Milk Touch: The Korean Brand an Influencer Built From Scratch

There are brand stories that feel almost too neat to be true. Milk Touch is one of them — except it actually happened. In 2019, Hong Yeong-gi, a Korean beauty influencer with over a million followers and thirteen years of experience navigating the cosmetics industry, got tired of recommending products she didn't fully believe in. So she built her own brand. The question she kept asking herself: could she make something she'd confidently give to her own family?

Founded on a deceptively simple idea

Milk Touch launched with a single product: a foundation. Not a serum, not a viral sheet mask, not a toner pad. A foundation — arguably the hardest category to get right because people are the most discerning about what they put on their face. The Marshmallow Foundation set the tone for everything that followed: a lightweight, buildable formula infused with marshmallow root extract, positioned as something you'd actually enjoy wearing rather than just tolerate for coverage.

The reception was strong enough to justify building out a full line. Five years later, Milk Touch has expanded into skincare, colour cosmetics across every category, and beauty accessories — all made in Korea, all with the same premise: thoughtful formulations you want to share. The brand identity is "Touch Your Heart," which sounds like marketing until you realise it's baked into the actual product development process — Hong Yeong-gi tests everything herself, the way an influencer would, not the way a corporate R&D team would.

The cushion that built a community

If there's one product that put Milk Touch on the global map, it's the All Day Skin Fit Milky Glow Cushion. The Korean cushion foundation format is already beloved — it's convenient, it gives a natural finish, and it's been refined by Korean brands into something that Western cushion attempts haven't quite matched. Milk Touch's version sits at the top of that category: available in 16 shades (an unusually inclusive range for a smaller K-beauty brand), it delivers a dewy, lit-from-within finish that holds through a full day without settling into lines or oxidising to a strange colour.

TWICE member Jihyo has been associated with the brand, which brings the kind of attention that K-pop fandom generates — but the product retains fans because it actually works, not just because of the endorsement. The K-beauty market is too well-informed for a weak product to survive on celebrity association alone.

Skincare that works harder than it looks

Milk Touch's skincare side is less talked about than the makeup, which is a shame because it's quietly excellent. The Hedera Helix (ivy extract) line is the standout: formulated around an ingredient primarily known for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, it's designed for skin that reacts — to stress, to pollution, to the aftermath of active ingredients. The Green Hyaluron Cream combines it with multiple forms of hyaluronic acid for a moisturiser that genuinely calms while it hydrates, rather than just coating the surface.

The toner pads — oversized, generously soaked, and available in different formulas for different skin concerns — have also developed a devoted following. They're the kind of product that converts people: quick to use, satisfying to feel, and consistently effective at removing the residue that cleansing alone misses. The pore-minimising formula has become a genuine repurchase staple for people who find dedicated exfoliating steps too much to manage on a daily basis.

Written by Nora — Team Koolseoul, Seoul.