Alicia Yoon is an expert in her field. Chatting with the Peach & Lily founder and trained esthetician is like a master class, and I leave our 45 minute call feeling like I’m ready to give my skin-care routine a complete overhaul. This knowledge comes naturally to Yoon, who’s been in the skin-care game for over 20 years—she got her aesthetician license in high school and was the go-to beauty expert for friends in college. In 2012, she founded Peach & Lily, one of the first online retailers to bring K-Beauty to the US before it was readily available at Amazon and Target. She also launched Peach & Lily’s namesake skin-care brand, as well as its sister brand Peach Slices, which is available at a drug store price point.
Yoon uses Korean skin care philosophies to guide her product formulation and personal routine. “Having sensitive skin, and being an esthetician and seeing a lot of people with sensitive skin, and also growing up around the Korean skincare philosophy, I always believe in working with your skin,” she tells Glamour. “Our skin has incredible things that it already knows how to do. Give your skin the support it needs. But don’t overdo it. It could cause more harm than good. Respecting skin doesn’t have to be gentle. I use acids, which are not necessarily gentle. It’s actually about working with your skin, and understanding how to integrate it.
Yoon believes that balance and being aware of your skin is key to her routine, especially since her skin has changed recently. “Being aware of what your skin needs to stay in that happy, balanced place, that comes with being very observant of your skin,” she says. “I really swear by taking just two minutes a day to analyze your skin.” From there, Yoon will treat herself as her own client, taking the time to curate a specialized routine for what her skin needs that day.
However, her severe eczema is the one constant. She’s careful to not make it worse. “It’s so annoying,” she says. “But I just put it in perspective, because this is nothing compared to what it used to be growing up. I believe skin transformation is possible. This is the most important thing. I think I accepted that my skin was my skin for a long time. When I learned how to care for your skin, your skin histology, what your skin needs, I really learned you can transform your skin.”
“I always keep that in mind,” she continues. “Whenever there’s a bad reaction or something happens, I always just keep that perspective. I experienced intense hyperpigmentation and breakouts during pregnancy, which led to extremely sensitive skin. Even through all this, skin transformation is possible.”
Below Yoon demonstrates her routine. You can read on to learn more about the movie star-approved mist and glowy sheet masks that Yoon swears by.
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My cleansers
I begin my evening with double cleansing. If I used a heavy oil at night, I will sometimes do it in morning. I use the Augustinus Bader Oil Cleansing Balm lately for this step. I love the Joelle Ciocco Sunscreen cleanser, especially if I don’t have any makeup and have only mineral sunscreen on. This is almost every day.
I received a facial from her while I was in Paris before the pandemic. It was amazing. It is very helpful in removing stubborn SPF, and it doesn’t strip skin.
Source: Glamour