AXIS-Y: The Climate-Inspired Korean Skincare Brand, Explained
A Seoul-founded brand built around environmental skincare, community input, and a structured botanical formulation philosophy.
AXIS-Y is a Korean skincare brand founded in Seoul in 2019 with a clear focus: according to the brand, vegan skincare that responds to the environments people actually live in. Its signature 6+1+1 Advanced Formula, as the brand describes it, pairs six botanical extracts with one targeted active and one patented technology. On Kayty, you'll find its Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum and Vegan Collagen Eye Serum.
Who AXIS-Y Is For
If you think about your skin in relation to where you live — the humidity in summer, the dryness in winter, the pollution you walk through every day — AXIS-Y was built with exactly that mindset. This South Korean skincare brand focuses on addressing how environmental factors such as humidity, pollution, and temperature changes affect the skin, creating targeted solutions for different skin concerns and lifestyles. That framing makes it a particularly good fit for people who have noticed their skin behaving differently across seasons or after moving cities, and who want vegan formulas designed around real-world conditions.
At the core of AXIS-Y's philosophy is the idea that skincare should adapt to your environment, not just your skin type. According to the brand, its products are designed to help maintain balance and resilience, especially for skin dealing with sensitivity, breakouts or dehydration linked to external stressors. The two serums featured on Kayty — one for tone and dark spots, one for the eye area — both sit squarely in that philosophy.
Origin and Philosophy
AXIS-Y describes itself as a 100% vegan Korean skincare brand, founded in 2019 to create Climate Inspired Skincare Solutions in response to the changing conditions that influence skin. Rather than redefining the brand around each new ingredient or viral product moment, AXIS-Y established a long-term framework rooted in how climate, environment, and lifestyle affect the skin.
The brand recognized that consumers living in different places experience different temperatures, humidity levels, environmental stressors, and daily routines — and therefore do not share one universal definition of ideal skincare. This became the basis of AXIS-Y's climate-inspired approach: developing skincare for different consumer realities while maintaining clear vegan and cruelty-free standards.
Community has been built into the brand from the start. According to the brand, it has gathered insights from consumers and creators across 68 countries through surveys, voting, and product testing, incorporating their perspectives into product development and global communication. That process eventually produced an entire dedicated line — more on that below.
AXIS-Y launched in 2019 and expanded internationally before achieving widespread recognition in Korea. The brand grew across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the CIS region. Today, it is available in approximately 100 countries, with international markets accounting for more than 90% of total revenue. In September 2026, the brand entered a minority growth investment agreement with private equity firm MBK Partners, at a valuation of approximately KRW 430 billion. It entered Olive Young in its home market in 2025, after building its international business.
The Signature Formula and Hero Lines
AXIS-Y operates two main product lines. The first — and the one the brand is most widely known for — is its line. According to the brand, the concept combines six botanical extracts tailored to specific skin concerns, one core functional ingredient targeting the main issue, and one patented technology to help absorption. The brand says this structured approach keeps each product focused and balanced without overwhelming the skin.
