The Cream Skin Routine Gave Me the Softest Skin of my Life

How it all started is a lesson in the nuances of language. "In Korean, the word skin (or 스킨) doesn't always refer to the actual skin on your face. It's also used to refer to toners or essences," explains Yoon. "For example, I grew up hearing my mom fondly talking about how applying 'skin' is so great for skin, since essences and hydrating toners replenish moisture."

Its appeal is in its hybrid formulation of cream and essence. "It applies on like liquid, but settles in like a nice, protective moisturizer,” says Yoon. And I’m delighted to find that she's right; the emulsion is just as weightless and quick to absorb as your average essence, which is part of the reason Yoon assured me that it wouldn’t send me into a breakout spiral. “The great thing about cream-skin products is they’re at once deeply hydrating and lightweight,” she says.

I followed her orders to pat it on both morning and night after cleansing—or, in the case of my evening skin-care routine, after exfoliating. It’s very comforting and cooling after the tingle of a glycolic-soaked peel pad, and my skin is probably delighted and confused by this unexpected act of kindness. It drinks it in.

I then follow it with a moisturizer on Yoon’s recommendation. “While this product type does moisturize, it doesn’t seal everything in as effectively as a moisturizer,” she says. “So when used alone, I’ve noticed skin can get fairly dry.” I’ve been swapping between Eighteen B’s Revitalizing Hydrogel Moisturizer, which gives my skin barrier support and protection with vegan silk in the daytime, and Laneige Hypoallergenic Cica Sleeping Mask, which feels more like a moisturizer than a mask (in a good way). A few weeks in, I’m delighted to report that my skin is actually soft and freakishly smooth for once, and any redness seems to have subsided overnight. I don’t have any reactionary breakouts, and overall, things are relatively calm.

And though Laneige may have taken the cream skin trend to global levels, it’s not the only one out there. There's also Hanskin Avocado Cream Skin and other riffs on the concept, such as The Yeon Liquid Cream. Yoon predicts we’ll see even more hybrids to come, like liquid cream and creamy toner.

I don't want to say that my new cream-skin routine solved all my problems overnight. I still have the occasional hormonal mega zit, and whatever semblance of democracy we had is slowly being dismantled even as I gently pat this onto my face and neck. But my face feels better—and it’s kind of nice to have a win, even if it’s a small one.

Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer

Hanskin Avocado Cream Skin

The Yeon Liquid Cream

Laneige Hypoallergenic Cica Sleeping Mask

Deanna Pai is a writer in New York City. Follow her on Twitter @deannapai.