Isntree

Isntree began with a blog. Founder Kim Jinwoo had had acne since adolescence, grew suspicious of what was in the products on the shelf, and started writing to explain ingredients to Korean readers; the brand came out of that in 2009. It still works the same way — formulas that leave out twenty ingredients it considers harmful, put through irritation checks, heavy metal screening and small-batch production. Its hyaluronic acid line layers between three and eight kinds of the molecule; its green tea comes from Jeju. Everything is made in Korea, cruelty-free, in packaging built to be refilled.