9 popular Korean skincare items at Olive Young, the South Korean Sephora, from toners to serums to sheet masks

International health and beauty retailers like Sephora and Watsons have failed to topple Olive Young from its perch as one of South Korea’s top beauty stores

We take a look at popular Olive Young products, from a toner ranked number one for three years to its single most sold item for the past 11 years

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International retailers like Sephora and Watsons have failed to topple Olive Young from its perch as one of South Korea’s top beauty stores. We recommend the best toners, essence, serums and sheet masks to buy there. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 1:15pm, 11 May 2024

Many tourists visit South Korea with empty space in their suitcases for the Korean products – more specifically, Korean beauty products – they intend to bring back with them.

According to Google Trends, searches for “Korean skincare” and “Olive Young”, one of South Korea’s top beauty store chains with more than 1,000 branches across the country, have been rising quickly over the past 18 months.

The number of Olive Young stores speaks to its dominance in the beauty market – one so competitive that international chains like Sephora and Watsons have failed to establish a foothold in the country.

Its growing popularity among tourists is clear – last year, its sales to foreigners increased by 660 per cent compared to the year before, according to the company. Even the wives of US professional baseball players were spotted in an Olive Young store when they visited Seoul in March for the opening game of North America’s Major League Baseball season.

Torriden’s Dive-In Low Molecule Hyaluronic Acid Toner is good for those with dry skin.

What sets the retailer apart from its competitors is that it carries a lot of medium-sized domestic brands that offer high-quality products at affordable prices.

These brands do not have their own bricks-and-mortar stores, nor are they sold in bigger department stores and, since most do not have huge marketing budgets, they compete with one another through the quality of their products.