[ENG] New Video: 5 Underrated K-Beauty Products That Deserve more Love!

This article contains affiliate links* It is time for my newest YouTube video, where I’ll be introducing you to 5 underrated K-beauty products that I feel need more love and deserve far more hype than they are getting! And because some of you may prefer to read a summary of the video vs. watching the whole thing, here is the write-up of the key points for each product!

5 Underrated K-Beauty Products – Why Is no One TALKING about These?!

Oh boy is it stressful to create videos! Why did no one ever tell me?! So, not only did I have to refilm parts of this newly released YouTube video about 5 underrated K-beauty products I am obsessed with and want more people to love, I also had severe issues with IMovie and struggled to edit the whole thing together. Why does this whole content creation thing always look so effortless when other people do it?

Ah well, but I am happy that it all finally worked out and that my second ever video is now online! I was really excited when I came up with the idea for this one, because there are just so many great Korean beauty products that I feel are severely underhyped in the skincare community. As I – somewhat cheekily – mention in the video, it might partly be because the brands mentioned here aren’t as actively interested in promoting their products in the West, and they don’t send PR samples to the skinfluencers who mostly shape the perception of K-beauty in the global skincare community. Now, an exception would be Isntree, a brand that is very much “hyped” overall. Which is why it’s even stranger to me how the particular Isntree product I’m featuring here doesn’t have more fans – it’s so good!

The general theme of this video (and accompanying article) truly just is me being baffled why no one is talking about these 5 amazing Korean skincare products. More people need to know about them! So, people: here is a video of me hyping up underrated K-beauty products for 40 minutes:

And because some of you prefer to read the information given in black and white vs. only hearing me talk about it, here is a little summary of all 5 products and the reasons why I think they deserve more love…

Underrated K-Beauty Products: Thank You Farmer Rice Pure Clay Mask to Foam Cleanser

I’ve been obsessed with Thank You Farmer products lately, ever since I won a selection of their bestsellers in a giveaway hosted by Eunice/Eunni, one of my favourite Korean YouTube influencers. Every one of those products just blew my mind, and I honestly could have just done a one brand review under the same “underrated K-beauty” umbrella.

Thank You Farmer was one of the top most mentioned brands in the global K-beauty community in the early 2010s, but then somehow it went quiet around them. I honestly didn’t even know that they had all these incredible new products, I mostly remembered them via their popular sunscreen* and the True Water Deep Serum*, an old first gen influencer favourite!

I decided to go with the Rice Pure Clay Mask to Foam Cleanser for this particular video because… Well, firstly, it’s an amazingly unique product, ingenious even. And secondly: no one besides me (and Eunice, of course, who did a whole video on these Thank You Farmer products) seems to talk about this awesome cleanser.

The name of the cleanser reveals its unique selling point already: this is a multi-purpose cleanser that can also function as a clay mask. Now I don’t know about you, but I find clay masks a tad annoying to use. I love what they do for my enlarged pores and often congested, oily T-zone, but washing them off can be such a pain. Clay masks dry down on the skin, making them really hard to rinse off. Especially if you have sensitive skin, this can lead to irritation, and it’s just an irritatingly slow process.

When washed off with water, the Rice Pure Clay Mask to Foam Cleanser foams up and dissolves easily, without the usual annoyance. It works exactly like any other clay mask – you can leave it on your skin for a few minutes, e.g. while you brush your teeth, and then just rinse off easily and without fearing that micro tears from dry clay clumps might irritate your skin.

A unique and affordable, multi-purpose cleanser that also serves as a mask: how could I not be in love with this product? You can purchase the Thank You Farmer Rice Pure Clay Mask to Foam Cleanser at Stylevana* for usually a very good price, currently around roughly 15$. This is a guaranteed repurchase item for me!

Underrated K-Beauty Products: Vitalizing Rosemary Concentrated Essence

To say that I was baffled to discover that this fantastic product exists and no one ever mentions it is an understatement! I didn’t know about the Aromatica Vitalizing Rosemary Concentrated Essence until I randomly received a sample of it in an advent calendar from last year. At first I actually thought this was a hair essence, since Aromatica has a whole rosemary-themed hair care range on offer that I hear is excellent for scalp and hair growth problems. But no, this essence is for the face!

I started using this feeling pretty neutral about what it could potentially do for my skin. This is one of those “one ingredient” essences that usually focus on one particular herbal extract: mugwort, houttynia cordata, or in this case, rosemary. Now, rosemary can be a bit volatile for sensitive skin, so this essence may not be for everyone. As a healing herb, rosemary has been used as a disinfectant and antibacterial extract for centuries, if not millennia. Especially acne-prone, oily skin can benefit from its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which help combat excess sebum and soothe areas of redness and breakouts.

For me, this essence brought instant relief to my redness-prone skin, and I just love how it manages to find a perfect middle ground between being soothing and, dare I use that word, “disinfect” pimple-prone areas of my face. I didn’t find this rosemary essence to be too much to handle for my skin and tolerated it well, but it’s definitely not for everyone. If you do have oilier and acne-prone skin though and don’t mind essential oils, consider giving this a try – it is a hidden gem too often overlooked.

