To receive the Glossy Pop newsletter in your inbox every Friday, click here.
Throughout 2025, K-beauty has been reclaiming its spot on American beauty retail shelves.
Now experiencing a “second wave,” K-beauty first took off in the U.S. 10 years ago, introducing the American consumer to sheet masks and snail mucin, which, in the decade since, have become part of every skin-care junkie’s everyday vernacular.
In 2024, South Korea became the world’s third largest exporter of beauty products, according to Reuters reporting.
“Social and TikTok have helped bring [K-beauty] to life, like they have with so many other beauty trends,” said Kaitlin Rinehart, Ulta Beauty’s vp of merchandising.
On Friday, Ulta Beauty announced the introduction of 13 new K-beauty brands across makeup and skin care to its e-commerce site. The new brands will launch in-store throughout the summer.
The cosmetics assortment comprises five new-to-Ulta brands: Fwee, known for its adorably packaged pudding pot blushes; TirTir, known for its TikTok viral cushion compacts; Kaja; Unleashia; and Rom&nd.
Other U.S. retailers have focused solely on K-beauty skin care, rather than cosmetics, so Ulta’s makeup-inclusive approach offers a point of difference. “The interesting aspects of [Korean] cosmetics right now are the formulas, the textures, the componentry — K-beauty does all of these extremely well,” Rinehart said.
Unlike other beauty trends, which often require consumers to add new steps to their makeup routines — like contouring, for example — K-beauty is about using different products to achieve a different look altogether, said Rineheart. For example, a blurred lip can be achieved with a Rom&nd lip tint. “Our beauty enthusiast [guest] loves to try new trends and new formulas and new ways of application,” she said.
“You can’t accomplish a 100% American makeup style with Korean products. The coverage is different, the pigmentation is different,” said Sarah Chung Park, CEO of the retail distributor Landing International, which worked with Ulta Beauty to bring eight of the 13 new brands to Ulta. “What we’re seeing also is just an openness to a softer [Korean-style] makeup look, and perhaps it’s because of [the popularity of] K-Pop and K-Dramas.”
Now a decade since K-beauty first invaded the states, there’s more new innovation to deliver to U.S. customers. Plus, thanks to TikTok, it has become easier to educate consumers about K-beauty concepts. That includes ingredients like PDRN, which is a DNA-based compound typically sourced from salmon sperm and known for regenerative and anti-inflammatory benefits. There are also products utilizing K-beauty’s innovative delivery mechanisms, like spicules, often compared to microneedling in a bottle.
To that end, Ulta Beauty is also introducing eight K-beauty skin-care brands to its shelves. They include VT Cosmetics, I’m From, Some By Mi, Mixsoon, Sungboon, Neogen, Chasin Rabbits and Medicube. Many of these brands already have cult-favorite products and have achieved success on social media.
Medicube, for example, got a major boost in July 2023 when Hailey Bieber used its Booster Pro skin-care device on TikTok. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that the 36-year-old founder of Medicube’s parent company, APR, is now a billionaire. Medicube is now valued at $4 billion.
“As Medicube evolves from a DTC-first brand into a household name, we believe Ulta is the perfect partner to help bridge that growth,” said Joe Cho, Medicube’s senior associate of media relations.
Medicube will launch with distribution at all 1,469 Ulta Doors, including “full endcap displays,” in mid-August, Cho said, adding, “For consumers who like to touch, feel and test [especially devices] before purchasing, this kind of physical access will be key to introducing Medicube and converting them into long-term brand fans.”
The brand’s Booster Pro device has seen staggering success even without IRL distribution — Medicube sold 1.5 million units of the device last year. It sold an additional 500,000 units in the first quarter of this year alone, which translates to roughly one Booster Pro sold every 13 seconds, Cho noted.
“The U.S. is quickly becoming one of our most important markets, with sales rapidly catching up to those in our core regions like South Korea,” Chos said. “This next phase of growth is about evolving from a viral K-beauty brand to a trusted name in clinical skin care across the U.S.”
