Strictly speaking, ¡°indie brands¡± denote small-scale enterprises, sometimes beginning as startups. Whether as a one-person operation or a handful of employees at most, independent labels attracted an impressive user base — and oftentimes, even fandom.

Striving for Mother Nature¡¯s Longevity

According to industry sources, independent K-beauty brands began to explode in 2019. Brands kicked off in a spree of active launches focusing on green, eco-friendly ideals. ¡°Clean, green, organic¡±: such biofriendly — or ¡°biocompatible¡± when speaking of skin types and finer needs — synonymous keywords have in common degradability, whether of packaging or constituents, and minimization of toxins. Put differently, what harms the Earth less also tends to be what harms our own bodies and skin less. How great, to know there are ways to take care of our own selves simultaneous to doing what we can for the planet we inhabit?

The Pure Wonder Active Serum 55% is comprised of 55%
of AYM (Active Youth Molecule),
a core ingredient exclusive to
and invented on behalf of EATH. © EATH Library

© EATH Library

Hence, a major way brands live up to their professed mission of green values is to swap common ingredients with environmentally-conscious alternatives. B CLEAN is a store that the conglomerate–department store Hyundai launched at their flagship store in Seoul¡¯s Yeouido district, decked out with a curated selection of vegan beauty products. Decorated in minty hues, every brand experience seems to live up to the vegan ideals of millennials. Salespeople that consumers consult for makeup expertise in luxe epartment stores claim the organic selection offers the best of concepts of ¡°green,¡± well-being and vegan.

Another that has made great strides in both living up to their mission and reflecting it for an environmentally-conscious customer base. Herbal whether on imagistic, effectiveness or aroma-wise, EATH taps into natural ingredients used in Korean traditional medicine. Its earthly aesthetics of natural colors and simplicity are well aligned with its brand message of healing through a crisscross of traditional resources and technological procedures. In all, manifest in each of its product line are the visions of its co-founders: a designer and a doctor of oriental medicine.

EATH Library upkeeps its showrooms and pop-up stores with much care, offering a unique brand experience for its customers. © EATH Library

Fine-pointed Expertise

Launched in December 2015, TheToollab is founded on the motto of ¡°formula-based tools and tool-based formulas.¡± Founder Baek Sookyung boasts an over ten years-long career as a specialist in makeup brushes. She has previously worked with cosmetic giants like Sephora, Chanel and SK-II, among others. As its name hints, TheToollab deals specifically with makeup tools, with brushes a major focus.

Thanks to her years searching for optimal solutions, she built a company dedicated to making the safest, most advanced brush. Her insistence on making the ideal brush is not so particular once we consider how few commercial brush regulations are in place.

As such, indie beauty brands facing either the domestic or global markets are defined by originality of either technique (or build of the material) or philosophy.

Intricately crafted brushes claim a very niche sector in the makeup industry. © thetoollab

© thetoollab