Korean Ginseng? Moroccan Argan? Snails From France? Nature Republic’s Got You

By sheer numbers, Nature Republic is a grande dame of Korean beauty, spreading the joy of California aloe, African shea butter, and Korean ginseng — all at an affordable price — to every corner of the earth, from Hawaii to Mongolia to its latest store in Saudi Arabia. So chances are, if you love K-beauty, at some point, you’re going to love a Nature Republic product.

Nature Republic is one of the main pillar brands of Korean beauty, right there with The Face Shop, Etude House, and Innisfree. In Korea, there’s a Nature Republic on nearly every corner, like a beacon of flowery, plant extract light. (At last count, there were almost 700 stores in South Korea alone; hundreds more in 18 countries across the world, including new stores in the Middle East.) If you’re all about natural ingredient formulations and quality products at an affordable price, then Nature Republic is gonna be your jam.

Nature Republic is all about — you guessed it — nature. The road shop brand was founded in 2009, launched a global campaign and opened up stores all around Southeast Asia in 2011, and was one of the first brands to open full-fledged flagship stores in the U.S. Basically, they are a K-beauty powerhouse!

Instead of focusing on the cutesy skincare and makeup we all know and love from brands like Peripera, Too Cool for School, or Etude House, Nature Republic embraces region-specific, nature-derived ingredients for its hundreds of product offerings, including Korean ginseng, snails from France, African shea butter, California aloe vera, argan from Morocco, and calendula from Provence.

 

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They also have a huge makeup range featuring BB creams, cushion compacts, eyeshadow palettes, lip tints, lipsticks, nail polish, AND they have hair and body care. It’s like they’re Sephora but only one brand. (As a side note, their Instagram page is really the best, and it makes me want to buy EVERYTHING).

 

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K-beauty is no stranger to K-pop — I mean, the two basically go hand-in-hand — which is why it should come as no surprise that Nature Republic does frequent collaborations with the hottest K-pop stars and celebrities. Starting in 2015, the brand tapped mega super group EXO to be their brand ambassadors.

 

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This past year, the brand took it even further and launched a collab with the group, selling hair masks, temporary hair dyes, as well as collectible cards and items. I mean, what screams K-pop boy band more than everyone dyeing their hair some funky shade of red, pink. silver, or blue.

 

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Way back when, I used to use a lot of Nature Republic products. They were one of my go-to brands when I lived in Korea. If you were a fan of my blog (HI!), you’ll remember some of my favorites were the Super Aqua Max Watery Combination Gel Cream, which easily wins the award for both the longest product name in history, as well as one of the best products for oily/combo skin.

I also was a huge fan of the Herb Day Cleansing Cloths, and I don’t even like cleansing cloths, so that should tell you something. The entire snail line was also a vv big mood, and I bought their hand creams every chance I could get. Oh, and the award-winning argan hair line was also everything. Basically, I liked (and still like!) a lot of stuff from the brand.

After a very long Nature Republic hiatus, I finally got to try out the Shea Butter Moist Steam Cream. I am ALL about a steam cream, which is a type of cream blended using high heat and steam technology that purportedly makes the ingredients in the product more efficient. I don’t know if that part is true, but I’ve always really loved the texture of the other steam creams I’ve tried, which is very silky, smooth, and fast absorbing.

I use the Moist Steam Cream at night only because it is a bit thick, but instead of looking like a pizza, it leaves my skin with that dewy chok-chok glow. If you have extremely oily skin, you’d maybe want to stay away, but honestly, I find that it does a really great job at sealing in all of my hydrating products from my previous steps in my routine. It does have a fragrance — very light, floral, and spa-like. It’s a nice touch at the end of the night.

Have you tried anything from Nature Republic? What are your favorite products?