July 28, 2021
NewsK-beauty is one of the biggest trends in skincare right now. It’s gone from a niche to dominating the industry. The rise of k-beauty is due in no small part to the social media influencers who have opened the industry up to some of Asia’s best-kept secrets. Whether it’s treating acne and hyperpigmentation to product reviews and ingredient deep-dives, these influencers are here to help you understand what makes k-beauty tick. If you’re new to the world of beauty influencers or want to add a k-beauty presence to your Instagram feed, you’re in the right place! We’re sharing seven of our favourite k-beauty Instagram accounts to follow for skincare advice.
The Korean beauty industry is growing and evolving every year. Whether it’s glass skin or centella asiatica, the k-beauty niche is coming to dominate the trends within the beauty industry. It’s time that we all brushed up on our k-beauty knowledge. Thanks to Amazon and the ease of online shopping, it’s never been easier to get your hands on k-beauty skincare products. The focus point of the niche is their ten-step skincare routine, meaning that you’re spoilt for choice with products to choose from.
The current growth of the industry means that it’s estimated to be worth £15bn by 2026, according to Allied Market Research. What makes k-beauty unique is its focus on skincare over makeup products. While you’ll find plenty of dedicated k-beauty makeup items, most of the industry focuses on achieving a natural and dewy glow from within.
While most western beauty products focus on enhancing our appearance through makeup products, k-beauty is about creating a beautiful and flawless canvas. The goal is to achieve the most natural look possible by giving you the best skin. While the famous ten-step k-beauty routine might sound excessive compared to your usual three-step routine, it can be the secret to unlocking your inner beauty.
The growing fascination with k-beauty products has led everything from sheet masks to ampoules and sleeping packs becoming
international best-sellers. Whether it’s snail slime or the iconic ‘glass skin’ aesthetic, Korean beauty is here to change the skincare game.
Are you a newbie to k-beauty and looking to find out more? Do you want help finding the best product recommendations or are you looking for tips that are backed by science? These are the seven Instagram accounts you need to click ‘follow’ for.
Claudia was born and raised in Indonesia and is a medically trained dermatologist, giving you confidence that she knows what she’s talking about. Her passion for k-beauty started when she was experiencing a series of acne breakouts while at school. At that stage, she could only afford accessible skincare products to treat your acne.
In 2017, she moved to South Korea and decided that she wanted to share her love for k-beauty with the rest of the world. She started her @FunSkincare Instagram account to share her knowledge and advice. Claudia now has over 123k followers and 10k subscribers on YouTube. You can also find her content on TikTok for bite-size videos on k-beauty products.
Her k-beauty articles have appeared on websites like Healthline and she has a dedicated beauty and skincare blog called Fun Fun Tea Time.
If you suffer from acne or hyperpigmentation and want science-backed tips, Claudia is your skincare fairy godmother.
Michelle has over 300k followers on Instagram and is a self-confused skincare nerd. This Sydney-based influencer has a PhD in chemistry and focuses on demystifying the science behind active ingredients and formulas to make them easy to understand.
Her love for Korean beauty products started after her mum took her to a Laneige store while she was in High School, on the recommendation of her aunt. She was fascinated by digging into the innovations and science behind k-beauty products.
Michelle is writing her second book, focused on how active ingredients work in skincare. Her first e-book ‘The Lab Muffin Guide to Basic Skincare’ is availablev on her website. You can also find Michelle on her YouTube channel, which has over 270k subscribers.
You should follow Michelle if you want to learn the ins and outs of the Korean beauty industry.
With almost 200k followers, Renee tries all every product so that you don’t have to. She’s worked for a decade in product development for different skin and body care brands, while also being a beauty buyer. Renee has a unique insight into the innovation of ingredient technology and formulation. She’s also able to give a fascinating perspective on everything from packaging to pricing.
She became interested in K-beauty after a trip to Seoul over eight years ago. Renee describes herself as a ‘skinthusiastic vlogger’ and has over 647k subscribers on her YouTube channel. You can also find out more about Renee’s top-product recommendations on her Gothamista blog.
Renee describes the k-beauty industry as bringing ‘skintertainment’ into our skincare routine with cute packaging and luxurious ingredients. She points to the excitement of using these products as the reason behind their popularity. Her content is fun and authentic, making it easy to watch.
