K-beauty now sets the tone
Your shelves may not be stocked with an array of Korean cosmetics and skin-care products, but that could change at any minute.
The K-beauty universe continues to explode, offering an increasing array of face masks, serums, soaps, makeup and creams, especially must-have “BB creams” (think, magical, multitasking moisturizers). The emphasis is on pure ingredients and, in many instances, playful packaging that may be best described as “super cute.”
Browse online or stop at any drugstore, Target or Sephora and you’re likely to encounter a few items — or possibly an avalanche — of products from South Korean brands such as Dr. Jart+, Laneige, Too Cool for School, and Tonymoly. But you’ll have a lot more fun if you spend a few hours perusing the beauty supply stores in L.A.’s Koreatown.
Even longtime aficionados who are already immersed in the ongoing tidal wave of K-beauty sheet masks and products that include snail secretions — yes, you read that correctly — like to skim the aisles, looking for sales and new products.
You’ll get lots of advice on skin care, if you want it, and the postshopping restaurant possibilities are mind-blowing.
About those snail secretions: The first thing to know is that they’ve been used in beauty products for years. Advocates say the slimy stuff contains chemicals that can help aging skin or ease conditions such as scarring or acne, and a 2013 study in the Journal of Drugs and Dermatology indicates that topical use may reduce wrinkles. Even my shopping companion, who looked slightly horrified when she first spotted the likeness of a snail on a beauty cream, conceded that her right hand looked significantly better after a saleswoman rubbed some of the stuff into her skin.
If you can’t overcome your aversion to a little slime therapy, you’ll find products that contain ingredients that may seem a little more familiar: chrysanthemum, ginseng and licorice; lavender and exfoliating salicylic acid; green tea extract, volcanic mud and glycolic acid — to name a few.
Koreatown is home to a number of stores that are devoted to skin care, cosmetics and hair, but we targeted shops with plenty of products from South Korea rather than (or in addition to) well-known American and European brands. Newbies may feel slightly overwhelmed when they encounter a crush of K-beauty offerings, but almost everywhere we went the salespeople were eager to assess, recommend — and dish out free samples.
Will you, after weeks of careful, consistent use of the K-beauty products you purchase, notice a difference in skin tone, wrinkles or redness? Devoted users say yes, but there are of course skeptics.
Decide for yourself.
health@latimes.com