Say goodbye to the days of poring over obscure Amazon vendors in search of snail cream or blindly ordering foot exfoliators on Sokoglam. The Korean equivalent of Sephora (read: floating makeup islands, tons of testers, a house line of skincare and cosmetics and generous free samples at checkout) has arrived stateside.
Aritaum, a veritable K-beauty emporium, houses all your cult favorite products and more. Stores feature hair, skin and makeup products from lines such as Mamonde, Hanyul (its Rice Essential Skin Softener is, as the name implies, essential), Sulwhasoo, Laneige and IOPE (known as the progenitors of the cushion compact and for its Bio Intensive Essence and Super Vital Cream). The chain, already omnipresent in South Korea, now boasts over 60 North American locations (some still under the name “Amore” after AmorePacific, the stores’ parent company, but those will be rebranded presently), with plans to expand even further throughout the U.S. in the upcoming year.
Unfortunately, for non AmorePacific-owned products like our beloved TonyMoly, you’ll still have to head to brand-specific sites or your local China- or K-town beauty outpost. On the bright side, once you’ve visited a brick-and-mortar Aritaum and nailed down your favorite red ginseng-infused serum and plant stem cell treatment, you can go back to auto-refilling your essentials online: the store’s American e-commerce site will launch by the end of 2016 — just in time for dry winter skin and hibernative states of shopping.
[ via Racked ]
