江南Style：韩系美妆品席卷海外

    虽然法国人向来是时装潮流的全球领导者，不过在美容领域，过去几十年的创新主要是由SK-II和资生堂等日本化妆品公司引领的。NPD集团表示，近年来，在市场规模高达440亿美元的美国美容市场上，韩国的美容品牌开始占据更大的份额。

    生活网站Refinery29的美容总监梅根•麦金泰尔指出：“人们对韩国美容产品的兴趣渐渐增高，这种趋势是从BB霜开始的。”

    BB霜是一款兼具护肤和化妆作用的美容产品，可以起到保湿、遮瑕的作用，并且包含防晒成分。这种产品于2011年在美国开卖，现在几乎每个大型化妆品品牌都有了自家的BB霜产品。麦金泰尔表示：“自从美国女性爱上了BB霜，她们就开始对其它韩国美容产品也充满兴趣。”

    去年，麦金泰尔在韩国招聘了一位办事员，向她全面报告韩国美容行业的最新动向。她表示：“如果韩国的BB霜已经生产20年了，那么我们还错过了哪些产品？”

    韩国有两家美容巨头，一家是爱茉莉，其地位相当于韩国的雅诗兰黛，它的品牌包括兰芝、亦博和雪花秀；另一家是LG，旗下品牌包括SUM 37和马上将推出的belif。韩国的其它主要品牌包括Dr. Jart、魔法森林和Amarte等等。很多品牌在伯道夫古德曼、内曼马库斯和丝芙兰等商场和门店有售，此外也有很多网站在销售韩国美容产品，比如Glowrecipe、Peach and Lily和SokoGlam等。另外还有一项类似于化妆品发现平台Birchbox，名叫MemeBox的美容产品订购服务。

    除了BB霜和韩国化妆品惯常采用的可爱包装（比如魔法森林的唇膜采用桃红色包装，化妆盒呈嘴唇状）以外，韩国美容产品的吸引力究竟是什么？它与美国化妆品有什么不同？

    Glowrecipe.com的联合创始人克里斯汀•张表示，这要归功于韩国美容行业的创新，以及韩国人对好皮肤的痴迷。

    克里斯汀•张表示：“韩国企业正在以前所未有的速度推出创新产品，这是由于许多消费者为了护肤不惜任何代价。韩国女性采用一种完全不同的美容方法，她们不依靠单一的产品护肤，而且也不愿用化妆品掩盖脸上的瑕疵。”

    麦金泰尔称，一名韩国女性的护肤流程通常要用到好几种产品，包含好几道工序，经常在10到17道工序之间。“她们并不认为这种过程很繁琐累人，而是当成一种仪式，或一种享受过程。”

    不少韩国化妆品含有人参和蜗牛粘液等原料，韩国的面膜原材料有的取自棉纤维，有的取自海藻等天然原料，还有些产品含有发酵成份。韩国化妆品也有自己的“行话”。所谓的“精华”类似于一种加强版的精华液，而韩国专家口中的“肌肤表达”，是指消费者将一款产品用到皮肤上的效果。

    下面让我们了解一下美国市场上几个最大的韩国品牌。

    While the French have long been the global style leader in the sartorial stakes, for decades beauty innovation was being led by Japanese cosmetics companies such as SK-IIand Shiseido. But in the last few years, South Korean beauty brands have been claiming a bigger stake of the American beauty market, which is estimated to be $44 billion dollars, according to the NPD Group.

    “There has been a cumulative interest in Korean beauty and it all started with the BB cream,” says Megan McIntyre, the beauty director at the lifestyle siteRefinery29.

    A BB, or beauty balm, is in an all-in-one skincare and makeup hybrid that moisturizers, covers blemishes, and contains sunscreen. The products hit U.S. shelves in 2011 and now nearly every major cosmetics brand carries one. “Once American women caught on to BB creams, they started becoming curious about other Korean beauty products,” says McIntyre.

    Last year, McIntyre hired a South Korea-based correspondent to report on the latest trends from the ground. “If Korea has had BB creams for about 20 years, what else are we missing?” she says.

    The two major Korean beauty powerhouses areAMOREPACIFIC (think of it as the Estée Lauder of Korea) and its brands include LANEIGE, Iope and Sulwhasoo, while LG has SUM 37 and the soon-to-be-launched belif. Other major brands include Dr. Jart,Tony Moly and Amarte. While many of these brands are sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus as well as Sephora, there’s also a host of websites selling curated Korean beauty products, such as Glowrecipe, Peach and Lily, and SokoGlam. MemeBox is a Korean beauty subscription service, similar to Birchbox.

    But beyond the BB cream, and the often cute packaging- Tony Moly’s lip balms are packaged in cherry and lip shaped compacts- what’s the appeal of Korean beauty, and how is different than its American counterpart?

    It all comes down to innovation and an obsession with beautiful skin, says Christine Chang, the co-founder, along with Sarah Lee, of Glowrecipe.com.

    “Korean companies are churning out innovative products at an unprecedented rate, and it’s powered by consumers willing to do anything for good skin,” says Chang. “Korean women have a totally different approach to beauty. They don’t rely on one product for their skin and they don’t use makeup to mask their imperfections.”

    A typical Korean skincare regime involves multiple products and multiple steps—usually somewhere between 10 and 17, says McIntyre. “It’s not a chore for Korean women though. They view it as a ritual or pampering experience.”

    The hallmarks of Korean beauty include ingredients such as ginseng and even snail mucin; facial-sheet masks which can be made from cotton fiber or natural material such as kelp; and products containing fermented ingredients. K beauty (as its called) also has its own lingo. An “essence” is similar to a super-charged serum and K beauty experts talk about “skin expression,” which is how consumers work a product into their skin.

    Here’s a look at some of the biggest Korean brands available in the U.S.