15 Best Selling, Awarded Green Tea Korean Skincare Products
Image Credit: @osulloc_official
If you want to introduce green tea into your skincare routine but are overwhelmed with the number of K-beauty products formulated with this classic ingredient, or your skin already loves green tea plant extracts but you'd like to go beyond, look no further: I'm a cosmetics marketer with 10 years of experience in the K-beauty space and I curated Seoul's most loved, award-winning green tea Korean skin care products of 2024.
While Western brands are still waking up to the benefits of green tea, Korean formulators have known the power of green tea for different skin concerns for centuries, and to this day, it is a hallmark ingredient loved for its anti-inflammatory properties, and ability to control oil production and sebum (Chilicka et al., 2022). Green tea is also one of these "natural ingredients" that's been proven a holy grail for people who suffer from sensitive skin, have a damaged moisture barrier, or dry extremely skin (Koch et al., 2019). And while green tea can't compete with the top well-aging benefit ingredients like retinol or peptides, some studies suggest green tea might be promising when it comes to fighting free radicals which can help you maintain the youthful appearance of your skin (Puxvadee et al., 2020). So without further ado (and for full transparency), here are my 3 conditions for curating the 15 best K-beauty green tea items - all the products I'll introduce to you today had to fulfill one at least, ideally all three conditions make it onto this list:
Condition #2: Name ≠ Ingredient 👩🏻🔬
Green tea should not just be in the product name but should be high up in the product's ingredients list. Why? Allow me to explain: According to the FDA (article linked below for further information), skincare ingredients are listed in descending order of their concentration, meaning the ingredients at the beginning usually have the highest concentration. While some brands will write "green tea extract/water/etc.", on most labels you will see green tea described as: "Camellia sinensis leaf extract" = green tea leaf extract made from green tea leaves, "camellia sinensis leaf water" = fresh green tea water and so on.
What's important to remember here is that while this is a general rule, judging a product purely by its ingredients list is an outdated practice because it does not take into account the complex process cosmetic chemists go through to make a product effective: Especially actives like hyaluronic acid, retinol, peptides, etc. can be very beneficial in small concentrations (aka at the end of the ingredients list). But because green tea is not an active ingredient, I wanted to make sure you're getting a high concentration of it in the products I recommend. However, you will see a few products introduced by me that have green tea towards the lower end of their ingredients list, in that case, they usually fulfill condition #3…
Condition #1: Awards/Bestsellers🏆
Every product must have won either an independent, reputable K-beauty award, be a bestseller at Korea's largest beauty store, Olive Young, or have received so much hype online that this affected its sales numbers drastically. I put on my cosmetics marketer hat and did market research to find out which green tea products are worthy of this glory.
Condition #3: Tea fields🌱
I couldn't apply this condition to every product because it requires a brand to have a longer history and usually larger funding but condition #3 is that the brand ideally has their own green tea fields. Some cosmetic conglomerates like Amore Pacific who own Korean brands like Innisfree, Laneige, Sulwhasoo, Hera, and Illiyoon have a decades-long history of cultivating green tea, which gives them the ability to not only quality-control the green tea they formulate with but to continually learn about its possibilities as an ingredient. In Amore Pacific's case, the brand harnessed the unique ecosystem of Jeju Island to grow green tea for their cosmetics.
Disclaimer: This is an independent blog post that expresses my professional opinion as a cosmetics marketer. None of the mentioned brands compensated me for reviewing their products. I was not sponsored to write this post nor received or accepted any products/PR packages. All sources, especially the clinical studies and research articles mentioned, can be found at the end of this post.
Innisfree:
"Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Serum"
Image Credit: us.osulloc.com
Not only did this serum win first place in the "best hydrating essence/serum" category at the 2023 GlowPick awards and has been a steady bestseller at Olive Young for years now but it fulfills condition #3 as it has decades of history behind it: In 1979, Amore Pacific's founder 서성환 (Suh Sungwhan) announced his plan to cultivate green tea on Jeju Island's wastelands to use it not only for his growing cosmetic business but to revitalize Korea's tea culture.
