AND:AR Korea brand exemplifies elegance and sophistication:

There is a particular kind of Korean beauty brand that refuses to choose between precision colour and considered skincare — AND:AR is one of them. Restrained palettes, skin-faithful lip colours, a cica pad that belongs on every dermatologist-adjacent shelf: AND:AR works as though elegance and function are the same sentence.

This article is a proper introduction to AND:AR: where the brand comes from, what its philosophy actually means in practice, which products are worth your first order, and who the brand is genuinely made for. Every AND:AR reference we mention is in stock at Kool Seoul, sourced from Seoul and shipped worldwide via DHL Express — free shipping on orders over $150.

Where AND:AR comes from — and what the name means

And:Ar Centellian In Cica Calming Pads · 70 Sheetsa centella-loaded treatment pad that calms and refines in one step$27Shop now →

AND:AR is a Korean beauty brand with its roots in Seoul, and the colon in its name is not an accident. The brand reads its own name as a proposition — "and" something, with the "AR" standing in for its philosophy of addition rather than reduction. The idea is that a product should do more than one thing without pretending to do everything. A lip colour should feel like skincare. A treatment pad should look good on the bathroom shelf. A shadow palette should be edited to the point where every shade is useful.

That restraint is the through-line across everything AND:AR makes. This is not a brand that launches thirty new shades each season. It is a brand that decides what belongs and takes its time with the rest. The result is a range that feels deliberate — and, for the customer who has spent years accumulating products that half-work, that deliberateness is worth paying attention to.

What we can confirm from our own side: every AND:AR product we ship carries Korean-market packaging with Korean production codes. The brand is manufactured in South Korea, and the inventory we hold at Kool Seoul comes through the same distribution channels used by Korean retailers. No grey-market sourcing, no repackaging, no shortcuts.

The cica pad — AND:AR's most talked-about skincare step

And:Ar Centellian In Cica Calming Pads · 70 Sheets70 sheets of centella-saturated cotton — toner, soothing step, light exfoliation combined$27Shop now →

The Centellian In Cica Calming Pads are the product most people encounter first when they come to AND:AR from a skincare direction. Seventy cotton pads saturated in a centella asiatica-forward solution, designed to do three things at once: tone, calm inflammation, and remove the very last traces of cleanser without a second rinse. The format — pre-soaked pads in a resealable container — is a format Korea has refined over a decade, and AND:AR's version sits in the "genuinely effective" tier rather than the "nice to try once" category.

Centella asiatica, also known as cica or tiger grass, is one of the most validated plant actives in dermatological literature. It has earned its reputation in sensitive-skin circles for reducing redness and supporting the skin barrier without the irritation that acids and retinoids can bring. AND:AR leans into centella as the main event here — the solution is not a diluted hint of the extract but a formula built around it, with the pad itself providing a mild physical sweep that encourages even absorption.

In a morning routine, these pads function as a one-step toner-and-treatment after cleansing: swipe, pat the residue in, move to serum. In an evening routine, they make a useful second step after oil cleansing, especially on days when the skin has been under stress — heat, travel, a long day under makeup. For anyone dealing with post-breakout redness or the low-grade inflammation that comes with urban environments, the cica pad is the first AND:AR product we recommend.

AND:AR's lip colours — where pigment meets restraint

And:Ar Glow Lip Colora glazed, buildable lip colour that sits between a tint and a gloss$23Shop now →

AND:AR makes two lip colours that define the brand's approach to makeup: the Glow Lip Color and the Matte Lip Color. They share the same belief — that a lip product should look like it belongs on your face rather than sitting on top of it — but they land in different places texturally.

The Glow Lip Color sits in the territory between a tint and a gloss. It applies with a soft, buildable pigment that reads glazed rather than lacquered, and its finish reflects light in a way that gives the lips dimension rather than a flat layer of shine. The formula is comfortable enough to wear without thinking about it across a full day: no feathering, no tugging, no mid-afternoon cracking. It is the kind of lip product that works equally on bare skin and over a light base.

And:Ar Matte Lip Colora velvet-finish matte that stays soft and avoids the dry peel$18Shop now →

The Matte Lip Color takes the opposite finish and applies the same considered edit. Korean matte lips have a reputation for staying true to finish across the day — a reputation earned by formulas that do not go powdery-dry three hours in. AND:AR's version sits in the comfortable-matte camp: pigmented on application, soft to the touch rather than rigid, and forgiving of the natural movement that happens every time you speak, eat, or sip a drink. For anyone who finds western matte formulas dehydrating, this is the correct point of comparison.

Both lip colours are available in shade ranges that reflect the AND:AR edit: nothing excessively neon, nothing that requires a full explanation of why you chose it. The shades land in the territory of "I put on a lip colour" rather than "I made a statement with a lip colour" — which, for a lot of daily routines, is exactly the point.

