The second I walked into an Olive Younger retailer in South Korea (properly, considered one of about 5 places I visited), I knew the wonder retailer was totally different. The sense of discovery and playfulness have been not like something I’d skilled in a very long time. Novelty apart, the aisles of revolutionary skin care, cute and colourful makeup, distinctive wellness objects, hair care and even wholesome snacks made me assume, “Wow, this could accomplish that properly within the U.S.”
I didn’t have to attend very lengthy as a result of Olive Younger is opening its first brick-and-mortar retailer in the US on Might 29, proper in my metropolis of Los Angeles. Nicely, Pasadena, to be actual. (A second location can also be set to open on the Westfield Century Metropolis mall within the subsequent few weeks.) Whereas the product assortment gained’t be precisely the identical, thanks partially to U.S. laws on objects like sunscreen, the distinctive sense of pleasure and enjoyable the retailer brings to IRL purchasing may be very current.
Picture: Loamis Rodriguez/Olive Younger
The 27-year-old retailer had U.S. growth in thoughts as a result of the nation is a big a part of its enterprise: Within the first half of 2025, “greater than half of worldwide gross sales have been generated by U.S. clients, who additionally accounted for over 40% of complete gross sales development throughout the identical interval,” Rena Kim, international communications lead at CJ Olive Younger, advised Fashionista through e mail.
“The U.S. shouldn’t be solely the world’s largest magnificence market, but additionally one of the crucial influential in shaping international magnificence trends, content material and shopper habits,” she added. “For Olive Younger, it was a pure and strategic subsequent step in our international growth.” Along with the shop opening, the retailer is launching a U.S. e-commerce web site to make purchasing quicker and simpler.
L.A. was chosen first as a result of it’s a “international epicenter for vogue, magnificence and wellness developments” with a “various inhabitants and big selection of existence [that] create an atmosphere the place new cultural actions are naturally embraced and amplified,” Kim mentioned, including, “Throughout the larger Los Angeles space, Pasadena was particularly chosen for its vibrant neighborhood, the place shoppers are extremely engaged in private wellness and open to experiential retail.”
And the retailer didn’t begin small. The sprawling 8,647-square-foot retailer sits at 58 W. Colorado Blvd., considered one of Pasadena’s primary industrial streets in what might be its most well-known space. Lined with espresso outlets, eating places and stylish shops together with Alo, Vuori and Free Individuals, the world is probably going to attract in buyers looking for the most recent developments in Korean beauty — most likely as a result of they noticed it on social media.
Olive Younger seen that social media affect is analogous throughout each South Korea and America: “Each markets share a really sturdy alignment: a shift towards discovery-driven purchasing that’s closely impressed by social media, peer communities and creator content material,” Kim mentioned.
Picture: Loamis Rodriguez/Olive Younger
She added that roughly 70% of the top-purchased objects amongst international guests purchasing in South Korea overlap with these bought by Korean shoppers themselves, suggesting worldwide buyers are more and more excited by genuine Ok-beauty routines, slightly than simply particular person viral merchandise.
“American shoppers are already discovering Ok-beauty organically by way of TikTok and social media, and we consider Ok-beauty is now evolving past a distinct segment class into a real mainstream magnificence motion,” Kim mentioned. “Olive Younger goals to grow to be an area the place shoppers can’t solely uncover developments on-line, but additionally expertise them firsthand and join them to their very own magnificence routines and existence.”
That sense of non-public connection is what, for my part, Olive Younger does greatest. It might be simple to get overwhelmed in a retailer with 400 manufacturers and 5,000 SKUs. However this location, like many in Seoul, is damaged up into category-specific zones. “Reasonably than purchasing solely by model identify, clients are inspired to discover primarily based on particular issues, trending elements, textures, and routines, from barrier restore and cooling skincare to inside magnificence and wellness classes,” Kim mentioned.
And you may strive it before you purchase it. Across the serums, toner pads, sunscreens and sweetness units, there are water-basin stations designed so that you can get in and cleanse your fingers or face.
I hoped the U.S. Olive Younger retailer would additionally function a few of the providers I attempted in Seoul. Kim confirmed that, “very similar to our shops in Korea, the U.S. places will supply experiential parts similar to easy pores and skin evaluation and customized consultations designed to assist clients uncover skincare routines tailor-made to their particular person pores and skin sort and way of life.” The retailer’s complimentary skin-scanning expertise even recommends merchandise tailor-made to your complexion. The method feels genuinely interactive.
“Probably the most essential parts we needed to protect from Korea was Olive Younger’s id as a discovery-driven ‘magnificence playground’ slightly than a standard magnificence retailer,” Kim mentioned. “In Korea, clients go to our shops not merely to buy acquainted merchandise, however to browse, check, and uncover rising developments, new textures and customized routines in an immersive manner.”
They’ll be taught issues, too. In The Magnificence Lab zone, clients can take “skincare classes” protecting matters similar to sunscreen, toner pads, serum layering and double cleaning.
With regards to the precise merchandise, buyers will uncover each buzzy new manufacturers and longtime favorites. The assortment consists of Ok-beauty names like Anua, Biodance, fwee, Mediheal, The Face Store and CNP Laboratory, alongside international manufacturers similar to CeraVe, Hero, Kiehl’s and City Decay — plus a few of these snacks I used to be speaking about.
Whereas buyers will not discover South Korea’s well-known sunscreens of their authentic formulation (right here, sunscreen is regulated by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration as an over-the-counter drug, which slows the approval course of for brand spanking new UV filters), I’ve heard instantly from many Korean manufacturers that they’re working exhausting to create U.S.-approved sunscreens we’ll love (nearly) as a lot. In any other case, “for the overwhelming majority of merchandise, formulations stay the identical as these offered in Korea,” Kim mentioned.
Nevertheless it’s not simply in regards to the merchandise — it’s in regards to the expertise. After spending time inside shops throughout Seoul, it’s simple to see why the retailer turned such a phenomenon. Now, American buyers lastly get to expertise a model of that for themselves.
