Hasina KhatibPublished on Sep 20, 2022Sheet masks, essences and ampoules: How K-beauty became a global phenomenonThe quest for luminous, lit-from-within skin can only lead you to the best-kept secrets of Seoul The quest for luminous, lit-from-within skin can only lead you to the best-kept secrets of Seoul If you sipped on CocaCola while wearing Levi’s jeans and watched Disney movies on loop on Sunday mornings, you are likely a product of the ’90s—the decade when American pop culture maintained an unrelenting stranglehold over most of our lives. Fast-forward to a few years and one pandemic later, our pop culture consumption patterns look drastically different: Carefully smoothing in a cheek mask for a smoother jawline while mindlessly lip-synching to the latest Blackpink dance bop and debating whether that LED skincare mask is worth the splurge. If this sounds like you, know that you aren’t alone. Welcome to a new social order where we all coast the Korean wave together—in coordinated microfibre headbands, of course. Assessed at a whopping $10.3 billion in 2021, the K-beauty market is slated to double over the course of the next five years. Photo: PexelsThe COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a turning point in putting self-care first, believes Mini Sood Banerjee, assistant director and head of marketing at AmorePacific India, of which Laneige is a popular brand. How the Hallyu wave took over our playlists, beauty shelves and livesWith its origins in China in the 1990s, the term ‘Hallyu wave’ implied the surge of the Korean wave in the Asian subcontinent. Elisa Lee (@sokobeauty on Instagram) is a K-beauty enthusiast based in the Netherlands, and she says that songs like Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ and BTS’ ‘Dynamite’ became radio favourites—“they’re on all the time at the supermarket!”–which then trickled down into a lot more people getting interested in Korean culture even if they were complete newbies before. Through movies, dramas and music, it was theorised that the Korean government aimed to extend its soft power across the world by becoming the largest exporter of pop culture. Combating the ubiquitous Westernisation of culture might have seemed like an impregnable monolith, but it is one that seven members of the boy band BTS scaled with a skip in their step as they were welcomed into the arms Joe Biden, the President of the United States of America at the White House earlier this year. Beyond our watchlists, the Korean wave has also been making inroads towards our beauty shelves. Assessed at a whopping $10.3 billion in 2021, the K-beauty market is slated to double over the course of the next five years—a microscopic measure of the unbridled horsepower it is packing underneath the hood. Beyond statuesque statistics, the influence of its skin-first approach can be felt across the world in subtler ways as well. While Peach & Lily founder Alicia Yoon once lobbied to get K-beauty products on the shelves of big-box retailers like Target, industry-leading names are now taking note of Korean skincare technologies. Case in point: L'Oréal Paris and Clinique incorporating cushion compacts into their product rollout, a delivery mechanism first perfected by AmorePacific, a leading South Korean beauty manufacturer. “While sheet masks remain an all-time favourite, hyaluronic serums, sleeping masks, handy facial mists and oil-based cleansers that melt make-up away are being loved by the masses right now.”How the pandemic accelerated K-beauty in IndiaWhile the rest of the world had already started warming up to K-beauty’s promise of skin akin to luminous glass, products like essences and ampoules remained fairly foreign to the Indian masses until a few years ago. However, the self-isolation offered by the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a turning point, believes Mini Sood Banerjee, assistant director and head of marketing at AmorePacific India. “The pandemic has inadvertently shown us the importance of me-time and we have now become more mindful of choosing the right products and ingredients to apply on our skin and body. Self-care is not a luxury anymore, but the need of the hour—exercising and meditating is now considered equally important as pampering ourselves,” she says. Dr Madhuri Agarwal also says that the actual ingredients in K-beauty products are very similar to those in Ayurveda. “The connection is very strong because the ideologies are on similar lines,” she says. So which K-beauty products is India loving right now? Banerjee elaborates, “While sheet masks remain an all-time favourite, hyaluronic serums, sleeping masks, handy facial mists and oil-based cleansers that melt make-up away are being loved by the masses right now.” But what has truly moved the needle on K-beauty from ‘skintellectuals’ to everyday skincare enthusiasts is the collective quest for glowing skin. “It all comes down to a healthy glow that doesn’t need to be faked with make-up, and using products which are right for the skin,” concludes Banerjee. Why ingredients matterRia Biyani (@rithink_skin on Instagram)—is a Mumbai-based beauty influencer who has always loved K-beauty products for their gentle and super-hydrating benefits. She thinks that ‘skinimalism’—a newer trend from Seoul—will get more and more popular. “As more people become informed about skincare products and ingredients, they will begin to realise that more is not always more and that not everything in the market is meant for you. People will become more conscious and intentional in their skincare decisions and begin to streamline their routines,” she says. Biyani is increasingly seeing fermented ingredients on the contents lists of more products. “Korean skincare has been using fermented ingredients for a while, but I definitely think it will trickle down elsewhere too. Research about the skin’s microbiome is growing, and as we understand more about the importance of good versus bad bacteria that lives in our bodies and the role it plays in keeping our skin barrier strong and healthy, we will see an increase in the use of fermented ingredients,” she confirms.It’s not all because of a pandemic-related boom. It’s also important–albeit disheartening–to note that a major reason that K-beauty is popular in India is because it boasts products that still work to whiten and lighten skin. “There is still an obsession with whitening the skin in India, and Korean products are on the same page. That craze for fairness is still there, and these K-beauty products are easy-to-use options that work for this purpose,” says Dr Agarwal.Also Read: 8 face mists that promise glowy, hydrated skinAlso Read: What exactly does a beauty influencer’s manager do? Also Read: How make-up brand Kulfi Beauty is trying to reclaim South Asian beautyRead Next Read the Next Article