If 2024 was a breakout year for Korean skincare and makeup, 2025 sustained that momentum. Safe to say, the Korean beauty craze isn’t going anywhere, and thank goodness for that. “What surprised me most in 2025 is just how much excitement there is around K-beauty,” Sarah Chung Park, founder and CEO of Landing International, tells Vogue. “There’s a real sense of fun and discovery that hasn’t gone away.”
The K-beauty expert is constantly hearing from everyone—from editors to consumers—who share personal stories about how Korean skincare has become integral to their routines. “K-beauty is no longer just a trend or a niche category [in the Western world]; it’s deeply woven into daily routines and passed down through generations.”
Vogue’s Favorite 2025 K-Beauty Trends
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Fellow beauty industry expert Michelle Lee agrees, noting that what surprised her most about the past year in Korean beauty was just how quickly new products and trends came to market. “So much was packed into just twelve months,” Lee says. “This year showed that the hunger for K-beauty in the U.S. is huge, and brands are more than ready to answer. For example, salmon sperm facials in Korea sparked widespread curiosity here in the U.S., then PDRN topicals began hitting the market—and suddenly there was a wide variety of PDRN products, sourced from both salmon and vegan alternatives.”
It’s almost uncanny how accurately Chung Park and Lee’s K-Beauty trend predictions from January came to fruition. With TikTok globalizing the category, Korean skincare brands once found primarily at specialty retailers like Soko Glam and YesStyle have become mainstays at North American beauty giants such as Ulta and Sephora.
With so much product to sort through—and so little attention span to consume it all—the experts break down this year’s leading K-beauty trends and standout products below to carry into 2026.
Overnight Collagen Masks
Chung Park previously surmised that turning serums into overnight masks would be huge in 2025—she was absolutely correct. It all started with a TikTok…or should I say, many TikToks, of jet setters and their overnight hydrogel sheet masks, landing at their destination with a glowing glass skin visage.
“Biodance first went viral with their overnight collagen mask and then people discovered other amazing ones like Sungboon Editor’s, which is my personal favorite,” Lee adds. “We’ve known the typical ‘soaked’ sheet masks for about a decade but this was a new innovation—with the serum itself being solidified, you get an incredible result after wearing it overnight.” Medicube also offers a unique take on the overnight mask: Their option doesn’t soak the formula in a bio-cellulose or hydrogel sheet, but instead transforms from a topical gel to a peel-off layer after a few hours—so intriguing it was one of the most buzzy beauty products of the year.
Spicule Serums
Yet another spot-on prediction: Chung Park and Lee named micro-needle skincare as a space to watch in 2025, and spicules were indeed a smash hit. As a quick recap, the microscopic, needle-like structures derived from sea sponges act as both a liquid exfoliant and a vehicle for other ingredients, creating micro-channels in your skin (somewhat similar to microneedling) so that other ingredients can penetrate deeper into the skin’s dermis.
“Spicules certainly captured widespread attention this year,” says Lee, who had gotten a professional liquid microneedling treatment done in-office just before over-the-counter (OTC) Korean spicule serums launched two years ago. “OTC products became popular with VT’s Reedle Shot coming in a range of strengths and then spicules being core ingredients in products like Mixsoon’s Peptide Cica Hyalshot.”
Milky Toners
Per usual, the U.S. was lagging behind when it came to the milky toners (though Vogue’s beauty editor Kiana Murden swears by them). “They’ve been around for many years in Korea, but milky toners had a real moment in the U.S. this year. In fact, milky toners were so popular that we’ve seen them crossing over into Western brands too,” says Lee. Her favorite is the OG milky toner, Im From’s Rice Toner, which she still uses for its hydrating and gently brightening formula.
Lee’s a fan of it too, adding that milky toners were a common addition for an adjacent TikTok trend that gained traction this year. “Skin flooding is a hydration stacking technique where you apply multiple layers of hydrating products onto damp skin to ‘flood’ it with moisture before sealing it in [with a cream or gel moisturizer].” Another viral option comes from TirTir, which adds niacinamide to its formula for added brightening.
