Thousands of fans of Korean culture and entertainment poured into the Los Angeles Convention Center this past weekend, to take part in the world's largest Korean fan convention, KCON 2016 USA presented by Toyota.
While the main draw for most attendees was, undoubtedly, the impressive lineup of Korean actors and idols scheduled to make an appearance over the course of the weekend, many in attendance also expressed a keen interest in Korean beauty products being showcased at the convention. With lines stretching across the convention hall, it's easy to see that these beauty companies were a hit amongst convention goers.
Despite a hectic schedule, the lovely ARITAUM reps were willing to take a minute to talk with us about their products and give us some insider tips on how to look your best during these hot summer months.
KPZ: Many of our readers might not be familiar with the ARITAUM brand. Can you tell us a little bit about the company, the brands and the products you carry?
ARITAUM: ARITAUM comes from our Korean parent company, AmorePacific, which as been around since 1945. Aritaum carries many brands, including: IOPE, Laneigne, Mamonde, ARITAUM, Hanyul and Sulwhasoo, here in the U.S. The Aritaums in the U.S. are slightly different than the ones in Korea. The ones in Korea do not carry Sulwhasoo, but we do. We have about 1000+ stores in Korea and you know Korea is a pretty small country so that's a lot of stores. We like to call ourselves the Sephora of Korea and we currently have 70 stores here in the U.S.
KPZ: We all know that these hot summer months can be really hard on our skin. Which products would you recommend to not only help protect us from the harsh effects of the sun but also keep us looking bright and refreshed?
ARITAUM: What a lot of people make mistakes with in the hot summer months is that they skip on skincare because they think that it's too heavy. What you really want to do is switch to a lighter skincare. You always want to have a serum and a gel cream, so that it's not too sticky but you're still hydrating and feeding your skin and then SPF is obviously very important. We're very famous for our IOPE air cushions, which have SPF 50. So what you want to do is feed your skin first and then protect it.
KPZ: What are some of this summer's hottest beauty trends?
ARITAUM: It's the ombre look. The ombre lips gloss. So we have the IOPE dual lip blender which gives you that look with one swipe. So usually, when you do an ombre look, you have to use 2 colors but with this, you get 2 colors in 1.
KPZ: Which products would you recommend for getting these looks?
ARITAUM: Aside from the lips, we have Shine Fix Eyes that are very glittery shadows that will make your eyes pop, in addition to our famous air cushions. Of course for skincare, our best-seller is the Bio Essence, it puts antioxidants back into your skin that you lose when you age.
KPZ: You offer a wide variety of products and everyone always seems to have their own list of favorites. Which are your most popular items? Which are your personal favorite?
ARITAUM: Our most popular item is the cushion foundation, especially the IOPE air-cushion. In the IOPE air cushion we have a lot of finishes, so we have natural cover, intense cover and matte. My personal favorite is the matte because it gives you the most coverage and it also gives you a slight powdery finish [for those] people who might not like the dewy look.
KPZ: If there's one thing people love, it's getting an insider's tips on how to look your best, so I just have to ask: Do you have any tips you'd like to share with us?
ARITAUM: I think the biggest thing with Korean beauty is starting from the inside out. So when you have a healthy base, when you have healthy skin, whatever you put on it is going to look so much better. So we're all about having a healthy base, feeding your skin, clarifying your skin, and then putting makeup on to enhance what you already have.
KPZ: You've got this booth set up here at KCON, as well as a pop-up store, and you've been offering makeovers by K-Beauty experts all weekend. How has the response been so far?
ARITAUM: It's been amazing! We've been having lines the block. We actually have an IOPE makeup artist from Korea who flew over here just for this event. She was very hard to get and we're very fortunate to have her and she's just so professional. We had a workshop with her yesterday and the response was amazing.
KPZ: Where can people find your products, once KCON has ended? Do you have stores located here in the U.S.?
ARITAUM: Yes we do. We have 70 stores here in North America. We don't have e-commerce yet but if you got to aritaum.com there's a store locator so you can find the store that's closest to you.
With so many great products to choose from, it's easy to see why ARITAUM has become one of the leading brands in Korean beauty and why their booth was one of the hottest stops at KCON 2016 LA.
