cleanser is currently ranked first on Hwahae.
Best for: Combination, oily, and sensitive skin—particularly if you want gentle daily exfoliation without adding a separate exfoliating step.
Ma:nyo Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil
First mung bean, now soybean. At this rate, beans might just be the unsung heroes of Korean skincare. Ma:nyo’s Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil uses soybean oil, as well as argan and jojoba oils, to dissolve makeup, excess sebum, and impurities, while helping to keep skin moisturised. It’s also ranked among the top 50 trending products on Olive Young’s Korean website, so clearly Ma:nyo’s star ingredient is exceptionally good at what it does. In beans we trust!
Best for: All skin types, especially those dealing with clogged pores or excess sebum.
Celimax Retinol Shot Tightening Booster
Who’s up for shots? The latest skincare dose comes courtesy of Celimax. Its Retinal Shot Tightening Booster packs a hell of a punch with a concentrated dose of 0.1% retinal, an active known for smoothing fine lines and encouraging skin renewal. It also contains Matrixyl 3000 to support firmer-looking skin and A-Shot™ micro-particles to help the shot’s active ingredients penetrate more deeply, making this a treatment aimed at the trifecta of fine lines, enlarged pores, and loss of firmness.
Best for: Skin showing early signs of ageing.
Ongredients Skin Barrier Glow Mist
Take it from S.Coups: Ongredients has some good skincare. The Seventeen star was named the brand’s global ambassador in August, but Korean beauty shoppers were onto the brand well before then. Its Skin Barrier Glow Mist currently sits at No.5 in the face moisturisers category on Hwahae, with reviews praising its hydration properties and dewy finish. The two-layer formula mixes a water-based layer with an emulsion layer, utilising glycerin and hyaluronic acid for hydration, ceramides and peptides to support the skin barrier, and glutathione for a brighter-looking complexion. Plus, who could resist the charm of that heart-shaped bottle?
Best for: Dry, dehydrated, or barrier-compromised skin that can’t take the heaviness of a cream formula.
Bioheal BOH Probioderm™ 3D Lifting Cream
For its Sephora debut, Olive Young is bringing one of its own skincare brands to Malaysia, too. Bioheal BOH’s Probioderm™ 3D Lifting Cream combines the brand’s Probioderm™ complex with 17 peptides to support skin elasticity and strengthen the skin barrier. Glycerin, panthenol, and beta-glucan also help keep the skin moisturised, giving the rich cream its plumping effect.
Best for: Mature or loss-of-firmness-prone skin.
This article originally appeared on Grazia Singapore.