The second I walked into an Olive Young store in South Korea (well, one of about five locations I visited), I knew the beauty retailer was different. The sense of discovery and playfulness were unlike anything I’d experienced in a long time. Novelty aside, the aisles of innovative skin care, cute and colorful makeup, unique wellness items, hair care and even healthy snacks made me think, “Wow, this would do so well in the U.S.”
I didn’t have to wait very long because Olive Young is opening its first brick-and-mortar store in the United States on May 29, right in my city of Los Angeles. Well, Pasadena, to be exact. (A second location is also set to open at the Westfield Century City mall in the next few weeks.) While the product assortment won’t be exactly the same, thanks in part to U.S. regulations on items like sunscreen, the unique sense of excitement and fun the retailer brings to IRL shopping is very present.
Photo: Loamis Rodriguez/Olive Young
The 27-year-old retailer had U.S. expansion in mind because the country is a huge part of its business: In the first half of 2025, “more than half of global sales were generated by U.S. customers, who also accounted for over 40% of total sales growth during the same period,” Rena Kim, global communications lead at CJ Olive Young, told Fashionista via email.
“The U.S. is not only the world’s largest beauty market, but also one of the most influential in shaping global beauty trends, content and consumer behavior,” she added. “For Olive Young, it was a natural and strategic next step in our global expansion.” In addition to the store opening, the retailer is launching a U.S. e-commerce site to make shopping faster and easier.
L.A. was selected first because it’s a “global epicenter for fashion, beauty and wellness trends” with a “diverse population and wide range of lifestyles [that] create an environment where new cultural movements are naturally embraced and amplified,” Kim said, adding, “Within the greater Los Angeles area, Pasadena was specifically chosen for its vibrant community, where consumers are highly engaged in personal wellness and open to experiential retail.”
And the retailer didn’t start small. The sprawling 8,647-square-foot store sits at 58 W. Colorado Blvd., one of Pasadena’s main commercial streets in what is probably its most well-known area. Lined with coffee shops, restaurants and trendy stores including Alo, Vuori and Free People, the area is likely to draw in shoppers searching for the latest trends in Korean beauty — probably because they saw it on social media.
Olive Young noticed that social media influence is similar across both South Korea and America: “Both markets share a very strong alignment: a shift toward discovery-driven shopping that is heavily inspired by social media, peer communities and creator content,” Kim said.
Photo: Loamis Rodriguez/Olive Young
She added that approximately 70% of the top-purchased items among global visitors shopping in South Korea overlap with those purchased by Korean consumers themselves, suggesting international shoppers are increasingly interested in authentic K-beauty routines, rather than just individual viral products.
“American consumers are already discovering K-beauty organically through TikTok and social media, and we believe K-beauty is now evolving beyond a niche category into a true mainstream beauty movement,” Kim said. “Olive Young aims to become a space where consumers can not only discover trends online, but also experience them firsthand and connect them to their own beauty routines and lifestyles.”
That sense of personal connection is what, in my opinion, Olive Young does best. It would be easy to get overwhelmed in a store with 400 brands and 5,000 SKUs. But this location, like many in Seoul, is broken up into category-specific zones. “Rather than shopping only by brand name, customers are encouraged to explore based on specific concerns, trending ingredients, textures, and routines, from barrier repair and cooling skincare to inner beauty and wellness categories,” Kim said.
And you can try it before you buy it. Around the serums, toner pads, sunscreens and beauty devices, there are water-basin stations designed for you to get in and cleanse your hands or face.
I was hoping the U.S. Olive Young store would also feature some of the services I tried in Seoul. Kim confirmed that, “much like our stores in Korea, the U.S. locations will offer experiential elements such as simple skin analysis and personalized consultations designed to help customers discover skincare routines tailored to their individual skin type and lifestyle.” The retailer’s complimentary skin-scanning technology even recommends products tailored to your complexion. The process feels genuinely interactive.
“One of the most important elements we wanted to preserve from Korea was Olive Young’s identity as a discovery-driven ‘beauty playground’ rather than a traditional beauty retailer,” Kim said. “In Korea, customers visit our stores not simply to purchase familiar products, but to browse, test, and discover emerging trends, new textures and personalized routines in an immersive way.”
They’ll learn things, too. In The Beauty Lab zone, customers can take “skincare lessons” covering topics such as sunscreen, toner pads, serum layering and double cleansing.
When it comes to the actual products, shoppers will discover both buzzy new brands and longtime favorites. The assortment includes K-beauty names like Anua, Biodance, fwee, Mediheal, The Face Shop and CNP Laboratory, alongside global brands such as CeraVe, Hero, Kiehl’s and Urban Decay — plus some of those snacks I was talking about.
While shoppers won’t find South Korea’s famous sunscreens in their original formulas (here, sunscreen is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an over-the-counter drug, which slows the approval process for new UV filters), I’ve heard directly from many Korean brands that they’re working hard to create U.S.-approved sunscreens we’ll love (almost) as much. Otherwise, “for the vast majority of products, formulations remain the same as those sold in Korea,” Kim said.
But it’s not just about the products — it’s about the experience. After spending time inside stores across Seoul, it’s easy to see why the retailer became such a phenomenon. Now, American shoppers finally get to experience a version of that for themselves.