The shadow palette — AND:AR's case for editing

And:Ar Shadow Palette #01middlenotea tightly edited palette of wearable shades with real pigment payoff$36Shop now →

The Shadow Palette #01 Middlenote is the brand's most explicit argument for editing. The name is a perfumery reference — "middlenote" as the heart of a composition, the part that does most of the work after the top note fades — and it accurately describes what AND:AR is doing with this palette. Every shade in it earns its place. No obvious filler, no shade that only makes sense when layered three deep over a primer. What you see is what you get, and what you get is genuinely wearable.

The colour story in the Middlenote palette sits in the warm neutral-to-bronze range, with a texture mix that includes both matte and shimmer finishes. The mattes have the dry-but-blendable quality that Korean eyeshadow formulas tend to handle well; the shimmers are metallic rather than glittery, which means they read sophisticated in daylight rather than only at night. The whole palette functions equally as an "all of the above" eye for everyday wear or as a broken-out single-shade base when you want something faster.

At $36, the palette sits in the mid-range of what Kool Seoul stocks. It is not the cheapest way to fill an eyeshadow case, and AND:AR does not pretend otherwise. The trade-off is the edit: a palette you will use to completion rather than one you will raid twice and leave open on the shelf until it dries out.

The concealer pencil — a detail that earns its drawer space

And:Ar Soft Skinfit Dual Concealer Pencila dual-ended pencil with a concealer tip and a soft blender — portable, precise, fast$18Shop now →

The Soft Skinfit Dual Concealer Pencil is the product that demonstrates AND:AR's thinking at its most efficient. One end is a concealer — a precise, pencil-format tip that allows targeted coverage exactly where you want it, without the spreading that a brush-loaded concealer can produce when you are in a hurry. The other end is a soft blending tip that diffuses the coverage outward so the result looks like skin rather than a patch.

The dual format is a practical answer to a real problem: most people who use concealer for spot coverage are doing it in three minutes, standing in front of a bathroom mirror with not enough light. The pencil removes a step — you do not need a separate brush or a second product — and the portable form factor means it moves easily into a bag for touch-ups across the day. The skinfit descriptor is accurate: the texture melds into the skin on contact rather than sitting on the surface, which means it holds through a few hours without the tell-tale line around the edges that cheaper formulas produce.

At $18, it is one of AND:AR's entry-level price points — a low-risk way to try the brand if the shadow palette or the cica pads feel like a larger commitment for a first order.

The real glitter liquid — for when restrained is not the brief

And:Ar Real Glitter Liquida multidimensional glitter liquid for eyes, lids, or anywhere you want light$20Shop now →

The Real Glitter Liquid is the product that shows AND:AR is not puritanical about restraint. There are occasions — a dinner, an event, a night that needs to read differently from the commute home — where the right product is the one that catches light from across a room. AND:AR's take on that product is a multidimensional liquid glitter that layers over shadow, over bare skin, or on the inner corner of the eye for a single deliberate hit of brightness.

The liquid formula gives it a precision that pressed glitters cannot match: you can apply it to a specific point — the lid, a liner position, the cheekbone — and it stays there. Korean glitter formulas have largely solved the migration problem that plagued western versions; the Real Glitter Liquid dries to a slightly tacky finish that keeps the particles in place without demanding a setting spray. For anyone who approaches glitter cautiously because of past fallout experiences, this is the version that changes the conversation.

How AND:AR fits into a full routine — AM and PM

A morning routine built around AND:AR starts with the Centellian In Cica Calming Pads after cleansing: one pad, a full sweep, pat the excess in. From there, your usual serum and moisturiser layers, and then makeup: the Soft Skinfit Dual Concealer Pencil for any spots you want to address before foundation, the Shadow Palette Middlenote for a fast eye, the Glow Lip Color for the finish. That is a complete face in five products.

An evening routine is simpler — the Cica Calming Pads doing double duty as a post-cleanse toning step, followed by your treatment routine. The pad's centella load is well suited to evenings when the skin has been under makeup and urban pollution for eight hours; the calming action starts the repair window before your actives go on.

For nights when you want to step up the eye, the Real Glitter Liquid layers over the Middlenote palette. For everyday coverage questions, the Matte Lip Color or the Glow Lip Color covers the finish you want depending on the occasion. The range is small enough to learn in a single order and coherent enough to run as a system rather than a collection of individual SKUs.

Who AND:AR is genuinely made for — and who it isn't

AND:AR is the right brand if you are looking for Korean beauty that does not require a long explanation to a mirror every morning, if you want makeup that reads polished rather than maximalist, and if you find most product launches overwhelming rather than exciting. It suits people who have been through the phase of buying twelve eyeshadow palettes and decided that two good ones are better. It suits people who want skincare in their makeup drawer and makeup that behaves like skincare.

