Olive Young's flagship Seongsu location in Seoul is a five-story, 4,628 sq meters temple to Korean beauty where chaos reigns. The first floor features a beach-themed installation with wellness smoothie and gelato bars, and a man on a giant lifeguard chair booming greetings through a megaphone. Upper levels offer a wall of face masks, a beauty station with mirrors and sinks, and a health grocery store. According to reports, a purchase is made every 0.9 seconds in the store.
US access expands
More Americans are getting access to Korea's largest health and beauty retailer, which opened its first US store in Pasadena earlier this year with a line that stretched a quarter-mile long. Last month, it debuted in Sephora, where shoppers can buy 19 curated Korean brands in hundreds of locations nationwide. Olive Young also opened online shipping for the US this year, offering familiar names such as Biodance and Abib, plus domestically popular ones like Hanyul and Ilso.
As a self-designated Korean beauty correspondent, I visited the Seongsu location several times on a recent Seoul trip to find what's worth buying. I followed the herd: which shelves were constantly restocked, which brands a Chinese influencer held up on livestream, and what was in everyone's bags at checkout.
Best skincare picks
Mediheal's Madecassoside Moisture Sun Serum delivers a trio of cica compounds (madecassoside, 4-Teca and cica extract) to soothe irritation, reinforce the skin barrier and encourage collagen production while protecting from the sun. It costs from $16.50 at Amazon or $20 at Olive Young.
Mediheal PDRN Lifting Toner Pads, $27 for 100 pads at iHerb or $48 for 200 pads at Olive Young, were one of the best things I got. Each pad is soaked in plant-based PDRN, niacinamide and glutathione to firm skin and brighten tone. They're huge and stretchy, and since using them nearly every day for a month, my skin feels noticeably smoother.
Mediheal PDRN Lifting Serum, $14 at Ulta Beauty or Amazon, was recommended by a clinic consultant to refine pores. It contains plant-derived EGF, absorbs quickly, isn't sticky and leaves skin looking brighter.
VT Reedle Shot 300, $22.50 at Ulta Beauty or Amazon, uses tiny silica micro-needles to create pathways for deeper absorption. My mom, in her 60s, said her skin has gotten visibly smoother after regular use. Centella asiatica, triple hyaluronic acid and propolis soothe while niacinamide helps with tone and texture.
Hanyul Red Rice Hydrating Serum, $38 at Olive Young or $45 at Sephora, was recommended for deep hydration. Its unique ingredients include Korean fermented red rice extract, rice vegan ceramide and seaweed-derived extensin. As someone with oily skin, I love its lightweight texture that dries down to a velvety feel.
Manyo Pure Soybean Cleansing Oil, $15 at Ulta Beauty or $17 at Olive Young, is an Olive Young bestseller. It feels silky rather than greasy, melting away makeup, sunscreen and pore buildup. Its 14 plant oils, including argan kernel and rice bran, regulate sebum and gently exfoliate.
Ilso Super Melting Sebum Softener, $25 at Olive Young or Amazon, is famous in Korea for pore care. You soak a cotton pad and leave it on your nose or T-zone for 10-15 minutes to melt hardened sebum and blackheads. It uses papaya enzymes, willow bark and mushroom extract, plus centella and chamomile to soothe.
Best face masks
Rejuran Skin Protection Mask, $16 for a pack of five at Olive Young or $17 at Yesstyle, was given to me after a chemical peel at a Gangnam clinic. Infused with c-PDRN, panthenol and allantoin, it deeply hydrates and calms sensitive skin. After one use, my skin looked noticeably less red.
Biodance Rejuvenating Caviar PDRN Real Deep Mask, $19 for a pack of four at Olive Young or Sephora, combines caviar extract and PDRN to renew dull skin, plus niacinamide and shea butter for hydration. You leave them on for a few hours or overnight, and they slowly turn transparent as ingredients absorb.
Abib Mild Acidic pH Sheet Mask Heartleaf, $3 for one at Olive Young or $28 for ten at Amazon, is my favorite for calming skin after a long flight. The pH is balanced to match healthy skin (around 5.5), and heartleaf extract soothes redness and inflammation. The albumin-coated sheet tightens around your face as it dries.
Best haircare
Lilyeve Exosome Brush Ampoule, $24 at Olive Young or $29 at Ulta Beauty, contains hair growth serum with cooling properties, a trend based on the idea that scalps can get damaged by too much heat. It's designed to strengthen the scalp and hair roots, and I love the fresh cooling effect afterward.
Aromatica Rosemary Scalp Scrub, $16 at Olive Young or $19 at Amazon, has exfoliating salt particles that leave my scalp feeling genuinely refreshed, and the rosemary scent is invigorating. It feels like a spa treatment every time I wash my hair.
Narka Core Rebuild Hard Fix Hair Mascara, $18 at Olive Young or Amazon, keeps hair smooth all day. The spoolie side holds down flyaways and the comb side slicks back baby hairs. It left a sticky residue on my hair, so I don't use it often, but most reviews say it leaves no residue whatsoever.
Mise-en-scène Perfect Serum Super Rich, $18 at Olive Young or $19 at Amazon, has a scent like a dainty bouquet of citrus and florals. It's a leave-in serum that tames frizz and adds shine without weighing hair down. A little goes a long way; I just comb a couple drops through damp hair after showering.
Olive Young Bangs Hair Roller, $2 at Olive Young, is the simplest, cheapest tool that delivers salon-worthy side bangs. The Velcro grip holds securely, so I can clip it in, hit it with a hairdryer for a minute and get bouncy bangs that last for days. For under $2, this was my most cost-effective impulse buy.
