The 5 Best Global Brands Koreans Buy, by Olive Young Sales Data
Five products from French, American, Canadian and German brands in Olive Young Korea's skincare sales Top 100 on 6 Sep, 1 Oct and 13 Oct 2026, each checked against the US version.
5 products compared · Korean data as of Olive Young Korea 13 Oct 2026 · Hwahae 14 Oct 2026 · Olive Young Korea 14 Oct 2026
If you shop in the US and want a global-brand product Koreans buy in the same formula, get The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%: #14 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking, 13 Oct 2026. Koreans buy La Roche-Posay's balm even more, but the US sells a different version.
Same brand does not mean same bottle: two of these five sell a different formula in the US, and one is a Korea-and-Asia cream we found at none of the US stores we checked.
Our 5 picks at a glance
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+ · best for: Buying in Seoul, French importOlive Young Korea skincare #4 on 6 Sep and 13 Oct 2026 (200 ml set).
Paula's Choice BHA Liquid Exfoliant · best for: Lower-strength Korean BHA versionClimbed to #11 among Olive Young Korea skincare on 13 Oct 2026, sold as a set.
How we picked · Research-based — not personally tested · Korean data as of Olive Young Korea 13 Oct 2026 · Hwahae 14 Oct 2026 · Olive Young Korea 14 Oct 2026 · How we research →
The 5 picks, one by one
The Korean figures on the cards:Skincare rank = Olive Young Korea — skincare rank (Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating (reviews) (Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
1
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+
best for: Buying in Seoul, French import
Korean data:Skincare rank: #4 (13 Oct) · #14 (1 Oct) · #4 (6 Sep)(Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating: 4.46 (5,532)(Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
La Roche-Posay
Cicaplast Baume B5+
40 ml · 200 ml
La Roche-Posay's Cicaplast Baume B5+ is the global brand Korea buys most: #4 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking on 6 Sep and 13 Oct 2026 and #14 on 1 Oct, each time as a 200 ml gift set. The Korean tube is made in France, and its Korean list carries corn starch and caprylyl glycol. In the US, the balm under that name is a different formula, with pentylene glycol and phenoxyethanol, labelled as an OTC skin protectant.
Good for
You are in Korea and want a thick balm for dry patches
Readers who want the French-made Korean version
Skip it if
You want this exact formula shipped within the US
Watch out: Its Korean ranks all come from a 200 ml gift-set listing, not the plain tube. Hwahae gives it 4.46 from 5,532 reviews (14 Oct 2026), lower than its Olive Young score.
Texture: Thick white balm; shea butter sits fifth on the Korean list.
Images: La Roche-Posay official site
Not linked here · US: the US version is sold as an OTC skin protectant with a different formula — no link.
Korean data:Skincare rank: #11 (13 Oct) · #39 (1 Oct) · #31 (6 Sep)(Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating: 4.57 (47)(Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
Paula's Choice
Skin Perfecting BHA Liquid Exfoliant
118 ml
Paula's Choice's BHA liquid in Korea is a Korean-made version: the Olive Young Korea notice names Englewood Lab Korea as maker and lists salicylic acid at 0.5% plus willow bark extract at 0.5%, with niacinamide third. The US bottle on Dermstore lists 2% salicylic acid in eight ingredients. In Korea it reached #11 in the skincare ranking on 13 Oct 2026, sold as a set with a 30 ml mini.
Good for
You want to try the gentler Korean percentage while visiting Seoul
Oily or combination skin that likes a watery leave-on liquid
Skip it if
You expect the US 2% bottle when you buy in Korea
Watch out: The Korean version's Hwahae entry has only 47 reviews (4.57, 14 Oct 2026). Every US listing we read sells the 2% formula, not the Korean one.
Texture: Thin, watery liquid in a black bottle.
