Beauty & Confidence

Beauty & Confidence

with JIN KWON-FOUNDER OF TONIC15

I am a Korean Skincare enthusiast. I love the unique skincare products and the skincare philosophy it has to offer. I stumbled across TONIC15 on Instagram, a Korean skincare shop that was based here in the UK. TONIC15 really helped make Korean skincare products accessible. I have my own skincare account @keyaani_ and I was lucky enough (pre-Covid-19) to go to a bloggers meet -up. It was at this event that I was able to meet the very charming and humble Jin. This is where I learned more about the TONIC15 philosophy, where self-care is inter-twined with self-love. You don’t need to have an elaborate skincare routine and all you need is 15 minutes, hence TONIC15. I wanted to interview Jin about setting up her business and pick her brain about all the skincare knowledge she has accumulated.

1.  TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF...

My name is Jin and I am the founder of TONIC15 – a K-Beauty e-tailer, which aims to bring the best of Korean beauty to the UK and Europe.

Born and raised in Korea, I moved to the US aged 16 after spending the previous six months convincing my Dad to let me go. I have two older brothers and am very much the baby girl of the family, so he always wanted me to be close by – but I’m also the one who is most up for an adventure! I was lured in by the idea of experiencing a new culture and have lived and studied in three different countries outside of Korea – the US, UK and now Australia. Last year, my husband landed his dream job in Melbourne so we made the move to Australia. Since then my life has been split between London and Melbourne.

I founded TONIC15 when I was studying for my MBA at the London Business School. It was born in the library and I’ve been lucky enough to run it full time since 2018. It’s exciting to see how much it’s grown since it’s fledging days!

2.  WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SET UP TONIC15?

Blame it on my Korean blood but I’m always on-the-go and love moving at a fast pace. While this has been great for my career and studies, burnouts have been inevitable, and I’ve experienced a few.

Whenever I’ve been exhausted or fatigued, I’ve pledged to spend 15 minutes on my own every day. It’s a short enough amount of time that it’s achievable and doesn’t feel like a burden. As soon as I started to make that commitment and stay consistent with my self-care, every other area of my life started to improve: my happiness, my relationships, my mood. I wanted to share this with other people.

Friends would also ask me about the best in K-Beauty or to bring back my favourites when I travelled back home. I love sharing skincare secrets and hearing how my recommendations have helped friends and how most of their staples are now from Korean brands.

It’s always been a dream of mine to start my own business and the combination of recommendations being well received and wanted to share my own positive experience of self-care led me to launch TONIC15.

3.  WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE WHILE STARTING YOUR BUSINESS?

It’s something I’m better with now but finding the balance between work and life is tricky. Establishing boundaries is an on-going practice! A start-up demands a lot of time but my husband and my own well-being are also incredibly important to me. Time is limited and I cannot be, have and do everything. Accepting this and focusing on what’s realistic without beating myself up makes things a little easier. It’s an on-going challenge, but things are getting better.

I’ve been learning to find ways to prioritise and also find harmony in every area of my life. I’m trying to take the weekends off so I can rest and spend more time with my husband and doing this actually helps me focus better during the week.

These days, one of the biggest challenges I face is growing the business while maintaining it’s integrity. TONIC15 has been growing more rapidly than I anticipated – for which I am truly grateful for – but with that, there are challenges. The main one is to figure out how we can become more structured and organised as the business grows, while also retaining its DNA. It’s a balancing act, but growing pains usually produce the best results!

4.  WHAT DOES GOOD SKINCARE MEAN TO YOU?

It helps to punctuate and give some structure to my day – there’s something ritualistic about following the same steps at the same time, every day. My skincare regime often reflects my state of mind and general health. If I’m down, I’m much less motivated to spend time on skincare, for example.

However, when these times hit, I push myself to stick to it as I know how beneficial it is. It allows me to switch off, focus on myself and that doesn’t just equal a better complexion but a better mood and getting back on track towards a healthier state of mind.

When I’m already feeling good, my skincare feels ritualistic and pampering. Something just for me. I give so much to my business and other people it’s really important to dedicate some time to myself and focus entirely on myself. Good skincare means a healthy mind, body and soul. It’s not just about great skin.

5. SKIN AND CONFIDENCE ARE OFTEN RELATED. WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TEENAGERS TRYING TO TREAT THEIR SKIN CONCERNS?

I have three key things that I’d like to share:

1.  Keep your skin routine basic (and don’t over-do it). Instead of enlisting lots of steps or products, consistency is key. Adding too many products into your skincare routine because you’ve been told by others that they’re ‘good’ can cause problems. If you’re adding too many in, especially at the same time, it’s hard to know how your skin reacts to a certain ingredient or product. You might also end up using ingredients that you are not supposed to use together.

However, I’d say it’s really important that you build a solid core of your skincare routine and to be consistent with your skincare. The three most important and basic steps are to cleanse, moisturise and protect your skin with SPF. Then, depending on your skin condition, you might want to add a mild chemical exfoliator like mandelic acid, a toner, and an essence or ampoule that targets your skin concern. Rather than adding too many things into your skincare routine, focus on sticking to a simple regime.

2.  Don’t underestimate your lifestyle. The appearance and health of your skin can often be connected to your lifestyle. Poor sleep, unhealthy food, and stress all take their toll and are reflected back to you in the mirror. It helps to eat balanced meals, avoid eating too much sugar and drinking too much alcohol, and focus on creating good sleep habits. Try not to look at your mobile phone or tablet at least 30 minutes before going to bed. In addition, exercise or taking a walk daily can help reduce stress. If you can focus on building healthier lifestyle habits, chances are your skin will benefit too.

3.  Don’t be too stressed about your skin! Teenage skin is more susceptible to breakouts and blemishes, often because of the hormones associated with that time. However, this is often temporary and will improve with time as long as you can keep your skin consistent and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The most important thing for you to remember is that you are beautiful just the way you are – your skin or spots do not define you! There are lots of skin positive influencers on Instagram now so you can see that all skin is normal skin and never something to be ashamed of.

6.  WHAT IS THE MOST VERSATILE KOREAN SKINCARE INGREDIENT THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND?

I’d say Mugwort and Centella Asiatica. Both ingredients are very good at soothing and hydrating the skin as well as strengthening the skin’s barrier. Due to these properties, they also both do a great job of reducing breakouts, dryness, redness and irritation – and leave skin feeling healthier. They are both gentle and soothing, so can work pretty much with any other ingredient and as such are very often used in Korean skincare products in many different forms – from essences and moisturisers to masks and spot treatments.

7. WHAT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL KOREAN SKINCARE INGREDIENT THAT YOU HAVE TRIED?

I’ve recently tested skincare products from a brand that formulates with Echinacea – a herb that’s been used by native Americans for over 400 years to heal wounds as it has healing and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s one of the most unique ingredients I’ve seen in skincare recently and I really enjoyed the products!

8. IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESSERT ISLAND AND COULD ONLY TAKE THREE SKINCARE PRODUCTS WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

It’s a very difficult question because I have so many things that I would want to bring with me! If I had to whittle it down to three, it would be a gentle cleanser to remove impurities and sebum, a hydrating moisturiser to nourish skin and a SPF to shield my skin from the sun. If I was allowed to raid the TONIC15 warehouse before I left, I’d take the ‘Make P:rem Relief Moisture Cleansing Foam’, ‘I’m From Rice Cream’ and the ‘Keep Cool Soothe Bamboo Sun Essence’. It has such a lightweight texture and also helps to take the heat out of skin – perfect for a dessert island, I’d say!