He founded Korea's famous tea brand Osulloc back then in 1979 but it would take him blood, sweat, tears, and another 20 years until he launched Innisfree, which ended up becoming one of K-beauty's biggest brands globally.
“This is not something I started to reap significant profits in the short term. My priority is to revive our country’s tea culture. And it will greatly help our business and Jeju although it may take some time. Who would initiate something like this if not for entrepreneurs like me? ”
Image Credit: us.innisfree.com
Needless to say, there's probably no brand that knows green tea as well as Innisfree: Their tea variety called "Beauty Green Tea" which they formulate with boasts 16 amino acids and is cultivated on Jeju's organic green tea farm for 7 years. Not only that but instead of creating a classic infusion, Innisfree carefully processes the tea by double squeezing the moisture from the leaves which allows them to retain all the skin-beneficial nutrients.
This serum is an evergreen (literally haha) because it has all this intricate processing know-how in its formula but goes even further for your skin thanks to Innisfree's trademarked Green Tea Tri-biotics™ which helps balance your skin's microbiome and their Dual-Moisture-Rising Technology™ which uses a blend of highly concentrated green tea seed oil and green tea water to strengthen your moisture barrier. I would recommend this lightweight serum to all oily skin types and to anyone who has severely dehydrated skin or needs some extra long-lasting hydration while on drying medication or after invasive skin treatments. If you want to learn more about Innisfree's origins, I highly recommend checking out The Skin Special's podcast episode about Amore Pacific & Innsifree's origins, I linked it at the end of this article.
Beauty of Joseon:
"Calming Serum Green Tea + Panthenol"
Image Credit: lovemycosmetic.de
Beauty of Joseon has consistently been creating some of K-Beauty TikTok's favorite products but there's more than the viral Beauty of Joseon sunscreen: Their Calming Serum Green Tea + Panthenol is not only a bestseller at Olive Young's global store but has camellia sinensis leaf water (green tea leaf water) as the very first (!) ingredient with a concentration of 50.9%.
True to the brand's mission, this light formula has no artificial color additives but its beautiful, bright green color purely comes from the high concentration of green tea. I would recommend this serum to anyone with acne-prone skin who wants to gently control sebum but people with dry skin or a compromised moisture barrier can also benefit from it. Because this green tea serum is formulated with 5% soothing panthenol, which is converted into vitamin B5 once your skin absorbs it, it helps to prevent moisture loss and allows your skin to get back its glow.
Dr. Ceuracle:
"Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence"
Image Credit: miroshoparis.com
This best-selling, creamy essence toner was trending with beauty creators throughout last year, and won a 2023 Vana Award given by global K-beauty store Stylevana: With 58.9% camellia sinensis leaf water and camellia sinensis leaf extract (green tea leaf water and extract) as the first ingredients and blended with 20% fermented kombucha tea extract it's amazing for providing your skin's microbiome with nourishment and supporting your skin barrier.
I'd recommend this toner, especially to oily skin that's prone to breakouts, as well as to dry skin types. For creamy, thicker essence toners like this one, one of my favorite tips is to dispense it into the palms of your hands (this toner needs a little shake first) and then pad it into your skin so as not to waste too much product being soaked up by a cotton pad.
Some By Mi
"Super Matcha Pore Clean Clay Mask”
Image Credit: klinq.com
This clay mask takes green tea a step further and puts the care in pore care with their concentrated matcha formula: Some By Mi's Super Matcha mask doesn't only have a yummy, ice cream-like texture but comes with 102,000ppm matcha (finely ground high-end green tea powder), as well as kaolin clay and is fantastic at helping with pore elasticity, excess sebum, and dead skin cells.
It also features centella asiatica extract, salicylic acid, and the gentle chemical exfoliant BHA derived from white willow bark. I'd recommend this green tea clay mask to any skin type really, whether you have oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, combination skin, or aging/mature skin, using a non-stripping mask like this one once a week can really help refine your skin texture and the appearance of your pores. I've been using this mask for over a year now after an Olive Young sales assistant recommended it to me as one of their best-selling clay masks and I absolutely love how it does not dry out my very sensitive, acne-prone skin whatsoever but nourishes it. When you're applying this or any other clay mask, always remember to mainly apply it on your t-zone and not onto your entire face.
