The Olive Young Best Awards 2025: Top 10 Skincare Products Translated

Quick Answer

The 2025 Olive Young Awards analyzed 180 million (1.8억) purchase transactions from July 2024 through June 2025, selecting 166 products across 40 categories — the largest dataset in the awards' history
Torriden swept 3 categories with its Dive-In Serum winning the essence/serum category for a fifth consecutive year, cementing it as K-beauty's most dominant serum franchise
Roundlab's 1025 Dokdo Toner maintained its #1 toner position, while Manyo Factory's Pure Cleansing Oil took cleansing for a fifth straight year — proving that Korean consumers reward consistency over novelty
New 2025 categories include global K-beauty performance tiers (Best Performer, Rising, Rookie) and lifestyle categories like self-beauty and oral aftercare, reflecting Olive Young's expansion beyond traditional cosmetics

What the Olive Young Awards Actually Are

Source: Soko Glam

Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner - Olive Young Best Award Winner Source: Round Lab Official

If you follow K-beauty from outside Korea, you have probably seen "Olive Young Best Award winner" on product listings and assumed it is one of many beauty awards. It is not. It is the award.

Olive Young (올리브영) is CJ Group's health and beauty retail chain. It operates over 1,300 stores across South Korea and dominates the offline K-beauty discovery channel for Korean consumers aged 18-39. Think Sephora, but with broader demographic reach and significantly higher foot traffic per store.

The annual Olive Young Awards (올리브영 어워즈) are not judged by editors or influencers. They are compiled from raw purchase data — 180 million transactions for the 2025 cycle (CJ뉴스룸, 2025). When a product wins an Olive Young Award, it means more Koreans bought it than any competing product in its category over a full 12-month window. For the year's Top 10 Olive Young skincare bestsellers in 2026, see our running rankings — they overlap heavily with the awards list below.

This makes it the closest thing K-beauty has to a true popularity census. Not a marketing exercise. A sales receipt tally.

For context on the ingredient analysis tools Korean consumers use alongside Olive Young rankings, see our guide to the Hwahae ingredient scoring system. Curious how this all compares to Japan's @cosme system? Our Hwahae vs @cosme: Korea vs Japan beauty rankings walks through the structural differences.

The 2025 Awards: Key Numbers

Data period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
Transactions analyzed: 180 million (1.8억 건)
Total categories: 40 (up from previous years)
Products selected: 166
New categories added: Self-beauty, lifestyle, hand care, oral aftercare, plus 3 global K-beauty tiers

The expansion to 40 categories reflects two industry shifts: Olive Young's push into wellness and lifestyle products beyond skincare, and the growing global export market that now warrants its own recognition track (뷰티누리, 2025).

Top 10 Skincare Products: Full Breakdown

#1: Torriden Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Serum (토리든 다이브인 저분자 히알루론산 세럼)

Category: Essence/Serum — 1st Place Volume: 100ml Price: Approximately 18,000 KRW (~$13 USD)

Key Ingredients: 5 types of hyaluronic acid at different molecular weights (pentavitin, sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, sodium acetylated hyaluronate, and hyaluronic acid)

Why it won — again: This is the fifth consecutive year Torriden's Dive-In Serum has won an Olive Young Award. Five consecutive years of being the most-purchased serum in Korea's largest beauty retailer. The product's staying power comes from its molecular weight layering approach — smaller molecules penetrate deeper while larger molecules form a surface hydration film. The multi-weight HA approach also anchors the Korean glass skin ingredient stack Korean dermatologists recommend.

Torriden took home three #1 positions at the 2025 awards: essence/serum, mask pack, and lip care (이지경제, 2025). That is dominance.

Ingredient note: The "저분자" (low molecular weight) designation is meaningful — Korean cosmetic science prioritizes molecular weight as a penetration indicator, since smaller HA fragments sit closer to the skin surface while larger ones sit on top and hold water there.

#2: Goodal Green Tangerine Vita C Dark Spot Serum Alpha (구달 청귤 비타C 잡티 케어 세럼 알파)

Category: Essence/Serum — 2nd Place Volume: 50ml

Key Ingredients: Green tangerine extract, niacinamide, albutin, ascorbic acid (vitamin C derivative), green tangerine exosomes (청귤 엑소좀)

Why it matters: Goodal's seventh consecutive Olive Young Award, and 2nd place in the essence/serum category behind Torriden. The "Alpha" reformulation added green tangerine exosomes — particles roughly 2,000 times smaller than a pore, meant to improve absorption — and boosted the niacinamide concentration by 25% over the prior formula. Exosomes are one of the hottest delivery technologies in Korean skincare right now, and Goodal's inclusion signals the ingredient's move from clinical to mass-market.

