Welcome to Dispatch From Korea, a series where you’ll get the inside scoop on the latest K-beauty news straight from our friends at Soko Glam’s Seoul office. Here, they’re sharing the best indie K-beauty brands to know now.
At The Klog we talk a lot about beauty brands that are born from large companies and that are popular all over the world. But to find the most creative, interesting products, sometimes you have to look to what the smaller, newly emerging brands are doing.
In Korea, there are many great indie beauty brands that offer quality, creativity, and true authenticity. Here are six with innovative formulas and unconventional concepts that we have our eyes on right now.
Beigic
“Beauty in simplicity and time for yourself” is the main theme that’s threaded through the brand’s entire line-up. The products are all vegan and are inspired by the founder’s experience with luxe, French skin care brands. Try the BEIGIC Regenerating Oil. The main ingredient is premium Peruvian green coffee bean oil. The natural caffeine boosts skin metabolism and improves resilience in skin. The Correcting Exfoliator is another favorite. The mixture of finely ground coffee powder and coconut oil gently removes dead skin cells and impurities on your face and smells so warm and delicious.
Haruharu Wonder
The first thing that hooks you is the packaging. The simple but unconventional look has won prestigious design awards and is popular on Instagram. But we all know that you can’t judge a book by its cover. All of Haruharu Wonder products contain 95% natural ingredients and the brand boasts its own R&D lab with professionals in biotechnology who developed a patented fermentation technology. Check out the Black Rice line – a favorite in Korea.
Airive
Airive creates light and clean skin care products with H2, the lightest element on the earth and the main element of Water (H2O). The Airy Skin SPA Cleaner is a mild acidic cleansing powder that’s effective in removing impurities deep inside of your pores, and also good at brightening and moisturizing your skin.
Lovbod
We put a lot of effort into taking care of our face, but what about the skin on the rest of our bodies? This brand is all about treating the skin concerns below the neck. The body sticks, which can cover a broad range of your body, are popular, but what’s catching our eyes is the new Bum Bum mask. It’s moisturizing and contains collagen to help contour, firm and hydrate the booty area.
Laka
LAKA is the first K-Beauty brand to create makeup products for all genders. Sticking to its core concept, the shades of lip tints and eyeshadows seem a bit sheer but they are for everyone to enjoy and to create everyday looks.
VYVYD Studio
The brand collaborated with well-known color storyteller Pawel Norbert to create 24 unique and beautiful shades of color cosmetics. We love the matte lipstick that’s available in head-turning shades like dark navy, purple, and turquoise. The brand also works with musicians to create music inspired by the colors. Visit the VYVYD Studio’s SoundCloud channel to listen!