K-Beauty Skin Care in NYC!

Have you noticed that Sephora, a world cosmetics chain store, is hosting Korean beauty information sessions in New York City? What about all major fashion magazines from Vogue to Instyle competing to write about Korean cosmetics? Many beauty experts in the industry are predicting that South Korea will be the next country leading the skin care cosmetics market after France.

It is true that Koreans are very serious about taking care of their skin. To show you a few examples, if you spotted a woman who wraps her entire body from head to toe to avoid sun exposure on the beach, or who walks with an umbrella on a sunny day, she is more than likely Korean. It is almost always true that many Korean women apply more than 5 different skin care items after washing their faces.  Also, it is not so uncommon for Korean men to shop for cosmetic products or facial masks on weekends. Rather, you might be perceived as a “sloppy person” if you appear to be short on the basic knowledge of self- skin care over there.

The current trend in the Korean cosmetic market focuses on products made with natural ingredients. Simultaneously, formulas should be effective, and products should be affordable as well as contained in design savvy cases. These characteristics have been attracting world famous cosmetics designers to Seoul, the capital city of Korea, to learn more about the behavioral patterns of extremely picky Korean consumers. Taking this opportunity, I would like to introduce two Korean road-shop (or street location) brands you can check out in New York City.

THE FACE SHOP - you may already have seen this store located at the entrance of Korean Way on 32nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenue, New York City. It is not easy to miss top Korean celebrities’ huge banners standing in the middle of the narrow Korean Way street. This brand has an extensive, loyal customer base from 20s to 60s, who prefer to apply natural ingredients such as bamboo, caviar, chia seed extracts on their skin as much as possible. The prices of the products are moderate compared to other major cosmetic brands, and the store staff often give out different types of samples that you can try out. Most conspicuously, THEFACESHOP promotes a wide range of facial masks; these masks are priced only at 2-5 dollars and work extremely well in hydrating and moisturizing your skin.

Tony Moly - this brand is known for its cute and colorful product cases. You can find lip balm in a red apple case or body mist liquid in a tiny doll shape container. Young Koreans like to own one of these items for the sake of owning one since it is considered to be a hot fashion accessory to them.  Although the brand became popular relatively later than other road-shop brands, it has been gaining great attention from US customers, especially young adults and teenagers. You can find this shop located next to the Korean bookstore, Koyro, in Korean town.

I hope this article helps your studies. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any further questions. Also check out our Twitter for the latest news on Korea.

Thank you!