You can find the Aromatica Vitalizing Rosemary Concentrated Essence at Yesstyle*, where it is often on sale – I got my full-sized bottle for under 30$! This is a high quality one extract essence toner, so it is the priciest of the 5 products shown in the video. But, personally I think it is worth it for what this essence can do for the skin!

Underrated K-Beauty Products: Isntree Clear Skin PHA Sleeping Mask

I will never stop hyping up Isntree, a K-brand that has some of the best products for sensitive skin that I can think of, so gentle and effective, while also fairly priced. You all know how much I love the Isntree Green Tea Fresh Toner, a product that is well-known in the skincare community. But, strangely enough, hardly anyone knows or talks about the Isntree Clear Skin PHA Sleeping Mask, despite it being just as hype-worthy in my opinion.

Firstly, it is a very affordable product that truly lasts forever – I won’t even tell you how long I’ve been using the tube shown above, because it may reveal my tendency to, ahem, maybe not always throw out things as diligently as influencers and derms teach us to do. Don’ tell anyone!

This is an overnight mask that contains 4% PHA, a gentle chemical exfoliant that doesn’t have the same drying and irritating effect as glycolic acid, while working similarly well in smoothing out rough skin textures. In fact, I would make the bold claim that PHA is the superior acid in that it gives skin this amazing healthy glow after using it for a while, and it can really help even out your skin tone in the most gentle way.

I use this paste-like sleeping mask more as a spot treatment, focusing on my T-zone whenever my skin feels oily or my pores seem very “gunky.” Especially around that time of the month, when my hormones make my skin go crazy, this is such a lifesaver! Despite containing exfoliating acids, this is so gentle, clearing out my pores and polishing off leftover pimple “shadows” overnight without irritation. It’s a great sleeping mask for oily to combo skin!

The Isntree Clear Skin PHA Sleeping Mask is available at Stylevana* for usually around 15$ for the massive 100ml tube. It last a long, long time!

Underrated K-Beauty Products: Our Vegan Heartleaf 98 Cica Serum

A sub brand of popular K-brand Manyo Factory, Our Vegan has been getting plenty of attention in Korea, but very little so far from the global skinfluencer community. How confusing, given that the brand offers fairly priced vegan skincare that focuses on effective, gentle plant extracts. I instantly latched onto the Our Vegan Heartleaf 98 Cica Serum when I first saw it because, truly, what’s not to like about a serum that combines two superstar plant extracts for irritated skin: heartleaf/houttynia cordata and cica/centella asiatica? Both of them are excellent ingredients for skin that is both sensitive and suffers from breakouts, with their anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, calming properties.

The Heartleaf 98 Cica Serum features 98% fermented heartleaf extract, hydrating glycerin and bamboo water, and it is fragrance- and alcohol-free. I love the lightweight, runny texture and reach for this serum whenever my skin is having a bit of a freakout, since it works fast in calming down any redness or irritation. And given that it comes in a massive 100ml bottle, this is also a stunningly affordable product! I’m actually so keen to try more products from the Our Vegan brand, with the cream and sheet masks high on my list.

Give this one a try if you have irritated, sensitive skin with redness issues, I so want more people to discover its benefits. You can find the Our Vegan Heartleaf 98 Cica Serum at Stylevana* for under 20$, often even under 17$ – watch out for sales!

Underrated K-Beauty Products: Dr. Althea Resveratrol 345NA Intensive Repair Cream

Watch me fawn over the texture of this skin saviour balm in the YouTube video if you want to chuckle for a bit, because it really sounds a bit over the top how in love I am with the Dr. Althea Resveratrol Repair Cream. I wrote a full blog review about this cream and another Dr. Althea moisturiser, so I don’t want to repeat myself too much here.

Basically, this is an anti-aging balm that I feel is best used overnight, though dryer skin types could also enjoy this as a day time moisturiser. Even though it is a balm, the texture is pleasantly smooth and lotion-like, melting into skin with ease. Sometimes balms can have this sort of “grainy” or very thick texture, but the Resveratrol Repair Cream feels light enough to work even if your skin is more on the oily side.

The key ingredient, resveratrol, is a polyphenol won from grapes or red berries – it’s what gives these fruits their tart flavour profile. Resveratrol is rich in antioxidants and minerals, great for anti aging care! The Resveratrol Repair Cream also features all sorts of other skincare goodies, among them turmeric extract, hyaluronic acid, centella asiatica and peptides, which can help boost collagen and thus plump up skin long-term. Indeed, I always feel like my skin just looks plumper and smoother when I use this overnight, it’s a wonderful cream for skin 30+!

You can find the Dr. Althea Resveratrol 345NA Intensive Repair Cream at Yesstyle* for usually around 25$. A little goes a long way with this cream, so I feel the price is justified given the high quality ingredients.

So there you have it, my top 5 underrated K-beauty products that I really just want to see more hyped up! They are so fantastic and effective, and except maybe for the Aromatica essence, also so affordable. So, I hope I could help you discover some new, hidden gems through my video and this accompanying article. I hope to see you again for the next video and/or blog review!

Let me know in the comments: What’s your number one underrated K-beauty or general skincare product?

Take care guys, and stay safe – don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest K-Beauty and skincare news, and check out my other work, e.g. my review of the Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask! And guys – I have a YouTube channel now, I’d love for you to check it out and subscribe!

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