The skin-reviving K-beauty cleanser jetsetting editor Gordon Smith won’t travel without

Skift airlines editor Gordon Smith on the reviving Innisfree cleanser that saves his jetlagged skin when he’s on the go.

As airlines editor of Skift and editor of Airline Weekly, Gordon Smith knows what it’s like to be on the go: Between work events and newsgathering, he’s usually on the road twice a month. All that time traveling means his skin takes a beating when it comes to environmental stress. 

Here, he shares the secret to reviving his skin post-travel: a K-beauty cleanser that washes skin after a day on the go without stripping it, leaving it — and you — refreshed and ready to hit the ground running.

“Innisfree is one of the larger South Korean beauty brands,” says Smith. “It was actually my partner who had the Green Tea Amino Acid Hydrating Cleansing Foam, which is part of their green tea range.

“I'm not a K-beauty ambassador. I just really like products that are simple and work. And I found so many of the classic Western brands, especially face washes for men, were too harsh. Like, ‘Yeah, we can exfoliate your skin and tear off all the mud that you've had from your hard day in the coal mine. Or, they were too greasy.”

Innisfree’s cleanser, however, uses ingredients like a green tea cultivated specifically for skincare in the volcanic soils of Jeju Island, off the south coast of the Korean Peninsula.

“It just works for my skin,” Smith said. “I wouldn't say I have super-sensitive skin, but I find that some other face cleansers can, for whatever reason, make things a little red and rashy. You get hard water, soft water, and the face wash works really well with hard waters.

“This really hits the spot and you only need the tiniest bit. It lasts me three to four months per 150g bottle, and it's not that expensive in the first place.”