Images: Paula's Choice Olive Young product page
See price on Amazon · Amazon US
Different formula from the Korean version (ingredient list compared 14 Oct 2026): Amazon US
Korean data:Skincare rank: #14 (13 Oct) · #35 (1 Oct) · #71 (6 Sep)(Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating: 4.11 (3,686)(Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
The Ordinary
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
60 ml
The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% is the steadiest climber here, from #71 on 6 Sep to #14 on 13 Oct 2026 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking, sold as a plain 60 ml bottle. Its Korean list has 11 ingredients, made in Canada, and it matches Olive Young US's listing word for word on 14 Oct 2026.
Good for
US shoppers who want what Seoul buys, in the same formula
Oily skin that prefers a short ingredient list
Skip it if
Skin that dislikes a slightly tacky serum layer
Watch out: Hwahae's score for it is the weakest of the five (see the Korean data line). The Amazon US listing shows no ingredient list, so that one listing stays unconfirmed.
Texture: Water-based serum in a dropper bottle.
Images: The Ordinary Olive Young product page
See price on Amazon · Amazon US
Not confirmed to be the same formula as the Korean version (as of 14 Oct 2026): Amazon US
Korean data:Skincare rank: #23 (13 Oct) · #95 (1 Oct) · #49 (6 Sep)(Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating: 4.55 (173)(Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
Eucerin
Hyaluron [3X]+ Eye Cream
15 ml
Eucerin's Hyaluron [3X]+ Eye Cream is the only eye cream in the five: #49 on 6 Sep and #23 on 13 Oct 2026 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking, both as a set with a sheet mask and a serum sample. The Korean tube is made in Poland and printed SPF 15, and its Korean list names sodium hyaluronate at 0.23%. Olive Young Korea shows two ingredient lists for it, and the Amazon US third-party listing we read is a different formula, the older one.
Good for
A daytime eye cream when you are shopping in Korea
Skip it if
You want a fragrance-free night-only eye cream with no UV filters
You plan to order it inside the US
Watch out: Its 1 Oct place, #95, came from a double pack with the older ingredient list. Hwahae's current entry has 173 reviews, far fewer than its Olive Young listing.
Texture: Light eye cream in a slim tube with a narrow nozzle.
Images: Eucerin Olive Young product page
Not linked here · US: products with SPF are regulated as OTC drugs there — no link (note above the list). Listed at Amazon US (checked 14 Oct 2026).
Korean data:Skincare rank: #57 (13 Oct) · #65 (1 Oct) · #12 (6 Sep)(Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating: 4.23 (1,490)(Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
La Roche-Posay
Cicaplast B5 Ultra-Repair Light Cream
100 ml
La Roche-Posay's Cicaplast B5 light cream, sold in Korea as the 'multi' cream, is the brand's second product here: #12 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking on 6 Sep 2026, then #65 and #57, always as a set. It is lighter than the balm, with dicaprylyl ether second and copper gluconate on its Korean list. On 14 Oct 2026 the Cicaplast B5 light cream was not found at Amazon US, Olive Young US or YesStyle after two searches at each.
Good for
Seoul shoppers who find the balm too heavy for the face
Skip it if
You need a version you can reorder from the US
Watch out: It slid from #12 on 6 Sep to #57 on 13 Oct 2026. Hwahae shows 4.23 from 1,490 reviews (14 Oct 2026), below the balm.
Texture: Light cream in a 100 ml tube.
Images: La Roche-Posay Olive Young product page
Korea-only · US: not found at Amazon US, Olive Young US (checked 14 Oct 2026). You can buy it in Korea. We'll add a store here if that changes.
Prices are what we saw on the date shown and change often.
US OTC note: in the US this product is sold as an over-the-counter skin protectant (Drug Facts label) with a different ingredient list from the Korean version, so we do not link a US store for it.
US OTC note: in the US, products with SPF are regulated as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. This page is about the Korean version with its Korean SPF label, so we do not link a US store for it.
