“Never judge a book by its cover,” or so the saying goes, and in the case of these adorable childlike cosmetics packages I would have to say that it’s true. Contained inside these brightly colored and fruity plastic objects from Korean brand Tony Moly, lie some serious skin care ingredients.
You would have to be unplugged to not have heard that Korean beauty is having a moment ( either that or you’re not really into beauty, but then you are reading this blog…) According to Peach and Lily, the beauty site that sells an array of fabulous Korean beauty products, Korean beauty may be 15 years ahead globally in terms of product innovation. Stemming from the absolutely perfect, glowing, youthful skin of Korean actresses, the country is obsessed with perfecting their complexions. Beauty companies oblige by turning out more and more incredible beauty inventions, like sheet masks, rubber masks, snail slime extract, essences, bounce cushions and more.
The packaging is often “cute,” which does revive the kid inside of me (think Bonne Bell lip smacker!) but makes me ponder which demographic they are targeting. But then I remembered back in the 90’s when I was regularly going to Japan I was often astonished to see grown women carrying credit cards adorned with Hello Kitty motifs, and kawaii (Japanese for cute) was perfectly fine for women of all ages. So I assume it’s a cultural thing.
Adorableness aside, I love these two products from Tony Moly. The Kiss Kiss lip scrub is perfect to slough off dried, flaky skin and leaves the lips moisturized, which is great pre-lipstick application. Walnut shell powder exfoliates while macadamia nut oil, jojoba oil, and argan oil moisturize.
The tangerine brightening hand cream (little girls eyes light up when I take it out of my purse…) smells fresh and citrusy and moisturizes without heaviness with Shea butter and brightens with citrus fruit extracts and arbutin. Let’s face it, hands age too and here is one hand cream that considers those pesky brown spots! And I don’t mind it being “cute” too!
Have you been tempted by any cute Korean beauty brands? Leave a comment below!