Numbuzin:
"No. 3 Tingle Pore Softening Sheet Mask"
Image Credit: kbeautyarabia.com
This Olive Young bestseller literally flies of the shelves, so whenever I was able to grab one at my local Olive Young, I considered myself very lucky. And it's no surprise why people love this mask: Numbuzin's Pore Softening Sheet Mask uses what they call their trademarked "Tingle-Pore Complex™" which combines peppermint leaf with camellia sinensis leaf extract (green tea leaf extract) and rosemary oil to visibly reduce the appearance of enlarged pores, refine skin texture, and the control the overproduction of sebum. What makes this mask special in my opinion is that it uses fermented ingredients like the probiotics bifida ferment lysate at 20% and galactomyces ferment filtrate at 9% together with calming green tea extract to buffer the pore-tightened effect of the formula's active ingredients. This sheetmask is the perfect fit (literally lol) if you have oily skin and are prone to breakouts or if your skin shows first signs of aging, especially loose pores, dull complexion, fine lines, and rough skin texture. Don't be alarmed when you put this mask on and feel your pores tingling: According to Numbuzin, the more enlarged your pores, the bigger of a tingle you're going to experience...
Neogen
"Dermalogy Green Tea Moist PHA Gauze Peeling"
Image Credit: us.lookfantastic.com
These toner pads won a Beauty Insider 2022 award and it's clear to see why: Packed with 9,800ppm camellia sinensis leaf water (green tea leaf water), it'll not only last you for a long time as every single one of the 30 pads is generously soaked in a calming essence but will visibly exfoliate and even your skin tone. The exfoliating pads were re-released in 2020 and now contain not only PHA but AHA, BHA, as well as LHA, so be careful to not use them every single day if you have sensitive skin and are prone to breakouts.
Neogen's toner pads are also so beloved by people and cosmetic marketers like myself because of how comfortable their pads feel: Neogen had their 3-layer gauze thread pad design patented to feature a 100% pure cotton pad with mesh fabric to effectively remove dead skin cells, a cushion pad which holds the essence well, and an embossed wave pad for finer exfoliation. What also stands out about the formulation of these exfoliating pads is Neogen's tardemarked ingredient Biometic Fluid Tears™ which helps deliver the green tea's moisture deep into your skin layers. I'd recommend this product if you have dry skin and are looking to achieve a more glowing, even complexion, or if you have oily skin that can handle multiple exfoliating agents.
Round Around:
"Green Tea Moisture Essence Lotion"
Image Credit: @roundaround_official
This 2023 GlowPick award winner which was selected as one of the best hydrating body lotions takes green tea into the body care category. GlowPick is one of my favorite reliable and renowned sources when it comes to Korean skincare and beauty product reviews: They were founded in 2014 and were the first platform in Korea's beauty scene that featured unfiltered, honest consumer reviews (find them linked at the end of this article).
With 77.2% camellia sinensis leaf water (green tea leaf water) as the very first ingredient and enriched with niacinamide, squalane, as well as bergamot oil, this deeply hydrating, soothing lotion helps give your body's skin even through the roughest of flaky Winter months, highly recommend it to all the girlies and boys with dry skin, sensitive skin, or those struggling with bacne.
MdoC:
"Sebum Strike Serum"
Enjoy this image of a green tea plant, the quality of this serum’s packshots was too low-res😭 Image Credit: beautyofjoseon.com
This serum is proof that you don't need a huge social media presence to win a reputable K-beauty award: Popular Korean beauty app Hwahae holds their Hwahae Beauty Awards twice a year where they award Korean brands that have been reviewed by real people, no sponsorships or endorsements allowed. What also makes the app interesting is that it uses data provided by AKD (The Association of Korean Dermatologists) to help users find products that fit their skin type and skin concerns but I digress: This serum is by a small brand called Mdoc which was founded in 2005 as one of the first men's cosmetics brands. What makes the Sebum Strike Serum so popular is its combination of green tea extract and centella asiatica extract which targets enlarged pores and excess sebum without feeling sticky on the skin, as well as brightening agents like lime and licorice root extract which effectively reduce dark spots and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. What's also great about this serum is that it's a generous amount of 100ml which is going to last you for a long time as you really only need a small amount.
