Call it the Western world catching up to K-beauty practices or the increasing prioritization of skin care over makeup, but it seems everyone wants glass skin these days. Erica Choi, licensed esthetician and founder of skin-care brand Superegg, thinks it’s a combination of the two factors. “Originating from Korea’s beauty culture, where the trend emphasizes hydration, radiance, and overall skin health, this aligns with the global shift towards skin care as a vital aspect of self-care and wellness,” she tells Vogue. “Overall, the glass-skin trend reflects a broader desire for natural-looking beauty and consumer practices prioritizing effortless beauty routines and a ‘high-maintenance to be low-maintenance’ mindset.”
With unprecedented accessibility—there’s no shortage of K-beauty-inspired skin-care products formulated to brighten, hydrate, and smooth skin right now—it’s easy for anyone to take up the approach. Though Choi explains that variations in skin type, genetics, and environmental factors certainly play a part in achieving the look, test-driving a glass-skin routine by adopting a tailored routine, protecting the skin from environmental stressors, and caring for one’s unique skin type will only improve your complexion over time. Ahead, Choi and London-based general practitioner Christine Hall walk us through the steps to get glass skin—plus the best products to shop.
Double Cleanse
London-based general practitioner Christine Hall says that double cleansing is the foundation of a glass-skin routine. “Sebum, the majority of makeup, and SPF are lipophilic, meaning that they dissolve in oil, while sweat, pollutants, and other impurities will be water-soluble,” she says. “So the only way to get a really deep clean and completely remove all of the buildup from the day is to a double cleanse by using an oil followed by a water-based cleanser.”
To try for yourself, start with Anua’s cleansing oil, which blends heartleaf extract with sunflower, olive, jojoba, and moringa seed oils into a noncomedogenic elixir that wipes away makeup, blackheads, and impurities with ease.
Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil
To try for yourself, start with Anua’s cleansing oil, which blends heartleaf extract with sunflower, olive, jojoba, and moringa seed oils into a noncomedogenic elixir that wipes away makeup, blackheads, and impurities with ease.
Foams or gels are water-soluble formulas that can wipe away remaining impurities following your oil cleanse, per Dr. Hall’s advice. Neogen’s is excellent, combining green tea, moringa seed, orange fruit extracts, and papaya fruit water to soothe and brighten skin simultaneously.
Green Tea Real Fresh Foam Cleanser
Foams or gels are water-soluble formulas that can wipe away remaining impurities following your oil cleanse, per Dr. Hall’s advice. Neogen’s is excellent, combining green tea, moringa seed, orange fruit extracts, and papaya fruit water to soothe and brighten skin simultaneously.
Exfoliator
“Exfoliation is crucial for sloughing off dead skin cells and promoting cell turnover, which results in a smoother texture and brighter complexion,” says Choi. Just be sure to choose your exfoliant with care. “Using overly abrasive exfoliants can lead to irritation, breakouts, and potentially post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), setting back your skin-care progress.” Instead, reach for gentle exfoliating acids like PHAs, which, per Dr. Hall, “can achieve exfoliation but with less irritation.”
Anua’s toner pads are an excellent exfoliator choice. These single-use pads are enriched in PHAs, plus 77% heartleaf extract and centella asiatica extract to limit sebum production, prevent breakouts, and calm stressed skin.
Anua’s toner pads are an excellent exfoliator choice. These single-use pads are enriched in PHAs, plus 77% heartleaf extract and centella asiatica extract to limit sebum production, prevent breakouts, and calm stressed skin.
Thanks to soybean ferment extract, Mixsoon’s Bean Essences boasts hydrating and exfoliating properties. The silky formula limits skin texture, revealing radiant, supple skin in the process.
Thanks to soybean ferment extract, Mixsoon’s Bean Essences boasts hydrating and exfoliating properties. The silky formula limits skin texture, revealing radiant, supple skin in the process.
Toners and Essences
According to Dr. Hall, toners and essences provide the first step in hydration and skin-barrier repair, which is essential to getting glass skin. Choi adds that these also “balance the skin’s pH levels, hydrate, and prepare the skin to absorb serums and moisturizers better.”
When it comes to protecting skin from external stressors, CosRx’s Propolis Synergy Toner is just the ticket. With a cocktail of honey and 72.6% black bee propolis (a resin-like material made by bees), this toner boasts anti-inflammatory and antibacterial benefits. Expect a luminous complexion immediately upon application.
When it comes to protecting skin from external stressors, CosRx’s Propolis Synergy Toner is just the ticket. With a cocktail of honey and 72.6% black bee propolis (a resin-like material made by bees), this toner boasts anti-inflammatory and antibacterial benefits. Expect a luminous complexion immediately upon application.
Keen on keeping your skin’s pH levels balanced? Pick up Etude’s SoonJung Relief Toner, which offers a pH of 5.5 to soothe, repair, and hydrate skin. Plus glycerin, panthenol, madecassoside, and camellia sinensis leaf extract only bolster these effects.
SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner
Keen on keeping your skin’s pH levels balanced? Pick up Etude’s SoonJung Relief Toner, which offers a pH of 5.5 to soothe, repair, and hydrate skin. Plus glycerin, panthenol, madecassoside, and camellia sinensis leaf extract only bolster these effects.
