Our Story

Why I Started Seoul Habit

I spent years getting my skin wrong.

Growing up in Dallas, tanning beds were just what you did. For the better part of a decade I went almost daily — it was the culture, and I never questioned it. I cycled through every brand I could find, from the drugstore aisle to expensive department-store lines, hoping something would finally work. Nothing did. My skin was always breaking out, and always, always dry.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And here’s the thing — I’m half Korean and half Swedish. My skin doesn’t fit neatly into one box, and the products marketed to one side of my heritage never seemed to work for the other. I never found a brand that felt like it understood my skin, because most brands aren’t built for people who don’t fit a single category.

So I just accepted it. Breakouts and dryness were simply… my skin.

Then I went to Seoul.

I sat in a dermatologist’s chair, and the reaction was immediate. What I’d always assumed was oily skin was actually severely dehydrated. Years of sun exposure, years of the wrong products, years of not understanding my own skin — it was all there on my face. And honestly? It was humbling. I’m a senior leader in the corporate world. I pride myself on doing the research and getting things right. But when it came to my own skin, I’d been guessing the whole time.

That trip changed how I think about skincare entirely.

The dermatologists in Seoul didn’t just hand me a product — they taught me a philosophy. Cleanse properly. Tone. Layer hydration. Protect with SPF every single day. Morning and night, the same simple steps. But more than any one product, what I brought home was the understanding that skincare is a daily practice. It isn’t about finding one miracle bottle. It’s about building a routine and showing up for it, consistently.

Within a year, my skin looked clearer and felt comfortable for the first time in years. People noticed. Friends started asking what I was doing and where to buy it.

And I wanted to help — I really did. But the honest answer was complicated. I couldn’t just say “go buy this one thing.” I’d taken the time to understand my specific skin, find the products that actually suited it, and commit to a routine I don’t skip. If I stop, the dryness comes back. The routine is the product.

Most people want a simple answer — tell me what to grab at the store. But that’s not how skin works, especially when yours doesn’t fit a neat category. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you. Everyone’s mix of genetics, environment, and daily habits is different.

That’s exactly why I started Seoul Habit.

Seoul Habit isn’t built on the promise that one product fixes everything. It’s built on a belief: that understanding your skin — really understanding it — and committing to a daily routine is what actually works. Korean skincare taught me that consistency is the secret, not any single ingredient.

The habit is the product.

I created the Seoul Habit skin assessment because I know what it feels like to not know where to start. I know what it’s like to waste years and money on products that weren’t right for you. And I know the answer isn’t a friend’s recommendation or an impulse buy — it’s a routine built for your skin.

Your skin didn’t get here overnight, and fixing it won’t happen overnight either. But if you show up for it every day, it will change. I’m living proof.

— Kimmie, Founder