It’s easy to associate Laura Kim with fashion—after all, she is one-half of the power design duo behind Oscar de la Renta. But Kim is just as much a Beauty Girl as she is a Fashion Girl, something that her 144K followers know from her Instagram stories, where she is constantly trying new products and treatments, and documenting facials from her close friend and collaborator Joanna Czech.
But when we hop on the phone, fashion is very much top of mind. It’s two weeks before the Met Gala (a.k.a. the Olympics of red carpet dressing) and Oscar de la Renta is set to deliver yet another iconic Met moment with Katy Perry and Kris Jenner. Any yet, Kim is more stressed about her own beauty prep than dressing A-list clients for fashion’s biggest night. “Going to the Met Gala, I do have to take care of myself,” Kim tells Glamour. “I make sure I’m in good shape. I have my outfit ready, stuff like that. That stresses me a little bit, but also we have resort due right after that, two resorts. We were shooting our bridal collection today. So April and May are always pretty packed.”
Overseeing one of the most influential design houses of all time seems like a heavy mantle, but Kim makes it look easy. She gives a lot of credit to her co-creative director Fernando Garcia, (“Fernando does most of the work for Met,” she admits) and their strong team that supported Kim after the pandemic put things into perspective. “I don’t think I work as much as before COVID,” she says. “Everyone was really motivated to make it through that they all became very senior. Now, I have this room for me to breathe a little bit and take care of myself. I’m at an age where I do have to do a lot of self-care. I’m turning 40 in two days.”
As for her beauty team, Kim relies on Czech and dermatologist Dr. David Colbert at New York Dermatology Group to figure out her dry skin and bouts with stress-induced eczema. “When I have a skin issue, I FaceTime [my facialist] Joanna Czech. She recommends products for me. And I see Dr. Colbert at New York Dermatology Group. He kind of checks everything that’s happening to me because I go see him all the time for skin, but I don’t have time to go see a normal doctor. He’s like, ‘Did you do your blood check this year?’ I’m like, ‘Nope.'”
Kim officially entered the beauty game in November of last year, when she became the brand ambassador for Czech’s new skincare line. She is, of course, a huge fan of the products, but her skin-care routine varies depending on her current skin-care concerns. “I don’t do 10-step skincare because I think that’s a lot,” she says. “I try to do at least four steps. I do believe in not using the same product every day because I think your skin just gets used to it. So I rotate between three to four brands.”
Ahead, Laura Kim shares the products she uses for super dry skin, how to get Met Gala-ready skin, and the $2,000 healing serum she swears by.
My Cleanser
Clé de Peau cleanser. It’s very soft and gentle. A lot of cleansers can dry you out, that’s my favorite. I actually stick to one cleanser. I wash my face at night and in the morning, but in the morning I only wash it with water because I don’t want my skin to get dried out.
Clé de Peau Beauté Clarifying Cleansing Foam
$75.00, Saks Fifth Avenue
My toner
Joanna’s toner comes in a spray bottle. So it’s easier than putting it on your hand and putting it on your face. So I love that about that product. You just spray it on your face. It’s super light. It doesn’t even feel like you put anything on.
Joanna Czech The Toner
$70.00, Joanna Czech
My serum
I use Joanna Czech’s Soothing Serum. It’s very gentle. And she said for me vitamin C is a better way to brighten my skin, so I use the C+ Serum. I’ve been friends with a lot of beauty people and I realized that smaller brands that are just launching are more generous with what they put in their product. When Joanna started her brand, she was explaining to me all the ingredients and how much it’s costing her. That’s why I’m so into her products, because they’re expensive but she’s very generous about what she puts into her product.
Joanna Czech Soothing Serum
$275.00, Joanna Czech
Joanna Czech The C+ Serum
$340.00, Joanna Czech
My moisturizer
The Augustinus Bader Soothing Cream. It’s a little bit richer than their Rich Cream. It takes care of the dryness I have. And U Beauty’s The Barrier, you put it on at night and it does the work for you and you wake up gorgeous.
