It wasn’t until 2023 that the best milky toners hit mainstream status stateside; in fact, I can chronicle its rise pretty clearly. Laneige made a splash by launching a new and improved version of its Cream Skin—a milky, non-sticky hydrator—in April of that year. Come June, I hopped on Zoom to chat with Hailey Bieber about her upcoming launch—the Rhode Glazing Milk, the fourth product in her line of streamlined skin-care essentials. At the time, food-inspired beauty trends were at an all-time high. I made a joke about this continuing her “glazed donut skin” ethos and she laughed. “I want skin that looks like you want to take a bite out of it. That’s just me, though!”
Vogue’s Favorite Milky Toners
Six months later, it’s January 2024 and Ilia entered the new year with a bang—debuting its The Base Face Milk. Founder Sasha Plavsic then said she wanted to create a product that simplified one’s skin-care regimen, striking the right balance between a moisturizer and essence akin to the formulas popular in Korea.
The latter is of importance because while the Western consumer is just catching on, the milky toner has been central to K-beauty routines for years. “Milky toners fit seamlessly into the layering approach and emphasis on skin barrier health that K-beauty is known for,” Sarah Chung Park, founder and CEO of Landing International tells Vogue, adding that many viral K-beauty brands on TikTok (like I’m From, TirTir, and Anua) offer cult-favorites.
“Milky toner is basically the lovechild of a toner and a super lightweight moisturizing lotion,” Michelle Lee, beauty industry adviser and former editor-in-chief of Allure says. “Unlike the old-school, astringent toners of the past, this new generation is all about hydration and barrier support. They tend to be silky liquids (they look similar to milk) that hydrate, soothe and nourish with ingredients like ceramides, rice extracts, and chamomile.” Moisturizing properties aside, many of the market’s leading options offer added benefits like exfoliating, balancing, and brightening via AHAs, niacinamide, and botanical extracts.
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