The popularity of K-beauty has exploded in recent years. When searching for K-Beauty products in Korea, it’s simple to come by; however, finding genuine items online might be tricky, even more so when you need worldwide delivery. For this reason, we found the best websites to buy K-beauty skincare products. Whether you need Korean skincare, makeup, or something else, these Korean cosmetic websites will have what you’re looking for. All of the websites on this list provide overseas shipping and are also available in English.
Furthermore, each of these websites sells items that are genuinely popular in Korea or produced in Korea. If you order from these websites (particularly some brands), you can rest assured that the products will come from South Korea.
Please comment if you believe a website should be included on this list. These are the best websites to buy cosmetics from Korea at the time of writing!
Best Websites to Buy K-Beauty Skincare Products
MBX (MEMEBOX)
Korean beauty startup Memebox, rebranded as MBX is one of the most successful Korean beauty startups. Their focus has now been on the United States and their e-commerce platform. They are alumni of Y-Combinator, the top startup accelerator in the world. They are known for its short development cycle due to its massive skin type, trends, and preferences from its 5 million monthly active users. Memebox became a household name in Korea due to its focus on targeting beauty influencers. They are in collaboration with Hye-Min Park (Pony), who is Korea’s top beauty vlogger.
Memebox started in 2012 as a subscription box service for Korean beauty products. A few years later, they branched out into the United States and were one of the first stores that sold Korean beauty products to American consumers. Their focus has been on K-beauty community building since then, as well as transitioning from a subscription-based service to an e-commerce business.
From Memebox to MBX
The company has since transformed into a mobile e-commerce platform selling around 170,000 cosmetics and beauty products. Now more than 50% of their revenue comes from outside of Korea. In addition, Memebox, which is now referred to as MBX has partnered with Sephora and Johnson & Johnson. MBX has collaborated with Sephora twice with their latest K-Beauty Brand, Otzi, offering a skincare line that is vegan, cruelty-free, and PETA-certified/approved. Their in-house product lines include Kaja, Nooni, Pony Effect, I’M MEME, I Dew Care, and Shine Easy Glam.
Innovative K-Beauty Brand Incubator
MBX has gotten around $200 million in funding so far. Their focus for 2022 will be to build the next generation of personal care brands by leveraging Korean technology across beauty sectors. They will continue to focus on innovation and R&D as they look to expand globally. This will be done through their K-Beauty brand incubator specializing in the latest trends and driving innovation in the K-beauty industry. They will continue to build unique brands that serve niche consumer bases.
“MBX today is the evolution of our company’s approach to personalization through data into the development of unique brands that target niche groups,” said CEO of Memebox, Hyungseok Dino Ha.
Limese
Korean beauty startup Limese is the No.1 K-beauty platform that sells Korean beauty products to the Indian market. They continue to partner with cosmetic brands in South Korea and set themselves as the central middleman for helping Korean brands enter the Indian market. Limese handpicks its Korean products to suit Indian beauty requirements. Furthermore, their site offers real reviews from people in India so that Indian consumers can make the right decision. They even have their blog and podcast to showcase the latest Korean beauty trends.
Limese got an investment of $900,000 from Kakao Ventures, closing their seed round.
“Through the latest investment, we would like the number of brands to increase to 50 by next year and strengthen influence of the platform,” said Dale Deungcheon Han, CEO of Limese.
For 2022 Limese will focus on its skincare brand called “Limese” and continue to develop its existing products. They will continue to bridge the beauty gap between India and Korea. In addition to bringing the latest and high-quality products to Korean beauty brands and startups.
Beauficial
Beauficial is a beauty marketplace that allows Africans to buy directly from major K-beauty brands at reasonable rates. There’s a widespread misunderstanding that K-beauty goods are only for Asian people. K-beauty products’ marketing is often targeted toward Asian women. “whitening” has made many women of color wary to try it for themselves. Furthermore, most blogs, Instagram feeds, and YouTube videos neglect to discuss black beauty. The secret is that K-beauty products are fantastic for people of color.
People of color are becoming consumers of K-beauty products like never before. You’ll find a wealth of information about the wonders of Korean beauty for dark skin these days on blogs and YouTubers. Furthermore, certain K-beauty manufacturers are ideal for darker complexions. Beauficial’s signature brand is Dr. GIO, their ULTRA 7 Brightening Foundation Cushion.
Wishtrend
Wishtrend is a beauty e-commerce firm that believes in restoring natural skin beauty by offering our customers effective skincare solutions through a hand-picked selection of products and brands. We remain steadfast in upholding our principles as we continue to grow and use content to convey a positive vision of genuine beauty to our clients.
Wishtrend continues to expand into new markets yearly as a global K-beauty platform. Their primary brand is Klairs, and their hypoallergenic and high-functioning skincare lines are produced by By Wishtrend and Jungle Botanics. They were created in response to the skincare problems of Wishtrend subscribers. Over 4 million YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram subscribers have created a solid social media following for Wishtrend. This is no easy task, as it is highly unusual for a Korean beauty startup to have such a high level of competence in content production and run a news media platform with major influence.
Soko Glam
Soko Glam is a K-beauty e-commerce platform and was one of the first to showcase K-beauty products to the US market. Thanks to Soko Glam, beauty consumers in the States do not have to travel to South Korea to get the latest K-beauty products. They soon became a billion-dollar company and even launched their brands called Then I Met You and Good(Skin).
They also created The Klog, a platform that educates community members on the importance of adapting the Korean Skin First philosophy to their daily routine. Soko Glam originated the 10-step K-beauty routine that went viral a decade ago.
