Beauty online: Our most-read stories on the online beauty market

1 – Amorepacific taps Lazada to help Sulwhasoo reach younger consumers

Amorepacific has partnered with Lazada to extend Sulwhasoo’s online footprint in South East Asia​ and reach its younger consumers with its luxury brand.

Sulwhasoo has launched on Lazada’s LazMall, which already hosts Amorepacific brands Laneige, Mamonde, innisfree and Etude House.

This news follows the announcement that the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to accelerate its digital presence in SEA.

“Lazada is the region’s e-commerce leader, particularly in the beauty space, and the best possible partner to take our business online in Southeast Asia. We hope to bring Sulwhasoo’s value of Asian beauty to more customers and help them experience our unique beauty solutions in a new way,”​ said Mina Kim, senior vice president of Sulwhasoo at Amorepacific.

2 – Virtual beauty: L’Oréal teams up with Tencent to debut ModiFace in China

L'Oréal Group has launched of its Augmented Reality (AR) make-up try-on application M​odiFace in China via WeChat’s ​mini program for Giorgio Armani Beauty.

“The debut of ModiFace's 3D makeup try-on application on China’s social media, is L’Oréal China’s new milestone under the Group’s vision to be a champion of beauty-tech,”​ said Fabrice Megarbane, CEO of L’Oréal China.

The AR application on the updated Giorgio Armani Beauty mini program will allow consumers to screenshot, save and share images as well as view before and after images to elevate the consumer shopping experience on the app.

The company believes its technology “breaks through the limitations of existing applications in terms of detail, accuracy, loading time and colour deviation”,​ allowing it to compete with smart mirrors with similar tech seen in offline retail stores.

3 – Chanel expands online presence in China with launch on Tmall’s luxury platform

Chanel launches an official store on Tmall​ Luxury Pavilion to provide luxury beauty consumers “unique and convenient” access to its cosmetics and fragrances.

This is the first time the French luxury house is working with a third-party e-commerce operator in China. Previously, its products were only available offline and on its own online store.

The flagship will launched in September, but pre-sale began on July 5 to give Chinese consumers access to its full range of cosmetics and fragrance.

Chanel’s Tmall flagship offers real-time consultation by online beauty advisors and free shipping for all purchases.

Consumers can also sign up for the brand’s membership program, allowing them to receive privileges such as being the first to sample new products and attend exclusive offline events.

4 – Sasa expands online footprint with the launch of flagship on HKTVmall

Beauty retailer Sasa has strengthened its e-commerce presence with the launch of an online flagship store on HKTVmall.​

A platform on HKTVmall will allow it to provide an alternative retail channel for its consumers in Hong Kong. In addition to the new flagship, Sasa has its own e-commerce website and a mobile app.

These diversified sales channels, said the firm, enables it to further enhance its consumers’ shopping experience and cater for the needs and preference of local beauty consumers.

“As online shopping has become increasingly popular nowadays, customers embrace smart living and enjoy online shopping anytime at their fingertips,”​ said CEO Simon Kwok.

5 – North Korean e-commerce: Leading cosmetic brand expands footprint with online store

Major North Korean beauty brand, Pomhyanggi, has launched an e-commerce store on the country’s closed-off intranet to expand its online footprint.​

According to North Korean news outlet, Meari, the launcs of the new website follows the brand’s recent spike in popularity among beauty consumers.

Pomhyanggi is one of the oldest cosmetic brands in North Korea and is frequently cited by local media as a leading brand alongside Unhasu.

According to reports, the brand is also known for its men’s anti-ageing cream, therapeutic cosmetics line, colour cosmetics and its hair dyes.

The brand is developed by one of North Korea’s oldest cosmetic production facilities, the Sinuiju Cosmetics Factory.

The factory also develops another North Korean beauty brand, Spring Fragrance, which is known to be late North Korea Leader Kim Jong Il’s gift of choice for female soldiers and performing artistes.