Asian Beauty Essentials: Bringing the Best Of Asian Skin Care To The West

Asian skin care has definitely taken the beauty world by storm in recent years, and it's not hard to see why! Its popularity stems from the combination of natural and herbal ingredients found in many products, which can be incredibly effective when used properly. 

The array of products available smooths, plumps, and energizes skin like no other. Asian beauty brands offer unique solutions that give users that sought-after 'glass skin' look popularized by the idols. 

Seeing this buzzworthy trend as an opportunity to revolutionize the American skincare industry, Asian Beauty Essentials is the beauty e-commerce brand that’s taking the best of the East to the West. 

Keep reading to discover how this brand is changing the way Americans experience beauty. 

How Asian Beauty Essentials started

When it comes to achieving a clear complexion, East is best! Since its founding back in 2020, Asian Beauty Essentials has been bringing the sacred skincare secrets of Taiwanese, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean beauty to the western world. 

But, in a world full of American skincare brands, why does this brand promote Asian beauty as the “it” girl to follow? It all comes down to its founder's experience with American beauty brands. Lauren Petrullo, owner of Asian Beauty Essentials and CEO of Award-Winning Marketing Agency, Mongoose Media LLC, grew up in the States suffering from acne-prone skin. The American skincare approach to her concern was always “one-size-fits-most”, with so-called “experts” always recommending the same ‘miracle’ products without even caring about allergies, skin type, or even lifestyle preferences. No matter if you had oily skin or dry, if you wanted clean products or if you were vegan, back at that time the results were the same. 

In the same way, she visualized American beauty as an industry that promotes covering up imperfections. From pimples and dark spots to wrinkles and fine lines, the solution was always a big “cover it up”. So, people were always encouraged to find the foundation, base, or corrector with the highest coverage to hide their real skin, just like masks, instead of being taught how to keep their skin healthy.  

That’s how, during the pandemic, she discovered Asian skincare and her vision of beauty changed. 

Asia skin care vs. American skin care: A battle that is already won

When it comes to skincare, Asian skincare is definitely winning the game. After a lot of research, and many years of having acne-prone skin without finding a solution in the American market, Lauren came across the eastern approach to skincare, and here’s what she unwrapped: Asian skincare is, without a doubt, the gold standard in beauty and for a few reasons: 

• Unlike American skin care products that often have an endless list of ingredients where many can cause irritation, allergies, redness, and inflammation, Asian skincare offers delicate formulations, since skin sensitivity is (finally) taken into account. 
• Most Asian products use natural and herbal ingredients instead of harsh chemicals. From lactic acid and hyaluronic acid, to the buzzworthy Centella Asiatica and tea tree oil, almost all skincare formulations were more holistic. 
• Asians ADORE their skin and celebrate it, which means that they have multiple-step skincare routines to give a little TLC to their complexion *seriously, have you seen Asian female idols’ skin?  That level of perfection only comes from one thing: dedication*
• Asian skincare is deeply rooted in nourishing your skin from the inside out with an emphasis on hydration and repair. So, no more hiding the problem with makeup! Asians actually have overall skin health in mind instead of offering quick fixes. 
• Skin type, preferences, and sensitivities matter! More than just a “one-size-fits-most” approach, Asian skincare brands create products for each skin type and concern. So, it doesn’t matter if you have sensitive skin, normal, combination, or dry, there’s always something for you. 

With so many benefits, Lauren decided to bring the best skincare products from the East to the West and that’s why she created Asian Beauty Essentials as the solution to the too-abrasive American beauty industry. 

How it’s going

As an e-commerce store, Asian Beauty Essentials currently sells more than 500 skincare and cosmetic products, being Korean skin care products amongst the most popular ones, since some of them have been featured in many Korean dramas or have been promoted by K-pop idols. 

The challenges

Running a beauty business is no skinwalk in the park - literally. With high competition, bureaucratic red tape,harassment from anti-Asian internet trolls, and in person nastiness from strangers balking at the existence of our business, plus a little inexperience, escalating Asian Beauty Essentials to the top has been a challenge. 

Racism and ignorance 

Racism against Asians in America is nothing new and now it’s involving skincare too. Despite the popularity of Korea's now-ubiquitous multi-step skincare regimen, which has caught wildfire with people from all walks of life, some still view skin care products from Asia as ‘exotic’ or even suspicious, perpetuating negative stereotypes about Asians in the process.