Korean data in this table:Skincare rank = Olive Young Korea — skincare rank (Olive Young Korea, 13 Oct 2026) · Hwahae rating (reviews) (Hwahae, 14 Oct 2026)
From the Korean ingredient notice at Olive Young Korea (14 Oct 2026); brand home = where the brand's owner is based; not an effect claim.
How we picked
Pool: every skincare product from a brand owned outside Korea in Olive Young Korea's skincare sales ranking Top 100 on 6 Sep, 1 Oct and 13 Oct 2026 (La Roche-Posay, Paula's Choice, The Ordinary, Eucerin, Bioderma, Avène, Institut Esthederm, Clinique).
Left out: Physiogel, whose rights in Korea belong to a Korean company, and Korean brands. Five products made all three rankings; Bioderma's Cicabio Crème+ was sixth.
Order: how many of the three Olive Young Korea skincare rankings each product appears in, then its median rank (missing = 101), then its rank on 13 Oct. Price and commission play no part.
2 of the 5 products with an Olive Young Korea rank reached it through a promotional listing (influencer pick, Olive Young pick, collab or sale).
Ranked products that came from a gift-set or bonus listing (an extra item or a second unit in the pack): 4 of 5 — a rank can partly reflect the deal.
We have not tried these on skin, so the picks lean only on the Korean data shown here.
For most US readers, The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% is the pick.
It rose to #14 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking on 13 Oct 2026, and its Korean list matched Olive Young US's listing on 14 Oct 2026, so the bottle you order at home is the one Seoul is buying.
Which global skincare brand do Koreans buy most at Olive Young?
La Roche-Posay, through its Cicaplast Baume B5+. The 200 ml gift set was #4 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking on 6 Sep and 13 Oct 2026, ahead of every other brand owned outside Korea. Paula's Choice came next, at #11 on 13 Oct, also sold as a set with a mini bottle.
Is Paula's Choice BHA in Korea the same as the US bottle?
No. Paula's Choice's Korean BHA liquid is made in Korea and differs from the US bottle. Its Korean notice lists salicylic acid at 0.5% with willow bark extract at 0.5% and niacinamide; the US list on Dermstore (14 Oct 2026) has 2% salicylic acid and eight ingredients in total.
Is The Ordinary's niacinamide serum worth it if Koreans buy it?
Yes, if you want the Korean formula from a US store. The Ordinary's serum climbed from #71 to #14 in Olive Young Korea's skincare ranking between 6 Sep and 13 Oct 2026, and its Korean list matched Olive Young US's listing. Its Hwahae score is modest, so expect mixed opinions on how it feels.
Why is there no US store for Cicaplast Baume B5+ or the Eucerin eye cream?
Both are regulated differently in the US. La Roche-Posay's US balm is a different formula sold with Drug Facts as a skin protectant, and Eucerin's Korean tube is labelled SPF 15, which makes it an OTC drug there. This page covers the Korean versions, so neither card gets a US link.
Which one should I pick for my skin?
Pick by texture first. Dry patches suit La Roche-Posay's thick Cicaplast Baume B5+, while the Cicaplast B5 light cream is the lighter option. Oily or combination skin leans toward The Ordinary's water-based serum or the Paula's Choice liquid, and Eucerin's tube is a daytime eye cream with SPF 15.
More questionsShould I buy these in Seoul or at home?
Buy three of them in Seoul: Paula's Choice's liquid, the Cicaplast balm and the light cream, since the US sells a different formula or none. The Ordinary's serum is the exception; its Olive Young US listing matched the Korean ingredient list on 14 Oct 2026.
Are these Korean products?
No. These five come from brands owned in France, the US, Canada and Germany and reach Korea through local importers. Only the Paula's Choice liquid is made in Korea, under its own Korean formula; the other four are made in France, Canada or Poland, according to their Olive Young Korea notices.
Can I buy La Roche-Posay's light cream outside Korea?
Not in the US, based on our store checks. On 14 Oct 2026 the Cicaplast B5 light cream was not found at Amazon US, Olive Young US or YesStyle after two searches at each; a web search turned it up only at sellers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
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