Elisa is a content creator with over 20k followers on Instagram. She shares reviews on k-beauty skincare products and is the founder of Dot Dot Skincare, a cruelty-free k-beauty store that’s been featured in Cosmo, Grazia, Glamour, and Vogue. Based in the Netherlands, Elisa uses her Instagram to share her latest k-beauty product recommendations and talk about upcoming trends.
She became interested in k-beauty in 2012 after going to Korea to study. Her blog started as a way to share her experiences in Korea with her family and friends before she moved over to Instagram to join the growing K-beauty community.
What we love about Elisa is that she isn’t afraid to show her bare skin and has an unfiltered approach to her skincare reviews. You’ll see her genuine personality and get the benefit of honest reviews.
Jude is a micro-influencer with under 50k followers. This American-Taiwanese blogger looks at k-beauty in a flexible and inclusive way. Her goal is to make her readers feel beautiful in their own skin, no matter what their definition is of beauty.
She started her blog Fifty Shades of Snails to share her knowledge and love of k-beauty, where she also shares mental health post. Jude is a content creator who wears many hats. She’s the digital marketing director for Holy Snails, the founder of Love Jude Skincare, and the author of ‘Skincare for Your Soul’.
If you want a crash course in k-beauty, look no further than Jude.
Another micro-influencer worth following is Coco Park. She’s an aesthetician and former makeup artist, as well as being one of the OG English-language speaking K-beauty bloggers. Coco launched her blog, The Beauty Wolf, after discovering K-beauty products through her mother-in-law.
Coco is the co-author of the Korean Beauty Secrets and is a freelance journalist. She’s also a co-host on the Triple Bees Podcast that focuses on beauty and skincare, going beyond the basics.
What makes Coco different from other beauty influencers is that she doesn’t get stuck down in the science or ingredients of a product. Her approach is to speak to her subscribers and followers as though they were her friends. This approach has followed her since the early days of her blog, when only her friends were reading. Her goal has always been to have an authentic voice and share her k-beauty discoveries.
If you want a positive beauty influencer to follow – who has also co-authored the Korean Beauty Secrets – then Coco is worth hitting the ‘follow’ button for.
Our final recommendation is Katherine Spowart, a freelance beauty writer and content creator who has been posting K-beauty reviews since 2014. Along with her Instagram account, you can find some of Katherine’s older content on her Skinfull of Seoul blog.
Katherine’s reels are entertaining and educational, taking you through the basics of k-beauty, while giving you product recommendations that will have you clicking ‘add to cart’ right away. Her love for k-beauty started after she lived in Seoul from 2014 to 2018, when she established her online presence. What started as a hobby would later evolve into her career, with her educational Instagram becoming a space for Katherine to talk about her personal product recommendations.
Her goal is to create a space online to learn about and respect the cultural aspects and concepts that influence the Korean beauty industry. Katherine points to the ability to pick products that suit your skin as the philosophy of Korean beauty.
Katherine is a must-follow for easy how-to videos and enjoyable product reviews that will have you filling your online cart with goodies.
Who is your favourite k-beauty skincare influencer to follow? Let us know in the comments below!
Instagram is a form of art, inspiration, and escapism. We all love to take a scroll through our Instagram feed to see what’s trending in the world of fashion. On those little squares, we can see what our favourite influencers are wearing and get an insight into their lives. It's our favourite social media platform for following fashion influencers. We’re rounding up a collection of our favourite fashion Instagram accounts – from size-inclusive fashionists to shoe designers and inspiration accounts. These are the 25 Instagram profiles you should be following for your fashion and lifestyle inspiration.
Every time we click on TikTok or Instagram, there seems to be a new makeup trend that everyone is talking about. After a year in quarantine, we’re all ready to brush away the cobwebs and rediscover the content of our makeup bags. Staying on top – and predicting – the beauty trends for 2021 is a difficult task. We’ve all seen how quickly trends can be born and die under the influence of social media.
Healthy, glowing, supple, hydrated skin is definitely the new black! As your body’s largest organ, it is important that you give your skin that extra special TLC and pay attention to the kinds of products you’re using. All through 2021, women (and men) took their skincare into their own hands (literally) and the results have been amazing. We are definitely entering 2022 on a skincare high and thankfully, the trends emerging this year are some that we can definitely get behind!
If there’s one 2021 makeup trend that we can get on board with, it’s pink makeup. The shade is universally flattering and gives your skin a healthy flush, while warming up your complexion. When we think about pink makeup, the first products that usually come to mind are lipsticks and blushes. The world of pink makeup goes beyond this – there are highlighters, eyeshadows, and even eyeliners to choose from.
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