Neogen
"Real Fresh Cleansing Stick Green Tea"
Image Credit: skinstore.com
This unique cleansing balm doesn't just come in interesting packaging perfect for travel but was the winner of a Teen Vogue Acne Award a couple of years back: The product was actually co-created with Soko Glam founder Charlotte Cho and prides itself in its "natural ingredients". Its formula features visible green tea leaves in the balm, as well as green tea oil and 12 other botanical oils.
It glides comfortably across your skin without tugging on it and removes even stubborn makeup residue. The leaves don't feel irritating or rough but rather give you a gentle physical exfoliation. I would recommend this product to people with dry skin, or sensitive skin but if you're acne-prone and your pores tend to get clogged easily, you might want to skip this product as it contains coconut oil high up in its ingredients list which can (but doesn't have to) be pore clogging.
Isntree:
"Green Tea Fresh Toner"
Image Credit: iherb.com
Let's talk best-selling green tea toners: Remember when I said Amore Pacific's Innisfree is probably the most knowledgeable when it comes to green tea as a cosmetic ingredient? Well, Isntree (why are both names so similar? It breaks my brain help!), takes the second place: They also cultivate and harvest green tea on Jeju Island but they were founded 12 years after Innisfree was launched. Since 2012, Isntree has focused on being known for their eco-friendly products, and in 2020, they rebranded and upgraded their entire packaging to now be mainly made from recycled green tea paper. This toner has been a long-time favorite in the K-beauty community and it's clear to see why skincare creators in Korea and abroad love it: With 80% of green tea leaf extract as its very first (!) ingredient and its patented "Anti Sebum P" technology, which is supposed to effectively control excess sebum, it is the perfect fit if you have oily skin or combination skin that's prone to breakouts. I wouldn't recommend this toner to dry skin per se as it might not be nourishing enough. Its formula is on the thinner side and features a rich, brownish color which stems from the naturally occurring tannin present in Isntree's green tea variety which they claim to be a characteristic for "high purity green tea".
COSRX:
"Green Tea Aqua Soothing Gel Cream"
Image Credit: cosrx.com
With green tea extract leading their ingredients list, this bestselling, jelly-like gel cream is not only often "out of stock" at Olive Young's physical stores but has solid 4-5 star ratings across multiple K-beauty forums and stores: Formulated with green tea extract at the very front of their ingredients list and combined with allantoin, as well as COSRX's special "water gel matrix nutrient delivery system", it is a perfect choice if you're looking to regenerate irritated skin, redness, and acne breakouts.
People have been loving that doesn't feel greasy, but is soothing, yet refreshing and cooling once applied to the skin. If you're curious about this cream but are looking for a richer formulation that can give drier skin or dehydrated skin that extra hydration, COSRX also has a similar, heavier moisturizer called their "Moisture Power Enriched Cream" which could be worth a try, keep in mind that this "twin product" is not focused on green tea though.
Heimish:
"Matcha Biome Intensive Repair Cream"
Image Credit: stylekorean.com
If you're looking for a moisturizer that features green tea but is richer in texture and nourishes more mature, dry skin (I wouldn't recommend this product for oily skin and breakout-prone skin), you've come to the right place:
Heimish is known for their iconic cleansing balm but this bestselling cream formulated with 50% fermented matcha water from Jeju Island as the first ingredient, shea butter, and probiotics like lactobacillus ferment (110ppm) known or its anti-inflammatory properties, and saccharomyces ferment (110ppm), comes with all the antioxidant benefits you can wish for in a moisturizer. It's also a great choice if you're looking to strengthen your skin barrier after an in-clinic facial, or harsher laser treatment.
