02.14.17
Korean guys love their cosmetics! On Valentine’s Day, men’s interest in makeup increases rapidly in South Korea, according to data from Bird View, a cosmetics information provider. Searches for men’s cosmetics increased 133% on average on the week before Valentine’s Day. More specifically, the search for makeup products such as concealer and the eyebrow pencil more than doubled during the period. No wonder that Korean men are the world’s top per-capita consumers of skin care products, and the grooming industry is worth more than $1 billion.
Bird View’s flagship app Hwahae (which loosely means "interpreting cosmetics") analyzed search traffic for the month before and after Valentine’s Day last year, and it turned out that the percentage of men seeking men’s makeup cosmetics increased significantly during the period.
So why do Korean men put on makeup? Most Korean men get interested in skin care products and sun protection items during military service, due to frequent outdoor activities with strong sunlight. According to AmorePacific, 70% of South Korea’s military men use cosmetics. Even after the military service, men continue to use cosmetics for their daily life and for special occasions such as a job interview.
“Men’s grooming is so common now, and the male cosmetics market is growing by 30-40% every year,” said Yoonjin Jung, chief marketing officer at Hwahae. “Now that there is a wider choice of men’s cosmetics in the market and the needs for segmented information on men’s cosmetics is growing, we will try to provide more information relevant to them.”
Bird View’s flagship app Hwahae (which loosely means "interpreting cosmetics") analyzed search traffic for the month before and after Valentine’s Day last year, and it turned out that the percentage of men seeking men’s makeup cosmetics increased significantly during the period.
So why do Korean men put on makeup? Most Korean men get interested in skin care products and sun protection items during military service, due to frequent outdoor activities with strong sunlight. According to AmorePacific, 70% of South Korea’s military men use cosmetics. Even after the military service, men continue to use cosmetics for their daily life and for special occasions such as a job interview.
“Men’s grooming is so common now, and the male cosmetics market is growing by 30-40% every year,” said Yoonjin Jung, chief marketing officer at Hwahae. “Now that there is a wider choice of men’s cosmetics in the market and the needs for segmented information on men’s cosmetics is growing, we will try to provide more information relevant to them.”