If you’ve ever stood in front of a wall of skincare products feeling completely overwhelmed, you’re not alone. The skincare world can feel like a never-ending stream of new launches, viral trends, and bold promises and it’s easy to lose sight of what your skin actually needs.
I’m Kat, a licensed acupuncturist, facial acupuncturist and facial therapist with nearly a decade of clinical experience. I’ve spent over twenty years exploring Korean and Japanese skincare not just using it myself, but working with it on clients, friends and family across a wide range of skin concerns, from acne and sensitivity to dehydration, dryness and ageing.
I also curate and sell a personally selected range of skincare products chosen for their ingredients, their results and, importantly, the pleasure of using them.
This post isn’t a list of whatever happens to be trending right now. It’s a guide to the five product types I believe every skincare routine genuinely needs, explained in the order you should use them and grounded in what I’ve seen work in real life.
Before You Buy a Single Product, Do This First
Before we get into the products themselves, I want to share something I tell every client: spend time with your bare face, a mirror and good light. Really look at your skin. Is it flaky? Is it oily in some areas and tight in others? Do you break out easily? Are there visible lines or texture changes?
Listening to your own skin and understanding what it actually needs will always serve you better than following the latest viral recommendation. The most expensive product in the world will not help you if it isn’t right for your skin type. Shopping from a place of self-knowledge rather than impulse is one of the most valuable things you can do and I say this as someone who absolutely loves a good bargain. A bargain is only a bargain if the ingredients are right for you.
With that in mind, here are the five products I believe form the foundation of any effective, enjoyable skincare routine.
The 5 Must-Have Skincare Products
1. A Gentle, Non-Stripping Cleanser
The cornerstone of any skincare routine is making sure your skin is properly cleansed and free of debris. Clean skin absorbs products far more readily and is significantly less prone to irritation.
I am not a fan of foaming cleansers. In my experience, they are far too stripping and can disrupt the skin’s natural barrier, leaving it tight, reactive and more vulnerable. Instead, I recommend a cream or balm-based formula that removes impurities without compromising the skin.
One product I return to again and again is the House of Hur Midnight Soothing Balm. It cleanses gently and thoroughly, works beautifully all over the face and rinses away cleanly without any residue. It’s the kind of cleanser that feels like a ritual rather than a chore, which matters when you’re building a sustainable daily routine.
2. A Toner That Prepares Your Skin
Toning is a step many people skip and I’d encourage you to reconsider. A good toner removes any last traces of cleanser, rebalances the skin’s pH and creates a clean, receptive canvas for everything that follows.
Depending on your skin type, I have two recommendations I consistently reach for.
For most skin types, the Roundlab Dokdo Toner is an excellent all-rounder. It’s formulated with deep sea mineral water, hyaluronic acid and a blend of minerals that hydrate without heaviness. For sensitive or reactive skin, the Soon Jung pH 5.5 Toner is outstanding. It works to repair and stabilise the skin’s acid mantle using panthenol and beta-glucan, and I’ve seen it make a real difference for clients dealing with redness and irritation.
3. A Targeted Essence or Serum
This is where you can really personalise your routine. An essence or serum allows you to address your specific skin concerns rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach and this is exactly the kind of targeted, intelligent skincare I believe in.
For those concerned with lifting, firmness and the visible signs of ageing, I highly recommend the Numbuzin NAD+ Bio Lifting Essence. It’s powered by NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide), a coenzyme that supports cellular energy and skin repair at a deeper level. With consistent use, it delivers a visibly firmer, more luminous complexion. It’s one of those products that feels genuinely next-generation and the results bear that out.
4. A Moisturiser That Locks Everything In
After cleansing, toning and treating, you need a moisturiser that seals in all of that goodness and supports your skin barrier throughout the day or night.
My go-to recommendation for a wide range of skin types is the Torriden Solid-In Cream. It contains ceramides and panthenol alongside multi-molecular hyaluronic acid, which means it delivers hydration at every level from the surface right through to the deeper dermal layers. The texture is a lightweight gel-serum that layers beautifully under anything else in your routine and leaves the skin looking plumped, glassy and resilient without ever feeling heavy.
5. A Targeted Treatment for Your Specific Concerns
Once your skin is cleansed, toned, treated with an essence and moisturised, this is your opportunity to go one step further and address a very specific concern the thing that, when you look in the mirror, you most want to work on.
For the delicate eye area in particular, I regularly recommend the Mary and May Glutathione Eye Cream. The skin around the eyes is thinner and more vulnerable than anywhere else on the face, and it often shows the earliest signs of fatigue, ageing and dehydration. This cream is brightening, firming and deeply nourishing and it’s the kind of product that, used consistently, makes a quiet but meaningful difference over time.
6. SPF The Step You Should Never Skip (if you’re getting dressed)
If you’re leaving the house, sunscreen is the final and non-negotiable step in your routine. UV damage is the single biggest contributor to premature ageing, pigmentation and long-term skin health concerns, and no amount of beautifully chosen skincare will undo the effects of unprotected sun exposure.
My recommendation is the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Pure Mineral Relief Daily Sunscreen SPF50+ PA++++. What I love about this product is that it marries reliable broad-spectrum UV protection with the antioxidant benefits of black rice ferment and hyaluronic acid. It’s lightweight, leaves no white cast and sits beautifully under makeup. It exemplifies everything I love about Korean skincare: multitasking, skin-beneficial and genuinely a pleasure to use.
What Happens When You Get the Basics Right
I want to share a real example that I think illustrates the power of simplifying and getting the fundamentals right.
I had a client with sensitive skin prone to breakouts who came to me frustrated and confused. She had invested in a range of products but her skin was getting worse rather than better. When we looked at her routine, the issue became clear. She was using a harsh foaming cleanser that was stripping her skin of its natural oils, and then compensating with an overly rich moisturiser that was blocking her pores and contributing to her breakouts.
I encouraged her to strip things back. We introduced a gentle cream cleanser to repair her barrier, paired with a targeted AHA/BHA treatment to address the breakouts without aggravating her sensitivity. Within two months, we saw a dramatic reduction in redness, breakouts and reactivity. Her skin calmed down not because we added more to her routine, but because we took away what was working against her.
This is something I’ve seen time and again: consistency with the right products almost always outperforms a complicated routine with the wrong ones.
A Note on Viral Products and Skincare Trends
I want to be clear about something. Buying products because they are trending on social media is not a strategy I would ever recommend. Viral skincare can be wonderful, but it can also be completely wrong for your skin type and when you’re making purchasing decisions based on a thirty-second video rather than your own skin’s needs, you’re likely to end up frustrated and out of pocket.
I genuinely love a bargain. But a bargain only has value if the ingredients are suited to your skin. Taking the time to understand what your skin actually needs before you shop will always serve you better than an impulse buy, however good the deal looks.
Where to Start
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start here: cleanse, tone, treat, moisturise, target and protect. Six steps. Six products. Done consistently with high-quality, well-formulated Korean and Japanese skincare, this simple routine will do more for your skin than ten products used haphazardly ever could.
All of the products I’ve mentioned in this post are available in my curated online store, personally selected by me for their ingredients, their efficacy and the pleasure they bring to a daily routine. If you’d like personalised guidance, I also offer facial acupuncture and facial therapy appointments where we can assess your skin together and build a routine that’s truly right for you.
Your skin is unique. It deserves products chosen with that in mind.