Welcome skintellectuals to the Garden of Muses, a science-based skincare magazine covering everything from ingredient spotlights, reviews, skincare guides, and routines to busting myths, finding dupes, and breaking down trends.
Garden of Muses is an online destination where we bring you cult beauty products from Korea.
We scour through hundreds of skincare and makeup products and edit, edit, and edit again before they hit the shelves to bring you the best.
We handpick the tried and true holy grails and the hard-to-get items that only our muses know.
Don’t worry. We always include the beauty hall-of-fame, the classics that every skincare-obsessed woman in Korea has in her beauty arsenal.
We are more than just a beauty magazine. We’re a community of women with a penchant for effective and fabulous skincare and makeup.
Our mission at Garden of Muses is to bring community and transparency to the K-beauty world. Stay tuned for more!
Mia Peterson
Director of Content
I’m a thirty-eight-year-old Australian-born, California-raised woman undertaking my Master’s in Biochemistry.
My perfect day is a combination of the following: waking up early but without an alarm, drinking coffee on the deck in the cool morning air, an adventure, whether it be hiking a new trail, checking out a new town or a new part of town, taking a trip to a new city, etc., reading in a coffee shop, finding a hole-in-the-wall book store and buying as many books that fit in my arms, walking the dog, and making dinner with my best friend.
I have a passion for all things creative, though my ability often needs to catch up to my enthusiasm. I love all things “kawaii” and collect overpriced Korean stationery. Pieces of paper have a habit of transforming into origami swans around me.
I am the founder and editor-in-chief of Garden of Muses. I test all the products I review, take photos, and create content. All products are tested for quite a while before being mentioned in the magazine.
I have dehydrated aging skin, and I have begun using more and more anti-aging products. I have recently started tretinoin for anti-aging purposes.
Alyssa Tan
Senior Beauty Editor
I’m an obsessed wife, mommy to a little boy, fashion enthusiast, and skincare junkie. I’m also mommy to a 3-year-old furry baby, a Golden Retriever.
I love healthy food and find cooking therapeutic.
Only after an MBA and an untouched Engineering undergraduate qualification did I understand my passion for writing, expressing, and photography could be channeled into something beautiful.
Thus, by 2022, I was serious about writing. It has been an incredible journey ever since.
I’m a beauty content creator passionate about socially and environmentally sustainable brands.
Korean Skincare has a special place in my vanity. My love for makeup and skincare fills up this internet corner as much as my cupboards.
I have acne-prone skin, which is starting to show signs of aging. It’s my fault because I never wore sunscreen until now.
Another skin concern is hyperpigmentation, thanks to many days spent in the Indonesian sun without a hat or sunscreen – resulting in sun spots and being pregnant with my son – resulting in melasma.
Emma Wilson
Beauty Editor
I am imperfect. I am loud, opinionated, selfish, impatient, and stubborn. I am crabby when I haven’t had my coffee and when I am hungry.
I don’t particularly appreciate sharing my food. I wouldn’t say I like cleaning and paying bills 🙂
I am sarcastic so often that I often have to clarify that I am being sincere.
I am still putting the pieces of my heart together and wary of love.
For my entire life, I have dreamed about taking a year or two to travel the world. Until recently, I always made excuses as to why I couldn’t.
I am committed to working towards my dream, so I started writing for Garden of Muses!
So, what will you be reading? Skincare skincare skincare.
So, stick around. Or even better yet, send me an email!
Diana Brown
Beauty Editor
I’m a 20-something blogger from Kent, South East of England. On weekdays, you’ll find me at University studying Law, and on weekends, I’ll be either on a photo shoot, drafting blog posts, shopping, or cuddling up on the sofa with my two pugs!
I am a huge makeup junkie, entirely eagle-eyed regarding the latest releases and hottest brands. I have an extensive makeup collection constantly growing because I’m always searching for the Crème de la Crème of the beauty world.
My favorite makeup artists must be Francois Nars for his innovative creations and Bobbi Brown for her ethos of enhancing natural beauty.
I am a sucker for red lipstick; you’ll seldom find me without my eyes lined with a feline flick!
