Everything You Need to Know About Essences, a K-Beauty Staple

An essence is a super-packed water-like product whose active ingredients attack your face's worst enemies: dryness, fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin tone and skin dullness. An essence — specifically, essences from Korea — differ from a serum and toner in that it's meant to nourish your skin and work on a more cellular level to optimize your skin cell turnover rate. It's literally skin regeneration in a bottle. (Think Wolverine from X-Men.)

Active ingredients commonly used in essences are fermented yeast, rice extract and hyaluronic acid. With regular use, an essence can help you achieve smoother, brighter and younger looking skin.

Image via @sokoglam