I always pat product on because I don’t want to stretch anything. I grew up in Korea and I was told the Queens used to wash their face by putting their face on top of a bowl and they shake the bowls so water sprinkles on your face. They were saying you should never rub your face. I learned that in school. So I’m like, “Okay, I’m never going to rub my face with product.”
Augustinus Bader The Ultimate Soothing Cream
$280.00, Sephora
U Beauty The Barrier Bioactive Treatment
$198.00, SkinStore
My eye cream
The Clé de Peau Enhancing Eye Contour Creme Supreme. That one comes with a little gold wand, so you can massage around your eyes. I’ve been using it for three years and I think it’s still the best wand. I’m starting to get under eye bags, so I like to massage that area. I’m always concerned about wrinkles and the edge of the eye. I also wear the 111Skin under eye mask every day.
Clé de Peau Beauté Enhancing Eye Contour Cream
$280.00, Saks Fifth Avenue
111SKIN Sub-Zero De-Puffing Eye Mask Box
$105.00, SkinStore
My face mask
Dr. Barbara Sturm did a virtual fundraiser during COVID, like a “maskathon” and she was raising money to donate to victims. So I had to put her face mask on my face to send her a video and I loved it. I was like, “Oh my God, this is so good.” You just look so good after. Your skin feels tighter, your glow comes back. It’s really good. Also, the sheet masks from 111Skin. I’m really close with the founder, she told me their masks come from Korea. I feel a lot of the things we use right now are coming from Korea.
Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Mask
$120.00, Sephora
111SKIN Rose Gold Brightening Facial Treatment Mask Single
$33.00, Dermstore
My spot treatment
MBR Liquid Surgery heals your skin really fast. If I have a burn from cooking or if I have a cut, it actually fades your scar really fast. A lot of people use it when they get plastic surgery and stuff like that. So whenever you have a little cut or something, go get that bottle.
MBR Liquid Surgery Serum
$1983.00, La Suite Skincare
My face oil
I’m against putting oil on my face, but the Augustinus Bader Face Oil doesn’t clog my skin. It’s weird—oil sometimes dries you out faster. That one, it feels like when I use it to do a face massage, it doesn’t dry me out the next day. There’s a facialist in Paris who does an acupuncture facial, and she taught me how to do face massages with my hands and I actually really like it. I do it when I’m really puffy.
Augustinus Bader The Face Oil
$245.00, Nordstrom
My face mist
The Tata Harper face mist smells like a garden. I have it at my office. I have it at home. I just spray whatever I need a little refreshing.
Tata Harper Hydrating Floral Essence
$102.00, Tata Harper
My sunscreen
I use Clé de Peau Foundation and it has sunscreen in it, a little protection. Then the Dr. Barbara Sturm sunscreen, I like how simple it is. It’s really simple. Doesn’t smell like anything, goes on sheer. I have really sensitive eyes and it doesn’t irritate me.
Clé de Peau Beaute The Foundation SPF 21
$250.00, Nordstrom
Dr. Barbara Sturm Sun Drops SPF 50
$145.00, Sephora
My lip balm
U Beauty Plasma Lip Compound. I’m someone who gets really sold when someone drills the information in your head, which Tina [Craig] does. It does keep my lips really moisturized and shiny without being sticky.
U Beauty The Plasma Lip Compound
$68.00, Dermstore
My devices
I love NuFace. It uses micro currents. It’s like Face Gym. I also like that. During facials, Joanna does it with micro current gloves, which is incredible. She told me to do it every day, whenever I have a chance. Micro currents really work. I want to do it on my whole body. Joanna does it and I actually haven’t done it yet, but I’m going to try right before the Met.
Nuface Trinity Facial Toning Device
$340.00, Ulta
Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @arianayap.
Originally Appeared on Glamour