AND:AR is probably not the right brand if you are in a phase of wanting high-drama pigment, extreme colour payoff in neons or ultra-saturated shades, or a brand with a vast shade range to explore. The edit is the point — and for some people at some points in their beauty life, the right thing is a wider inventory to choose from. AND:AR will be there when the pendulum swings back.

It is also not the brand if your primary criterion is lowest price per product. AND:AR is not expensive by western beauty standards, but it is priced to reflect the quality of its formulation. The cica pads, the lip colours, the palette — these are products designed to work rather than to fill a promotion. If a sale drives your cart, AND:AR will frustrate you. If performance drives your cart, it will not.

Why buy AND:AR at Kool Seoul rather than elsewhere

AND:AR — frequently asked questions

Is AND:AR a Korean brand?

Yes. AND:AR is a Korean beauty brand with its design, R&D, and manufacturing in South Korea. Every product Kool Seoul ships is Korean-market inventory with Korean production codes and Korean-language packaging — the same inventory that reaches Korean consumers through domestic retail.

What does AND:AR mean?

AND:AR uses the colon in its name as a deliberate pause — a punctuation mark that says something comes next. The brand reads the name as a philosophy of addition: each product should add something useful, something that earns its place in the routine rather than duplicating what is already there. The "AR" is the brand's shorthand for its point of view on what that something is: elegance in the sense of things that work without needing to shout about it.

What kind of skin is AND:AR made for?

The AND:AR Centellian In Cica Calming Pads are specifically suited to skin that runs reactive, sensitive, or inflamed — centella asiatica is one of the most studied botanicals for barrier support and redness reduction, and the pad format delivers it efficiently. The makeup range is formulated to sit well on skin rather than emphasise texture, which makes it a good fit for people who find heavier coverage formats uncomfortable or cakey. Broadly, AND:AR suits anyone who wants products that feel considered rather than performative.

Is the AND:AR Centellian Cica Pad good for acne-prone skin?

The Centellian In Cica Calming Pads are a reasonable fit for acne-prone skin for two reasons: centella asiatica has established soothing and anti-inflammatory properties that help manage the redness around breakouts, and the pad format provides a gentle physical sweep that removes excess cleanser and surface debris without adding new irritants. What the pad is not is a dedicated acne treatment — if you need BHA or benzoyl peroxide intervention, the cica pad works as a calming step around those actives, not as a replacement for them. As with any new product, patch-test on the inner arm before applying to the full face.

How is AND:AR different from other Korean makeup brands?

AND:AR distinguishes itself through edit rather than range. Where many Korean makeup brands compete on shade count, seasonal launches, or tie-in collaborations, AND:AR keeps a tighter SKU count and treats each product as a decision rather than an addition to a catalogue. The result is a brand where you can reasonably learn the full range in a single order — and where every product in that range has been thought about rather than mass-launched. If you compare it to 3CE or Colorgram on breadth, AND:AR will feel small. If you compare it on the quality of the decisions inside that small range, it holds its own easily.

Can I use the AND:AR Matte Lip Color if I have dry lips?

AND:AR's Matte Lip Color is formulated in the comfortable-matte category that Korean colour brands have developed specifically to avoid the dry-and-peel problem that many western matte formulas produce. The finish is velvet rather than powder-dry, and the formula has enough slip to move naturally on the lips through the day. That said, if your lips are very dry or chapped, a light layer of lip balm applied five minutes before any matte formula — AND:AR's included — will give you a more even base and a more comfortable wear. The Glow Lip Color is the lower-commitment option if dryness is a recurring concern.

Does AND:AR test on animals?

AND:AR's products carry Korean-market batch information and are produced to Korean cosmetic manufacturing standards. South Korea has had a domestic ban on cosmetic animal testing in place since 2017, which applies to products manufactured for the domestic market. For the most current cruelty-free or vegan designation on a specific SKU, the individual product page at Kool Seoul is the most reliable place to check, as formulation details and certifications are updated there when we receive confirmed information from our Seoul team.

How long does AND:AR shipping from Seoul take?

Kool Seoul ships AND:AR from Seoul via DHL Express with end-to-end tracking. Transit time to the US is typically three to six business days from the moment your parcel is scanned at our warehouse. Customs processing and remote delivery addresses can add a day. Shipping is free on orders over $150. If you have a specific delivery deadline, note it in the order comments and we will flag it to the dispatch team.

Our AND:AR selection at Kool Seoul

Each reference below is in stock and shipped from Seoul. Tap any product to shop.

Shop all AND:AR →

— Yeseo, team Kool Seoul · sourced from Seoul, shipped worldwide