Brand Comparison
La Mer vs Beauty of Joseon
A head-to-head comparison of two popular K-beauty brands. Which one is right for your skin?
Our Pick
Beauty of Joseon
Higher editor rating (9 vs 8.4)
La Mer
La Mer is the founding myth of luxury skincare: a 12-year quest by aerospace physicist Max Huber to repair his own burn-scarred skin, the discovery of a fermented sea-kelp 'Miracle Broth,' and the construction of a brand around a single ingredient and three signature products. Owned by Estée Lauder since 1995 and now a billion-dollar global business, the formulation philosophy has scarcely changed — Crème de la Mer remains the flagship, the Miracle Broth still ferments for 3–4 months, and the price ($380 for 2oz) remains untouched by economic gravity. Is it 'worth it' in a strict efficacy-per-dollar sense? Probably not — there's no clinical evidence Miracle Broth outperforms a well-formulated $80 cream. But La Mer was never about efficacy alone. It's about ritual, mystique, the warm-the-cream-between-fingertips ceremony, and the unbeatable sensory experience. For the editorial reader who treats skincare as leisure and entertainment, La Mer is the genre's founding text.
Pros
- ✓ the original luxury skincare brand with genuine 60-year heritage
- ✓ exceptional sensorial experience and ritual quality
- ✓ Miracle Broth is genuinely interesting biotechnology even if marketing oversells
- ✓ owns the luxury-skincare cultural conversation
Cons
- ✗ objectively overpriced relative to ingredient cost
- ✗ the cream is heavy and not for oily or acne-prone skin
- ✗ fragrance present in most products
- ✗ branding can feel dated to younger consumers
Beauty of Joseon
Beauty of Joseon has quietly become one of the most impressive value propositions in K-beauty. Their Relief Sun is arguably the best budget sunscreen globally, and the Glow Serum delivers genuine results at a price that undercuts competitors by half. The hanbang angle could be gimmicky, but they back it with solid formulation science.