I am enthusiastic about discussing all things skincare all the time, so I have this little space on the internet to do just that! This is the space where I share my obsession with all things beauty.
I believe in cake and winged eyeliner! I have a constant case of wanderlust.
I’m an impulsive traveler and fitness fiend. I love to wander the world and never stay in one place for too long.
Adela Wong
Beauty Editor
I am a mom of 2 and enjoy writing about beauty and skincare.
I wrote poems and children’s short stories when I was a kid. The first book series I indulged myself in was R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. After so many years, and now that I am already a mother, I found it surprising that I am returning to my first loved hobby – writing.
I considered myself a fashion enthusiast before my desire for skincare rose. I love clothes and shoes – I was a sneakerhead (Nike Air Jordans).
I knew I would be forever in love with fashion, but then I got to explore the skincare world. This opened my eyes more to another aspect of beauty.
I savor the finer things in life, like boba, jajangmyeon, fried chicken, and face masks.
I have a normal combo skin type. Growing up, I had many insecurities due to teenage breakouts. When I turned adult, my face stopped being remarkably problematic; however, eczema hit me on my hands. This is the primary skin concern I have been battling until now.
Seo-Yeon Lee
Beauty Editor
I am married to my childhood sweetheart, who understands my quirks, and I am pregnant with our little pea.
I am a South Korean native who recently moved to San Francisco with my husband.
As a freelance writer, I relish working from home and making an office out of the city’s coffee shops.
My obsession with skincare can be attributed to my mom, whose sage skincare tips can be made into a lengthy novel!
I am a makeup enthusiast. I might be a skincare junkie too. OK, I AM a skincare junkie too.
If I were to describe myself, I’d say I am self-absorbed (why else would I think others would be interested in what I say?), sarcastic, impatient, annoying overachiever (when it’s something I’m passionate about), highly strung, obsessive, possessive, easily bored.
I can also be carefree, lazy, funny, crazy, charming, whacky, friendly, laid back, and zen-like. Yeah. I’m either on one end or the other end.
This space represents me. Thank you for visiting, and I hope you have an enjoyable time here!
Mateo Sanchez
Beauty Editor
I have a passion (borderline problem) for all things beauty-related. I write reviews, tutorials, and product comparisons. So, I guess you can’t get any more obsessed than that! haha
It started as something I wanted to do for fun. I talked about skincare to people who shared my passion, but it soon grew into me wanting to help people.
As an aesthetician, I could give people the help they needed.
Over the three years I’ve been writing about skincare, I think it’s grown so much from just a little fun thing to something I couldn’t see myself without.
You’ll probably find me in the aisles of Sephora or looking for the latest brightening serum launch.
I like to spend time with my partner when I’m not doing that.
Sophia White
Beauty Editor
I’m originally from Poland but have lived in the USA for ten years. Here, I feel at home. I live in Kansas with my husband and our two boys.
Since I can remember, I was always interested in beauty. I love how makeup can change how I look and feel, how relaxing it is to put a mask on my face, and how rewarding it is to see my skin looking better after taking good care of it. All in all, I’m just passionate about all beauty products.
Even though I’ve always loved makeup and skincare, I only discovered this world of beauty blogs and YouTube channels sometime in 2013, but I’m so glad I did because I love it!
Thinking about how great it would be to be part of this community and to share my opinions and thoughts with other beauty-obsessed girls, I was honored to be featured in the Garden of Muses’ mag.
And that’s how it begins.
My posts are a reflection of my passion. Here, you’ll find reviews of products, my favorite items of skincare and makeup, and many makeup looks and tutorials because I love playing with and creating different looks, from everyday subtly defined eyes to elegant colors.
One of my favorite things is to put music on, sit at my vanity, and let my creativity flow. My dearest hubby is looking after our boys because having two very young boys curiously check my makeup items is too stressful!
I should have chosen a makeup artist career. Instead, I got a Master’s degree in Chemistry and worked for a few years as a teacher. But makeup, skincare, and beauty blogging have become my greatest hobbies.
