Brand Comparison
Saturday Skin vs Dr. Althea
A head-to-head comparison of two popular K-beauty brands. Which one is right for your skin?
Our Pick
Dr. Althea
Higher editor rating (8.8 vs 8.5)
Saturday Skin
Saturday Skin is the Korean-American crossover that finally cracked the Sephora distribution game without watering down its K-beauty DNA. The Pretty Damn Quick Vitamin C Eye Patches are the cult hit — no-nonsense brightening eye masks that actually deliver — and the Waterfall Glacier Water Cream is the sleeper. Pricier than indie K-beauty, but you're paying for the polish and the ease of grabbing it at Sephora.
Pros
- ✓ Strong eye-care lineup
- ✓ Sephora + Ulta availability
- ✓ Polished, gift-worthy packaging
- ✓ Korean-formulated, US-distributed
Cons
- ✗ Pricier than direct-from-Korea options
- ✗ Smaller catalog than legacy K-brands
- ✗ Some products feel marketing-led
Dr. Althea
Dr. Althea is the dermatologist-led K-beauty brand quietly outperforming its more-hyped peers on every actives-forward product. The 147 Enriched Cream (147 active and adjunct ingredients in one barrier cream) is the reason Reddit's AsianBeauty community keeps pointing new people here. No sparkly packaging, no K-pop collab — just well-built formulas with peptide, ceramide, and panthenol stacks that hold up under scrutiny.
Pros
- ✓ dermatologist-led clinical approach
- ✓ 147 Enriched Cream is a legitimate barrier workhorse
- ✓ minimalist, no-nonsense branding
- ✓ every product is actives-first
Cons
