Love at First Schmear: Amarte Skin Care

One thing I always found intriguing about Asian skincare, especially with products made in South Korea, was the fact that there was such a big emphasis on products that whiten and brighten skin.  On a press trip to Seoul back in 2009, we visited a spa where skin care blended luxury and science in a completely different way than what I had experienced in North America or Europe. The approach the practitioners and products take on is to address specific imperfections concerning each individual in addition to overall improvement of skin texture.  They don't mess around.

Neither does Amarté, a South Korean line new to the U.S. that clearly has something to offer skin-conscious people from all backgrounds.

Whitening products and treatments address age spots, or hyper pigmentation, and given the beautiful skin many Korean women are blessed with, it is no wonder that high levels of sun protection is in such high demand.  The products also factor in pleasing textures. I was particularly impressed with a pressed rice powder sunscreen from O Hui, which not only had a high SPF (50), but also a silky texture that went on smoothly, blended evenly and had the added benefit of removing shine.

As the the demands of Western beauty mavens have caught up with the scientific advancements of the East, and we're realizing age spots are as much of a problem as wrinkles, superficially and skin deep, products from Korea are finding their way into mainstream beauty and department stores.  Combine that with BB and CC creams turning up on every vanity table in America, and there creates the perfect storm for Amarté, one lovely line from Korea that knows what its got and has already found early (US) adaptors from all walks of life.

The treatment creams I am trying are delightful (the “Wonder Cream” night cream, $89, and the Eyeconic Eye Cream, $51, an anti-wrinkle rejuvenator that delivers the highest levels of enhanced-stability pure retinol, ActivExtracts®, and ActivElements® to give vitality and resiliency to the eye area)...the perfect balance of light yet creamy smooth, soothing yet absorbing into the skin without that tacky feeling of Grandma's cold cream or night cream.  

Their Natural Finish BB cream ($49) has an impressive SPF of 36--more than twice as much protection as the Clinique BB foundation I was using, at 15.  However, What makes Amarté's BB cream the star attraction of the line is its performance.  Though the light is a tad light for my fair skin (something easily remedied with a stroke of my go-to bronzing primer from Stila), the texture is almost gel-like, but substantial enough to create a nice canvas for the rest of my daytime face.  It also lasts several hours without fading or shine, compared to my other BB standbys.  When summer comes around, it would be interesting to see if the next shade up works as well.

While time will tell if my use of the line will help me manage my encroaching sunspots (they surfaced, even with the best laid sunscreen and efforts to avoid the sun since 2000), Amarté's BB holds up to the best of the multi-tasker make-ups as well as foundations without the BB bells and whistles.

Amarté is on the US market thanks to board certified dermatologist Dr. Craig Kraffert, who serves as President of Amarté and is the founder of Dermstore.com. Products can be purchased at Amartéskincare.com and Dermstore.com.