How the West has capitalized on the K-Beauty Industry
In every culture, there is an expected status quo for people of all genders to meet up with: the beauty standards. Beauty preferences have changed throughout centuries and civilizations, but they’re still thick and solid in today’s society. In the West, this is recognized for women as being tall and curvy with tan skin and long, voluminous hair. In Asian societies located on the East side of the globe being slim and delicate holds higher prominence in the media. Despite these very different (and equally difficult to attain) beauty standards over recent decades, Western society has become completely enamored by Asian beauty as a whole and K-beauty in particular.
With a heavy focus on skincare rather than makeup used to hide the natural beauty, this newfound love isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, since the 1990s with the growing love of Eastern beauty practices, many Western companies have taken it upon themselves to create their own versions of the products rather than invest in smaller Asian startups knowledgeable of a specific product.
This is a phenomenon that can be seen in recent years with the rise of gua sha and jade rollers. Before that, BB creams and cushion compacts were the major items that were used as a foray into the Western market in the hopes of enticing Asian consumers. However, it quickly became the cult favorite of Gen Z and Millenials with 13% of 17-year-olds in the U.S interested in trying Korean beauty products and 18% of 19 to 22-year-olds saying that they have used these products, as found by the BBC.
While this growth in just a few years of young people experiencing another culture’s beauty processes is most certainly healthy and good, many Western beauty companies then began to seek to create replicas and knock-offs of the products. This interest is certainly key to keeping everyone appraised on the ongoing shifts in the beauty industry, but when does it become problematic?
As I dove deeper into articles on this topic to understand the views of those of AAPI descent, the thing that came up, again and again, was the annoyance and anger at Western brands for the creation of companies that seemed to be similar to those in Asia without any credit given.
For ages because of Western beauty standards, companies in America and Europe often promote incredibly heavy make-up looks. Think full lips, heavy eye shadow, and an overwhelming amount of blush. However, as hallyu (the Chinese term for “Korean wave”) reached across and grasped consumers' hearts new brands such as Glossier and The Ordinary started to crop up to represent skincare and more youthful-looking makeup. While this is in no way to shame them, many of the products found were items such as the quintessential BB cream and there was a heavy discussion when it came to the layering of skincare- both being found as the key to K-beauty.
When reading Gen’s interview with Jude Chao, the marketing director of BeautyTap one quote, in particular, stood out to me: “There is a sense that K-Beauty is being cannibalized. I know from working in the industry that Korean cosmetic regulations are strict, but the average Western consumer can’t be expected to know that, so people who are wary will stick to brands they recognize. What bugs me is brands taking concepts from K-beauty and using basic ingredients, so you’re paying more for a cheap formula with a nice label, which isn’t fair on the consumer.”
As a lover of this market and skincare, I believe that as this fever only continues to grow in temperature we owe it to the cultures that created these beauty practices to learn more about them.
