The Best Anua Products in Australia: A Guide to the Heartleaf Range

Anua is best known for one plant, heartleaf, and it calms skin that looks red and feels hot. We stock six Anua products in Australia right now, and this guide covers each one, who it suits, and where to start.

What Anua is known for

Anua is a Korean brand, and most of its range is built on a single plant extract called heartleaf. Its other name is Houttuynia cordata, and both names turn up on the pack.

Heartleaf is a calming ingredient that helps skin feel less hot and look less red, and it is mild enough to use every day.

Anua puts a lot of it in, and the toner is 77% heartleaf extract, which is the whole pitch.

The range is small: two cleansing oils, one cleansing foam, one toner, one serum and one light moisturiser. Anua does a few things and repeats them, and you can see the whole Anua collection here.

The bottles are big, too, with a 250ml toner and 200ml cleansing oils. That matters more than it sounds, because a big bottle at a fair price is what turns a nice product into a daily one.

Heartleaf or centella: which calming plant?

Korean skincare leans on two calming plants. Heartleaf is one and centella asiatica is the other, so shoppers often ask which of them to pick.

They do a similar job in different ways. Centella is the better studied of the two, and it is the plant behind cica creams. We have a full guide to centella if you want the detail.

Heartleaf tends to feel lighter on skin, so it sits well in watery toners and thin serums, while centella suits richer creams and balms.

Is your skin oily and easily flushed? Heartleaf is the easier fit. Is your skin dry and tight as well as red? Then centella creams may serve you better.

You can also use both, because they do not clash, and many people run a heartleaf toner under a centella cream.

Best for calming redness: Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner

This is the product that made the brand, the Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner 250ml. It is a watery toner rather than a sticky one, so it sinks in fast and leaves no film behind.

You use it after cleansing, and two or three drops on damp skin is plenty. Pat it in with your hands, and skip the cotton pad so you use half as much.

The 77% is heartleaf extract and the rest is mostly water and humectants, with no added fragrance and no drying alcohol.

The bottle is 250ml for $26, and used the way we describe it lasts most people three to four months. That works out at about twenty cents a day.

Who is it not for? Skin that wants a heavy hit of moisture, because this toner preps skin rather than replacing a cream. More options sit on our toners and prep page.

Best first cleanse for oily skin: Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil

A first cleanse removes what water cannot, and that includes sunscreen, makeup and the oil your skin makes.

This one is the original, the Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil 200ml, and you use it on dry skin rather than wet. Massage for about thirty seconds, then add water and it turns milky, then rinse it off and follow with a foam.

It suits oily and combination skin best, and blackheads on the nose are its home ground.

The pump is worth a word, because it gives you the same dose every time. Two pumps covers a face, or three if you wore a full face of makeup.

Who is it not for? Very dry or reactive skin, and the mild version below is the better door.

Best first cleanse for dry or sensitive skin: Anua Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil Mild

Same idea with a softer build, because the mild cleansing oil swaps in a gentler cleansing base. It rinses just as clean and stings less around the eyes.

Use it the same way: dry skin, thirty seconds, then water.

Both oils are 200ml and both are $26, so the choice is about your skin rather than your budget.

Who is it not for? Heavy long wear makeup, which the original shifts better.

Best second cleanse: Anua Heartleaf Quercetinol Pore Deep Cleansing Foam

A second cleanse washes off the oil and everything it lifted, and the Quercetinol cleansing foam does that job.

Quercetinol comes from quercetin, a plant compound, and here it sits alongside the same heartleaf extract. The foam is low lather and low pH, so skin should feel clean rather than tight.

One pump is a dose and two is a waste.

At $20 for 150ml it is the cheapest way into the brand, and it is also the product most people repurchase first. Our full cleanser collection has the rest.

Who is it not for? Anyone who wants a squeaky finish, because this one is soft by design.

Best for redness and bumps: Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum

This is the most active product in the range, the Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum 30ml. Azelaic acid is what people reach for when skin looks red and blotchy, and ten percent is a proper cosmetic dose.

