After staying in Asia for nearly three I’ve of course branched out to Asian beauty brands (and you followed me around while doing that!). Now, after a lot of trying different brands and different products, I feel confident enough to cover what I found out and answer a question I get a lot – what is better? Asian vs. Western skincare products? So here’s what I’d pick from each category.
As always, what follows is a gross generalisation and you’ll find different and opposing examples for what I’m saying. The beauty world is big, after all, and we like it that way. But as a quick primer, this works, I guess. Suppose your starting your skincare journey and got the ways and means to shop wherever you want, this is what I would recommend getting.
Asian products you can’t go wrong with
Very broadly speaking, I found Asian skincare products concentrate on nurturing and brightening skin. They also go all out when it comes to funky ‘natural’ ingredients like snail mucus, placenta, fermented everything, to name just a few. Products I’d always buy when I’m in Asia are sheet masks and essences.
I would’ve included sunscreen until I came back to Germany and started to struggle with my Korean sunscreens. What still worked great was Canmake’s Mermaid Skin Gel, so for me, that’s a true allrounder, working in every climate.
Sheet masks
Yup, if you still love sheet masks (I listed a number of reasons why maybe you shouldn’t), Asia is the place to buy them. Nowhere else in the world you’ll find such diverse offering for a wide range of price points. They often include interesting ingredients like snail mucus etc., so if you want to dip your toes into that, here’s a cheap and easy way to see if you like that. My faves? Papa Recipe and My Beauty Diary!
Essence/ First Treatment Essence
Virtually unknown in the Western beauty world until a few years ago, essences have since then slowly crept into the line-up of Western brands as well as into the shelves of skincare junkies. Essences (I wrote about them before) are a great little extra step: after cleansing your face, it balances your pH, and also gives some moisture back. Both qualities help the skin to absorb your serums and moisturisers better. You might think that’s a superfluous product, but after using essences for nearly two years, I’m totally convinced – an essence gives my skin a very appreciated boost of moisture, directly after cleansing.
Especially the so-called First Treatment Essences (the most famous and eponymous one is Missha’s Time Revolution First Treatment Essence) includes fermented ingredients that are famed for their penetration enhancing and moisture boosting properties. My favourite essences are from cosrx (Galactomyces Alcohol-Free Toner – confusingly called Toner) and the super expensive SK-II Facial Treatment Essence.
Western products I’ll always buy
Different to the Asian skincare approach, I feel Western skincare is much more obsessed with fixing things. That’s the reason why active ingredients are so big there. With that comes a broad range of products, from different percentages to different price points.
Serums
Vitamin C, AHAs, BHAs, retinol, Vitamin C, E, F… you name it, you get it. Pick your poison! I use nearly all ingredients named above – I use acids (both AHAs and BHAs) to refine and plump my skin, Vitamin C to even it out, and retinol plus antioxidants (the vitamins) for anti-aging purposes (see my skincare routines here and here). Clinical looking/seeming packaging (The Ordinary’s apothecary bottles) stresses the point of a nearly medical approach. Brands like Paula’s Choice seem to have a no-nonsense attitude about getting good skin: No frills, but all the benefits without the nasties.
Speaking of nasties: ‘clean’ beauty products? Vegan, cruelty-free ones? If you’re looking for those, I’ve the feeling that those are also more on the rise in Western beauty circles.
Micellar cleansers
I’m still partial to micellar waters, and use them every night as part of my double cleanse. There’re micellar waters and cleansers from Asian brands, but given that Bioderma brought them to fame, I’m reaching for the dupe from L’Oreal – even better (for me) than the French original. I love that it’s an easy cleanse, with little irritants included. And with the polluted and chlorine-laden tab water in Shanghai, I still think my micellar water was a better cleansing choice than cleaning my face with water!
Do you have favourite products from either East or West that you firmly think are better than their counterparts? Let me know!
I still like my Laneige sunscreen (in Berlin summer/autumn)! Let’s see how it fares in winter. I still find Asian sunscreens better because I can easily layer it over more moisturizing products when I need more moisture. I totally agree with the active ingredients part. There are so many Western brands that are stripping it down to no-frills and once you know what you’re doing it’s just better to do it that way! Then again, I am mostly underwhelmed by Asian skincare so far… maybe I just haven’t found a damn good product I want to stick with?
You know what, I think you might be onto something with the layering. I just found out that I can layer my A’Pieu sunscreen easily over more oily moisturisers! That was such a revelation, because I thought I couldn’t use it (the A’Pieu) no longer since I’m back in Germany, because my skin has become so dry. And it started to become so unpleasant to use! When I put on some oil I used it on a whim, and it performed beautifully. Over OIL! In other news, I’m happy you still enjoy the Laneige!