Today, on the blog, I’m reviewing two new luxury natural Korean skincare brands: WYLYS and Saro de Rue. K-beauty is widely known for being affordable and Gen Z-friendly, but there’s a handful of new brands out of Korea creating highly luxurious clean skincare.

I was able to try these two newcomer brands thanks to Boxwalla’s subscription box featuring a collaboration with skincare YouTuber Renée of Gothamista.

Keep reading for my WYLYS review of their Double Rose Luminizer Serum and Saro de Rue review of their Gothamista Essence!

WYLYS Double Rose Luminizer Review

This product stands out as a supremely elegant face oil that feels more hydrating than other oil serums. It feels as light as squalane oil even though it doesn’t contain any squalane.

Rose is the star in the formula, which contains organic rose flower oil, organic rosehip oil and cold-pressed essential oils of lavender and geranium. It has a lovely calming floral rose scent that is soo sophisticated and delicate. It’s not overpowering or overly floral.

This face oil is perfect for those who don’t like heavy oils sitting on their skin. All I need is a few drops for super soft and moisturized skin. It sinks in quickly and feels weightless!

I also love the gorgeous glass bottle and minimalistic design. It really delivers a luxurious skincare experience visually and texturally.

WYLYS was founded by sisters Sue Greene and Herra Namhie who have operated Korean beauty e-tailer OHLOLLY for almost a decade. The brand combines K-beauty know-how and French manufacturing to offer products that pack a punch for mature skin.

At $188 this oil serum is priced on the luxury end and is definitely a splurge.

Saro de Rue Gothamista Essence

The Saro de Rue x Gothamista Essence is a special limited edition collaboration between founder Mimi Kim and YouTuber Renée Chow. It’s everything I want in an essence and more!

I’ve tried many popular Korean essences, but this is a standout with its super custom formulation of rare and potent ingredients. I can immediately tell this is not a product that’s pushed out just to create more sales, but to offer something unique and never-seen-before.

It uses an all natural formula of hanbang herbs combined with ancient Korean techniques. 62% of the formula is Black Ginseng Water, which is a treasured Korean ingredient used to heal skin for centuries.

Black Ginseng is actually more potent than Red Ginseng or White Ginseng, with 1.5 times more polyphenols, and 5 times more flavonoids.

Saro de Rue uses a Tang Yoon Percolation Technology which mimics Korea’s thousands year old traditional extraction method for medicinal herbs. This method results in ginseng with 10x the concentration compared to other forms of extraction.

Gothamista’s Essence also contains six different kinds of traditional Korean Medicinal Herbs and tons of actives and upcycled ingredients like 4% Niacinamide, Upcycled Red Ginseng Extract, Upcycled Goji Berry Stem, Upcycled Avocado Peptide, three types of lips and two types of Natural Moisturizing Factors.

The consistency is typical for a Korean essence – super thick and deeply hydrating. I don’t want to waste a single drop of this, so I apply it directly to my face instead of a cotton round. I feel like it provides long lasting hydration and helps my serums and moisturizer absorb better.

The glass bottle is on the hefty side and might be a little too heavy for some people. But it does add to the luxury experience – just isn’t the most travel friendly product!

The formula and ingredients are truly outstanding – and I’ve tried a lot of hydration products. Trust me when I say this one is special!

Both WYLYS and Saro de Rue are natural Korean skincare brands committed to creating clean and cruelty-free products. Overall, I feel like they’re filling a gap in the market because I can hardly think of any K-beauty brands off the top of my head that are both luxury and clean beauty. If you’re looking for truly natural Korean skincare products that are high-performance and anti-aging, these two new brands are worth checking out!

Check out this guide for more clean Korean skincare brands!