Sulwhasoo invited 8Asians to partake in the Niemen Marcus Launch Party to celebrate the long-anticipated arrival of this amazing Korean cosmetics line here on the west coast. Fashion journalists and bloggers were invited to the Asian Art Museum to meet with the line’s key representatives. Sulwhasoo has been at Bergdorf Goodman in New York for the past year, but Amore Pacific, the parent company that owns Sulwhasoo, just made its debut in San Francisco and Honolulu earlier last month.
The line’s selling point is the fusion of traditional Korean herbal medicine and modern Western science. Wild ginseng is a key ingredient, which we goodfellow Asians know is rare, expensive, and considered the most potent. I gave the Sulwhasoo gift bag each attendee received to my mother-in-law, who happily went nuts over the ginseng-infused beauty products. As it turns out, we are now officially going to be buying Sulwhasoo products for her in the future, so the brand has successfully turned her to their side.
Aside from the somewhat kitschy “east meets west ancient beauty secrets of the Orient” marketing pitch of the company, I deeply respect the brand’s decision to showcase its Korean roots and present itself to North America as a wholly Asian company. Its trade dress proudly honors Korean culture and heritage. I contrast that with a lot of other Asian brands, cosmetics or otherwise, that attempt to white-wash themselves and assimilate here with a “we’re totally American, we’re just like you” branding philosophy. For that point, I hope Asian Americans will embrace the cultural integrity of Sulwhasoo USA.
Marc Shin, President of Amore Pacific, giving the opening statement at the Launch.
For more information, visit the official Sulwhasoo website.
Psst… In case you were wondering (I know you really weren’t), I’m currently using the Sulwhasoo First Care Serum and Snowise BB cream and loving both.
[Photo Credits: Finn Partners.]
