I Tested Medicube’s Booster Pro X2 in Seoul—Is the Upgrade Worth It?

Reported by Vogue.

The glass skin phenomenon has a new weapon, and it was road-tested 6,800 miles from New York. A Vogue beauty editor flew to Seoul, skipped every clinic appointment on the itinerary — no salmon sperm injections, no laser, no Ultherapy — and still landed back stateside with the kind of complexion that makes people ask what you had done. The culprit: Medicube's newly launched Booster Pro X2, the next-generation upgrade to the at-home device that quietly became a cult staple.

If the original Age-R Booster Pro rings a bell, it's probably because Hailey Bieber was using it on TikTok in 2023. That device earned its reputation on electroporation technology — essentially using electrical pulses to push serums and creams deeper into the skin than they'd ever travel on their own. It worked. According to Vogue, the original Booster mode increased ingredient absorption by roughly 763%. The X2 takes that number to approximately 1,332%. Meanwhile, the new model doubles the output power, doubles the electrode count, doubles the LED coverage, and adds a 1.3x larger treatment head for faster, more even coverage. Twice the device, not twice the effort.

What's Actually New

Beyond the raw performance jump, the X2 introduces three new modes alongside its existing four. Mask mode was born from creators pairing the original device with sheet masks to maximize hydration — Medicube saw the behavior, then engineered around it. Dual mode lets you stack two treatments in a single session for a more targeted approach. And AI mode, unlocked through the AGE-R app, delivers personalized usage recommendations based on your habits and skin-care patterns. Joe Cho, Medicube's media relations lead, put it plainly: the X2 was built to help users "stay ahead of potential concerns over time," not just react to them. As of January 2026, over 6 million Medicube devices have sold worldwide — Korea among the strongest markets — so the brand had plenty of real-world feedback to work from.

Using it requires almost no learning curve. Board-certified dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD recommends applying your product of choice across clean skin, selecting your mode, and gliding until absorbed. The Air Shot mode — which uses electrical pulses to gently exfoliate — is the one exception, meant for dry skin only. Pair Mask mode with a bio-cellulose or PDRN sheet mask, Booster mode with a brightening serum, and skip anything high in retinol or spicules to avoid irritation. The device, the ritual, the results: all relatively straightforward.

The Booster Pro X2 isn't a gimmick dressed up in K-beauty packaging — it's what happens when a device with a genuine track record gets a serious technical overhaul, and the skin-care world should take note.

Read the original at Vogue.