For more on how Korean clinical research validates niacinamide at these concentrations, see our niacinamide Korean clinical trials article and the broader best niacinamide products in K-beauty: concentration compared.

#3: Roundlab 1025 Dokdo Toner (라운드랩 1025 독도 토너)

Category: Toner — 1st Place Volume: 500ml

Key Ingredients: Deep sea water from Ulleungdo at 1,025m depth (mineral-rich seawater), panthenol, hyaluronic acid

Why it dominates: The 1025 in the name refers to the depth (1,025 meters) from which the mineral water is sourced near Dokdo/Ulleungdo. Korean reviews consistently praise its "묽고 산뜻한 제형" (thin and refreshing texture) that avoids skin tightness despite being lightweight. It functions as a year-round daily toner across all skin types — which is rare in a market that segments heavily by season and skin type. The full toner field is mapped in our top 10 Korean essences and toners compared in 2026.

This product exemplifies the Korean formulation approach we discuss in our Korea vs. US formulation differences article: mineral-rich base waters as functional ingredients rather than filler.

#4: Bioderma Hydrabio Toner (바이오더마 하이드라비오 토너)

Category: Toner/Mist — 3rd Place (2nd consecutive year) Volume: 500ml

Key Ingredients: Aquagenium biomimetic technology, apple seed extract, niacinamide

Why a French brand wins a K-beauty award: Bioderma was Olive Young's most-decorated brand at the 2025 awards, winning four categories total. The Hydrabio toner took 3rd in Toner/Mist — behind Roundlab's Dokdo Toner and Anua's Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner — for the second year running. Its repeat podium finish shows Korean shoppers will adopt non-Korean products when the formulation meets their standards.

#5: AESTURA Atobarrier365 Cream (에스트라 아토베리어365 크림)

Category: Cream — 1st Place Volume: 80ml

Key Ingredients: Ceramide NP, Ceramide PC-102, Ceramide PC-104 (delivered via visible moisture capsules), cholesterol, fatty acids

Why it matters: Atobarrier365 is CJ's own dermocosmetic line (AESTURA), and its capsule-cream format — the ceramide capsules are visible to the naked eye — became the #1 cream in Korea's largest beauty retailer for 2025. The formula uses AESTURA's proprietary DermaON technology to reinforce the skin's own lipid barrier rather than just sitting on top of it, and it's formulated fragrance-free for sensitive and eczema-prone skin.

#6: Goodal Clear Houttuynia Soothing Sun Cream (구달 클리어 어성초 수딩 선크림)

Category: Suncare — Award Winner

Key Ingredients: Houttuynia cordata (어성초/heartleaf) extract, soothing base formula

Why it matters: Goodal's second win of the 2025 awards cycle (alongside its 2nd-place essence/serum finish), and proof the brand's "청귤" (green tangerine) skincare identity now extends into suncare. Houttuynia cordata — the same botanical Koreans call heartleaf — is one of the most-repeated calming ingredients across this year's winners, showing up in toner, cleansing, and now sun protection formats.

#7: Manyo Factory Pure Cleansing Oil (마녀공장 퓨어 클렌징 오일)

Manyo Factory Pure Cleansing Oil Source: Soko Glam

Category: Cleansing — 1st Place (5th consecutive year) Volume: 200ml

Key Ingredients: Rice bran oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, vitamin E

Why five years running: Korean consumers practice double cleansing (이중세안) religiously — oil cleanser first, then water-based cleanser. Manyo Factory's cleansing oil is the undisputed champion of step one. Five consecutive years at #1 in a category with hundreds of competitors. Korean reviewers praise its emulsification speed (how quickly it breaks down into a milky wash) and its non-comedogenic profile.

