Forget the French, this is why 'K-Beauty' is the perfect anti-ageing trend for women over 50: HANNAH BETTS
- READ MORE: The BRUTAL top secret anti-aging procedure used to keep K-pop stars like Blackpink looking young
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We Brits used to bow to all things French in skincare. In the last few years, it’s been Korean unguents beauty mavens crave. And it’s not just youngsters looking to grab TikTok attention with colour-morphing face masks and snail slime.
We midlifers are appreciating the high-tech, area-specific, and sensitivity-soothing elements of K-beauty – along with its winning combination of instant and long-term results. As for peri-menopausal complexion fluctuations, considered them K-covered.
The hot and heavily humid Korean climate makes its wares ideal for what’s shaping up to be a steamy British summer - hello heatwave #3. K-skin is all about layering moisture in thin, breathable steps that absorb speedily without blocking pores, while countering sweatiness, oiliness, redness and acne.
Hence their reliance on, say, Centella asiatica – a soothing, anti-inflammatory and skin-barrier supporting ingredient popular in Korean ranges, not least cult BB and CC cream creator Erborian’s products (from £15.20, boots.com)
Boots has gone all in on Korean brands – as solid an endorsement as you can get. One Korean skincare product sells every 15 seconds at the high street mecca, with K-beauty representing well over a tenth of everyday skin sales. Beauty of Joseon is its best-selling K-brand. Indeed, the hysteria around B of J’s Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen SPF30 (now £15.30, Boots.com) was such that it sold out in two hours at launch in April, meaning samples are only now wending their way to me. Its 12 silkily weightless shades of SPF-meets-tint are said to be the Goldilocks formula – neither too matte nor too dewy.
The viral all-rounder Anua, with over 40M+ products sold globally, comes in as runner-up top-seller (from £11.70). Other names to conjure with include: Laneige, Dr.Jart, Thank You Farmer, Dr Althea, Haruharu Wonder, Innisfree, Tirtir, VT Cosmetics, Purito, Fwee, Kundal, Daeng Gi Meo Ri Ki and Skin1004.
Boots Director of Beauty Chelsey Saunders tells me: ‘We’re expanding K-beauty because we recognise midlife women are looking for solutions for specific concerns such as dryness, loss of elasticity, and hyperpigmentation. These brands are backed by science and offer a wealth options for mature skin.’
If you’ve indulged in techniques such as moisture layering, double cleansing, or ‘slugging’ (plastering the face with a dense balm as the finishing step in your evening routine), then you’ve already been influenced by Korean habits. While, if you’ve deployed sheet masks, pimple patches or the new-broom cushion compacts, then that’s Korean tech. Here are my must-haves, all of them perfection for fiftysomething skin...
I love the entire Ceramidin range (featuring ceramides – the fats found in skin cells that decrease with age), indeed, everything by Dr Jart+. A one-size-fits-all face fixer, this five-ceramide and hyaluronic acid formula resets troubled complexions.
Dry skin makes you even more susceptible to UV damage by compromising the skin barrier making rays easier to penetrate. This is a godsend, packed with hydrators for dewy resilience. Yet, it’s not in the least heavy, feeling like the loveliest day cream-cum-skin salve. I’ve been using this for years.
Eborian CC (Colour Corrector) is the hit midlifers across the globe are obsessed with. Parisians swear by its fresh, skin-like gleam, ditto make-up artists for use on the red-carpet; a tube selling every 20 seconds. More shades – light and dark - will be with us by September.
Behold, the K-beauty ‘glass-skin’ granting phenomenon that sprang from Space NK: an intense, yet lightweight gel-cream with summer written all over it. Vitamin C-rich, with nourishing squalane and ceramides, it is brightening, plumping, calming bliss.
A celebrity fixation, this can be slathered on overnight as a mask, or daubed on during the day as a balm. Thick, cushiony, it combats chapping and peeling in a range of cult flavours, making it a must-have for teens of all ages.
Dry shampoos
Searches for ‘Batiste Travel Dry Shampoo’ are up by over 5000 per cent. It rocks.
Cleanse hairlines, roots & fringes with these biodegradable, humidity-beating wipes.
Light, yet effective, leaving no build-up or powdery residue; helps regulate oil over time.
Ultra-fine, with zero white cast, formulated with 3 per cent BaicapilTM to support hair growth.
Viral va va voom-bestower with rice starch and Baobab Oil, plus a winning fresh aroma.
Race You To It
Stylish individuals keep asking me what they can do to repel this summer’s savage mosquitos. The answer is Diptyque Citronnelle Candle (£60, diptyqueparis.com), a limited-edition concoction that serves as the world’s chicest insect repeller thanks to its lemongrass.
Laced with verbena, neroli and orange blossom, it’s also just very heaven.
Cosmetic Craving
Stop press! Three new shades have been added to the Lancôme Juicy Tubes Ultra Shiny Lip Gloss (now £20.80, lancome.co.uk) collection, taking the total to 10. All hail: Lavender Latte, Almond Drip & Cocoa Macchiato, each scented to match.
Cool-toned girls will be delighted by the lilac; warm-toned women by the nut and coffee hues. The original gloss in a tube - ready to slip into your pocket - to wield a Juicy Tube is to wallow in 90s nostalgia.
While, not only is gloss perfect for summer, lips will be in receipt of up to four hours hydration, appearing plumper, fuller and less lined. And these cult buys are currently all a fiver off! Run don’t walk.
