Here's How To Find 'Safe' and 'Natural' Korean Beauty Products
Thanks to a
new e-commerce site.
Cheryl Wischhover
Publish date:Dec 16, 2014
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Photo: Nina Frazier Hansen/Fashionista
A few months ago at Marie Claire’s very informative
Global Beauty Forum, the beauty director for the magazine’s Korean edition
answered a question about whether women in her country were interested in
natural products. The answer? "Not really." Perceived efficacy outweighed
perceived safety. However, thanks to the vast amount of development and
innovation happening in the country, more Korean brands are exploring the
category.
Now imagine a Venn diagram with Korean beauty in one circle,
and “safe, natural” products in the other. Glow Recipe, a newly launched K-beauty e-commerce site, sits
squarely in the intersection of these two concepts. Co-founders Christine Chang
and Sarah Lee, both in their early thirties, met at L’Oreal Paris, where they
worked for over nine years in marketing and product development. They covered
both the U.S. and Korean markets, so in the still-small world of Korean beauty
retailers here, their knowledge is unique.
Chang and Lee saw firsthand how western companies started looking
to Korea for beauty innovation, so they knew it was time to throw their hat
into the ring. They chose the tricky category of natural
and safe cosmetics because they saw a demand here in the U.S. and they also
felt they had the expertise to ask the right questions and curate these types of
products. (Remember, the word “natural” isn’t regulated, and there are differing
opinions on which ingredients are safe and which aren’t.)
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Goodies from Glow Recipe. Photo: Nina Frazier
Hansen/Fashionista
Right now Glow Recipe sells seven different Korean beauty
brands. Some are purely natural (and I’m defining this as containing all
plant-derived ingredients) like Goodal, and others, like the dermatologist brand
Dr. Oracle, aren’t necessarily. But this is by design. “The last thing we want
to be doing is green-washing and substituting the word 'natural' as a blanket
reassurance that our products are gentle without doing our due diligence,” Chang
told me. “Our goal is to be a worry-free site where customers know they are
shopping vetted products, brands and companies. While we want to prioritize
natural formulations that are efficacious, we're also wary of fear-mongering,
which unfortunately often happens to ingredients that have been extensively
tested for safety. We rely heavily on peer-reviewed research to help make
ingredient decisions for our curations.”
If you’re concerned about certain ingredients, the founders
strive for transparency and list all of the ingredients for every product they
sell. The products won’t contain parabens, triclosan, hydroquinone,
benzophenones, BPAs, tar, talc, sodium lauryl/ laureth sulfates, aluminum, DEET,
formaldehyde, PABA, toluene, camphor, PVC, phthalates or synthetic dyes. For
products that contain added fragrance, Chang and Lee say they worked extensively
with brands to vet that there was nothing irritating in the fragrance formula.
Now let’s get to the goods, because they’re, well, good. Whamisa’s Organic Sea Kelp Mask was a first for me — rather
than paper or hydrogel, it’s an actual piece of sea kelp infused with all sorts
of oils and extracts that you slap on as a sheet mask. It was a lovely
experience, with a bit of salty ocean tang. Shara Shara’s Honey Bomb Ampoule, which contains three
different types of honey, comes in the largest jar (for a serum anyway) that
I’ve ever seen. Lee said this product, like a lot sold on Glow Recipe, is a
multi-tasker, functioning as a toner, moisturizer, and serum all in one. It’s so
generously sized that I’ve been smearing it all over my neck and hands, too.
Whamisa’s mists, which contain actual chunks of rose petals or olive leaves, are
standouts. For acne, you can find tea tree oil-based products in the Lee Ji Ham
range. I also highly recommend the Caolion Blackhead Steam Pore Pack, which I’ve
tried in the past and sells out quickly on other sites.
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A sea kelp mask. Photo: Nina Frazier Hansen/Fashionista
In addition to its core brands, Glow Recipe features a weekly
e-pop-up shop where it will offer limited edition products. (A previous offering
was a "bounce cheese cream.") You can also request custom sample boxes, or try
an “editor’s pick” sample box. Prices for products on the site range from $9 for
an organic hydrogel mask to $64 for a Bulgarian rose serum.
Chang and Lee ultimately hope to increase awareness of Korean
beauty products here in the U.S. and help more brands crack the market. “There’s
still a lot of the market where there’s a lack of understanding,” Lee told me.
“People think that it’s not relevant because Asian skin is ‘different.’ We
wanted to break that barrier and really make people feel comfortable.”
