K-Beauty has long delivered some of our favorite skincare and makeup trends. Sheet masks, double cleansing—even BB creams came straight out of Seoul. The latest? Glass skin. According to beauty insiders on Instagram, it’s the look everyone in Korea covets right now.
After a little digging, we learned that the term glass skin refers to skin that looks clear, poreless, seemingly-translucent, and glowing—just like, well, glass. Mul-gwang is the Korean term for this trend, and it’s also known as water glow or sheer skin. This look isn’t about finding a great dewy foundation either, it requires a strict, effective skincare routine that focuses on hydration.
According to Vogue, a common K-beauty routine that women follow for that ethereal-looking glow is double cleansing followed by several layers: A gentle hydrating toner, a deeply nourishing moisturizer, regular exfoliation and a hydration-boosting serum. There are numerous ways to get there, but one woman’s particular K-beauty routine went viral last year and is worth mentioning:
Ellie Choi, an aspiring makeup artist from Los Angeles, revealed every single step of her glass skin beauty routine on social media last year, and her regime went viral. That’s because in the accompanying selfies, her skin appears practically poreless—think; newborn baby.
To score this “glass skin”, follow Choi’s step-by-step routine:
First, she takes her makeup off with Neutrogena’s Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes. She then washes her face with one of two cleansers—super affordable Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser or Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser. Next, she tones with Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 and moisturizes with either Cetaphil’s Moisturizing Cream or Wonjin Effects’s Water Bomb Cream. Every other day she adds another step and exfoliates with Skinfood’s Black Sugar Strawberry Wash Off Mask. Also, once or twice a week, she uses a sheet mask from from K-beauty brand Innisfree.
It might require beefing up our beauty routines a little, but if the end result is baby-smooth skin, we’re definitely in.
