South Korea Colour Cosmetics Market Growth Analysis Report - Market Size, Share, Forecast Trends and Outlook (2025-2034)

The South Korean market for colour cosmetics reached a value of D 2.70 Billion during 2018-2024. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of about 5.90% in the forecast period of 2025-2034 to reach a value of around USD 4.79 Billion by 2034. Consumer awareness regarding natural and organic colour cosmetics and growing e-commerce is expected to drive market sales during the forecast period.

The Ascending Demand for Colour Cosmetics Promoting Psychological Wellbeing to Drive the Market Growth

There is a psychological term ‘Lipstick effect’, according to which wearing makeup boosts confidence, makes people feel physically attractive, and increases attitude, self-esteem, and personality. It makes people feel confident in themselves and gives a perception of powerful roles. Using cosmetics might help people cope with health issues like anxiety, depression, and chronic illnesses, as it gives a sense of control, optimism, and confidence in overwhelming situations. Because cosmetics promote self-expression and give a method to regain command through the application process, applying makeup can also act as a sort of art therapy. It is powerful to have complete control over what people are doing at any given time and how they will accomplish it. Colours have a significant impact on our daily lives. They affect consumers' purchasing decisions. It identifies attractiveness and aids in the formation of likes and dislikes. With the rapid ageing of the population, people tend to focus more on their appearances. Hence, the demand for cosmetics for aged citizens is likely to keep rising. Many brands collaborate with older high-profile celebrities and artists to promote their products and reach out to the older generation and young customers. All these factors are likely to aid the growth of the South Korea colour cosmetics market.

Advanced Technology and K-Wave Influence Adding Significant Growth to the Market

South Korea is among the world's most dynamic beauty markets, with an impact on worldwide trends. Augmented reality is a technology that will play an important role in the cosmetics industry in the future. Many offline beauty stores in South Korea offer in-store augmented reality mirrors that act as virtual assistants, allowing customers to virtually try on makeup. This mirror lets users apply lipstick, eyeshadow, and other cosmetics in real-time without having to try them on physically. High consumption of colour cosmetics is being caused by developing trends in natural beauty products through internet streaming of new launches. In addition, the immense popularity of K-pop, K-drama, and K-food, collectively referred to as the K-Wave, the Korean cosmetics sector has also attracted attention, coining the term K-Beauty to reflect its growing prominence, adding further growth to the South Korea colour cosmetics market.

Market Segmentation: Colour Cosmetics

Colour cosmetics contain an extensive range of dyes and pigments. These are a combination of colourants and cosmetics ingredients used for beautification. Foundation, eye shadow, nail paints, lipsticks, concealer, and bronzer, among others, are some of the leading colour cosmetics in South Korea.

By target market, the South Korea colour cosmetics market can be divided into:

• Mass Product
• Prestige Product

Based on application, the South Korea colour cosmetics market can be segmented into:

• Hair Products
• Lip Products
• Face Products
• Eye Make-Up
• Others

On the basis of distribution channel, the South Korea colour cosmetics market can be bifurcated into:

• Cosmetic Stores
• Supermarkets and Hypermarkets
• Online
• Others

Entertainment Industry and New Trends Are Leading to the Expansion of the Colour Cosmetics Market

The media and entertainment industry majorly influence the concept of beauty, and celebrities and artists set the norms as appearance plays a significant role in Korean society. Both men and women use products like BB cream, foundation, and concealer, which are driving the cosmetics market in South Korea. As a result, the companies cater to the needs of both genders.

Since COVID-19, there has been a steady demand for DIY products like DIY hair dyes, nail paints, nail art, and other Korean beauty categories throughout the country. Blending colour cosmetics with skincare ingredients to improve their benefits is expected to lead to increased market growth. The market expansion during the pandemic was supported by the large increase in the sales of colour cosmetics through online distribution. The mass product category is also expected to show a positive or growing trajectory as the companies have started producing innovative and quality colour cosmetics at a very inexpensive rate, which is one of the significant factors for the competitiveness among colour cosmetics market key players.

The growing demand for natural or organic cosmetics, products that are free of animal testing, and innovative and eco-friendly packaging designs is expected to increase the market further. Organic cosmetics or natural products are becoming increasingly popular and are being seen as high-quality and premium products. This is attracting a wide range of consumers in the South Korea colour cosmetics market. Furthermore, in 2018, the Korea National Assembly passed a bill that banned companies from testing cosmetics on animals, affecting the sales of such products positively.

Key Players in the South Korean Colour Cosmetics Market

The report provides an in-depth research of the following prominent players in the South Korea colour cosmetics market, giving a detailed understanding about the competitive landscape, capacity, and recent developments including mergers, acquisitions, and investments, capacity expansion, and plant turnarounds:

• L'Oréal S.A.
• EM Cosmetics LLC
• CLIO COSMETICS
• Unilever Plc
• Revlon Inc
• Others

The report provides a detailed assessment of the market on the basis of the Porter's five forces model, combined with a SWOT analysis.