Brand Comparison
Ilso vs Banobagi
A head-to-head comparison of two popular K-beauty brands. Which one is right for your skin?
Our Pick
Banobagi
Higher editor rating (8.6 vs 8.5)
Ilso
Ilso has quietly become a Hwahae darling in 2025 with its watery sebum-melting formulas. Beloved by Korean beauty editors for the way it dissolves blackheads and oxidized sebum without a single scrub bead in sight. The brand is small, focused, and consistently top-ranked on Olive Young.
Pros
- ✓ Hwahae 2025 Best Peeling winner
- ✓ Pore-friendly without irritation
- ✓ Watery, mess-free textures
Cons
- ✗ Limited line-up
- ✗ Newer to the global market
Banobagi
Banobagi reads like what happens when a famous Korean clinic decides their post-procedure aftercare deserves to be available to everyone. The Vita Genic Jelly Mask put them on the map, and the Milk Thistle Repair Cream became the quiet sleeper hit. Formulations skew clinical-soothing — high panthenol, niacinamide, centella — exactly what you'd expect from a brand born in Gangnam's aesthetic-clinic ecosystem.
Pros
- ✓ Clinic-derived credibility
- ✓ Excellent for post-procedure skin
- ✓ Strong barrier-repair lineup
- ✓ Great quality at mid-tier pricing
Cons
- ✗ Branding is uneven across products
- ✗ Less buzz outside Korea
- ✗ Some packaging feels generic
