Talking Shop with Peach & Lily founder Alicia Yoon

NBC News

6 hours ago

Talking Shop is our series where we talk to interesting people about their most interesting buys.
Glass skin — you've either used the phrase yourself, seen TikToks about it or Googled how to achieve it. Rooted in K-beauty culture, 'glass skin' refers to a smooth, clear, practically poreless complexion, and while it's a concept that's been around forever, it wasn't trendy until a few years ago. Alicia Yoon, founder and CEO of Peach & Lily, is partially responsible for that. When the brand's Glass Skin Refining Serum came out in 2018, it sparked what she calls the glass skin movement. 'It went so viral, to the point where I actually had to write an e-book on it,' says Yoon.
Just because you're the mastermind behind glass skin doesn't mean you're automatically blessed with it, however — Yoon struggles with eczema, keratosis pilaris and sensitive skin just like the rest of us. I talked to the esthetician-turned-entrepreneur about what products she keeps in her skin care (and hair care) routine at all times, in addition to her go-to Peach & Lily products.
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'Joanna Vargas is a fellow esthetician, and she was the one person I actually really trusted before my wedding many moons ago to do my skin care,' says Yoon. 'She's very custom in how she does things, and she approaches things in a way that I knew my eczema-prone skin would be safe with her.' Yoon adds Joanna Vargas' The Daily Serum to her skin care routine occasionally, which she says is calming and hydrating since it's made hyaluronic acid.
'Because I have eczema, my body hydration situation is pretty intensive,' says Yoon. 'If it's super humid in Miami, I'll skip some of it, but most of the time, I need to lean into different things for different parts of my body.' She uses a handful of Peach & Lily's moisturizing products, as well as Nécessaire's The Body Lotion. 'It's fragrance-free and no-frills, so I use it head to toe,' says Yoon.
'These days, I've been using Live Tinted's Hueguard, which is a mineral SPF, daily,' says Yoon. 'It's lightweight, matches my skin tone and wears well throughout the day.' The broad-spectrum sunscreen is orange when you dispense it, which prevents it from leaving a white cast. It acts as a moisturizer and primer as well, and makes skin look glowy after application.
'The Soft Services Comfort Cleanse Body Wash is no-frills in the best way, especially when you have eczema' says Yoon. 'It doesn't smell, it doesn't irritate, it's mild, nothing hurts and I feel clean. The body wash has this little oil slip in it, which also helps with shaving. It acts as a two-in-on in that way.'
'When I talk to my friends about Osea's Undaria Algae Body Oil, they say it's too heavy for them, but my body just soaks it up,' says Yoon, who applies it to dry patches as needed in addition to her other favorite lotion. The body oil is infused with seaweed and helps moisturize and improve the look of skin elasticity, according to the brand.
'On beach days, I use the Ultra Violette Future Sunscreen, which is a mineral formula and makes me look glowy,' says Yoon. 'I've layered it over and over and it's quite nice.' The Australian brand's broad-spectrum, lightweight formula (which is one of our team's all-time favorite face sunscreens) is made with zinc, hydrating squalane and calming vitamin E.
'I was honestly a little bit skeptical about this at first because I haven't had great luck with a lot of the waterless shampoos out there, but this one actually leaves my hair very shiny and soft,' says Yoon. 'There's a learning curve because you only need to use a little product at a time, but it's really great, and it's creamy instead of watery. The packaging is sustainable and looks like a little aluminum paint tube, so it doesn't take up much room in your shower and it's easy to travel with.'
'I have naturally wavy hair that gets tangled very easily, and it's fine and brittle,' says Yoon. 'This conditioner is amazing because it gets all my tangles out before I air dry, and it leaves my hair behaving well no matter what the weather is. There's no fragrance in it — it's more like essential oils — so it's very light, airy and beautiful.'
'I've tried so many hair oils and serums because my hair is on the frizzier side, and ever since we moved to Miami last year, it's been out of control,' says Yoon. 'This is one of the most popular hair serums/oils in Korea, and it helps me control my hair without making it look heavy or greasy. The serum has argan, olive, coconut and apricot oils in it, but it doesn't feel oily. It leaves my hair looking shiny, and a little goes a long way. I also don't love heavily fragranced products, and while this has fragrance, it's very light, subtle and doesn't linger.'
'Living in Miami, we go to the beach a lot, and I love how my hair looks after that, so I try to replicate it,' says Yoon. 'When I want to add a little bit more texture to my hair and get that beachy wave, I'll use The Crown Affair Texturing Air Dry Mousse. It doesn't make my hair feel crunchy at all, so I get the look and feel I want.'
'I don't know if it's just me, but when I'm pregnant, my legs will start cramping — I'll literally wake up in the middle of the night because the cramping gets so bad,' says Yoon, who is currently expecting her third child. 'I massage this cream into my calves, which really minimizes cramping since it's made with magnesium chloride, and there's a peppermint version for your feet, too. It's very hydrating, but it's a little oily, so I use bed sheets I don't care about or apply it right before bed to give it time to absorb into my skin.'
Why trust NBC Select?
I'm a reporter at NBC Select who writes our Talking Shop series, interviewing people like Dorinda Medley, Jing Gao and Sara and Erin Foster. To write this piece, I interviewed Alicia Yoon, founder of Peach & Lily and Peach Slices, about her favorite skin, hair and body care products.