K-beauty has given the world a slew of exceptional beauty inventions: Cushion compacts! PDRN! Snail mucin! Glass skin is no different.
This is an approach to skin that is focused on a complexion that’s smooth, clear, and luminous enough to rival—you guessed it—glass.
Luckily, glass skin isn’t merely the thing of TikTok filters. With consistency, strategic hydration, and the right products, it’s very achievable.
What Is Glass Skin?
Glass skin, or yuri pibu, as it’s known in Korean, describes skin that’s so smooth, clear, plump, and luminous it could practically be a plane of glass.
Important! Glass skin differs majorly from dewy or oily skin. Oil sits on the surface creating shine, while the glass skin effect comes from well-hydrated, even-textured skin reflecting light. Eg. like light is bouncing straight through.
Is Glass Skin Achievable For All Skin Types?
The internet might make glass skin feel strictly synonymous with totally flawless, poreless, never-seen-a-blemish-in-its-life skin.
In reality, glass skin is a skin finish that’s definitely compatible with all skin types. At its core, yuri pibu is about working with how light reflects on your face—not against it.
Oily Skin
Keep hydration high and textures light. Choose non-comedogenic, water-based serums, and gel creams, and avoid stripping cleansers that can leave skin feeling tight (see: dehydrated). Regular gentle exfoliation can also help keep dead skin and excess oil from dulling the glow.
Dry Skin
Layer humectants, nourishing oils, and a richer moisturiser to draw in water and help keep it there. Dry skin may also prefer less frequent exfoliation and a cream cleanser that won’t disturb the skin barrier.
Combination Skin
Your face should be treated like the complex individual that she is! Incorporate lightweight hydration everywhere, adding richer formulas where you need. If your T-zone becomes oily or congested, focus exfoliation there rather than giving your whole face the same treatment.
Sensitive Skin
You'll need a gentle approach. Go slowly and prioritise barrier support. Choose fragrance-free, soothing formulas and keep exfoliation gentle and infrequent. Glass skin hinges on how light reflects across your face, and redness can definitely get in the way of that. Opting for formulas designed to help manage redness can create a more even canvas for you.
The Go-To Glass Skin Routine: Six Useful Steps
As any window will tell you, that reflective glow stems from glass being smooth and evenly textured (and regular cleaning!).
Your go-to glass skin routine relies on nabbing the same two things for your skin, courtesy of hydration and exfoliation.
Step 1: Double Cleanse
At night, begin with an oil-based cleanser to dissolve makeup, sunscreen, and the day’s dirt and grime. Follow with a water-based cleanser suited to your skin type to remove anything left behind—without taking your useful natural oils with it.
This gives the rest of your routine a clean, comfortable canvas to work with—and helps the rest of your skincare penetrate the skin.
In the morning, one gentle cleanse—or a simple rinse with water—may be plenty.
Step 2: Exfoliate Once Or Twice A Week
Dead skin cells can build up on the surface, leaving skin rough, congested, and less inclined to reflect light. A gentle chemical exfoliant helps loosen and sweep away that buildup, revealing smoother, brighter-looking skin underneath.
A toner that combines glycolic and mandelic acids does a stellar job at this: Removing dead skin cells, supporting skin renewal, and revealing a brighter, more youthful complexion.
Step 3: Layer Your Serums
Serums deliver concentrated ingredients in lightweight layers, making this the most targeted part of your glass skin routine.
In the morning, begin with vitamin C to help brighten dull skin, improve the appearance of uneven tone, and provide antioxidant support. Follow with a hyaluronic acid serum to draw in hydration and leave skin looking plumper and bouncier. Find both in our uber useful duo: Much Brighter Much PLumper.
Apply from thinnest to thickest, allowing each layer a moment to settle. Two well-chosen serums are more useful than a six-bottle traffic jam—particularly if your skin is oily, reactive, or new to active ingredients.
Step 4: Moisturise
Now seal everything in. Moisturiser helps reduce moisture loss, support the skin barrier, and create the soft, smooth surface responsible for that coveted glass skin effect.
Choose the texture according to your skin.. A light lotion or gel cream may be enough for oily and combination faces; dry skin may prefer a richer cream with ceramides, nourishing oils, or squalane. At night, very dry skin can finish with a few drops of face oil for extra nourishment.
Important! A hydrating serum does not replace moisturiser.
Step 5: Apply SPF Every Morning
Without daily sunscreen, the rest of your glass skin products are frankly, going to waste. UV exposure can contribute to pigmentation, uneven tone, dryness, and premature skin ageing—all rather unhelpful when the brief is clear, smooth, luminous skin.
This step matters everywhere, but Australia’s high UV levels and outdoor lifestyle make it especially non-negotiable. Apply a broad-spectrum SPF 50 or 50+ every morning as the final step in your skincare routine, and follow the label directions for reapplication—especially when you’re outdoors, sweating, or swimming.
Choose one you enjoy wearing. Nifty Fifty is a hydrating SPF 50 designed to sit comfortably beneath makeup, without cancelling out all the lovely glow you just created.
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