There’s no doubt that a new K-Beauty product is always trending, especially when a K-Celeb is the face of said product. In recent news, we’ve seen big names like SEVENTEEN’s WonWoo named as the new model of Korean beauty brands like The Face Shop, ZEROBASEONE becoming the new faces of COLORGRAM, and RIIZE becoming the new models of ETUDE, and many more.

There is an abundance of K-Beauty brands with K-Celebs as the face/model/ambassador of the brand - and fans are dedicated to buying these products to support their favorite K-Pop idol or Korean actor. The Olive Young top product ranking (of Apr. 25, 2024) is a great example of this. Out of the 8 products shown, 4 of them have K-Celebs (namely MONSTA X's HyungWon, Go YounJung, 2AM's Jo Kwon, and ZEROBASEONE's Kim JiWoong) as the face of the product, which can increase the odds of consumers buying the product.

If you've ever wondered why brands opt to add celebrities to their marketing campaigns, a look at the following data from 2021 by LaunchMetrics proves the impact that Korean celebrities (namely BLACKPINK's Jennie and JiSoo, and BIGBANG's G-Dragon) have had on international luxury brands for fashion and cosmetics (which has only grown stronger since then).

If that is the impact that K-Celebs can have on international brands, then it goes without saying that they would have a similar impact on local K-Beauty brands, too.

However, recently fans have been raising the question wondering why K-Celebrities (especially veterans and big names) don't venture into creating their own cosmetics and beauty brands. If they did, surely they'd make a lucrative profit from their fans' support...

In the case of the Western world, artists like Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, and Rihanna have infiltrated the global beauty market with their respective brands. Beyoncé has recently gone viral for her content utilizing her hair care products Cécred, Selena Gomez has become a sensation on social media with her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty, and Rihanna has also created a cosmetics brand that is a staple on the dressing tables of many in the form of Fenty Beauty. So, why don't K-Celebrities leverage their fandoms and take the leap?

 

The K-Beauty Celebrity Cosmetics Landscape Is Not Non-Existent

If you're looking for K-Celebrity cosmetics, but feeling bleak because you can't find any, then don't despair. There is one brand that you can seek out!

That's not to say that K-Pop idols haven't ventured into creating their own cosmetics brands at all. Jeon SoMi is one of the first K-Pop idols to attempt her own cosmetics line.

 

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She launched the makeup brand GLYF which she had been working on since 2023.

Negative Reactions To A K-Celebrity Makeup Line

However, the product launch was met with some pushback from netizens as they questioned her intention/sincerity and the pricing of the product.

Some argued that Jeon SoMi's first product, the ILLUÉTTE Highlighter Palette (four colors) at 43,000 Korean won (about 31.39 USD), is too expensive.

Whilst this sentiment spread across communities, to be objective, similar celebrity brands in the West charge similarly or even more. The Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter (one or two colors) retails for 74,100 Korean won (about 54.02 USD) and the Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter (one color) retails for 25 USD (about 34,274 Korean won).

On the other hand, if you compare a similar highlighter palette (with 4 colors) from the Korean brand IPKN called the IPKN Flap One Face Palette, it retails for 32,000 Korean won (about 23.23 USD).

Note: all prices and conversions are as of Apr. 24, 2024.

Taking these brands into consideration, Jeon SoMi's product is slightly on the pricey side but not entirely out of reach. It is up to consumers to buy a product in their comfortable price range.

 

The Likeliness Of More K-Celebs Opening Brands In Future

Whilst K-Pop idols are at a career and popularity advantage to launch products in the form of beauty and fashion brands, there might be some hesitance on their part due to potential backlash from fans. Jeon SoMi is one case study, but so is former Girls' Generation member Jessica Jung, who faced backlash from her agency when trying to launch her current fashion brand BLANC & ECLARE.

Some fans perceive pursuing businesses like this as a distraction and a lack of dedication to being an idol. Even in the West, Rihanna has received a lot of backlash for not releasing music and focusing solely on her beauty brand, for example.

As K-Pop fandom prioritizes a relationship with the K-Pop idol, for instance, whilst there might be an outpouring of support for the idol's brand - fans might not like the change in focus.

There is also the issue of K-Pop idols losing out on much-needed brand deals essential to marketing their groups or themselves. This is because beauty brand models are usually tied to only promoting that specific brand due to exclusivity clauses in the contract.

Lastly, and naturally, creating a brand in a saturated market is also a huge risk that K-Celebs may not have the time or energy to take on. Especially in South Korea, where K-Beauty giants such as Olive Young rule the day, it might be difficult to navigate the brands under that umbrella and other competitors. Even a brand (distributor) as huge as Sephora (selling international brands) has had to close down operations in South Korea due to being unable to beat the local K-Beauty market.

If competition can be this fierce between distributors, then it will undoubtedly be just as fierce amongst actual brand competitors.

However, there is still hope that more K-Celebs will take the leap to create products that can help fans feel closer to or like them.

What do you think? Should more K-Celebs be starting beauty brands? Do you reckon that being the face of another K-Beauty brand and not starting their own is the best way for K-Celebs to be part of the K-Beauty industry?

Brace yourselves, K-Pop fans, as the upcoming month of March 2024 is set to be filled with even more exciting debuts and comebacks. Check out the March 2024 K-Pop Comeback/Debut Schedule.

In this post, you can see the artists’ debut, comeback, K-Drama OST, and special Music all in one place!

Which comeback and debut will have you waiting in anticipation?

Let's find out who's making a comeback this March and what songs they're coming back with at a glance!

You can check the list below!

