Lessons from the K-Beauty Trend: The Importance of Social Media Research

From Gangnam Style to BTS to Squid Game, Korean cultural exports have been making waves across the globe for several years.

The success of K-Pop and K-Drama helped drive interest in Korean beauty products – or K-Beauty – among global consumers increasingly seeking new and innovative skincare products.

However, consumers in different parts of the world quickly realized that products designed for the skin-tones and types prevalent in Korea do not necessary work well on their own skin.

Some negativity ensued, and many users turned to social media to voice their disappointment.

Leveraging the Trend

Given the popularity of the K-beauty trend, it is no surprise that established brands would want to tap into it. One such brand is Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), which recently released a purple blush as part of their collection that was inspired by K-beauty trends, which often emphasize unique and playful colors, especially in skincare and makeup. In K-beauty, unconventional shades like purple are often used to enhance specific undertones or create a youthful, ethereal look. But YSL was heavily criticized for not getting the trend right.

The YSL purple blush was marketed as a universally flattering shade for all skin tones, but darker-skinned consumers quickly criticized it for appearing ashy and unsuitable, highlighting a lack of inclusivity in its formulation.

“I think the problem is that YSL advertised that the product would work on a diverse range of skin tones when that is apparently not the case”

The Importance of Social Media Research

The criticism of YSL's purple blush correlates directly with feedback around K-beauty products that has been circulating on social media for some time. Research to understand social media conversations around the K-beauty trend could have helped YSL adapt its messaging and potentially reduce some of the negative feedback it received.

“It’s not even just this colour in the line tho. They all showed up chalky on the darker tones. Sure the purple might work best for light skin tones, but there was nothing in the rest of the line that works for darker tones. With misleading product photos from the brand.”

Social media has become one of the biggest sources of data about products and brands today, with a wealth of insights available around consumer likes, preferences, attitudes and experiences. Reactions to the YSL purple blush product highlight the importance of social media research conducted by specialist consultancies such as Anavizio to uncover key business insights from user conversations. It has become too important of a platform to ignore, with consumers increasingly turning to social media for information about products they are considering buying!