Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

K-Makeup Couldn’t Go Global. Now It’s Trying Again.

Ten years after they failed to catch on outside Asia, Korean cosmetic brands are bringing TikTok virality and expanded shade ranges back to the West in the hopes they can ride K-beauty’s second wave to success.
Tirtir launched at Ulta Beauty on Aug. 3, 2025.
Tirtir launched at Ulta Beauty on Aug. 3, 2025. (Tirtir)

LOS ANGELES, CA —

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

Further Reading

US Retailers Want in on K-Beauty — Again

Amorepacific’s Hanyul is the latest of a flood of K-beauty brands being scooped up by US beauty retailers as consumers clamor for Korean products in the face of price hikes.

TikTok’s Hit Korean Sunscreen Brand Makes Big US Push

Influencers are obsessed with it. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it her “ride-or-die” sunscreen. Its hero product’s active ingredient isn’t quite legal yet, but TikTok phenomenon Beauty of Joseon is touching down in the US for the first time.

How TikTok Brought Back K-Beauty

While the K-beauty craze of the 2010s has waned in recent years, brands and retailers are seeing renewed interest in South Korean beauty.

About the author
Liz Flora
Liz Flora

Liz Flora is a Beauty Correspondent at Business of Fashion. She is based in Los Angeles and covers beauty and wellness.

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Beauty
Analysis and advice on the fast-evolving beauty business.
view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.


The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?


The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON