Knours

KNOURS is a Korean-American skincare brand founded by Meenu Chung, and its name is a contraction of Know Your Skin. The brand began with an idea most of the industry still avoids discussing: skin changes with hormones. Its original framework covered the three Ms, menstruation, maternity and menopause, and it has since broadened into what it calls life-reactive skin. That phrase is precise and useful. It describes skin that is neither chronically sensitive nor severely acne-prone, but has simply become harder to predict, which is the actual experience of most adults. Products are made in Korea, and the formulation style is recognisably K-beauty, gentle textures and barrier-first thinking, applied to a Western understanding of hormonal cycling. Hero products include the One Perfect Moisturizing Youth Cream and the Phyto Mucin Skin Barrier Moisturizer, which uses a plant-based alternative to snail mucin. The One Perfect Firming Eye Cream, the PDRN Rice & Green Tea Revitalizing Serum and the Power Elasticity-Boosting Plump Pad complete the range. Prices sit between $24 and $38, with minis from $5. KNOURS is certified cruelty-free through PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies programme, and is honest about its vegan status, stating that all products are cruelty-free but not all are vegan, with individual products labelled accordingly. Formulas contain no parabens, no synthetic fragrance and no colorants, and the brand names endocrine disruptors among its exclusions. Packaging is recyclable. For anyone researching Korean beauty, affordable beauty, cruelty-free beauty or skincare that accounts for hormonal change, KNOURS fills a real gap. Hormonal skin change is still badly served by the wider market.