K-beauty and Western beauty products make perfect pairs. Read on for our favorite skin care and makeup duos right now.
As much as you love K-beauty, we’d venture to guess that your skin care routine is not exclusive to the category. Scroll through the hashtag “#shelfie” on Instagram, and you’ll see medicine cabinets that feature a healthy mix of K-beauty and Western products, high-end and drugstore, and trendy must-haves and tried-and-true standbys.
Because Korean products are known for being ultra-nourishing, soothing and gentle, they make especially great companions to Western products with more intense ingredients like acids and those that are lacking in the hydration department.
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Below, you’ll find five popular products from brands like The Ordinary, Milk Makeup, and Garnier and their perfect K-beauty pairings.
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution + A’pieu My Skin-Fit Sheet Mask – Sea Buckthorn
Formulated with 30% alpha hydroxy acids, along with 2% beta hydroxy acid, The Ordinary Peeling Solution is an effective exfoliating treatment, but it also has the potential to be irritating. On its website, the brand recommends it for those who are “an experienced user of acid exfoliation and your skin is not sensitive”.
Using the A’pieu My Skin-Fit Sheet Mask after a treatment like the Peeling Solution is like stretching and hydrating after a tough workout. The essence is packed with sea buckthorn water, which is an anti-inflammatory, can help repair skin damage, and is a source of nourishing fatty acids.
Milk Makeup Watermelon Brightening Serum + Botanic Farm Black Soybean Milk Pudding Sleeping Pack
Watermelon is a hot ingredient right now and for good reason; it’s full of antioxidants and offers brightening effects and lightweight hydration. It’s the star ingredient in the Milk Makeup Watermelon Brightening Serum, which is popular for its oily and combination skin-friendly formula and its no-fuss stick application. However, it may not provide quite enough moisture for the fall and winter months.
This is the time that you want to amp up your hydration game by pairing the serum with a nourishing overnight mask like the Botanic Farm Black Soybean Milk Pudding Sleeping Pack. Like the Milk Makeup serum, the mask has brightening properties, so when used together you’ll wake up with supple, soft, and seriously glowy skin.
Garnier SkinActive Refreshing Facial Wash with Aloe + Klairs Youthful Glow Sugar Mask
The double cleanse is an important part of any skin care routine because it ensures that you’re getting a 360-degree wash. Oil cleansers can break down oil-based debris like makeup, SPF, pollutants, and excess oil on your skin, while water cleansers take care of water-based impurities like sweat and dirt.
One of our new favorite products is the Klairs Youthful Glow Sugar Mask, which serves as a gentle physical exfoliator and as an oil cleansing balm (because it’s an exfoliant, it should be used one to two times per week in place of your usual oil cleanser). Follow it with a mild, water-based cleanser like the Garnier SkinActive Refreshing Facial Wash with Aloe. The aloe helps soothe any potential irritation from the Klairs sugar scrub, while the salicylic acid found in the formula cleans out pores.
Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb All-Over Diamond Veil + Troiareuke Cushion Compact 
The Troiareuke cushion compact is equal parts makeup and skin care. The formula offers more coverage than your average cushion compact, yet is lightweight. Plus, it contains ingredients like centella asiatica, tea tree, and calendula extracts that hydrate, soothe, and prevent breakouts. The result is a flawless, smooth no makeup-makeup finish that serves as the perfect canvas for the rest of your makeup.
One product that we’ll be layering over the foundation on the cheek and brow bones is the Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb All-Over Diamond Veil. The highlighter has a jelly-powder formula and gives skin a gorgeous glittering sheen.
Consider the duo your ticket to a radiant complexion.
Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vitamin C Glow Powder + Plant Base Nature Solution Hydrating Bamboo Water
An exfoliating product like the Fresh foaming powder, which contains AHAs and vitamin C, should be followed by a hydrating toner to help restore the skin’s pH level.
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The perfect candidate is the Plant Base Nature Solution Hydrating Bamboo Water that contains 86.85% bamboo extract, an anti-inflammatory ingredient that helps restore the skin’s moisture barrier, as well as a blend of natural oils for additional hydrating benefits.
+Want any other product pairing suggestions? Share them in the comments below!