Serums
Serums will be your next step in a glass-skin routine. Traditionally thicker and more viscous than essences, these boost hydration and help tackle skin concerns like acne, dullness, fine lines, and dark spots.
Dry, dull skin got you down? Add Serumkind’s Chaga Charging Drop to cart. Through 500,000 ppm of chaga mushroom extract alongside ginseng extract, this serum moisturizes skin like none other.
Dry, dull skin got you down? Add Serumkind’s Chaga Charging Drop to cart. Through 500,000 ppm of chaga mushroom extract alongside ginseng extract, this serum moisturizes skin like none other.
Peach & Lily’s Glass Skin is one of our favorite K-beauty serums for its multipurpose benefits. Thanks to hyaluronic acid, madecassoide, niacinamide, peach extract, peptides, and beta-glucan, this can even out dark spots, clarify pores, and brighten your complexion with ease.
Peach & Lily’s Glass Skin is one of our favorite K-beauty serums for its multipurpose benefits. Thanks to hyaluronic acid, madecassoide, niacinamide, peach extract, peptides, and beta-glucan, this can even out dark spots, clarify pores, and brighten your complexion with ease.
Moisturizers
Think of moisturizer as the final step in skin hydration. “It is the thickest formulation—skin care in general should be applied from your thinnest formulation up to your thickest—and will help to seal in all that you have applied to your skin so far,” says Dr. Hall. “Look to ingredients like ceramides and fatty acids for ultimate hydration and cica and ectoin to calm and soothe the skin.”
Even those with sensitive skin can give Aestura’s ATOBarrier365 cream a try. It delivers a gentle blend of ceramides, fatty acids, squalane, and allantoin to soothe, hydrate, and improve skin’s moisture levels.
Even those with sensitive skin can give Aestura’s ATOBarrier365 cream a try. It delivers a gentle blend of ceramides, fatty acids, squalane, and allantoin to soothe, hydrate, and improve skin’s moisture levels.
Anyone with a penchant for gel moisturizers will appreciate Supereggg’s Sound Renewal. Here, Choi combines panthenol, squalane, fatty acids, hyaluronic acid, green tea, and centella asiatica for long-standing moisture retention, while the featured PHAs gently refine the look of pores.
Sound Renewal Serum Cream
Anyone with a penchant for gel moisturizers will appreciate Supereggg’s Sound Renewal. Here, Choi combines panthenol, squalane, fatty acids, hyaluronic acid, green tea, and centella asiatica for long-standing moisture retention, while the featured PHAs gently refine the look of pores.
Sunscreen
A luminous, plump complexion is nothing with sun protection. “We know that 90% of all visible aging is directly attributable to the sun’s UV rays, and so the best antiaging tip I could give to anyone is to wear SPF every day,” Dr. Hall instructs. Choi adds that “sunscreen is nonnegotiable for preventing sun damage, pigmentation, and premature aging, preserving the skin’s clarity and radiance.”
One of the most popular Korean sunscreens, Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun uses chemical UV filters, rice extracts, probiotics, and niacinamide to protect against harmful sunrays without the white cast.
One of the most popular Korean sunscreens, Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun uses chemical UV filters, rice extracts, probiotics, and niacinamide to protect against harmful sunrays without the white cast.
It’s hard not to love Round Lab’s Birch Juice sunscreen. With SPF 50 powered by chemical agents, this provides apt UV protection while hyaluronic acid improves hydration levels, niacinamide quells inflammation, and allantoin keeps skin soothed.
Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen
It’s hard not to love Round Lab’s Birch Juice sunscreen. With SPF 50 powered by chemical agents, this provides apt UV protection while hyaluronic acid improves hydration levels, niacinamide quells inflammation, and allantoin keeps skin soothed.
What is glass skin?
“Glass skin refers to the appearance of dewy, hydrated and flawless skin, skin that is so radiant that it resembles glass,” Dr. Hall tells Vogue—emphasizing that this glow goes beyond skin care and arrives as the result of good sleep, a healthy diet, and low stress levels. “South Koreans and skin care go back thousands of years to the time of the Three Kingdoms era (37–668 BC), when the ideology of beauty standards was coined young-yook-il-chi-sa-sang, meaning ‘Within a beautiful body, rests a beautiful soul,’” Dr. Hall continues. And per Choi, the glass-skin trend “gained momentum through social media platforms, where K-beauty skin-care routines attracted widespread attention, ultimately becoming a global phenomenon.”
What ingredients are essential for a glass-skin skin-care routine?
“A glass-skin routine focuses on hydrating, brightening, and nourishing the skin for a smooth, radiant complexion,” says Choi. “Essential ingredients include hyaluronic acid, which hydrates and plumps the skin; niacinamide, which improves texture and reduces the appearance of pores and fine lines; and vitamin C, which brightens and evens skin tone. Gentle chemical exfoliants reveal smoother skin, while ceramides strengthen the skin barrier and lock in moisture. Peptides support collagen production for firmer, more elastic skin, and centella asiatica soothes and calms the skin, promoting clarity.”
