There is one rule: thinnest to thickest. Every product goes on before the ones with a heavier texture, because a light formula cannot get through a richer layer that is already sitting on your skin. Everything else is detail.
The evening sequence
- Oil cleanser — on a dry face, to dissolve make-up and sunscreen. It is the first half of double cleansing.
- Water-based cleanser — on a wet face, for everything else.
- Exfoliant — once or twice a week only, not every night.
- Toner — rebalances skin after cleansing and prepares it for what follows.
- Essence — watery texture, patted in.
- Serum or ampoule — the targeted treatment, the most concentrated step of the routine.
- Sheet mask — when you use one, once or twice a week. It goes here, not at the end.
- Eye cream — if you use one.
- Cream or emulsion — closes the routine and holds in everything underneath.
The morning sequence
Shorter, with one difference that matters:
- Water-based cleanser (or just water, if your skin is dry) — oil is not needed in the morning.
- Toner
- Serum
- Cream
- Sunscreen — always the last step, before make-up. Never under your cream.
Sunscreen goes last because it is a filter: it has to sit on top, not be diluted by what comes after. That is also why it needs reapplying during the day if you are outdoors. They are all in sunscreens.
The exceptions worth knowing
Sunscreen does not follow the texture rule
Even though it is lighter than your cream, it still goes after it. "Thinnest to thickest" applies to treatments, not to the sun filter.
A sheet mask goes in the middle, not at the end
A sheet mask is essentially an essence on a carrier: it belongs after toner and before serum and cream. At the end of a routine it would do nothing, because the cream you already applied would block it.
Not every step, every day
The "ten-step routine" is a list of options, not a list of obligations. Exfoliant and mask are weekly. Essence, ampoule and eye cream are optional. A four-step routine done daily beats a ten-step one done twice a month.
If you are starting now
Four products are enough: a cleanser, a toner, a cream and a sunscreen. Add a serum when you have something specific to treat — dehydration, dark spots, skin that goes red.
If you don't know where to start, the skin type test narrows it down, and the guide to the Korean routine explains what each step does. To see only what we can ship right now, there is the in stock collection.