Introducing Hanskin, a new product line curated on Soko Glam. Stories From a Curator is a column by Charlotte Cho, the curator and cofounder of Soko Glam. As a licensed esthetician and the author of The Little Book of Skin Care, Cho gives a glimpse into her discovery process and what brands and products make the cut for the curated site.
Hanskin is one of the original K-beauty brands. You may not know this, but they created and popularized the very first BB cream in the early 2000s, which launched a thousand copycats in Korea, and as you know, eventually the rest of the world caught on.
At the time that I first heard about Hanskin, I was not into K-beauty. Shocking, I know, but it’s because I was 10. I overheard my mom and my older sister talking about this “Super Magic BB cream” that everyone had to have. This conclusion was determined after they spent way too much time at the small Korean cosmetics shop in Los Angeles next to the Korean grocery store, while I was browsing the VHS store for the latest Disney movies.
Flash-forward to 2016. Not only did I become obsessed with K-beauty (my mom and sister were definitely onto something!), but this was when I became reintroduced to Hanskin, not so much as a BB cream brand, but with a whole new focus on skincare.
Turns out that after their success with creating one of the most popular BB creams (they’re still sold in every single beauty shop and drugstore in Korea), Hanskin as a company merged together with a biotech and pharmaceutical company called Celltrion. Celltrion specializes in research and development in their lab for not only medicine, but cosmetics as well. What that meant for Hanskin was a renewed focus on ingredients that really penetrate into the skin, thus boosting the efficacy of the product.
I was more than intrigued.
I dove deep into their Bio-Prism & Bio-Origin lines, which featured a lightweight facial oil using omega oils (3,6,9) that absorbed and made my skin feel velvety smooth and not sticky, a brightening serum that activates their crystal capsules into a oil-based serum, and a moisturizing cream that felt and enveloped my skin gently like a soft cloud. I also love the eye cream; it’s deeply moisturizing and luxe. And read why the Hyaluron Skin Essence, featuring their Bio-Hyaluron Complex, became a staple in my routine.
On my recent trip to Korea two weeks ago, I already saw Hanskin has developed new products that will really change the way you see makeup and cushions, as well. It’s not available on the market yet, but I’ve been testing them and I’m hooked. Stay tuned, because there is more to come with Hanskin…