Taiwanese Beauty Is Coming – Here's What You Need To Know

By now you’re probably pretty familiar with K-Beauty or have at least dabbled in some of the country’s biggest trends – like BB creams, glass skin, cream skin, and CICA creams. Obvi, K-Beauty is a major player as far as beauty and skincare products are concerned, but over the last year or so, it’s neighbor, Taiwanese beauty has also been hitting the Western beauty scene, and we are here. for. it.

What Makes Taiwanese Beauty Different

While there’s definitely a bit of overlap between T-Beauty and K-Beauty (and even Japanese or J-Beauty), T-Beauty does have some subtle differences in terms of its skincare philosophy and even the ingredients you find in the products themselves.

Lightweight Hydrators: Considering the country’s year-round balmy weather, many Taiwanese skincare products are formulated with hot and humid climates in mind. That means airy, lightweight textures that soak into your skin to moisturize without weighing you down. These are especially great if you live in a similar climate (even if it’s only part of the year) and if you have naturally oily skin that benefits from lighter products.

Silk Masks: Like K-Beauty and J-Beauty, sheet masks are big in Taiwan. However, the country produces a lot of silk, which is often utilized in T-Beauty brand sheet masks. The silk feels super soft on your skin and is also an excellent ingredient carrier.

Goldilocks of “Intensity”: While J-Beauty tends to take a minimalist approach and K-Beauty is known for its lengthy multi-step skincare regimen, T-Beauty has found a happy medium between the two. It doesn’t require as many steps as K-Beauty, but it still prioritizes science and research-driven formulas.

Geographically Unique Ingredients: Taiwanese skincare products often utilize ingredients that are found in abundance in the country. We already mentioned silk, but other common ingredients include pearl barley (Job’s tears), loofah, mulberry root, mung bean, Taiwanese magnolia, and burdock extract.

Some of Our Favorite T-Beauty Products

Keen on trying some T-Beauty yourself? We gotchu.

Annie’s Way Tea Tree + Burdock Anti-Acne Sheet Mask, $3.25 (or $25 for 10)

Annie’s Way is one of T-Beauty’s most popular brands. They primarily make sheet masks and gel-based leave-on masks, both of which are super popular in Taiwan. These 100% silk sheet masks contain clarifying tea tree oil, sebum-balancing burdock root extract, and skin-plumping hyaluronic acid, and is specifically formulated for oily and acne-prone skin types. BTW – Glowie.co is an e-commerce store that sells a ton of Taiwanese Beauty products, including lots more from this brand.

Naruko Raw Job’s Tears Supercritical CO2 Pore Minimizing Night Gelly, $19.95

Naruko is considered more mid to high-end, and the brand specializes in all-natural, plant-based formulations. It has an entire line dedicated to Raw Job’s Tears (AKA pearl barley), an ingredient that gets its name because of its appearance. The Supercritical CO2 Pore Minimizing Night Gelly is a leave-on hydrating jelly that helps even out your complexion via Job’s tears extract and arbutin. It also contains a buffet of antioxidant-rich plant extracts to protect and help heal your skin.

My Beauty Diary Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Face Mask, $22 for 10

Another major brand in the T-Beauty scene is My Beauty Diary, which specializes in 100% silk sheet masks. The brand is so popular, in fact, that it’s pretty easy to find it outside of Taiwan; it’s sold at Target, on Amazon, and other retailers. These hyaluronic acid sheet masks are simple and straightforward with one end goal in mind: to get you plumped and glowy AF. It’s the perfect pre-makeup prep option.

23.5°N Bamboo Ultra Hydrating Toner, $22

For a traditional Taiwanese beauty experience, consider trying pretty much anything from 23.5°N. The all-natural products are formulated with ingredients that have been historically popular in Taiwan skincare across the ages, such as pearl barley, rice, and bamboo. If you’re in the market for an ultra-gentle hydrating toner then this product is a good option. Bamboo shoot extract moisturizes and balances and hyaluronic acid plumps.

Although T-Beauty is a relatively new genre in the Western world, it’s been around for ages and has exceptionally high manufacturing standards. If you haven’t experimented with any products yet, we hope this inspires you!

Disclaimer: Every product we review has been independently selected and tested without bias by our editorial team. We never take payment to review products, however, some brands allow affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you purchase a product by clicking on one of our links.