This article was originally published in Cosmetics Business’ Beauty Hotspots Trend Report. Receive your copy here
K-beauty has reigned in recent years, bringing glass skin and snail mucin into the mainstream globally. It is no wonder that South Korea’s cosmetics industry exports reached a record US$11.43bn globally in 2025, up 12.3% compared to 2024, and the country surpassed France as the biggest cosmetics exporter to the US.
Now, a fresh wave of innovation from Korea is poised to take hold in 2026, spanning hair care and colour cosmetics to boundary-pushing, skin-loving ingredients.
Greater shade inclusivity
TirTir has led the way with its 40-strong range of shades of its Mask Fit Red Cushion Foundation
With its focus on skin care, K-beauty has typically offered widespread appeal, regardless of skin colour. Even the popularity of BB and CC creams, which combine both skin care and make-up, appears not to have been held back by limited shade ranges thanks to the products’ forgiving sheer coverage.
With attention now turning to colour cosmetics in the latest K-beauty wave, a number of Korean brands have expanded their shade ranges in pursuit of global growth – with more to follow.
Black women in the US show more interest in K-beauty products than other ethnicities, according to new research from Mintel and Black Swan Data, even though K-Beauty lines largely target fairer skin tones. The report, What’s next in K-beauty? From Seoul to Stateside, found 27% of US black female facial skin care users show an interest in foreign/K-beauty brands, versus 19% of white women.
This means there are opportunities for brands to reframe K-beauty for darker skin tones to reach new consumers and optimise revenue, it added.
“The explosion for a second time on the global stage will encourage K-beauty brands to innovate and develop for a wider range of skin tones,” Lisa Payne, Head of Beauty at analytics firm Stylus, tells Cosmetics Business. “We have seen this already with TirTir evolving its viral offering with more shades and undertones.”
TirTir has led the way with an inclusive range that now numbers 40 shades for its viral Mask Fit Red Cushion Foundation, tapping influencers such as Golloria and Miss Darcei to promote the expansion. This has pathed the way for TirTir’s expansion in locations outside Korea such as the UK and UAE.
Following suit, Parnell has also expanded the shade range for its Cicamanu Serum Foundation to 40 shades, and Clio added four new shades for its expansion to the Philippines.
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