5 Essential Korean Beauty Products to Pick Up at Olive Young Korea

A trip to South Korea would not be complete without visiting the country’s most beloved health and beauty store, Olive Young. While there are many locations dotted across Seoul, I would highly recommend venturing to the flagship store in Myeongdong. Spread across two floors, there are guaranteed to be Korean beauty products for your every need.

Following my recent trip to Myeondong, I have divided Korean beauty products into five categories in Olive Young to give you a holistic idea of what each store may carry. 

When moving to South Korea, one of my biggest concerns was haircare. This, of course, is the definition of a first-world problem, but it still served as a difficult thing to navigate. As someone with naturally curly hair that has been terribly damaged by too many DIY hair-dying experiments during the lockdown, I need hair products that cater to my specific hair type and needs.

Fortunately, Olive Young has this covered. The haircare section is huge, and you can find various Korean beauty products for hair care and other Western brands, including my beloved Moroccan Oil. I was impressed to see such a wide selection of hair care products targeted to many different hair types.

Korean makeup products can seem intimidating to an eye accustomed to Western styles. Do not fear. Korean beauty products offer something for everyone and frequently have natural and gentle ingredients.

My favorite makeup Korean beauty products to buy are makeup base items such as foundations and powders. They are perfect for people with sensitive skin and often include SPF and PA+, protecting the skin against UV rays. Makeup products with SPF and PA+ slow down skin aging. 

One of my favorite foundations is the Second Skin Foundation from Hince, which includes SPF 30 and PA ++. The foundation evens your skin tone and protects your face from sun damage. 

You may have noticed from the images that I love having my nails done! But this hobby can be quite expensive, and it takes time to maintain my nails. 

Fortunately, press-on nails are incredibly popular in South Korea and are often affordable too. The nail displays in Olive Young are some of the most pleasing to look at! 

More importantly, the press-on nail kits come in various colors and designs and rarely cost more than 10,000 won. These press-on kits can last as long as two weeks on properly cared for and prepared nails.

During the hot, unforgiving Seoul summer, you must have a perfume you can depend on. There are, of course, many high-end options from classic brands like Chanel and Dior stocked in Olive Young.

I have found myself gravitating more towards competitively priced up-and-coming fragrance brands. This is partially out of a desire for more affordable options, but I also find that some of these brands have more unique and memorable scents in their fragrance catalog. 

One of my favorite brands that ideally fits this category is Clean Beauty Collective’s fragrance division, Clean Reserve. A standard-size bottle will generally retail for around 38,000 won, and these scents have impressive staying power! 

Additionally, I absolutely adore the packaging, making the product look significantly more luxurious. The fragrance pictured below, “Warm Cotton,” smells incredibly clean and elegant.  

Korean skin care products are making waves in the West, but I feel overwhelmed by the 12-step skincare routines and their ingredients. Nonetheless, you often see results instantly when incorporating Korean-made skincare products into your pre-existing routine.

My go-to Korean skin care products are ones from Dr. Jart and The Cryo Rubber with Moisturizing Hyaluronic Acid, which goes as low as only 7,000 won. But Olive Young is vast and offers more brands than the usual ones I get for myself.

During my stay in South Korea, skin care is one of my biggest worries, but I also want to try new skincare products! The best results I had were with the products from P.CALM. I managed to shorten the 12-step skincare routine into just a few steps. 

Overall, I would say that my most recent trip to Olive Young was a success. Korean health and beauty products are one of the main attractions for tourists visiting the country but do not worry if you cannot visit. 

You can buy a wide variety of Korean skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrance, and nails or even try on my latest P.Calm favorites at The Daebak Website's K-Beauty section or Olive Young's online store anywhere in the world.