The serum pairs it with hyaluronic acid, which keeps the finish soft rather than dry, and it goes on at night after your toner.

Start with three nights a week, then build up from there if your skin stays happy.

The texture is thin and slightly milky, and it does not pill under a cream. That is not a given with azelaic acid, so it is worth saying.

Who is it not for? Skin that is already stressed, so wait until it has settled. Skip it on the same night as a strong retinal or an acid peel. More options sit on our serums and treatments page.

Best light moisturiser: Anua Rice 70 Intensive Moisturizing Milk

The Anua Rice 70 Intensive Moisturizing Milk 150ml is a milk rather than a cream, so it pours instead of scooping. The finish is light and a little glowy.

Rice extract makes up 70% of it. Rice is the quiet workhorse of Korean skincare, because it helps skin look brighter and feel soft.

It suits normal, combination and mildly dry skin, and in a Sydney summer it may be all the moisturiser you need.

Who is it not for? Very dry skin in winter, where a richer cream layered over the top works better. Our guide to the best Korean moisturisers has heavier picks.

Anua at a glance

Product	Best for	Size	Price
Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner	Calming redness, daily use	250ml	$26
Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil	First cleanse, oily and combination skin	200ml	$26
Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil Mild	First cleanse, dry and sensitive skin	200ml	$26
Heartleaf Quercetinol Cleansing Foam	Second cleanse, every skin type	150ml	$20
Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Serum	Visible redness and bumps	30ml	$30
Rice 70 Intensive Moisturizing Milk	A light daily moisturiser	150ml	$25

Shop the Anua range

Every product below was checked in stock this week. All are genuine, imported from Korea and dispatched sealed from our Sydney warehouse. Prices are in Australian dollars.

Where to start with Anua

Do you want one product to test the brand? Start with the toner, because it is the cheapest way to see whether heartleaf agrees with your skin, and give it two weeks.

Is your main issue oil and clogged pores? Then start with the cleansing pair, the oil first and the foam second. That routine changes how your skin feels faster than any serum will.

Is redness your main worry? The azelaic acid serum is the one to try, and keep the rest of your routine plain while you do.

A simple Anua night looks like this: cleansing oil, then foam, then toner, then serum, then the rice milk. That is five steps and about four minutes.

You do not need all five, and two Anua products alongside your current routine is a fair test. The toner with one cleanser is the pair we suggest most.

Give any new product four weeks before you judge it, because skin renews on a cycle of about a month. Two weeks is enough to know it does not irritate you, and four weeks is when you see the rest.

One Anua serum is missing from this guide. The Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 Serum is out of stock right now, and we will add it here once it is back.

Every product above is genuine and imported from Korea, and all of it ships sealed from our Sydney warehouse.

Frequently asked questions

What is heartleaf in skincare?
Heartleaf is a plant extract, and its other name is Houttuynia cordata. It is used to calm skin that looks red and feels hot, and Anua builds most of its range on it.

Is Anua good for sensitive skin?
Most of the range is mild, and the toner, the mild cleansing oil and the rice milk are the gentlest picks. The azelaic acid serum is the one to introduce slowly.

What is the difference between the two Anua cleansing oils?
The original suits oily and combination skin, while the mild version uses a gentler base and suits dry or reactive skin. Both are used on dry skin and rinsed off with water.

Do I need both a cleansing oil and a cleansing foam?
Only at night, and only if you wear sunscreen or makeup. The oil lifts them off and the foam washes away what is left, and in the morning a foam on its own is enough.

Can I use the Anua toner every day?
Yes, it is made for daily use, morning and night, and two or three drops patted onto damp skin is a dose.

Is Anua sold in Australia?
Yes. We stock six Anua products and dispatch them from our Sydney warehouse.

Not sure which Anua product fits your skin? Email us at contact@dlux-essentials.com and tell us what your skin does, and we will point you at the right one.