#8: Zeroid Intensive Cream (제로이드 인텐시브 크림)

Category: Cream — MD's Pick Brand: Zeroid (제로이드) by Neopharm (네오팜)

Key Ingredients: MLE (Multi-Lamellar Emulsion) technology, Defensamide (디펜사마이드, patented), ceramides

Why the MD's Pick matters: Olive Young's "MD's Pick" is a separate editorial selection alongside the data-driven rankings. When the Olive Young merchandising team specifically highlights a product, it signals professional-level endorsement beyond consumer sales. Zeroid's Intensive Cream uses a patented barrier-repair compound (Defensamide) and MLE technology that mimics the skin's natural lipid structure.

#9: Torriden Dive-In Low Molecular Hyaluronic Acid Mask Pack (토리든 다이브인 저분자 히알루론산 마스크팩)

Category: Mask Pack — 1st Place

Key Ingredients: Multi-weight hyaluronic acid complex (the same technology used in the #1 Dive-In Serum)

Why it stands out: This is the second leg of Torriden's 2025 triple crown — essence/serum, mask pack, and lip care all went to Torriden this year (이지경제, 2025). The mask pack extends the Dive-In serum's molecular-weight-layered HA approach into a sheet-mask format, which is likely why it converted serum buyers into mask buyers rather than competing against a separate audience.

#10: Anua Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner (아누아 어성초 77 수딩 토너)

Category: Toner/Mist — 2nd Place

Key Ingredients: Houttuynia cordata (어성초/heartleaf) extract at 77% concentration, hyaluronic acid

Why it is notable: This is the toner that built Anua's reputation outside Korea, and the 2025 awards confirm it also holds up domestically — 2nd place behind Roundlab's Dokdo Toner and ahead of Bioderma's Hydrabio Toner. Heartleaf (one of the three Korean botanical calming ingredients we cover in our centella vs. mugwort vs. heartleaf comparison) is formulated here at a high 77% concentration, positioned as an all-day soothing layer for reactive or heat-flushed skin.

Ingredient Trends the 2025 Awards Reveal

Trend 1: PDRN Interest Is Spiking

PDRN (polydeoxyribonucleotide) — a salmon-DNA-derived ingredient originally used in Korean injection treatments — didn't land a Top 10 skincare award this cycle, but consumer interest is climbing fast: search volume for PDRN products on Olive Young jumped 695% during the September 2025 sale period compared to the same window a year earlier (서울경제, 2025). Expect PDRN ampoules and creams to be strong 2026 award contenders as that search demand converts into purchases.

Trend 2: Exosome Delivery Technology

Goodal's reformulation with green tangerine exosomes marks the start of exosome technology in mainstream K-beauty. Exosomes are nano-scale vesicles that Korean cosmetic researchers use to improve ingredient delivery through the skin barrier. Expect this technology to proliferate through 2026.

Trend 3: Multi-Weight Hyaluronic Acid

Torriden's continued dominance shows that Korean consumers have moved beyond "hyaluronic acid" as a single ingredient. They now evaluate the molecular weight profile — how many sizes of HA are in the formula. Five-weight HA systems like Torriden's are the current standard.

Trend 4: Year-Round Basics Over Seasonal Products

The biggest winners — Roundlab Dokdo Toner, Manyo Cleansing Oil, Torriden Dive-In — are all four-season daily-use products. Korean consumers are consolidating their routines around reliable staples rather than rotating products seasonally. This contradicts the Western narrative that K-beauty requires a 12-step routine.

Trend 5: Ingredient Transparency Drives Purchases

Products that lead with a specific, named ingredient story — Torriden's multi-weight HA, Goodal's green tangerine exosomes, Estra's visible ceramide capsules — dominated this year's winners over products marketed on brand prestige alone. Korean consumers on platforms like Hwahae are checking ingredient lists before purchasing, and brands that make their formulation logic transparent and demonstrable are winning.

How the Awards Work: Methodology

The Olive Young Awards are not a typical beauty award. Here is the actual methodology:

Data collection: All purchase transactions across 1,300+ Olive Young stores and the online mall are aggregated for 12 months (July to June)
Category ranking: Products are ranked by total units sold within each category
Trend analysis: The Olive Young merchandising team overlays trend data to identify "Rising Star" and "Rookie" selections
MD's Pick: Editorial team selects standout products that may not have the highest volume but represent innovation or professional-grade quality
Global categories: New in 2025, analyzing export and international sales data separately

This means the winners are determined by what Korean consumers actually purchased with their own money — not by PR samples, influencer partnerships, or jury votes.

