(코리아타운뉴스) Affordable Cosmetic Brands on the Rise

Cheaper prices giving cosmetic brands an edge in competition
Cost effective brands are entering shopping malls in Koreatown

Cosmetic brands offering quality products at inexpensive prices are on an upward trend not only within Koreatown, but also non-Koreans who are visiting the neighborhood.

Since the mid-2000s, cosmetic chains from South Korea, such as The Face Shop and Missha have been among the most popular brands. After those two prominent brands opened the floodgates during the last decade, the competition to drive the demand for Korean cosmetic products have become increasingly more diverse.

After The Face Shop opened its first U.S. store in New York in 2005, the likes of Beauty Credit, Natures Republic and others have all launched their businesses in the U.S. In Los Angeles Koreatown alone, The Face Shop is now operating two branches.

For example, the California Marketplace mall’s tenants include South Korean brand Donginbi, which recently opened its first U.S. store, and other affordable cosmetics shops LLang and It’s Skin. Even Amore Pacific, a traditional Korean brand, has recently launched a separate shop under the name Aritaum to offer more affordable products.

Amore Pacific converted one of its main branches in Koreatown Galleria to Aritaum last October. Another one of its shops at Vermont Galleria is also set to become Aritaum next year. Moreover, two more Aritaum shops are set to launch at California Marketplace and Hannam Chain, respectively.

South Korean cosmetic brands have become so popular in the U.S. that businesses are starting to expand beyond Koreatown. The Face Shop is already operating 10 stores in Southern California alone, including Monterrey Park, San Gabriel and Irvine. Nature Republic is also overseeing stores in Glendale, Del Amo, Arcadia and Brea, while Skin Food is located in Cerritos and Irvine.
Korean products can also be found at French cosmetic chain Sephora.

Affordable cosmetic brands became popular after the 2008 economic crisis. By taking the financial burden off of many customers, those brands have provided a wider range of options amid the rising popularity of Korean beauty supplies even among consumers of other ethnicities.

“We’ve used platforms such as Yelp to continually promote our brand,” said Charli Cho, who works at Aritaum inside of Koreatown Plaza. “Now, non-Koreans make up 50 percent of our customer base.”

Case in point, there now seem to be more non-Korean visitors in Koreatown nowadays, whose sole purpose for making the trip is to shop for cosmetic products. China, Vietnam and Philippines were the first group of countries to prefer Korean products due to the effects of the Korean Wave (the Korean pop culture phenomenon), but now, even Hispanics and Caucasians have caught onto the trend.

“Some of our main customers include Chinese consumers who make orders worth hundreds of dollars on a single purchase,” said Brandon Lee, who is running online shopping mall Mengmengdashop.com, which has various affordable cosmetic brands on sale on the website.

Many of those in the business picked mask packs as the most popular item.


By Sung Yeon Lee