2017 is the worst year for my skin. During my teenage years, I never really had to deal with a bad case of acne—save for that one big pimple on my nose when I graduated from college. This year, my skin just remembered that it forgot to act up while I was still during my puberty. I didn’t know what to do. But since it’s 2017, I consulted YouTube and came across Korean skincare vlogger Liah Yoo.
While everyone’s raving about the 10-step Korean beauty routine, Liah Yoo has a simpler approach to skincare. In almost all of her videos, Liah emphasizes on a simple skincare routine and the capacity of our skin barrier to overcome acne. It’s not easy to find potent yet gentle skincare products, so instead of waiting for that perfect brand, Liah decided to take control and make her own.
Launched on Dec. 12 in New York, Liah calls her skincare brand Krave Beauty with the philosophy that the products we use are basic and simple yet loaded with the ingredients our skin crave. “As a consumer, a lot of young customers start to apply more and more [products on their face], causing more inflammation, chronic skin disease or never curing acne or redness,” Liah tells WWD. She wanted to help women and men simplify their routine and stick to what their skin really needs at the moment.
“What we can do to feed our skin what it deserves, or craves, is give it the most vital nutrients, like antioxidants. I think everyone can benefit from them….Antioxidants and essential fatty acids are the base for a lot of products, and I’m using and cocktail-ing them with skin replenishing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid or panthenol.”
Krave introduces two products for now: the Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser and the Kale-Lalu-yAHA. As it suggests, the cleanser contains matcha, hempseed oil, and vitamin B5. It also ditches harsh surfactants and employs gentle cleansing agents that clean the skin keeping the skin hydrated—it’s time to say no to that squeaky clean philosophy.
The Kale-Lalu-yAHA, on the other hand, is a chemical exfoliant for beginners. It contains 5.2 percent of sugarcane-derived glycolic acid that targets texture irregularities and clogged pores. Like the cleanser, Liah made sure that the Kale-Lalu-yAHA is loaded with antioxidants and soothing ingredients like aloe and green leafy vegetable extracts.
In the future, Liah is set to introduce more products like a non-pore clogging sunscreen in the summer. But the sad news is it’s only available in the US and South Korea for now. Liah and the Krave Beauty team are working on making it available worldwide soon, though.
While we’re waiting for Krave Beauty to be available here, we better fight the urge to splurge on unnecessary skincare products and follow Liah’s advice to keep our routines simple.
Photos courtesy of Liah Yoo’s Instagram account
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