Best Korean moisturisers for oily skin in Australia

By The Bare Seoul Desk · Published July 2026

Oily skin gets told to skip moisturiser, which is the wrong advice — it just needs a lighter one. The trick is hydration without the oils and butters that leave a sheen: water-based lotions and gel-creams built on humectants rather than heavy occlusives. Korean brands are good at exactly this, and they're cheap. We've picked three you can buy here in Australia — a light daily lotion, a hydrating gel-cream for skin that's oily but still tight, and a budget pore-care gel — and set out who each one suits.

Best overall

COSRX

Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion

4.5

A light birch-sap lotion that hydrates and sinks in fast, with nothing left to sit greasy on oily skin.

What we like

Lightweight and never greasy
Cheap enough to use twice a day

Keep in mind

Light hydration only
Very dry patches will want more

Around $20–$26 AUD · 100ml Check current price →

Best for dehydrated skin

Torriden

Dive-In Soothing Cream

4.4

A low-molecular hyaluronic gel-cream that pulls in water and calms, without the weight of a rich cream.

What we like

Deep hydration that still feels weightless
Panthenol calms redness

Keep in mind

A step richer than a pure gel
Comes in a jar

Around $25–$30 AUD · 100ml Check current price →

Best for pores

SKIN1004

Poremizing Light Gel Cream

4.1

A light centella gel-cream aimed at oil balance and the look of pores, at the lowest price here.

What we like

Cheapest of the three
Centella calms without heaviness

Keep in mind

Pore effect is subtle
Not enough for dry patches

Around $16–$20 AUD · 75ml Check current price →

Where it fits in the routine

At a glance

Feature	COSRX Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion	Torriden Dive-In Soothing Cream	SKIN1004 Poremizing Light Gel Cream
Type	Oil-free lotion	Hydrating gel-cream	Pore-care gel cream
Where it fits	Step 5 — moisturise, after serum
Hero ingredient	Birch sap (primary ingredient)	Low-molecular hyaluronic acid + panthenol	Centella asiatica (50%+) + niacinamide
Size	100ml	100ml	75ml
Skin types	Oily, combination, acne-prone	Combination, dehydrated-oily	Oily, congestion-prone
Fragrance	None	No added fragrance	No added fragrance

What to look for in a moisturiser for oily skin

Oily skin still needs a moisturiser. Leave it out and skin often feels tight and looks no less shiny — oil and hydration are different things, and skipping the hydration step doesn’t fix the oil. What changes for oily skin is the kind of moisturiser: light textures, and humectants — ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin that pull water into the skin — with the heavy occlusive oils and butters left out.

In practice that means light, water-based lotions and gel-creams rather than thick balms, and formulas labelled non-comedogenic, meaning they’re less likely to clog pores. Fragrance-free is worth leaning towards if you break out easily. It still sits in the same spot as any moisturiser — the second-last step, after your serum and before sunscreen in the morning; our oily-skin routine guide walks through the full order. Below are three Korean picks that get the light-but-hydrating balance right, from a budget gel to a cult hydrator.

Best overall: COSRX Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion

Best for oily and combination skin that wants daily hydration with no film and no fuss.

It’s built around birch sap — the watery juice tapped from birch trees, and the first and biggest thing on the ingredient list, standing in for the usual thick emollients. That’s what keeps it so light: you get water-based hydration and a dose of antioxidants without the oils or butters that leave a sheen on already-oily skin. The formula is low in oils, so it sinks in fast and leaves skin soft, with no slick film.

The texture is a thin, runny lotion, closer to a fluid than a cream, so a little spreads a long way over the whole face. It layers cleanly under sunscreen in the morning and sits comfortably at night. Fragrance-free, with a short ingredient list and nothing exotic in it.

The trade-off is that it’s light hydration and not much more. If your skin runs dry in patches, or you want visible plumping, you’ll want something with more in it — one of the other two picks, or a richer cream. For most oily skin that keeps breaking out under heavier moisturisers, though, this is the daily default, and it costs little enough to use morning and night without thinking about it.

Best for dehydrated skin: Torriden Dive-In Soothing Cream

Best for oily or combination skin that still feels tight and dehydrated — oily on the surface, short of water underneath.

Oily skin can still be dehydrated, and that’s this one’s job. It leads on hyaluronic acid in a low-molecular-weight form — the molecules are small enough to settle into the upper layers and hold water there, where the larger hyaluronic acid in many creams mostly sits on the surface. Panthenol — provitamin B5 — backs it up by softening and calming, which helps if your oiliness comes with the odd patch of redness.

For a cream it’s remarkably light: a bouncy gel-cream that melts in and disappears, closer to a gel than the word “cream” suggests. It’s vegan, with no added fragrance oils, and the hydration holds through the day — well-hydrated skin is less likely to feel tight and flaky between cleanses. It does contain botanical extracts including lavender flower extract, which is a known fragrance allergen, so very reactive or fragrance-sensitive skin should patch-test first.

It comes in a jar, which some people would rather avoid for hygiene, and it’s a step richer than a pure oil-free gel — enough that very oily skin in a humid summer might still prefer the lotion above. It both hydrates and soothes, so reach for it when a plain oil-free gel still leaves skin tight.

Best for pores: SKIN1004 Poremizing Light Gel Cream

Best for oily, congestion-prone skin watching its pores and its budget.

This is the most targeted of the three at oil and pores. The formula leads on centella asiatica — making up over half the formula, well above the token amounts in most formulas — a herb long used to calm irritation, which a 2021 review in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ties to lower skin inflammation. Niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, backs it up: it helps regulate oil production and supports the skin barrier. The “poremizing” name is marketing for pore-minimising; in practice that means a formula that hydrates lightly while trying not to feed congestion.

It’s a light gel-cream — closer to a gel than a cream in weight, which suits skin that dislikes the feel of anything heavy. It does contain a small amount of lavender extract (Lavandula angustifolia), which is a known fragrance allergen, so very reactive or fragrance-sensitive skin should patch-test first. It’s the cheapest pick here on total bottle price — the 75ml size is smaller than the other two at 100ml, so the per-ml cost is closer than it looks — but it still makes an easy first moisturiser if you’re building a routine on a budget.

Keep your expectations sensible on the pores: no moisturiser shrinks a pore, and the effect here is a smoother, less shiny look — the pore itself doesn’t change size. It’s also light enough that dry patches will want more. For oily skin chasing a matte, comfortable finish for very little, it earns its place.

Which one’s right for you?

If you want one reliable daily moisturiser and don’t want to overthink it, the COSRX lotion is the pick: light, oil-free and cheap enough to reach for morning and night. Choose the Torriden gel-cream when your skin is oily on top but tight and dehydrated underneath — it hydrates harder while still feeling weightless. And the SKIN1004 gel is the one for congestion-prone skin on a budget, or a sensible starter moisturiser while you work out what your skin wants. If none of these feel rich enough — combination skin can turn drier in winter — our best Korean moisturisers roundup covers the fuller range.

Our verdict

“Oily skin” stretches from shiny-but-comfortable to oily-and-flaking-at-once, so the right pick depends on which end you sit at. If you’re starting out or want one bottle to trust, the COSRX Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion does the job for the least thought and the least money. If you already know your skin runs dehydrated under the oil, the Torriden gel-cream is the more capable formula and worth the small step up. And if pores and shine are your main gripe, or you’re watching what you spend, the SKIN1004 gel is a smart, cooling everyday option. If your skin flips between oily and dry with the seasons, keep a lighter and a richer one on the shelf and switch as the weather turns — more useful than hunting for one moisturiser to cover both.