Korean women are known for having beautiful skin. The region is also touted for launching the alphabet crème craze that swept the US marketplace with full force. Now, industry experts Christine Chang and Sarah Lee of New York City—who collectively have almost 20 years of experience in the beauty business in marketing, product development and digital in both Korea and the US for L’Oreal—collaborated to launch an online beauty hub dedicated solely to natural Korean products.
 
Glow Recipe (www.glowrecipe.com) is touted as the first and only “green” Korean beauty site to globalize the secrets behind the radiant skin of notoriously picky Korean women, according to the company.
 
“Korean skin care is deeply rooted in natural and herbal beauty,” said Chang. “Records of women having used ingredients such as rice and licorice date back centuries. We found many outstanding brands that prioritized these natural ingredients while minimizing the use of potentially harmful chemicals often found in modern cosmetics. Not only do we love this holistic approach to beauty and skin care, but find that it leads to incredible results.”
 
While products formulated with a high proportion of synthetic ingredients dominate the global natural personal care market, accounting for nearly 75% of the total market share in 2014, truly natural positioning is gaining importance with consumers, manufacturers and retailers, noted global consulting and research firm Kline & Company in a recent report. Following this trend, marketers have increasingly been reformulating with a higher proportion of natural ingredients in their products.
 
Bestsellers on GlowRecipe.com range from Dr. Oracle EPL Premium Mist ($25), a soothing mist formulated with a blend of pure Celtic water, maca root extract and peptides for all skin types, to Lee Ji Ham Tea Tree 90 Essence ($45), a lightweight serum with 90% tea tree extract to soothe and hydrate sensitive, irritated and troubled faces.
 
Categories vary from cleansers to UV protection to lip care. Consumers can also shop by skin type or concern.
 
But while the Korean skin care regimen is revered, it can also be confusing. That’s because it can include as many as 10 lotions, patches, creams and serums.
 
“Glow Recipe’s goal is to cut through the clutter. We would constantly hear from industry connections and friends alike that while they were intrigued by Korean beauty innovations, they found its depth and diversity overwhelming,” said Lee. “Having lived and breathed multicultural beauty throughout our personal and professional lives, we believe we are uniquely qualified to translate this complexity and make it accessible to the global market.”
 
According to its founders, Glow Recipe focuses on naturalness, customization and most importantly, results. Each brand and product is individually evaluated based on a rigorous set of quality and efficacy criteria, with an emphasis on ingredients, sustainability and company mission. Further, products are exhaustively tested by an in-house, multi-ethnic panel to ensure that they are ideally suited for a diverse US customer base, contends the company.
 
“We also work as a US hub for established Korean brands to launch in the US,” said Chang. “One of our partner brands is belif, a brand that is in the top 10 in prestige skin care in Korea and will be launching in Sephora this March.” 

Also cashing on the sampling craze, Glow Recipe offers custom trial sets ($25 for five samples and a $5 store credit) to help shoppers test and find products that they will love—customers can request samples of any Glow Recipe skin care product, or simply choose a preselected Editor’s Pick trial set. The shopping site also hosts regularly scheduled flash sales.
 
What’s ahead for this dynamic duo? According to Chang, “Our future plans are to continue to expand both arms of our business and become the go-to source for quality brands and beauty innovations from Korea. We strongly believe that this open, cross-cultural dialogue in beauty benefits everyone. With the advent of BB creams from Korea, an entire category was formed globally and ultimately more choices were available for all women. It's our goal to bring over the next billion dollar category that can energize the beauty market!”