To do so, Cho said, the brand will continue to leverage influencers while supporting its Ulta presence with sampling and other marketing campaigns.
Like Medicube, the K-beauty brand VT Cosmetics has already seen popularity stateside thanks to its use of newly popular Korean innovations like PDRN and spicule technology. It has become known for its Reedle Shot Serums, which use spicules — best described as micro-needles that boost ingredient absorption — to deliver ingredients like collagen and retinol to the skin.
“The spicules are self-manufactured using marine sponges infused with centella, hyaluronic acid and green propolis, and are designed for safe and effective absorption,” said Seoyeon Oh, assistant manager of global marketing at VT Cosmetics. “Despite a slight tingling sensation, they are clinically proven to be safe and effective, [and have passed] multiple dermatological tests and earned top cosmetic awards in Korea,”
She added, “K-beauty remains a key category due to its innovation, skin-friendly ingredients and accessible pricing,” said Oh.
VT Cosmetics is already live on Ulta.com, with nine products currently available. The brand’s prices range from $10 for a travel pack to $35 for a moisturizer. VT Cosmetics’ PDRN is not salmon-derived, but rather a vegan alternative made from ginseng grown in Korea’s Jirisan, which, Oh said, “offers 5.5 times better absorption than salmon-based PDRN and is gentler on sensitive skin.”
VT Cosmetics, like Medicube, plans to use influencer marketing to educate U.S. consumers about its novel ingredients — Medicube also has PDRN and spicule products launching at Ulta. VT Cosmetics is planning a New York City pop-up for the fall.
Virality is something these brands are good at, said Chung Park. Where Landing comes in, she said, is to help people connect with these brands.
To further market the robust K-beauty offerings it will now offer and introduce them to its American audience, Ulta has invested in a robust 360-degree marketing plan. This includes featuring digestible content on Instagram and TikTok, including a dedicated content series, and sharing co-branded content from the new brands across its channels. The retailer will also host brand-led masterclasses for its Ulta Beauty Collective, providing them with information to use in their own social media content. Long-form editorial storytelling will appear on Ulta’s Discover pages and its K-beauty landing page on Ulta.com. The retailer will also send dedicated emails, include full-page spreads in its magazine, which is sent to over 45 million Rewards Members, and invest in paid search and affiliate marketing to support its K-beauty push.
Ulta Beauty is working with another distribution company, SKINSQUARED, to support a series of K-beauty pop-ups, which will feature a selection of its new brands, including VT Cosmetics, TirTir and Fwee.
The increase of K-beauty brands on U.S. retail shelves has been steady since the outset of the year. Ulta first introduced a slate of new brands in February, including Anua, which is also popular on social media, plus ETUDE, Isntree and Round Lab. They joined a fairly extensive selection of K-beauty brands Ulta already offered, including Belif, CosRx and Ma:nyo, to name a few.
The same month, Sephora introduced the Amorepacific-owned Aestura to its K-beauty selection, while Hanyul hit shelves in May. And, as Glossy first revealed last December, Beauty of Joseon will hit shelves this month. Glossy can also exclusively report that the K-beauty brand Torriden will launch at Sephora next week. Target, meanwhile, has introduced popular K-beauty brands including Mediheal, Round Lab, Skin 1004, Ma:nyo, Torriden and Beauty of Joseon. Glossy can also exclusively report that Target will introduce Numbuzin, another K-beauty brand popular on social media, to its online channel later this month and its stores in August.
Inside our coverage
Why customer brand trips are core to Cocokind’s marketing strategy
Exclusive: 19 months after selling to private equity, JVN Hair enters Ulta Beauty
Meet Mallory Brooks, aka @plzdontbuythat, TikTok’s ultimate de-influencer
Reading list
Glossier is joining TikTok Shop
Beauty has gone bananas for this new fruit trend, but can it last?
