The world is obsessed with the porcelain skin of Korean women and k-beauty. The trend started with the 10-step skincare routine done majorly by YouTube vloggers but nowadays Korean Beauty is leaving the 10 steps behind and dominating the world.
In the US, 13% of 10 to 17-year-old girls want to try K-beauty products, and 18% of 18 to 22-year-old women are using them.
In 2017, South Korea’s beauty industry was worth over $13bn (£10bn), according to researchers Mintel.
Katie Thomas the Marie Claire’s beauty editor for Marie Claire said that the fascination with Korean cosmetics is due to how innovative they are, in her words “South Korea’s beauty industry is about 10-12 years ahead of the rest of the world”.
So, what is K beauty all about?
Korean beauty tries to use natural and weird ingredients, like snail mucin or bee propolis, focusing on nourishing and pampering the skin, instead of simply covering the imperfections, although the K-beauty also does that very well. K-Beauty is known for its unique recipes.
There are a few things rumored to make Korean beauty and skincare excellent. First, the extremely competitive environment causes the price, innovation, and quality increase.
South Korea exports more than $2.6 billion in beauty products annually, according to the nation’s customs agency. K-beauty is now found in luxury department stores such as Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman, which carry high-end Korean labels.
“Korean beauty rode that wave of wellness,” says Larissa Jensen, a beauty analyst at NPD Group. “It also was fun—bubbling masks and foaming masks that people could share on Instagram.”
Korea is also one of few countries with “functional cosmetics,” Cho said, a given title for anti-wrinkle, elasticity-boosting, pigment-fading, and sunscreen properties.
As the days go by more and more foreign cosmetics companies’ close business with Koreans manufacturers, the examples are: PeachandLily, Lazada, Jinme, Glow Recipe, and many others.
The key reasons for K-Beauty fame globally are:
Better quality, efficiency, safety, high productivity as well as low price.
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