How to Get Glass Skin: Your Simple Step-by-Step Skincare Routine

We all have our individual skincare goals, but if there’s one we all share, it’s having smooth, clear, dewy skin – or ‘glass skin’. Suppleness, hydration and luminosity are the cornerstones of glass skin, and – with the help of some efficacious glass skin ingredients – you can achieve that bouncy feel and lit-from-within glow that are glass skin’s hallmarks.

That said, achieving glass skin relies not only on the skincare products you apply, but the order in which you apply them. So, in this guide, we’ve curated an eight-step skincare routine to show you how to get glass skin using a range of YSL products.

What is glass skin

As the name suggests, glass skin refers to a complexion that looks clear, smooth, pore-less, and luminous – like a glass statue.

The term ‘glass skin’ originated in Korean skincare in the 2010s, but this enviable dewy look gained worldwide traction when it exploded on TikTok several years later. According to Korean beauty experts, the trick to achieving glass skin is through multiple skincare layers. Unlike some transient beauty trends, glass skin is timeless because the focus is on healthy-looking skin that glows – with or without makeup.

How to get glass skin: an eight-step routine

As much as we’d love to give you advice on how to get glass skin in three days (or even three weeks!), the reality is that achieving glass skin can take a little longer – but it’s worth the investment. To start, we recommend having these products in your skincare arsenal:
• A non-drying cleanser
• A gentle exfoliator
• A toner
• A brightening serum
• A hydrating serum
• A moisturiser
• A face oil (for the evening)
• A sunscreen (for the morning)

From brightening to hydration, explore our eight-step guide for how to get glass skin below.

1. Cleanse

To achieve glass skin, you’ll want to start your morning and nightly routine by cleansing your skin of dirt, oil, makeup, sweat, and other impurities.

Look for a cleanser that’s formulated for your skin type and concerns, with a focus on hydration – the bedrock of any glass skin regime. Korean beauty experts recommend a double cleanse to ensure the skin is completely free from pore-clogging impurities. For this, we recommend the Clean Reboot Mousse – our breakthrough cream-to-foam cleanser that’s gentle, non-drying, and powered by amino acids and jasmine flower extract.

2. Exfoliate

A key step in how to achieve glass skin is to smooth out the skin surface – and exfoliation can be a very effective way to address textural concerns.

Using an exfoliating cleanser or chemical exfoliant can help remove dead skin cells, unclog pores and encourage brighter skin to the surface. How often you exfoliate depends on your skin type. For instance, oily and blemish-prone skin types may find it beneficial to exfoliate three to four times per week to clear blocked pores. On the other hand, dry skin types may only need to do so once per week; and sensitive skin types may skip this step altogether.

3. Tone

Applying a toner can help remove any impurities left on the skin after cleansing and exfoliating. Toning also plays an important role in prepping the skin for the glass skin ingredients that you will apply later in your routine, promoting more effective absorption of products. Unlike the astringent toners of the past, modern toners are formulated with targeted ingredients that boost clarity while maintaining skin comfort and hydration.

4. Brighten

When we think about how to get glass skin, we tend to focus primarily on texture, but luminosity is just as important.

Dullness is the antithesis of glass skin, after all – so you’ll want to incorporate brightening ingredients into your routine alongside hydrating ones. Vitamin C and niacinamide are particularly efficacious when it comes to brightening and unifying skin tone, but you can also turn to ingredients like glycolic acid and lactic acid: both of which gently exfoliate the skin surface to improve clarity.

To utilise the brightening effects of these two exfoliants, apply two pumps of the Pure Shot Night Reboot Serum over your face and neck, taking care to shake the serum bottle first.

5. Hydrate

What is glass skin without hydration? After removing impurities and brightening skin tone, apply a hydrating face serum to promote supple, bouncy glass skin. Renowned for its hydrating prowess, hyaluronic acid is one of the most efficacious glass skin ingredients because it attracts water to the skin surface, helping to plump and improve elasticity.

YSL’s Pure Shots Lines Away Serum is formulated with hyaluronic acid and micro-filling technology to create a "second-skin" effect that smooths the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. To apply, simply massage two pumps of serum onto your face and neck.

6. Moisturise

While a hydrating serum delivers glass skin ingredients to the skin’s surface, a moisturiser will help seal in those efficacious ingredients – and support the skin moisture barrier.

Simply apply the Pure Shots Perfect Plumper Nutri-Cream over your face and neck to mitigate any dryness and promote softer, more radiant skin. It’s formulated with skin-loving ceramide 2, glycerin and squalane to nourish all skin types – including sensitive.

7. Oil

While a standard nighttime skincare routine might end with moisturiser, we’re striving to get glass skin – and here, a face oil can be your glass skincare ritual’s secret weapon.

Oils are emollients, meaning they act as another layer of protection for the skin’s surface: keeping in your beneficial ingredients and replenishing moisture.

Gently press a few drops of Or Rouge L'Huile Face Oil into your skin, gliding the oil over your face and neck. This unique elixir is formulated with a blend of five oils – argan oil, almond oil, castor oil, carthame oil, and evening primrose oil – to comfort and smooth the skin. If it’s your morning routine, you can skip this step and go straight to sunscreen.

8. Protect

Our final step in how to get clear glass skin is a very important one: protect with SPF.

Sunscreen is a non-negotiable for glass skin (and all skincare routines, for that matter), because it offers environmental protection from harmful UV rays. Seek out a UVA/UVB sunscreen with a high protection factor – SPF 50 works. Apply sunscreen as the last step in your morning skincare routine at least 20 minutes before sun exposure.

Now that you’ve mastered how to get glass skin, let your natural radiance shine through with a minimalist makeup routine.