The Best Korean Skin Care at Ulta Beauty, From Beloved Classics to Your Favorite New Finds

Achieving glass skin, especially when you’re sensitive, is not easy. But even with the more potent retinal (vs. retinol) packed into this formula, you can get the smooth, moisturized, refined look of glass skin without the stripping, redness, and skin barrier compromise—thanks to ectoin and an encapsulated, slow-release retinal that minimizes irritation to zero.

Calm skin quickly after a treatment or once a breakout has cleared with a combo of madecassoside (derived from centella asisatica) and texture-smoothing niacinamide. Use these like a classic pre-soaked pad, or for deeper troubleshooting, leave on like a sheet mask to let the ingredients absorb fully.

It may seem counterintuitive to have tiny needle-like spicules in a product formulated to smooth and calm skin, but that’s exactly what this Reedle Shot does. The micro-sized particles work similarly to micro-needling to create tiny holes in the skin so that the calming centella asiatica extract, moisturizing hyaluronic acid, and healing propolis absorb faster and deeper. The treatment comes in four potencies: 50, 100, 300, and 700, so that you can work your way up or down as needed.

This is one of the original favorites in the K-beauty world, and it's still going strong among skincare lovers. The key players in this skin-plumping, moisturizing, fine-line-smoothing essence are, as the name suggests, a snail secretion extract alongside hyaluronic acid and skin-firming amino acids.

Another hero product in K-beauty fandom is Hero Cosmetics’ Mighty Patch. This duo has a combo of the original gunk-pulling hydrocolloid dots and a clear version to wear undetected during the day.

No K-beauty routine is complete without an essence or toner. This one is best for pore refinement. A combo of AHAs and PHAs gently unclogs pores; an anti-sebum complex reduces oil production, and tea tree and cica calm and tighten pores.

If you’re here shopping for beauty products, then hopefully you’re well-versed enough to know how vital daily sunscreen use is for your skin. This one has all the favorable attributes of a sunscreen you’ll want to reach for every day: SPF 50, moisturizing, and blends easily into a range of skin tones.

One staple in K-beauty is sleeping masks. Banila Co’s version is packed with a specific kind of retinol called liposomal retinol that, alongside plant-based bakuchiol and moisture-sealing ceramides, slowly releases while you rest so that you wake up with glowy, moisturized, and smooth skin.

Traditional methods of treating hyperpigmentation and uneven tone use AHAs and BHAs to exfoliate the top layer of skin and dark spots along with it. This brightening cream uses a gentler but equally effective combination of tranexamic acid, niacinamide, and Melazero V2. So you can clear and get rid of rough spots without destroying your skin barrier.

Understanding exosomes can be confusing. Medicube uses a bacteria-derived exosome called that carries peptides, amino acids, and vitamins through micro-sized spicules straight into the skin. The booster also has exfoliating AHAs, BHAs, and PHAs to smooth and brighten skin, and panthenol to keep skin calm while the actives do their thing.

Beyond brightening and smoothing, moisture is essential for keeping skin plump and youthful. Centellian24’s rich cream prioritizes moisture to help plump skin and restore elasticity lost when it's dehydrated. There’s also a concentrated dose of centella asiatica to help bring down redness and calm inflammation.

Among the K-beauty cult favorites is Erborian’s BB Crème—a makeup-meets-skincare hybrid that’s equal parts moisturizer, sunscreen, and a lightweight foundation.

Skincare tends to dominate the K-beauty conversation, but there are makeup options that are praiseworthy, too. Case in point: this whipped lip and cheek pot comes in 35 highly pigmented shades and helps blur enlarged pores and fine lines.

You already know that K-beauty’s version of a stay-all-day makeup setting spray will put skin first. This ultra-fine mist fixer not only locks in your look but also has calming cica and oil-control ingredients, so your skin looks blurred, dewy, and set even if you sweat or get wet.