 

March 2024 K-Pop Comeback/Debut Schedule

Mar. 2

-  HORI7ON

2nd Single 'DAYTOUR'

 

Mar. 4

- Kim HeeJae

2nd Full Album "희로애락 (喜怒哀樂)"

- Roy Kim

Single '봄이 와도'

 

Mar. 5

- DaeSung (BigBang)

Single 'Falling Slowly'

 

Mar.6

- 8TURN

Japan Debut Single 'RU-PUM PUM Japanese ver.'

- Kassy

6th EP Album "Full Bloom'

 

Mar. 7

- ICHILLIN’

3rd Mini Album "Feelin' Hot"

- Zia

 

Mar. 8

- xikers

3rd Mini Album "HOUSE OF TRICKY: Trial And Error"

- Miya (GWSN)

Single 'MIYAO'

Mar. 10

- TAN

2nd Anniversary Album "SEVEN FOREVER"

 

Mar. 11

- TEMPEST

5th Mini Album "TEMPEST Voyage"

- Highlight

5th Mini Album "Switch"

- ChungHa

Single 'EENIE MEENIE'

 

Mar. 12

- Wendy (Red Velvet)

2nd Mini Album "Wish You Hell"

 

Mar. 13

- LUN8

2nd Mini Album "BUFF"

- VVUP

Pre-Debut Single

- Hwang MinHyun

Digital Single 'Lullaby'

- BAE173

5th Mini Album "NEW CHAPTER: LUCEAT"

 

Mar. 14

- XODIAC

2nd Single 'Xoul Day'

- YooA (OH MY GIRL)

1st Single 'Borderline'

 

Mar. 15

- VCHA

2nd Single 'Only One'

- V (BTS)

Single 'FRE(END)S'

- SEVENUS

1st Mini Album "SPRING CANVAS"

- XXIN (Noir)

1st Single Album 'STILL ALIVE'

 

Mar. 18

- DAY6

8th Mini Album "Fourever"

- THE BOYZ

2nd Full Album "PHANTASY Pt.3: Love Letter"

- Kim NamJoo (Apink)

2nd Single 'BAD'

- DOHANSE (Former VICTON's Member)

Single 'How Time Flies'

 

Mar. 19

- PURPLE KISS

6th Mini album "BXX"

- SUPER JUNIOR-D&E

5th Mini Album Pre-release Song 'ROSE'

 

Mar. 20

- THE NEW SIX

1st Digital Single 'FUEGO'

 

 

Mar. 25

- Yong JunHyung

EP Album "Beautiful Dystopia"

- NCT DREAM

"DREAM( )SCAPE"

 

Mar. 26

- RESCENE

Debut Single 'Rescene'

- BoA

Single 'Emptiness'

- AMPERS&ONE

2nd Single 'ONE HEARTED'

- DAVICHI

Single '너의 편이 돼 줄게'

- SUPER JUNIOR-D&E

5th Mini Album "606 (SIX_ZERO_SIX)"

 

 

Mar. 27

- UNIS

Debut / 1st Album "WE UNIS"

- Candy Shop

1st Mini Album "Hasgtag#"

Mar. 28

- TAN

1st Full Album "3TAN (WORLD Ver.)"

 

Mar. 29

- ARTMS

Pre-release Single 'Birth'

 

Mar. 31

- Bang YongGuk

3rd Mini Album "3"

 

 

Did you finish checking the March 2024 K-Pop Comeback/Debut Schedule? If you are curious about Kpopmap's April 2024 comeback & debut schedule, you can check it out at the link below!

With the rise of the Hallyu wave, there's nothing trendier than dressing like your favorite K-Celebrity. Fashion is a huge part of the culture, whether it comes to the idols who perform on stage or the roster of actors that are casted into the various K-Dramas. They look impeccable from head to toe, all thanks to their dedicated team of makeup artists and hairstylists.

Previously, it was a constant struggle for international fans to get their hands on the latest K-Fashion outfits and follow the trends without buying a plane ticket to South Korea. However, things have been made easier by online retailers such as YesStyle and MUSINSA. These websites, and a few others, curate a large collection of goods from numerous brands that anyone can add to their wardrobe.

These brands range from hidden gems to established names. One brand that you should definitely be looking to purchase from is CODEGRAPHY.

 

CODEGRAPHY

CODEGRAPHY is a fairly new brand, described as a utility-based streetwear brand, it has grown in both presence and style in the fashion scene, promoting hip and trendy outfits that you can easily incorporate into your daily lives.

With CODEGRAPHY's constant evolution, they have also established a number of different stores across Korea to accommodate the demand from their loyal consumers. The brand has locations all over Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and more, allowing millions the ability to find a physical store near them.

 

Collection Of Apparel

Just like any fashion brand, CODEGRAPHY offers a wide selection of items. A combination of functional elements and distinct graphic designs, clothing from the brand is uniquely made with the highest quality and utmost care. The assortment of merchandise that they offer ranges from regular t-shirts, comfy outerwear, and accessories to make your outfit pop with a splash of color. They even go as far as offering cute apparel for your beloved fur friend. With so many options, you're bound to find something to fit your taste in the catalogues of CODEGRAPHY.

 

Celebrity Collaboration

With its growing influence, CODEGRAPHY has been able to employ some celebrities to model their products. In its history, SEVENTEEN's Hoshi modeled for the brand, which eventually resulted in a cute tiger keyring and tiger pouch in honor of his contributions. Now, however, we see a new K-Pop artist grace the feeds and online store of the K-Fashion brand. That celebrity is none other than celebrated soloist, ChungHa.

In honor of this collaboration, CODEGRAPHY has designed a special collection of products, made available on both its official website and MUSINSA Global. It's chic, sporty, and oh so stylish, providing the perfect summer vibe. Despite spring just starting and our feeds being graced with cherry blossoms, CODEGRAPHY provides its customers the perfect outfits to prepare for the warmer weather.

Now, will you be adding something from CODEGRAPHY to your wardrobe?