Kintex K-Beauty Expo Recap, 2017

Ok guys, honestly this is going to be quite a brief recap. I was in a bit of a rush the day I managed to attend the expo, and was too excited running around to take all the photos I should have. I also managed to miss a bunch of stands I’d wanted to see…but anyway, here’s what I saw and experienced. We also have the Intercharm Expo in November which I’ll hopefully be able to spend more time at, and see the brands I didn’t see at Kintex.

What is a K-Beauty Expo?

First I want to address this question, as a number of ladies have messaged asking. It’s ultimately a trade show, where brands buy a space to showcase their products, usually aimed at buyers and distributors, although it is open to the public as well. They may be selling the products (usually at a wonderfully discounted price), or just showing them. There are older brands as well as very new (and they’re usually brands that don’t have their own standalone stores in Seoul). It’s a great place to learn about new trends in the K-beauty market. There are also beauty equipment demos, and technology ‘play areas’, as the expo also caters to spa and salon owners.

Old Friends

When I first arrived at the expo, I ran around saying hello to friends and companies I’ve worked with in the past. It’s really good to see these people, see what new products their brands are offering, and just socialize with people as passionate about beauty as me!

So first I visited:

G9 Skin/Berrisom, to see my friend Brenda who I often talk about. I was so excited to see her after so long that I forgot to take any photos…sob. I own all of the current products from the company, but she so kindly gifted me with a super fun eyeliner product from their home shopping brand. It’s a stamp for wings! And an eyeliner pen, in one. 

Cosrx. I’ve been working with Hye-Young from Cosrx for a long while, but incredibly we’ve never managed a meeting face to face! It was so great to finally meet her, she’s so sweet and SO good at what she does in the overseas marketing for Cosrx, it’s very inspiring. She was so generous and gifted me the goodies below…

 

Shangpree. As anyone who follows me will know. I’m a big time Shangpree lover, both of their spa and their products. I was really happy to catch up with the ladies, and they completely surprised me by gifting me with their newest set of gold products and the ginseng eye patches- EXCITEMENT.

 

Eleven Huesday are a brand I had just recently worked with, and again I was happy to meet them in person. They were really helpful, and advised me on which products of theirs I should use according to my skin type. They then gifted me those they thought would be best! So sweet.

I also caught up with Tan May, who I encountered at last year’s expo, as well as Banobagi, and Thank You Farmer. Thank You Farmer have a new oil mist that I’m super keen to try out!

Eye Catchers

The following were brands I hadn’t heard of previously, but caught my eye and grabbed my attention as I wandered around.

Kocostar. I lie, I had seen Kocostar’s fruit slice masks before, but I didn’t know the name of the brand or any information. When Sarah from Oh My Gloss Blog said they had PUMPKIN masks that supposedly smelled like pumpkin spice lattes, I seriously ran for their booth. And of course, bought them. You can head to my Instagram to see a mini review of these masks.

 

OKA had some really cool looking sheet masks. I just loved the packaging! It was pretty unique.

Karatica. They called me over to their booth as I passed, and let my try a sample of their Gold Duck Egg Foil Mask, and their Gold Duck Egg Cream. Both felt amazing on my hand. They also had some eye patches that I wish I’d bought…they were for under the eye, and contained micro needles, for the at home application of hyaluronic acid. I was so intrigued! I’m hoping they’re at the expo next month so I can find out more. 

 

Marshique. Now this wasn’t a product I was necessarily interested in purchasing, but it got me looking and playing with it as we passed! It’s an eyelash dryer and curler in one! I’m guessing you kinda give your lashes a curling blow dry after face washing or showering. Interesting I thought…

 

Galantry. Just their display and packaging was stunning. I’m keen to invest more in hair care and they certainly got my attention. Although I didn’t buy anything for my hair at the expo, they’re on my want-to-try list.

 

Hugging U. So yes, this is exactly as the picture below suggests. Sheetmasks for your back. I kid you not. I’m sure you can imagine why these caught my eye and why they’re featured. So strange, and I’m still confused as to why I need a back sheet mask, but I wish I’d bought one to try!

 

Boryeong Mud Cosmetic. Okay let me have my cheesy moment. The first time I met my boyfriend Mikey was at mudfest in Boryeong.  So this beauty line made from Boryeong mud tugged at my heart a little hahaa. The sweet lady on the booth also gave us a pack of samples!

 

Wet Trust. Now this really surprised me. For those of you who don’t know, Korea is (generally) a very sexually/gender conservative society. Sex is not openly talked about, and neither are personal/intimate issues (this is actually something I feel really strongly about after living in Korean society for over 3 years, if you wanna talk politics email me, I can’t get into it here or I’ll never stop…!). Wet Trust is a feminine care company, who were very open in talking about vaginal health, and gave us a full talk about their products. They also gave us a sample pack that was basically a skincare routine for your intimate area, which I thought was really interesting! There were cleansing wipes, a foam wash, an internal cleansing gel, an essence (yes, really!), mist, and moisturizer (actually more of a lube). Now I’m not totally sure about the internal products, I haven’t done my research yet, but I thought it was really interesting to see them with such a big presence at the expo. I do however hope that the message isn’t that we need to clean down there, or that our natural environment is unpleasant or unattractive…the impression I got was more that they wanted to help women stay comfortable and healthy.

 

There were also some labs there with really really cool formulas, but sadly those were for companies, not for public consumers like me. There were some amazing textures and colors available, so I hope some company snapped up the formulas!

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That’s all I’ve got for you for now! Like I said, I’m heading to the Intercharm expo at Coex in November, so I’ll be reporting back from that too!