Style Story’s Best Of 2018!
2018 was a massive year for our team – we welcomed several new team members, a new baby and had another massive year discovering, curating and reporting on all the latest K-Beauty crazes from Korea and Australia.
This year, we curated d’Alba Piedmont, Belif, Cosmetea, Dr Jart, JJ Young by Caolion Lab, Mamonde, Olivarrier and many more, and welcomed new products from some of your favourite brands, including COSRX, Soroci, Benton, Papa Recipe, PACKage and more.
To say goodbye to the year that was and welcome 2019, we’ve put together STYLE STORY’s Best of 2018. This was our year in review:
January – The “Glass Skin” Craze Kicked Off
2018 truly was the year of #GlassSkin, so it was fitting that the year began with a post on the SS Blog that ended up going viral on Pinterest!
Glass skin (or “yuri pibu” as it’s known in Korean) refers to translucent looking skin that is toned, hydrated, healthy and fresh.
If you imagine your skin like a piece of glass – dewy and luminous with no pores – you’ve got the idea behind this skincare craze. Glass skin was the aim of the game in skincare this year, with everything from toners, serums, moisturisers, mists and BB Cushions promising poreless glass perfection.
See the post that sparked hundreds of thousands of views here.
March – We Gave Away A Year’s Worth Of K-beauty Products
In March, we offered one of our lucky K-Beauty lovers the chance to win a year’s worth of Korean Beauty products!
Our global giveaway included hundreds of products – cleansers, toners, essences, serums, masks, mists, lip glosses, mascaras, moisturisers and more – all from the world’s favourite Korean and Asian beauty brands.
Our lucky winner took home over $1400 worth of products!
April – Collaboration With Marie Claire Showbag
In April, we were excited to collaborate with Marie Claire for their epic showbag at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
The luxe bag was one of the hottest at the Sydney show, selling out completely! It featured one of STYLE STORY’s best-selling Korean Beauty Face Masks – PACKage’s Everyday Bouncy Face Mask – along with a host of other goodies, including bags, purses, lipsticks, concealers, perfume and more!
The Sydney Royal Easter Show is one of Sydney’s biggest events, held over two weeks around Easter, and the show bags are always a crowd favourite.
Later in the year, we teamed up with Marie Claire again to give two K-Beauty face masksto each of the attendees at the Royal Adelaide Show, Melbourne Show and the Brisbane Ekka! Find out more about our collaboration here.
May – Collaboration With Bellabox
In May, we were once excited to be teaming up with Bellabox to bring 10,000 Bella’s one of the hottest beauty products straight from Seoul.
Bellabox is Australia’s biggest monthly beauty subscription box, going out to tens of thousands of Aussies each month. It features a range of the latest must-have skincare, makeup, hair and body products in an adorable blue box.
May’s month’s Bellabox was all about “Weekend Skin”, with the essentials to get pampered and prepped for the perfect #weekend!
One of Korea’s hottest trending skincare products, Benton’s Snail Bee High Content Essence, was featured in the box, along with a range of lush products from Model Co, John Plunkett, Nivea, Revlon, Sukin, White Glo, UB Cosmetics, Enbacci, Numasque, La Roche Posay and Nutrimetics!
Find out more about our feature here.
June – Cosmo Beauty Expo
In June, we had an absolute ball discovering some of Korea’s emerging K-Beauty brands, as well as a range of new technologies at the Cosmo Beauty Expo, which was held at COEX in Gangnam, Seoul.
We caught up with companies specialising in cosmetic packaging, accessories (like sponges and brushes) as well as mask-making factories, nail art labels, spa equipment and more!
At this Expo, we noticed a real push towards natural and fermented cosmetics, as well as an endless obsession with the latest and greatest in face mask technologies!
The other trend on display was smaller batch, handmade items.
Get the full report from our trip to the Cosmo Beauty Expo here.
September – K-Beauty Meetup
In September, we were excited to host the 2018 Brisbane K-Beauty Meetup at beautiful JoJo’s Bar and Restaurant in South Brisbane.
A group of K-Beauty addicts, skincare newbies, bloggers, boyfriends and plenty more turned up to talk all things Korean skincare and makeup, and try the latest new release Korean beauty products fresh from Seoul.
Although many of us were meeting each other for the first time, we bonded over a shared love for skincare, makeup and all-things Korean beauty!
We were looked after by the brilliant team at JoJo’s Restaurant and Bar and shared delicious desserts and coffee while we talked through the newest skincare trends.
We got to try the latest Korean beauty releases from brands like JJ Young by Caolion Lab, iUNIK, Holika Holika, Benton, Banila Co, Beauty of Joseon and PACKage Korea, which were each curated by STYLE STORY Founder Lauren Lee, who flew over from Seoul to attend the meetup!
We also tried plenty of old favourites from labels like COSRX, Soroci, Elizavecca and Vlancvere. Get the full report from the expo here.
October – K-Beauty Expo
Every year the STYLE STORY team is invited by the Korean Government to attend the K-Beauty Expo in Ilsan, Korea to see the latest Korean beauty products and meet with the companies behind them.
In 2019, we saw over 750 booths packed with the next wave of Korean skincare and beauty trends From the cute and kitsch to the minimalist, the customisable and the medical, we saw all the key Korean skincare trends we’ll be seeing more of this year!
After the Expo, STYLE STORY curated d’Alba Piedmont, as well as new products from Soroci and is about to launch three new brands as well (stay tuned!!)
Get our full report from the Expo here.
November – Style Story’s Best-Selling Soap Went Viral In Australia
In November, STYLE STORY’s best-selling Korean facial bar made the front page of Australia’s news.com.au.
April Skin Magic Stone Cleansing Soap is so popular it has sold more than 2 million units since launching in Korea.
Following Journalist Rebecca Sullivan’s article on the April Skin Magic Stone we were absolutely inundated with orders for this cult-fav soap – so much so that we required TWO new shipments just to fill everyone’s orders!
April Skin nailed the natural skincare trend with its hypoallergenic formula that contains a blend of Korean herbal extracts and effectively removes dirt, makeup and more.
December – We Attended The Launch Of Bling Dear In Seoul
In December, we were excited to attend the launch of the new Bling Dear platform at the beautiful Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul.
Bling Dear is a new beauty review platform similar to Korea’s hit Hwahae, but in English!
For those not familiar with it, it’s a cosmetic analysis and review platform that’s one of the biggest in Korea, and is a place where beauty users can share their own content and reviews to test out and discuss the latest makeup, beauty and skincare.
Bling Dear is the English version featuring reviews and user generated content of many of the best trending K-Beauty products from brands like Beauty of Joseon, Son & Park, SOME BY MI, Purito, Commleaf and more, as well as western brands like The Ordinary.
Thank You So Much To Everyone Who Supported Us In 2018!
We had an absolute ball getting to meet you (whether in real life or online) and talk through your skincare routines, favourite products and best finds.
We have plenty of exciting things planned in 2019.
If you’re not already, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagramand YouTube to stay up to date with all our latest news.
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