The scaring image of a house wife in a bath robe with a green goo on her face remains in our memory as a cheap comedic scene for many of our favorite TV shows. Not much is thought of the green goo, its only purpose to make the audience laugh at the ridiculousness of the character.
However, in the past years a new kind of skin care has taken over the internet, gaining the attention of huge fashion magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan and People Style. Korean skin care has taken the Western world by surprise.
“I had seen K-beauty popping up around the internet for the past couple of years but didn’t pay too much attention to it,” commented Reddit user GlycosidicBond, who is part of the ‘Asian Beauty’ community on the forums, “Ended up buying Son and Park beauty water and immediately noticed redness in my skin going down. I hadn’t looked at my skin and ever been so impressed. And down the rabbit hole I fell.”
Korean beauty is a part of what is known as the Hallyu Wave (한류) which is the name given to the phenomenon of Korean entertainment spreading throughout the world. Along with skin care, Korean makeup, music, and TV dramas are all part of the wave, and are all connected.
“With Kpop,” said user Luna_182, who was one of many whom were influenced by Kpop, “I knew about Korean makeup, that made me look for cushions on YouTube and I found Meejmuse’s channel, and with her I totally got into Korean Skincare.”
Although originating from Korea, there is more ways than just the internet to get Korean skin care products: in New York City’s Koreatown famous brands, such as Tony Moly, Nature Republic, and The Face Shop, are opening their doors to the Western public.
The trend has become such that not only are Korean originated brands are opening up: Besfren Beauty is a New York based Korean skin care and makeup store with location in both Flushing and Koreatown.
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