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Korean skincare’s international rise has helped create retail space for a wider range of beauty products from across Asia. In the Philippines, SM Beauty is building on that familiarity by placing established K-beauty names, newer Korean labels and other Asian hair and skincare brands within one selection.
The retailer’s #SoMuchKBeauty campaign presents Korean beauty not as an isolated trend, but as an entry point into a broader Asian beauty category. That approach reflects how products and routines once mainly found through specialist importers are becoming easier for Philippine shoppers to discover in mainstream retail.
What shoppers can find in the selection
SM Beauty’s skincare lineup includes Deoproce, COSRX, Beauty of Joseon, Round Lab, Genabelle, Some By Mi and Torriden. The assortment combines brands that already have international followings with names that shoppers may be encountering for the first time.
The campaign also extends beyond facial skincare. SM Beauty identified Tsubaki, Super Mild and Fino among the Korean and Asian hair and scalp-care brands available through its stores.
Bringing these categories together allows shoppers to compare products from different Asian beauty markets without treating each country’s offerings as a separate specialty. It also connects product discovery with the routines promoted through beauty content online, where skincare, scalp care and hair treatments are often discussed as parts of the same regimen.
Background: Korean beauty opened a wider door
K-beauty’s influence developed through more than individual viral products. International interest expanded from BB creams and sheet masks to multi-step routines and ingredients including snail mucin, heartleaf and rice water. Associated ideas such as skin-barrier care and lightweight product layering also became familiar outside South Korea.
That growth has produced measurable commercial results. The United States imported $1.7 billion in South Korean cosmetics in 2024, according to US International Trade Commission figures cited by the Associated Press. The total represented a 54 percent increase from the previous year.
The Philippine beauty market is simultaneously developing its own identity. A September 7 BusinessMirror report described local brands as emphasizing accessible prices, inclusive shades and formulas suited to Filipino skin tones, lifestyles and weather conditions. That development places Philippine beauty alongside established Korean and Japanese categories rather than limiting Asian beauty to imports.
These trends form the larger arc behind SM Beauty’s campaign: Korean products helped familiarize consumers with beauty ideas from the region, while retailers and local companies are now expanding what “Asian beauty” can include.
Why it matters for international beauty consumers
The immediate consequence is greater access. Shoppers no longer necessarily need a specialist store or a direct overseas order to explore a range of Korean and Asian brands. A mainstream retailer can now place those products within regular skincare and hair-care shopping.
The broader consequence is a change in how the category is presented. Korean beauty remains the most recognizable gateway, but the selection encourages shoppers to look beyond a single country. Japanese hair-care brands and emerging Philippine beauty companies can benefit from consumer familiarity initially built through K-beauty.
For brands, that means entry into the market may depend less on persuading customers to try an unfamiliar regional concept. Consumers who already understand Korean skincare routines may be more prepared to consider other Asian formulas, formats and approaches.
SM Beauty’s named selection makes that transition visible at store level, spanning Korean skincare from COSRX, Beauty of Joseon and Round Lab to Asian hair and scalp-care names including Tsubaki, Super Mild and Fino.
Sources: Philstar.com; BusinessMirror; Associated Press.
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