Where to buy K-beauty in London
The constant battle faced by all international K-Beauty lovers: the impracticality (and ridiculousness!) of just popping on a flight over to South Korea every few months to test out all those products you’ve been eyeing up, juxtaposed with the inevitable fear factor that comes with buying before trying! No longer, loyal skincare fanatics. Let me introduce you to where you can (finally!) experience your favourite k-beauty purchases up close and personal!
London- the easiest place in the world to find a building that takes your breath away…not always so easy to find your favourite international beauty products!
Online shopping for skincare is great! Until you test out that much raved about new serum only to discover that you hate the texture, it doesn’t absorb well at ALL and you end up using only about half of it before giving up entirely. Therein lies the problem for a lot of K-beauty lovers who don’t currently reside in South Korea; the majority of products are exclusively available online, and are shipped out direct from SK, meaning few actually get to try out products before purchasing them. Even when companies do stock k-beauty, they tend to only be the overpriced, ‘westernised’ standouts such as Glow Recipe or Dr Jart (the first of which I don’t care for, and the latter of which I don’t hate, but is about 5x more expensive in the west). For those of us who enjoy using less well known brands, finding somewhere to try these products is pretty much an impossibility.
There are 2 solutions to this problem in my opinion: 1) do what I do and find any excuse to travel to Seoul (I’m lucky enough to have bagged myself a job that requires both a lot of travelling, and long periods of time off- oh and the occasional existential crisis when I face months of unemployment every 6 months or so; welcome to the film industry!), pack an extra suitcase and return home, Gollum-esque style, with your hoard of skincare which you eek out over time, or 2) pace the streets of London searching for the ever-elusive beauty store that stocks the item you’re looking for. I know, neither of them are ideal. However the second one is much more practical, and sensible and all around more attractive. Luckily I’ve saved you some street-pacing and put together a list of my favourite places that stock Korean skincare, so you can keep your ‘blind-buying’ to a minimum!
Sokollab
Branded as a ‘melting pot of Korean lifestyle, both online and in-store’ this is a one-stop-shop for all K-beauty/K-pop lovers! Not only does their 2 story shop stock your favourite group’s albums (and sometimes merch) but they also sell Korean skincare. Although they don’t have the broadest range of products on offer in the skincare department, what they do have is good quality and fairly niche; great if you’re into exploring new skincare finds! Examples include Shangpree, which is unique because although their products are popular in Korea due to a number of celebrity endorsements, and their FANTASTIC spa, they’re rarely, if ever, sold on UK soil! Their staff is always incredibly helpful, and they obviously absolutely really love their job- a trip to Sokollab has never failed to put a smile on my face
Where to go: 19 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QN
Nature Republic
The only Korean skincare brand to have its own flagship store in the UK, Nature Republic opened the doors to it’s Charing Cross location in October 2019, and since then it has been providing customers with dynamic and effective products at a very reasonable price! Nature Republic is a brand that prides itself on its transparency and its ‘back to nature’ approach- you can often find out exactly where each ingredient has come from, down to specific geographical regions! My personal favourite product is their Aloe Vera Gel, which I spoke about in this article about authentic Cult Favourites. However, they have so many hidden gems, I’d highly recommend going along and trying some out for yourself. Their team of staff are highly educated about their products, the different ingredients used and what works for different skin, so don’t be scared to ask for help!
Where to go: 64-66 Charing Cross Road, Covent Garden, London WC2H 0BT
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Dr Jart
So having already stated that Nature Republic was the ONLY Korean skincare brand to have a flagship store in the UK, I have a feeling that title won’t last for long- Dr Jart is on their heels. From the end of July right through the 21st of October 2021, Dr Jart are hosting a pop up in the eccentric, modern and busy Carnaby street (in the same shop where MAC used to be if any of you are regulars!). Given that Dr Jart already has its products in a number of larger stores (which I’ll talk about later), I can’t help but feel this pop up might be the overture to what will eventually be one or more fully substantiated stores being opened up across London. Although I’m a little so-so on their products (exceptions being their outstanding Water Jet Vital Hydra Solution sheet mask, and their Cica Cream, which I have been using pretty consistently recently- a surprise even to myself!), I’m excited at the prospect of their success paving the way for other Korean companies to make the move and open store for their brands in London!
Where to go: 31 Great Marlborough Street, Carnaby, London, W1F 7JA
Aigoo
The team behind Aigoo have GREAT taste when it comes to curating products to sell at their two (?!) shops- and it also happens to be my closest K-beauty retailer, which is great but not also great because I end up spending way to much time and money at their BoxPark Shoreditch location! Their other, slightly larger store can be found at the Putney Exchange. They stock much loved favourites such as Innisfree, Jumiso, Isntree, iUnik, COSRX, Pyunkang Yul…the list goes on! Although the prices are slightly more expensive than those you’ll find online, due to import taxes, it’s often worth it for the convenience, and the fact you’re supporting a small business- we can’t expect other K-Beauty stores to open if we don’t support the ones that currently exist! The shop assistants are always more than happy to help you try things out, and in general very welcoming! They also have the cutest stationary, if you’re in to that- which I very much am!
Where to go:
Putney Exchange Shopping Centre, Putney High St, London SW15 1TW
BoxPark Shoreditch, 2-10 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6GY
Selfridges
If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I love being surrounded by beautiful things. Which is why I love Selfridges more than I probably should. However, there are rules to shopping here: never go on the weekends because the crowds make it hideous, never spend what you can’t afford (and if you do, make sure it’s impeccably made) and make full use of their unrivalled customer care. The same also applies for Harrods, in case you were wondering. I like going first thing in the morning, when there’s almost no one around, and the first place I head to is the beauty department- aim for the back of the store to find all things skincare and K-beauty. Here, they have tester galore, and their retail assistants are always more than happy to offer small samples to take away(particularly if the store is empty, and they have nothing else to do!)! Selfridges have a fairly good range of K-beauty brands on offer, such as Laneige, Huxley, Dr Jart, Bentons and Shangpree, although to be honest, you’re unlikely to find any good deals here. I use Selfridges to try things out, enjoy my experience, and then go home and order online if I like them!
Where to go: 400 Oxford St, London W1C 1JS
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Notable mentions:
The following online stores often have great pop up events across the capital, so keep your eye on their instagram pages for updates:
