South Korea Trend Update: Deeper Sustainability

Innisfree / Instagram

The South Korean market has always showed its ability to meet global needs, seizing the opportunity to innovate in Retail and Beauty. New priorities have emerged from 2021, as the market - and consumers - adapt to the new normal.

One of the key trend we address in our latest WhatsUp Report, is the next-gen circularity, a new focus of K-Beauty as rising consumer consciousness around sustainability fuels brand innovation. South Korea’s shift towards value-driven consumerism is rising with - two-thirds (59.5%) of women aged between 25 and 39 interested in eco-friendly and natural cosmetics*.

Brands and retailers are meeting the moment for responsible purchasing with waste-free or refill store concepts and inspiring consumers with new eco-rituals.

#1 CIRCULAR RETAIL

InnisfreeJeju Color Picker Makeup

Leading brands are applying the principles of circularity to the retail environment, creating a joined-up, upcycled experience. Innisfree’s ground-breaking Recycle Store first opened in 2017, and became a green landmark thanks to the use of 230,00 upcycled bottles in its construction. The store underwent a refresh in May 2021, enhancing its commitment to waste-free retailing with an interactive bottle recycling point, and a space for workshops where customers can create their own upcycled beauty accessories or create artwork from expired makeup. There is also a corner of the store dedicated to spotlighting other eco-friendly brands.

#2 ECO ACADEMY

Aromatica Zero Station

Putting education at the centre of the consumer experience, the Aromatica Zero Station at Starfield Hanam in Gyeonggi-do (opened Oct 2021) is dedicated to helping consumers understand the brand’s rigorous approach to sustainability. Shoppers can learn about the carefully selected raw materials and five extraction techniques that go into making Aromatica products, whilst also learning how to properly separate, recycle and dispose of their empty containers.

#3 ECO-CONSCIOUS RITUALS 

Aromatica Wooden Dolphin Face & Body Massage Tool

Brands are also developing new eco-rituals around materiality and self-care. Aromatica’s Wooden Dolphin Face & Body Massage Tool is made from sustainably-sourced Belgian Beachwood and is designed to stimulate the nerves and blood vessels passing between the muscles. By stimulating the lymph nodes the tool helps to discharge toxins from the body. The tool's outer packaging is made from 100% upcycled paper derived from sugar cane by-products.

This is an extract of the agency’s latest report - What’s Up in Seoul, made in partnership with Latitude 37.

Font Picture: Hince

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Source : * Cosmorning / Opensurvey

MAKEUP BECOMES FAKEUP

PHOTO: @Paintlabco

Real-life and virtual life is blurring and impacting the beauty-representation and practices. Consumers are faking-it to achieve their beauty aspirations, using makeup shortcuts to achieve temporary transformations that lift their looks to new, hyper-realistic levels.  

Read about four directions deciphered by the agency that captures the emerging #FakeUp beauty trend, highlighted with key facts from Google searches from the SPATE NYC tool.

#1- Hyperrealism replaces surrealism

Hyper-real transformation is becoming the new beauty game, creating an inspiring space in which the real and the virtual now overlap and creating a fertile ground for creativity. Fake, oversized, synthetic, and hyper-volumized makeup looks dominate this space, reshaping conventional beauty standards and practices. Consumers are now looking to apply aesthetic tricks to their every day, using morphing tools and products to create exaggerated versions of themselves, albeit fleetingly.

Tapping the trend for creative transcience, Ephemeral is the LA tattoo studio that developed ink that is, ‘made to fade’ over the period of a year. Extreme exaggeration is also one of the key themes where new beauty falsies appear as “must-haves”. According to Spate NYC tools, Google searches for “eyebrow stamp” are at +359%, and “press-on nails” are at +10.7% in 2021.  

#2 - OUTERSIZE LASHES

False eyelashes are getting an upgrade this season. Lashes are becoming an area for bold, creative expression. A trend well-suited to the Insta generation, make this directional look more commercial by creating easy-to-follow guides and kits. The Mega Lash look springs directly from the digital landscape, and brands are meeting consumer demand for niche falsie products that deliver on outsize volume.  From the wet-look Lash Drip Icy Lashes by Kiss, to new ranges that tap the growing male falsie market, boom lashes are key to the hyper-real aesthetic.

#3 - HYBRID RUSH

Aesthetic practices are reinventing the rules as consumers opt for longer-lasting alternatives. The growing interest in hybrid lash extensions reveals consumers’ aim for an amplified lash look that combines heightened length with extra volume. Spate reports that there are on average 13.8K searches for “hybrid lash extensions” every month in the US, which is up +71.1% on last year (2021 vs 2020). Hybrid lashes can last up to 8 weeks but require special treatment, which brands need to consider when creating content and promoting products. With no current market leader in this space, there is a huge opportunity for brands to innovate with products and tools that cater to hybrid lash specificities.

#4 - NAIL INTRICACIES  

Nails also come under the magnifying class - literally - with consumers chasing products that can satiate the appetite for impulsive transformations. The popularity of artificial nails is at an all-time high - the latest forecasts predict the market will grow by $265.25M during 2022-2026, progressing at a CAGR of 5.59%. Google searches for “nail design” are up  +43.4%; “nail art” +56.1% and “French tips nails” +100.1% (in 2021 according to Spate Tool). Just like the trend for hyper-realistic makeup, the mood for nail art is overblown and exaggerated. Sophisticated falsies step in, allowing professionals and at-home consumers to customize elongated and elaborately shaped nails with surrealist art, unexpected textures, patterns and color combinations, and subversions of the classic French manicure. Pinterest has also recorded a spike in interest in creative nail art,  with searches for  “galaxy nail art” up +115% year on year, while searches for “ocean nails acrylics” have increased fives times over. 

This article is an extract of some go the key findings of our latest makeup report “The New State Of Being”. Contact us for more information.