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Skin, K-beauty, Korea trips and the beauty industry — ask and share
Double eyelid surgery: is it really better to fly to Korea?
On Pantip, a Thai user asked about a line they'd heard more than once: if you're going to invest in eyelid surgery, save up and fly to Korea. They wanted a double eyelid but were torn, since doing it in Thailand would co
0 1Sinyung Market
Since 1953, following Liberation, Sinheung Market has operated for 70 years, bringing together people of different nationalities and cultures to create its own distinctive atmosphere. Rather than the image of a typical m
0 0Hair-loss fibres like Toppik: confidence boost or daily worry?
On the HairLossTalk forum, a member said he had discovered hair-building fibres a couple of years earlier but dismissed them as too good to be true, assuming everyone would notice. After years of wearing hats and pulling
0 0Solo skincare founder: where should time and money go first?
A one-person founder who just launched a niche skincare brand asked r/ecommerce for help. With an accounting background, e-commerce was new to them. Early traction came from Reddit communities, but video editing was eati
0 0Breakouts on just one cheek: could it be your phone or pillow?
"It is always my left cheek" is a surprisingly common complaint. On skincare forums, the first suspects people name are things that touch that side of your face a lot. Usual suspects Phone screen: calls always pressed to
0 0Kolmar Korea and Cosmax post record Q2, lifted by indie brands
Korea's two biggest cosmetics ODMs both posted their best quarter ever. Kolmar Korea Operating profit ₩110.3B (+50.2%) Revenue ₩861.3B (+17.9%) Cosmax Operating profit ₩73.7B (+21.3%) Revenue ₩794.9B (+27.5%) What drove
0 0ODMs are posting record results. What does that mean for small brands’ production slots?
The two biggest Korean ODMs just had record quarters, and reports say factories now run busy year-round as the off-season fades. Good news for the industry, but early-stage brands may feel it differently. Worries small b
0 0'Cruelty-free' claims and China sales: the Paula's Choice lawsuit
News that Paula's Choice was being sued over animal-testing claims was shared on r/30PlusSkinCare, with a link to the complaint. It's a class action filed in March 2024 in the US District Court for the Western District o
0 0Apgujeong Rodeo Street: how to shop Seoul's original luxury-fashion beauty district
Across the street from Galleria Department Store's Luxury Hall runs an L-shaped strip about 422 meters long: Apgujeong Rodeo Street. It got its name from Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, and it became Korea's first real fashi
0 0A 'clean beauty' label lawsuit reopened an old question: what does clean even mean?
A California class action filed in October 2025 claims that some products under Ulta Beauty's Conscious Beauty banner contain ingredients the retailer's own Made Without list excludes, naming parabens and benzophenone. U
0 0Olive Young opens its first US store in Pasadena: what it means for brands
CJ Olive Young opened its first brick-and-mortar US store in Pasadena, California, on May 29. Key facts 58 W Colorado Blvd, about 8,647 sq ft Roughly 400 brands and 5,000 SKUs across skincare, makeup, hair and wellness A
0 0Bukchon Hunters Local Experience Playlist
Bukchon is a neighborhood where the atmosphere of old alleys and the individuality of small business owners coexist. Only when you visit the small shops filled with Bukchon’s own handiwork, tastes, and stories do you see
0 0Galleria Department Store Luxury Hall
Galleria Department Store Luxury Hall is a luxury department store located in the center of Apgujeong Rodeo Street, the fashion district, and the Gallery Street in Cheongdam-dong. It is divided into EAST and WEST accordi
0 0Switched to all-Korean skincare at once and broke out. Is K-beauty to blame?
Someone posted this on the @cosme Q&A board in Japan. They have atopic, combination-to-oily skin and wanted to deal with pores and clogged bumps, so over about two months they brought in a batch of popular Korean product
0 0Why do some 'clean' lip balms and blushes go off so fast?
Over on r/Sephora, someone's lip balm from a 'clean' brand started smelling sweet and sour before it was a year old, and it put them off the whole line. They admitted it hadn't had much use, but asked whether others were
0 0IFC Mall
IFC Mall is a large shopping mall spanning Basement Levels 1 to 3 of the Yeouido International Finance Center (IFC), where you can find global fashion brands all in one place, including clothing, cosmetics, and accessori
0 0Seoul Yangnyeong Market
Seoul Yangnyeong Market is Korea’s largest comprehensive Korean medicine complex, with more than 800 herbal medicine-related shops. All kinds of medicinal ingredients from across the country gather here. Seoul Yangnyeong
0 0Korea e-Arrival Card: when to fill it in so it doesn't expire
If you are entering Korea without a K-ETA, you will likely deal with the e-Arrival Card, the online version of the arrival form. The official portal is clear on a few points that trip people up. The basics It is free. An
0 0Are Korean creams still worth it in Thailand's heat and humidity?
On Pantip, Thailand's biggest forum, someone in their 40s asked whether Korean creams are still popular in Thailand and which ones to try for wrinkles. They remembered hearing years ago that Korean creams were good and w
0 1Entering Southeast Asia: halal certification first, or TikTok Shop first?
One dilemma comes up again and again among teams preparing for Southeast Asia: "Do we get certified first, or start selling first?" Commonly discussed points Indonesia and Malaysia: with large Muslim consumer bases, many
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