Neogen:
"Green Tea Real Fresh Foam Cleanser"
In 2023, Neogen's green tea cleanser won a Soko Glam Best of K-Beauty® award and it truly deserves the hype: Every year, popular K-beauty store Soko Glam (with their blog "The Klog") awards products that have garnered rave reviews and the highest sales which essentially makes this a community-curated award. If you have oily skin or combination skin, this cleanser might just elevate cleansing from being your skincare routine's boring first step to your new favorite ritual. Haters will say it doesn't make sense to invest in a cleanser because it's in touch with your skin for the shortest amount of time and gets washed off anyway. I have said it before and I'll say it again: My cystic acne only got better once I found a cleanser that worked for me. So there's that, I will fight for well-formulated, carefully picked cleaners that are in balance with your individual skin needs. This water-based cleanser's star ingredient is fermented green tea extract and water as the first ingredients which makes for a hydrating, gentle formula that doesn't feel stripping but gives you a thorough cleanse.
Bonajour:
"Green Tea Water Bomb"
Image Credit: @bonajour_offical
This 2020 beauty award-winning vegan moisturizer (awarded by Korea's OneDayOne Magazine) leads the ingredients list with camellia sinensis leaf extract but what people love especially about this nourishing cream is the combination of green tea and a blend of 6 different peptides, including copper peptides, which are known to be the secret sauce for maintaining youthful skin by promoting collagen and elastin production and helping with signs of premature aging like fine lines.
The green tea variety featured in this moisturizer doesn't come from Jeju Island but was harvested in the Boseong region of Jeollanam-do, an area known for its scenic green tea fields. Two other ingredients that stand out and complement the green tea in this moisturizer are vegetable squalane which deeply nourishes the skin, as well as naturally-derived moisturizing factors (NMFs), which help strengthen the skin barrier and lock in moisture. I would recommend this moisturizer to all skin types, whether you have oily skin that's acne-prone, sensitive skin, or dry skin, this cream gives you green tea galore and is a great entry into the world of peptides.
Round Around:
"Greentea Moisture Cleansing Foam"
Image Credit: @roundaround_official
This winner of the 2023 Olive Young Awards comes with 10% camellia sinensis leaf water (green tea leaf water) as the second ingredient, as well as green tea extract and multiple probiotics such as fermented soymilk and soybean.
The K-beauty community has been loving this cleanser for its ability to leave skin plump and hydrated, which makes it a great choice if you have extremely sensitive skin or breakout-prone skin. It's also formulated with micellar technology which makes for a thorough, yet gentle cleanse.
Lisa is a Cosmetics Marketer & Science Writer with 10 years of experience in curating Korean skincare. When she isn’t taking care of Eucerin’s global brand messaging, she’s researching K-beauty's latest launches and Seoul’s places to be for The Skin Special blog and podcast.
Sources
FDA article about Cosmetic Ingredient Names
Chilicka K. et al. The Effects of Green Tea (Camellia sinensis), Bamboo Extract (Bambusa vulgaris) and Lactic Acid on Sebum Production in Young Women with Acne Vulgaris Using Sonophoresis Treatment. Healthcare. 2022; 10(4):684. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10040684
Koch W., et al. Applications of Tea (Camellia sinensis) and its Active Constituents in Cosmetics. Molecules. 2019 Nov 24;24(23):4277. doi: 10.3390/molecules24234277.
Puxvadee Chaikul, et al. Anti-skin aging activities of green tea (Camelliasinensis (L) Kuntze) in B16F10 melanoma cells and human skin fibroblasts. 2020; European Journal of Integrative Medicine,
Volume 40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2020.101212
The Skin Special podcast episode about Innisfree's origins
Innisfree's ingredients' history
OneDayOne Magazine/Beauty Awards & Instagram
Glowpick 2023 Beauty Award Winners
Stylevana's 2023 Vana Award Winners
Sokoglam's Best of K-Beauty® Awards
Hwahae Beauty Awards 2023 by The Monodist Blog