As a brand, Asian Beauty Essentials has faced comments like “oh, this is from China, it must be bad” or “K-beauty products are low quality because they come from an Asian country.” 

All too often, people will look incredulously at you when you mention that your beauty routine relies on products from Korea or Japan. A common reaction is “Why do Asian products work better?” This reflects the previous assumption that skincare culture and knowledge only existed in Europe and America—which is clearly not true.

This level of ignorance has made Asian Beauty Essential more than just an e-commerce website, but also an educational brand that aims to teach Americans about not only Chinese, Japanese, or Korean skincare, but also about the Asian beauty industry in general and why it’s taking the world by storm. 

The competition

The skincare industry in America has become increasingly competitive over the past few years. New products, specialized ingredients, and high standards for customer satisfaction have made it a cutthroat market to break into. And with so many brands jostling for attention, it can be difficult for new companies to make their mark.

Even though the Asian beauty trend is relatively new in our country, Asian Beauty Essentials still has to fight against well-established beauty brands, like Neutrogena and The Ordinary, while also trying to promote the Asian approach to skin. 

The experience

As the owner of a marketing agency, Lauren is a marketing expert with years of experience helping e-commerce brands to sell more. In this sense, she founded Asian Beauty Essentials to apply all her gained knowledge to her own marketing brand. 

However, there was a big elephant in the room: running the marketing of a beauty e-com store is just a tiny portion of all the things that have to be done to run a store. From managing an inventory to finding suppliers there are a lot of pieces that have to come together in order to have a successful e-commerce store, and that’s what Lauren had to learn over the years. 

The opportunities

In recent years, the slow but steady rise of Asian-influenced beauty routines, especially the K-beauty ones, has created a buzz among American shoppers that extends worldwide. With an increasing appetite for innovative and cutting-edge solutions, Asian Beauty Essentials can mark a difference and become a go-to skincare brand for those looking for glowy, hydrated skin the natural way. 

Inclusivity

With the ever-growing need to increase inclusivity across all industries, Asian Beauty Essentials has begun to realize that its products and customer base also need to reflect this value. That’s why the brand has been actively bringing products that are applicable for any skin type, concern, and preference. 

The brand has many curated collections that address the needs of every customer: 

Skin type: 

• Acne-prone skin
• Oily skin types
• Dry skin
• Sensitive skin
• Normal skin
• Combination skin

Skin concern:

• Acne
• Hyperpigmentation
• Anti-aging
• Brightening
• Soothing
• Dark spots

Preferences

• Vegan
• Clean
• Hypoallergenic
• Pregnancy-safe
• Breastfeeding safe

Asian Beauty Essentials believes that EVERYONE should have the right to find the product that satisfies their every need. So, no matter in what stage of life you are, what skin type you have, or what problem you’re facing, there’s going to be something for you. In fact, the brand has a must-take skincare quiz that helps you determine which products are the best for you, instead of offering a “one-size-fits-most” solution, and has an amazing team of skincare fairies that are always there to hear you and give you the best advice! They’re basically your skincare besties. 

And, if that wasn’t enough, they also promote language inclusivity. Knowing that around 62.6 million Hispanics live in the U.S., as of 2022, Asian Beauty Essentials have been focusing on making their skincare resources and products available in Spanish. Nowadays, they have a Spanish YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram account, and a blog section dedicated to Spanish readers. 

Physical store

Asian Beauty Essentials dreams BIG and sees a great opportunity in opening an Asian beauty-only store in the U.S. The need for unique Asian products has been on the rise lately and, while many are savvy online shoppers, giving customers the opportunity to find, for example, the best Korean skincare products or the trendiest Japanese beauty goodies, in their local areas without having to worry about shipping is a great opportunity in the long run. 

Advice to others about business

As a business owner and CEO, Lauren has 3 tips for any women out there looking to found their own business: 

1. Find funding

There’s funding for female founders looking to open their own businesses. All the resources are out there, you just have to research and find the one that suits you best. 

2. Be patient

If you think that having a business is so easy that you will be able to quit your 9 to 5 job and be successful in 6 months, think again! The market is tough and scaling a business takes a lot of time and, above all, patience. 

Don’t rush it and don’t despair. 

3. Be confident

When it comes to launching a business, the most important thing is to have confidence in yourself. After all, if you don't believe in your own product, why would anyone else? Remember to do your research and be prepared.

Not all risks are equally risky - some require more consideration than others - but in general, it's important to remember that failure isn't necessarily a bad thing.