the best beauty products from around the world

Sometimes the best beauty products take a little extra digging. We’ve all got our tried and true products, but once we opened up our search beyond the US and explored the world, well…things got interesting. Shop international beauty finds worth a try!

korean skin boosters

Korean skincare is known for being cutting edge, and popular site Peach and Lily gives you the scoop on a variety of high-performing products and a bit of backstory on the brands. Pair an exfoliating and moisturizing Laneige lip sleeping mask with a reparative Dream Age sleeping mask by Dr. Dream that’s infused with rose oil. You’ll wake up smelling like a dream and feeling refreshed!

australian hair care

All that beachy, sunkissed hair needs some TLC! For those of us in the thick of winter, our dull hair could also use a boost, too. The product line from Mukti, an Aussie brand created from and inspired by nature, includes the Luxe hair serum, a silicone-free hair serum for all hair types that reduces frizz and adds shine. Using saca inchi oil from Peruvian rainforests, the hair serum promotes growth and repair.

italian cologne

Eau de cologne Santa Maria Novella has been around for ages—it opened to the public more than 400 years ago. It’s still a go-to brand for the simple reason that its bath and body products are of great quality and combine old world remedies and timeless packaging. With eau de cologne scents like gardenia, hay, amber lavender, and a spiced one created by a French noblewoman who supposedly was later charged with witchcraft, you’ll get lost trying to pick just one.

french lips

Lipsticks can contain unhealthy amounts of chemicals, so we take extra care to keep our puckers as pure as possible. The Sweet and Safe Kiss line from Absolution combines saturated, semi-matte colors that offer rich pigments as well as moisture with healthier, more natural ingredients. Made in collaboration with a make-up artist, Sweet and Safe Kiss includes several variations on the classic red French lip.

parisian & hungarian bath and body wash

Your winter travel plans may not include an exotic escape this year, but Patyka’s Divine Neroli Body Wash, scented with orange blossom floral water and made with sweet and sensuous neroli essential oil, will offer you a temporary respite from the mundane. Originally created by a Hungarian who moved to Paris, Patyka is almost 100 years old, but the company’s research in plant-based and botanical extracts keep them decidedly modern.

greek yogurt moisturizer

Greek yogurt has become a breakfast and snack staple for its protein and probiotic-rich qualities, so surely a little on your face is a good idea too. The Greek Yoghurt Nourishing Moisturizer from modern Greek apothecary Korres uses real Greek yogurt to soothe and hydrate dry skin and adds in moisturizing olive oil and macadamia nut oil.

south african plant-based and probiotic skincare

Created by a chemist gone gaga over extracts from Africa’s wide diversity of plants, Esse Organic Skincare’s offerings include a groundbreaking live probiotic face serum that touts anti-aging properties. Using fair trade ingredients like rooibos from South Africa and shea butter from a Zambian cooperative, Esse has a wide range of products for all types of skin. We love their travel set that comes in a handmade wooden box crafted as part of a South African community development project. You can find the products here.

latvian face and body products

Admittedly, we had to google some of the ingredients in the Kivvi products line—although happily not in a “What is that chemical?” kind of way. Kivvi uses ingredients from nature such as litsea cubeba, which apparently smells like a lighter, sweeter lemongrass and rowanberry (which the brand uses for a berry cocktail for the face) and to offer a fun, fragrant twist to the typical scents we have become accustomed to.

brazilian body scrub

We have yet to find a company that bottles the quintessential Brazilian bronzed beach body, but Ikove’s yummy face and body products include some of the best of Brazil’s natural resources. The Acai and Chocolate Body Polish exfoliates dead skin cells, combines moisturizing babacu oil and tinctures of acai and salvia, and smells so delicious you may find yourself lingering a minute longer in the shower.

bath truffles from london by way of lebanon

Three Lebanese sisters, now living in London, created Jardins D’Eden as a way to honor their father, who was a master soapmaker, and to help urbanites relax naturally and indulgently using a variety of pure botanical extracts and aromatherapeutic ingredients. Their bath truffles would make a gorgeous hostess gift as well as a personal indulgence.

finnish facelift

Chaga, a fungus, is having quite the moment. Juice shops are also incorporating this magic mushroom in powdered form into their drinks. This one minute facelift harnesses chaga’s calming and antioxidant-filled properties and promises tightening and lifting.

canadian green cream for the face and body

Getting your greens is fashionable in every country, and this Canadian brand calls its face cream “salad for your skin.” The best-selling face and body cream is infused with avocado and coconut oil, aloe, and fresh herbs for a refreshing and unisex option for all skin types.