Functional high-tech
High-tech anti-aging beauty is still a big product category in salons in Asia, and maybe even more so in a K-Beauty salon. At CosmoBeauty Seoul 2023, Korean exhibitors showcased a wide range of beauty technologies and functional facial care products tailored to address the issues of aging skin.
The Korean brand Banobagi just launched a serum and cream duo formulated with alpha arbutin to lighten skin tone and fight hyperpigmentation and skin blemishes.
The independent brand’s new Vita Tangerine Fit Mask Sorocí is a two-step routine consisting of a vitamin C-soaked pad to gently exfoliate the skin, followed by a moisturizing, brightening sheet mask.
Eldeen whose name corresponds to the needle spelled backwards, was launched in 2022 and offers self-dissolving microneedle patches in various shapes for specific skin areas.
The living room brand Puraxel introduced its new at-home fractional laser, which gently penetrates the skin to create a micro-needle-like effect to help active ingredients penetrate the epidermal layer, and the professional brand’s best-selling facial massager Reclar uses different vibration frequencies for more effective application of beauty products. There are different settings for watery/liquid and thicker/creamy products.
On the other hand, the great innovation from Barulab at CosmoBeauty is surprisingly low-tech but claims to deliver excellent skincare results. The SteamSheet Moisture Shield is a double mask consisting of a serum-soaked cloth to be placed on the face and a thin vinyl mask. The brand claims that the heat generated by the extra layer of plastic opens the pores of the face and allows the active ingredients to better penetrate the skin.
Protect the skin microbiome
The international microbiome trend was also clearly visible at CosmoBeauty Seoul this year, with new Korean independent brands particularly focusing on barrier skincare and/or sensitive skin needs.
The Korean beauty brand Abiya Launched in 2022, for example, the company offers a duo of microbiome-focused skincare products formulated with peptides. The K-beauty Kombucha Plant Biome facial care range herb blossom has been a bestseller since the brand launched in 2021 O’Clearien Another young Korean brand offers five face care products with trehalose and centella asiatica extract for sensitive skin.
doctoranother K-Beauty brand, launched in 2022, also offers ten biome-focused vegan face and body care products age zeroa new pro-microbiome beauty brand launched by the Korean manufacturer Fascinating. The Age Zero line focuses on anti-aging for clients aged 40+.
And the independent brand Orgahue has just added the Mela Barrier Cream to its product line. The product contains mountain yam, yuzu and centella asiatica extract to protect the skin’s natural barrier function.
The target group are the GenZ: vegan and gender-neutral brands
The vegan claim was certainly one of the most visible on the products showcased at CosmoBeauty Seoul 2023, closely followed by another GenZ favourite: clean beauty. Note, however, that the vegan label was almost exclusively associated with the young independent brands exhibiting at the show, and was often associated with a non-sexist and/or minimalist aspect. More than a dozen brands showcased at the show were launched during or after the pandemic, and almost all are specifically targeting GenZ and Millennials.
claps is a good example of this new generation of brands. Launched a few months ago, it offers gender-neutral and vegan beauty with a focus on skin barrier health. The young indie brand will also start in 2022 Hamel offers vegan makeup and skincare with gender-neutral packaging and on-trend product textures, including a biphasic moisturizing toner and an ampoule (serum) stick.
balance, another sleek, gender-neutral brand launched this year, features products with French-inspired names. The range includes five facial care products for skin aged 30 and over. Simplywhich launched earlier this year, describes itself as a conscious, clean and vegan beauty brand that believes less is more when it comes to skincare.
On his side, A routineLaunched in 2021, the vegan and gender-neutral company offers five face care products with plant extracts. Aroutine’s newest product is a hydrating mask that contains white rose extract.
fixed assets
Botanical ingredients have always played an important role in Korean beauty, from anti-aging ginseng, popular with luxury beauty brands, to native citrus variants like the vitamin-rich fruit yuja, a traditional staple of the range. Korean beauty. And with the growing popularity of vegan products, it’s no surprise that many exhibitors at CosmoBeauty Seoul 2023 focused on botanicals as a key ingredient.
A good example is the independent Korean brand’s new Marinabee Intense Vitamin C Cream Marinavi which contains 25% vitamin C from citrus fruits and nourishing seaweed extract. The young brand for its part Dear dot uses Dangyuja extract as a key ingredient to help protect this plant species.
As for the Shiny Pumpkin range, from the professional brand wife based on pumpkin. For example, Shiny Pumpkin Amino Therapy is a moisturizing toner made with 85% pumpkin fruit extract.
niche branded products Midha are based on a very high percentage of nutrient-rich rice water and contain the brand’s Rice 8 Complex, made from rice grown in Gochang Prefecture.
The new brand ginger6 uses concentrated ginger water as the base for its six facial care products. The recent introduction of the professional brand Awy is a serum duo, including the Vitamin Tree Brightening Serum, which is 78% based on sea buckthorn extract.
Finally the brand A by BOM introduced its line of one-ingredient toners, The One. Each liquid toner contains over 90% of a single plant extract, mostly traditional herbal medicine.