3 Best Rice Toners for Dull, Gray Skin

Recommended by stated skin-type fit and rice-extract concentration, not by price alone.

High rice extract plus niacinamide, for a plumper, more luminous look; the reference point for the category. At $6.80 it's also the cheapest of the three by a wide margin, which combined with its category-defining formula is why it leads this recommendation list.

Rice extract plus rice amino acids and kaolin clay; recommended specifically for combination or oily skin thanks to the added clay. That clay content is the differentiator against the other two picks on this list, giving it a slight oil-absorbing edge.

70% rice extract in a richer, milky texture; recommended specifically for dry or dehydrated skin where dullness is a hydration problem. At $23.00 it's the priciest of the three, and the richer texture is a real trade-off — oily-skinned shoppers expecting Beauty of Joseon's oil-balancing effect from this pick would likely find it too heavy.

Anua's real third-place recommendation on this shelf comes with a clear reason: the richer, milkier texture of Rice 70 Glow Milky Toner is built for dry or dehydrated skin, not combination or oily skin — that lane belongs to Beauty of Joseon's clay-containing formula. Shoppers with oily or combination skin should treat Beauty of Joseon as the better-matched recommendation.

Dehydration-driven dullness usually shows as tightness, fine dry patches, or a grayish cast that worsens through the day, while oiliness-driven dullness tends to show as a thicker, congested texture with shine returning within hours of cleansing. Matching the rice toner to the actual cause — Anua for the former, Beauty of Joseon for the latter — matters more than picking by price or brand familiarity.

Rice extract in K-beauty toners is generally positioned around brightening and softening effects, tied to naturally occurring compounds in fermented or processed rice water. It's a supporting ingredient rather than one isolated active with a single mechanism — which is why these three products differ so much in feel and stated skin-type fit despite all leading with 'rice' in the name: concentration, the surrounding formula (niacinamide, amino acids, or clay), and finished texture do most of the practical work.

That's also why a home-brewed rice-water rinse and a formulated product like these three aren't directly comparable — a formulated toner controls for concentration, preservation, and pH in ways a DIY rice rinse doesn't, which matters for anyone specifically trying to address dullness rather than experiment with a folk-remedy version of the same ingredient.

All three rice toners here are an early routine step, meant to be followed by a serum and moisturizer rather than used as a standalone treatment. For dehydration-driven dullness specifically with Anua's Rice 70, pairing it with a hydrating serum (hyaluronic acid or a similar humectant) rather than a stronger active-led serum tends to compound the hydration goal rather than compete with it. For Beauty of Joseon's oil-balancing pick, a lighter gel moisturizer afterward keeps the routine from feeling heavy on combination or oily skin.

I'm From, Beauty of Joseon, and Anua are all stocked at Olive Young locations across Korea and through major online K-beauty retailers, generally at or near the prices logged in the table above. Buying the least expensive of the three, I'm From, as a first test of whether a rice toner suits a given skin type at all is a reasonable lower-risk starting point before moving to the pricier, more specifically targeted Beauty of Joseon or Anua picks.

Answers matched to the recommendation criteria above.