Shopping for the best K-beauty is easy with Olive Young. Read our resident K-beauty expert's guide to shopping all of the Korea exclusives you can't get stateside (yet).
IYKYK: Olive Young is the most prominent South Korean beauty retailer, and soon , it will also be the newest, buzziest beauty destination in the Western hemisphere.
Take it from me: I've visited South Korea four times, and with each trip, you bet I've explored and shopped multiple Olive Young stores—even more than one in a day. As a K-beauty-obsessed editor living in the US and sometimes regrettably late to discovering rising Korean beauty brands, I look to and shop on Olive Young's global website to fill that gap.
This leads me to my next question, which I've even asked myself: As K-beauty becomes more readily accessible stateside, what is actually worth buying on Olive Young's global site? Well, first of all, I'm paying close attention to the retailer's Korean bestseller list to get a pulse on what's actually trending overseas. I also regularly check out popular K-beauty review platforms such as Hwahae.
It's also very apparent—whether you shop in person or online—that Olive Young offers tons of fantastic value sets that help you save many dollars. So, without further ado, let's dive into my top online Olive Young picks. We've heard this over and over, but it's worth repeating: The US is embarrassingly behind its global peers in the sunscreen category—mostly due to the fact that the Food and Drug Administration classifies sunscreens as drugs.
It takes literal decades for us to approve new sunscreen filters; the last one was approved in 1990, and the next one on the docket is slated for checks notes this year . Needless to say, Olive Young shines when it comes to sunscreens.
Whether you're looking for the original Korean formulations of your faves—yes, some have been reformulated to meet FDA standards, but they don't usually wow me as much—or looking for next-generation SPFs, especially when it comes to thinner, serum- and ampoule-like formulas that melt into the skin in quite literally one swipe. Ever since I bought this extra cute Fromrier EGF Cica Water Sun Ampoule SPF 50+ PA++++ in May 2025, I've never been the same. Too dramatic? Don't care.
This is hands-down my. Favorite. Sunscreen. EVER.
There's nothing like this weightless SPF serum in my vast collection of Korean sunscreens . There's almost zero rubbing required, as you can see in my demo clip. In short, there's your typical, quick-absorbing chemical sunscreen…and then there's this disappearing act of a chemical sunscreen. It leaves my skin looking so fresh and dewy—truly as if I'm radiating from within.
And luckily, the star ingredients are right there in the name: EGF and Centella asiatica , an all-time skin-soothing hero. I haven't tried many Korean mineral sunscreens , so I'm tapping Sarah Kinonen, our beauty director, for an assist with her top pick, Dr. G's Green Mild Up Sun+ SPF 50+.
'I wear this sunscreen every day—in the morning after my moisturizer, as the last step in my skin-care routine,' she says. However, she caveats that, despite more elegant mineral UV filters , it wouldn't blend seamlessly into all skin tones. “It even takes me a couple of seconds to blend out the cast.
But once it's rubbed in, it looks and feels great—and makes for a pill-free base before makeup,” she says, adding that she thought this was a chemical sunscreen all along. Pretty impressive, no? Need more convincing? It's also derm-approved.
'Dr. G’s Green Mild Up Defense Mineral Sunscreen controls shine without over-drying—since overly dry skin will just produce more oil,” says Hee Jin Kim, MD, a board-certified medical doctor based in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Does this really need an intro? Many people, including me, were extremely bummed when the US banned the sale of non-FDA-approved sunscreens, and the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun SPF 50+ PA++++ was the one on everyone's lips before the product listings even disappeared.
Perfectly moisturizing with a delightful serum-cream texture that blended in seamlessly on all skin tones, it's a fantastic, all-in-one moisturizer and SPF step for my combo skin, so I go straight to this after my morning serum. The formula helps soften and brighten my complexion, thanks to rice extract, niacinamide, and ginseng. And the ultimate seal of approval? My boyfriend loves this chemical SPF, too.
P.S. If you're looking to stock up , you can buy this sunscreen in a two-pack for $30 or a three-pack for $39. P.P. S. Since then, I've found a very reliable substitute in the brand's newly launched Dayscreen SPF 30.
While the SPF factor isn't as high, I prefer the lighter-weight texture for my combo skin over the other FDA reformulation, Dewscreen SPF 50. K-beauty is no stranger to adapting the cushion format to blushes, highlighters, and even setting powders, to a degree, and few do it better than the Korean makeup queen, Jung Saem Mool.
I'm a longtime fan of her cushion foundation , but over the past month, I've been incredibly into her Artist Cushion Blushes. They're less messy to dispense and apply than typical liquid blushes, and only need a light touch from my fingers. There's a textured Mix & Touch section on the bottom side of the inner cap to help you adjust how much you apply to your skin. It's genius!
If only this Devil Wears Prada 2 collab were available stateside, that'd be the aesthetic cherry on top. Blush for spring? Not groundbreaking, but lovely all the same. We're big K-beauty fans over at Allure.
Why don't you stay a while and explore more of our faves? Starship Seoul: Shop the Allure K-Beauty Edit The Best Korean Skin-Care Products for Glass Skin 12 Best Korean Makeup Products Our Editors Can't Get Enough Of Now, watch CORTIS spell secrets while sipping on the truth serum : Shop all of our latest obsessions in one place!
And don't forget to follow Allure on Instagram and TikTok—or subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on all things beauty.
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