'You’re not allergic to fish are you?' – the surprising Korean skincare ingredient behind Sara Davies’ cover shoot glow
Want to glow like our June cover star? Get to know this trending K-Beauty ingredient...
“You’re not allergic to fish, are you?” isn’t a question most people expect to hear before a magazine cover shoot. But for Sara Davies, it was one of the very first things her makeup artist asked while prepping her skin backstage for the June woman&home cover.
The reason? A Korean skincare ingredient derived from salmon DNA that’s rapidly becoming one of beauty’s biggest talking points.“That’s why I’m glowing apparently; it’s the salmon sperm,” Davies joked in a behind-the-scenes Instagram video, after makeup artist Lydia Barnes explained that the hydrating skincare was used to create the entrepreneur's fresh, radiant base.
“I didn’t even need that much foundation because we did the skin prep,” Barnes added, explaining that the focus was on creating a glow through hydration rather than relying on heavy makeup.
The Korean skincare products behind Sara Davies’ glowing makeup
While PDRN may still sound unfamiliar to many UK beauty shoppers, it's been used in injectable polyneucleotide ‘skin booster’ treatments in Korea for over a decade. Now, it’s beginning to appear in everyday creams and serums too, thanks to its reputation for boosting hydration, supporting skin barrier repair and improving elasticity over time. British consumers are clearly catching on. According to Boots’ latest trend report, Korean skincare sales have increased fivefold, with one K-beauty product selling every 11 seconds.
To prep Davies’ skin before makeup application, Barnes cleansed and used a toner before applying two Korean skincare products – the ANUA PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum and the brand’s PDRN Hyaluronic Acid 100 Moisturising Cream. Both formulations prioritise hydration, combining PDRN with hyaluronic acid and hydrolysed collagen. The result? “My skin felt really hydrated and it didn’t feel like you were putting on loads and loads of makeup,” Davies said in the video.
According to consultant dermatologist Dr Jinah Yoo, topical PDRN products work best when viewed as supportive rather than transformative. “You may notice calmer, more hydrated, less irritated skin and a stronger-looking barrier over several weeks of consistent use, rather than an instant transformation,” she explains. Yoo also notes that PDRN pairs particularly well with barrier-supporting ingredients such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide – especially for skin that feels dry, dull or increasingly reactive with age.
Davies is also a huge fan of Japanese skincare brand Tatcha, exclusively revealing to woman&home that her “splurge” product is the cult-favourite Rice Polish exfoliating cleanser. Speaking backstage at the shoot, she said: “I’ve never found a product like it. It’s supposed to be a treat a couple of times a week but I keep it in the shower and use a little bit as a cleanser every morning. My skin feels wonderful after it.”
Formulated with finely ground Japanese rice bran, the gentle exfoliator is designed to leave skin looking brighter and more refined without stripping away moisture – helping to create a smoother base that requires far less makeup overall. Sold?