What Korean Consumers Say: Common Themes

Analyzing Korean reviews on Olive Young, Hwahae, and Glowpick for the winning products reveals consistent themes:

"자극 없이" (without irritation): The most-cited positive attribute across all winning skincare products
"흡수가 빠른" (fast absorption): Korean consumers prioritize how quickly a product sinks in
"끈적이지 않는" (not sticky): Texture complaints are the fastest way to kill a product's ranking
"레이어링 가능" (can be layered): Products that work well in a multi-step routine rank higher
"가성비" (value for money): Most winners are priced under 25,000 KRW (~$18 USD)

These consumer priorities differ significantly from Western beauty shopping patterns, where fragrance, packaging design, and brand prestige often rank higher than texture and layering compatibility. For a wider take on this East-West gap, see our Korean skincare vs Western skincare philosophy differences.

How to Use This List: A Practical Guide

If you are building a K-beauty routine from scratch:

Start with three products from this list: Roundlab Dokdo Toner (hydration base), Torriden Dive-In Serum (active hydration), and whichever cream matches your skin type. This gives you a toner-serum-cream routine using Korea's three most purchased products.

For personalized routine recommendations by skin type, check our Korean skincare routine by skin type guide.

If you are looking for specific ingredient innovation:

Estra's Atobarrier365 Cream (capsule-delivered ceramides) and Goodal's exosome-reformulated serum represent the current cutting edge of Korean barrier and delivery science. And keep an eye on PDRN — search interest is spiking well ahead of award wins, which is usually the leading indicator for what shows up on next year's list.

If you want the safest mainstream picks:

Manyo Factory Cleansing Oil and Torriden Dive-In Serum have five consecutive years of #1 rankings each. That kind of longevity across 180 million annual transactions is the strongest possible evidence of product quality and broad skin-type compatibility.

The Global K-Beauty Angle

The 2025 awards added three global categories: Best Performer, Rising, and Rookie. This reflects Olive Young's international expansion strategy — the retailer now ships to multiple countries and has opened flagship stores in key international markets.

Anua's heartleaf line built its reputation abroad first — and its Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner still took 2nd place domestically in 2025, proof the international hype cycle now feeds back into Korean sales. Biodance followed a similar path with its collagen mask, which has topped Amazon's Cyber Monday skincare bestseller list two years running. The awards' new global categories now formally track this reverse-import phenomenon: products that go viral internationally and then see boosted domestic sales in Korea.

This bidirectional flow — Korean products going global, then global attention driving Korean sales — is reshaping how Korean brands develop products. Formulations are increasingly designed with both Korean and international consumers in mind, which affects ingredient choices, texture profiles, and even packaging language.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are Olive Young Award winners selected?

Winners are selected based on actual purchase data — approximately 180 million transactions across all Olive Young stores and online channels over a 12-month period (July to June). This is not an editor's pick or influencer vote. It is a raw sales data analysis, supplemented by trend analysis and editorial "MD's Pick" selections.

Are Olive Young Award products available outside Korea?

Most winning products are available internationally through Amazon, YesStyle, Stylevana, and Olive Young Global. Availability and pricing vary by region, and some limited-edition award packages are Korea-exclusive.

How do the 2025 winners compare to 2024?

The biggest continuity is at the top: Torriden, Roundlab, and Manyo Factory maintained their #1 positions. The biggest change is the format expansion — new global tiers (Best Performer, Rising, Rookie) and lifestyle categories (self-beauty, hand care, oral aftercare) — plus Goodal's exosome-formulated serum reformulation moving up the ranks. The top brands held steady while the ingredient and category landscape shifted around them.

Why should I trust Olive Young Awards over other K-beauty rankings?

Scale and methodology. No other K-beauty ranking system is based on 180 million verified purchase transactions. Hwahae rankings reflect user reviews and ingredient analysis; Glowpick reflects consumer ratings. Only Olive Young reflects what people actually bought with their money in Korea's largest beauty retail environment.

What is the average price of an Olive Young Award-winning skincare product?

Most winning skincare products fall in the 15,000-25,000 KRW range ($11-$18 USD). This is mid-range by Korean standards and significantly below typical Western prestige skincare pricing. The accessibility of award-winning K-beauty products is one of the category's strongest value propositions.