First Look: Korean beauty retailer Olive Young makes U.S. store debut
A longstanding Korean beauty and skincare retailer has touched down in the United States.
Olive Young has opened a 8,647-sq.-ft. store in Pasadena, Calif., marking its first brick-and-mortar location in the country. The K-beauty store will offer approximately 400 brands and 5,000 SKUs across skincare, makeup, hair care, wellness and inner beauty through the brand’s omnichannel retail experience.
Olive Young says its stores are designed to offer a personalized and immersive beauty shopping experience. The storefeatures a "try before you buy" section, supported by dedicated skincare-focused displays for key categories such as serums, toner pads, sunscreens and beauty devices.
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Complimentary services, from skin scans to scalp analysis, inspired by Olive Young’s popular services in South Korea, help guide customers to understand their needs and start building their own routines. Through personalized skin scanning technology, the brand says customers can better understand their skin concerns and receive detailed product recommendations.
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Image courtesy of Olive Young. -
Image courtesy of Olive Young. -
Image courtesy of Olive Young. -
Image courtesy of Olive Young.
The debut U.S. store also features "The Beauty Lab" zone, where customers can learn the fundamentals of healthy beauty through expert-guided sessions built around skin scan insights. The one-point sessions, called "Skincare Lessons," are designed to make K-beauty routines more accessible and personalized, covering topics such as sunscreen, toner pads, serum layering, and double cleansing tailored to individual beauty needs.
"At Olive Young, we aim to create a space where customers can discover what works best for them — both in-store and online," said Gaeun Kwon, CEO of Olive Young USA. "Our U.S. debut marks an important step in bringing a more personalized and seamless beauty discovery experience to American consumers, grounded in our strengths in curation, innovation and customer experience."
In tandem with the store opening, Olive Young has launched an enhanced three-tier membership loyalty program in the U.S. – Friend, Green and Gold – designed to drive engagement and repeat visits. The program offers competitive point accrual rates, tier-based rewards, and earn-and-redeem benefits across both online and offline channels, along with perks such as sign-up rewards, birthday benefits and point multiplier events.
"We see Olive Young not only as a destination for K-beauty, but as a discovery platform that brings together diverse beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands from Korea and beyond," added Kwon. "Our goal is to help customers continuously discover something new — from emerging trends and innovative products to routines and brands that fit their individual lifestyles.”
Founded in 1999, Olive Young operates over 1,380 stores in South Korea.
