I tried a 10-step Korean skin-care routine, and it actually made a difference for my skin - here's what it's like

The Peptide No-Sebum Mild Gel Cleanser seeps into skin to clear excess sebum and blackheads with both AHAs and BHAs. Simultaneously, calamine powder and a blend of 20 amino acids helps balance skin and minimize hyperpigmentation.

White truffle is considered the hero ingredient because it speeds up cell renewal, regularly revealing newer and younger-looking skin.

This tub has 30 single-use exfoliating pads. They use a powerful combination of chemical exfoliants (lactic acid, glycolic acid, and lemon, orange, and papaya extracts) to clear clogged pores.

Vitamin C helps fade acne scars, and the textured pad physically buffs away dead skin cells.

Peony extract and a high concentration of licorice water brighten the skin. Green tea extract calms the skin and reduces pigmentation (including in acne scars and dark spots). It's gentle enough for all skin types, has a 5.5 pH level to balance skin, and helps prep your skin to better absorb the next steps.

The product description says it leaves skin feeling clean and smooth, not dry or tight — and that's definitely true in person.

Neogen's Micro Essence is deeply hydrating and brightening thanks to more than 93% naturally fermented ingredients, including bifida ferment lysate, 28% saccharomyces ferment, 17% birch juice, and 9% rice extracts alongside plenty of antioxidants and "cell-communicating" ingredients.

Used with the Acwell toner, this gave my skin a dewy, glowy complexion (known colloquially as "honey skin") that I always aim to achieve and never actually succeed in creating.

If I could only pick one thing from the line to buy again, it might be this product. It really is deeply hydrating, but it's much more lightweight than a moisturizer — meaning my skin never feels sticky or my pores in danger of clogging.

This is the follow-up to the Micro Essence, and it's a gel-like serum that's designed to provide a concentrated boost of nutrients and antioxidants to skin. Ingredients (61% of which are fermented) like betula alba juice provide the nourishment of antioxidants while rice ferment filtrate brightens the complexion and balances the skin's oil production.

These award-winning hydrogel sheet masks brighten the complexion (according to Soko Glam, the "whitening" really means "brightening" since there are zero bleaching agents) with niacinamide and platinum powder, fading pigmentation and evening skin tone. Each package includes four single-use masks.

After using one for the first time, I bought another package online the following morning. My skin felt dewy, supple, and moisturized without appearing oily or shiny — a feat I'm not normally able to achieve with combination skin.

Fermented ingredients repair skin damage, and ceramides, hyaluronic acid, aloe, and panthenol hydrate. Beta-glucans and adenosine plump and smooth to make eyes look brighter and younger.

Comparatively, Benton's eye cream is a relatively lightweight but concentrated formula. It feels cool against the skin, and it spread easily. It's not globular or obtrusive, and it does deeply hydrate. I'm still in a preventative phase for wrinkles, but I do notice that it makes my eyes appear brighter and the skin plumper.

MadeCera's Cream was another standout product — lightweight, silky, and deeply hydrating without leaving a greasy or sticky film on the skin. It's light enough for daytime use, and can be layered for extra hydration at night without clogging the pores with a thicker formula.

The formula includes madecassoside, an inflammation-fighting compound naturally occurring in centella asiatica extract, that also reduces redness in the skin (like acne spots). Niacinamide brights the complexion, adenosine works to smooth skin and act as an anti-aging aid, and ceramides pump the skin with moisture. Altogether, the cream strengthens your skin's barrier, brightens the complexion, and prevents premature aging.

This sunscreen is a K-Beauty favorite I'd actually heard about before using it. It provides broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection, and it's lightweight enough to be worn without protest under makeup.

In person, it doesn't leave a greasy film or white cast on the skin, but its best feature is definitely how lightweight it is.