Korean beauty - more commonly known as K-beauty has crept its way into western beauty stores over the last decade as a rise in consumer interest toward skincare has fuelled a general fascination for the K-beauty routine. These products are hard to miss and instantly recognizable for their colourful and innovative packaging and seamless integration of advanced technology and personal care ultimately leading to cutting-edge products offered to consumers in a variety of colours, scents and textures. So, how exactly has K-beauty so successfully and effortlessly takeover the skincare industry?
"Serums, acids, oils, cushion compacts, CC creams, BB creams, masks that bubble on your face, masks to sleep in, volcanic clay, and snail slime are seeing improbably explosive popularity, and they’ve done so with accessible pricing and cute packaging that has grown women reaching for panda face masks." (Fuertes, 2018).
The cultural impact of K-beauty on western ideals has been compelling - and perhaps is the antidote to the infamous "Instagram look", where Kylie Jenner immediately comes to mind. Kylie, known for her title of being a "self made billionaire" made headlines when her makeup line was reportedly valued at $900 million. Her brand embodies the full makeup coverage look that resonates with millions of fans across the globe.
Interestingly, K-beauty embodies arguably the exact opposite and focuses on maintaining that girlish glow. It started with the obsession of glass skin which is achieved when your skin is healthy, toned and plumped with hydration, reflecting like a shard of glass. That is perhaps what underpins the success of K-beauty - makeup trends will come and go but everyone wants to achieve having clear skin!
It’s evident that the Korean beauty industry seems to be light ahead of us, which comes down to the simple fact that they have been doing it for much longer! Jude Chao, director of marketing for BeautyTap and somewhat of an oracle on K-Beauty explains:
"The philosophical and cultural underpinnings have been in place for centuries, long before it was ever commercialized, and Koreans valuing their skin is not a new phenomenon" (Jude Chao).
The western audience is also increasingly more fascinated with the phenomena of natural ingredients. Over the course of several hundred years, Korean skin care innovation has had no shortage of unusual ingredients, from cactus oil, bamboo extract, tremella mushroom to even snail mucin, K-beauty have conquered it all.
“By virtue of them coming from very traditional or ancient formulas, there are a lot of natural ingredients because that was what was readily available, on top of hundreds of years of figuring out what ingredients actually work,” (Jude Chao).
I also can't forget to mention the creative packaging that is so intriguing and loved by all consumers. With the age of social media, consumers tend to buy into fun packaging especially things that can be posted onto social media. Just look at the packaging of some of the products below!!! Too cute to not buy!
I also have to bring attention to the infamous Korean beauty 10-step skincare routine:
Oil cleanser
Foam/cream cleanser
Toner
Essence
Emulsion
Ampoule/Serum
Sheet Mask
Eye Cream
Moisturizer
Sunscreen
Too many steps? Well that's maybe the distinguishing factor between Western and South Korean cultures. This is what Emily who tried the 10 steps had to say on her blog post: “Western culture’s skin-care routine is more of a chore almost,” claims Cho. “You just put on whatever you have in the bathroom.” But she explains that with a Korean-skin mind-set, it’s all about pampering and taking care of yourself" (Rekstis, 2016). Either way K-beauty is definitely here to stay especially with the increasing attention that we should all be paying to our skin!
References:
Fuertes, J., 2018. How K-Beauty Conquered The West. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://gen.medium.com/how-k-beauty-conquered-the-west-f8bf81d28bf7> [Accessed 14 December 2020].
Rekstis, E., 2016. I Tried A 10-Step Korean Skin-Care Regimen For A Week, And Here Are The Results. [online] SELF. Available at: <https://www.self.com/story/how-to-do-10-step-korean-skincare-routine> [Accessed 14 December 2020].
Image: Lam, T., 2019. Here Are 5 K-Beauty Skincare Trends You Need To Know. [online] HYPEBAE. Available at: <https://hypebae.com/2019/8/top-korean-beauty-skincare-trends-glass-skin-peach-and-lily-founder-alicia-yoon-interview> [Accessed 14 December 2020].
Image 1: Fuertes, J., 2018. How K-Beauty Conquered The West. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://gen.medium.com/how-k-beauty-conquered-the-west-f8bf81d28bf7> [Accessed 14 December 2020].
Editor: Lacey Wint