Flushed Blush
Blush was a major beauty trend everywhere, including Seoul’s It girls—who, of course, put their own spin on it. In Korea, makeup leans toward a soft-matte, diffused look, and blush is no different. What sets it apart is the placement when applied and unique textures—think bouncy, mousse-like formulas and roller-ball blushes.
“Blush had a real moment in 2025, with lots of cool girls in Korea wearing blush high up on their cheeks, right below their eyes,” says Lee. “The result was a fresh, youthful look. We saw lots of great new textures and formats for blush, whether it was bouncy Pudding Pots from FWEE, Dewy Roll Cheeks from Rom amp;.”
PDRN and Vegan Alternatives
“PDRN has been a major trending ingredient in 2025. PDRN (also known as salmon DNA) has been incorporated into serums, mists, creams, masks—and it all happened at record speed,” explains Lee, noting that brands like Reju-all were completely sold out at many pharmacies in Seoul when she visited over the summer. She suspected the ingredient would gain widespread attention given the buzz it was already generating on social media—even Kim Kardashian revealed that she’d tried a professional PDRN treatment. “Today, we see PDRN in every category, from serums and mists to creams and even sunscreens.” One PDRN product in particular that took over TikTok was Medicube’s bright pink serum.
And in keeping with that rapid pace of innovation, PDRN has since expanded into vegan alternatives. “PDRN is no longer limited to salmon-derived sources, thanks to advances in biotechnology that are unlocking non-animal ways to deliver the same regenerative benefits,” says Chung Park. Case in point: both she and Lee count Mixsoon’s plant-derived, rice-based PDRN among their favorites.
Blurred Lips
“Some iteration of blurred lips has been popular in Korea for years, but the twist in 2025 was a softer take on the look,” says Lee, noting that formulas like Peripera’s Ink Velvet reigned supreme—and still do. “Rather than a sharp ombré effect, blurry lips were defined with a chunky, rounded, soft lip liner and subtly blended.” The result, she explains, is pretty and plumped, aligning seamlessly with the clean-girl aesthetic that dominated 2025.
Chung Park agrees, pointing out that these rounded, crayon-style liners are distinctly different from the sharper, more precise lip liners traditionally favored in the U.S. That influence has since filtered into Western brands—Refy Beauty’s Blur Liner is one example. Meanwhile, Unleashia’s lip pencil stands out as a leading contender in the chunky liner category. “It glides on and blends effortlessly for that blurred lip effect—no Botox or fillers required,” says Chung Park.
Snail Mucin and Vegan Alternatives
Snail mucin has long been a popular category in Korea, prized for its ability to deeply hydrate, support skin repair, and improve overall texture and elasticity. Rich in naturally-derived humectants, mucin strengthens the skin barrier, all while boasting a unique texture that adds to the overall sensorial experience.
While mucin is often harvested from a snail’s natural excretions, some beauty lovers still prefer to avoid animal-derived ingredients in their skin-care routines (to each their own). Enter the vegan alternatives—another area of innovation where Korea excels. “CosRx’s Snail Mucin has been a beloved product for many years. This year, Mixsoon’s Bean Essence emerged as a great vegan alternative with its familiar viscous texture and hydrating benefits,” says Lee. “That slimy stretch makes for an engaging TikTok video and also happens to work really well.”
How We Tested
When we test and review a product, we take a holistic approach to deliver well-rounded product recommendations. First, we lean on Vogue’s vast network of experts—from board-certified dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and K-beauty founders—to gain professional acumen on the industry’s standout products, ones these specialists would actually use on their clients. We pair their expertise with our editorial best practices to curate the thoughtful edits you read on our site.
As it relates to Korean skin-care products, we selected the best based on the following characteristics: ingredients, texture, finish, and the skin care concerns they address. To do this, we paired our own personal tests of each formula with expert guidance and reviewer insights to determine which we would recommend to you.
Meet the Experts
- Michelle Lee is a beauty industry adviser and former editor in chief of Allure.
- Sarah Chung Park is a beauty industry veteran and founder and CEO of Landing International.
