China's Beauty Brands Challenge South Korea With Rising Exports and Global Expansion

A $3.99 Billion Challenger to Korean Beauty

South Korea exported a record $10.3 billion in cosmetics during the first 11 months of 2025, keeping its position as the world's second largest cosmetics exporter behind France. China exported $3.99 billion over the same period, an increase of 8.7 percent, as its beauty companies pushed further into markets abroad.

The Korean total was about 2.6 times China's, leaving a substantial gap. Yet Chinese companies are building a stronger position through competitive prices, improving products, distinctive packaging and growing experience in selling through social media. Their ambitions now extend from inexpensive makeup to premium skincare and the acquisition of established foreign brands.

China also has a vast market at home. Its beauty and personal care market, the world's second largest, was projected to reach $78 billion in 2025. Chloe Zhu, a consultant at Euromonitor International, identifies that domestic scale as a structural advantage: Chinese companies have a large customer base from which to develop their businesses before expanding internationally.

Chinese cosmetics imports fell by 3.4 percent during the first 11 months of 2025, while exports rose. Local brands are winning more business at home and looking for customers abroad as domestic competition intensifies and consumption slows.

South Korea's appeal remains rooted in skincare, consumer trust and the global popularity of K-pop and Korean dramas. China is finding an opening through color cosmetics, digital shopping and products drawing on Chinese culture. The competition is developing differently across these categories, rather than following a single contest over price.

How Chinese Brands Won More Business at Home

Chinese beauty companies accounted for 55.7 percent of their domestic market in 2024. That put local businesses ahead of foreign competitors in a market long attractive to international cosmetics companies.

The rise was supported by guochao, a wave of patriotic consumption that emerged in the late 2010s. The term describes an appetite for products connected to Chinese heritage and aesthetics. In beauty, that can mean traditional ingredients, packaging or makeup styles that customers associate with their own culture.

Pechoin, Chando and Herborist have gained market share by responding to local preferences. Pechoin surpassed RMB 100 million in monthly sales on Douyin, with traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients helping drive demand. Its approach appeals to younger shoppers interested in wellness and cultural identity.

South Korean brands also faced a political setback. Following the 2016 deployment of a U.S. missile defense system, an unofficial ban on Korean cultural exports and products forced Korean brands to retreat. China's share of Korean exports fell from 69 percent to 23 percent between 2022 and 2025.

Chinese brands' growth now rests on more than patriotic purchasing or that geopolitical disruption. Their knowledge of domestic shoppers has helped them build sales, while tougher competition and slower consumption at home are encouraging a second phase of expansion overseas.

The Dates Behind the Shift

The competition has developed over several years, bringing together political changes, consumer preferences and companies' expansion plans. The main developments follow this sequence:

• 2016: Deployment of a U.S. missile defense system was followed by an unofficial ban on Korean cultural exports and products, forcing Korean brands to retreat in China.
• Late 2010s: Guochao emerged, encouraging purchases connected to Chinese heritage and aesthetics.
• 2022 to 2025: China's share of Korean exports declined from 69 percent to 23 percent.
• 2024: Local beauty companies held 55.7 percent of China's domestic market, while Chinese micro dramas reached an audience of 662 million.
• First quarter of 2025: Korean cosmetics exports to the United States increased by 53 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.
• First 11 months of 2025: South Korean cosmetics exports reached $10.3 billion, while China's rose 8.7 percent to $3.99 billion.

By January 22, 2026, Chinese companies were pursuing international growth while South Korea retained a much larger cosmetics export business.

Moving Beyond Low Prices

Chinese cosmetics companies are following a strategy familiar from other Chinese industries: keeping prices competitive while quickly improving quality and functionality. Better products and growing consumer trust are helping them move beyond the cheaper market segments they once occupied.

Ushopal Group's acquisition of Payot, a French skincare brand with more than a century of history, illustrates that ambition. Buying an established foreign brand gives a Chinese group a different route into international beauty from launching a new name and building recognition from the beginning.

Mao Geping, a premium brand incorporating traditional aesthetics, is also expanding internationally. Flower Knows, known for its packaging inspired by princesses, opened a temporary store in Seoul. Its presence in South Korea placed a Chinese makeup brand directly in a market closely associated with Korean beauty.

Proya and S'Young are looking outward as well, with acquisitions of premium Western brands forming part of the push to establish a presence in developed markets. These moves show that Chinese companies are pursuing customers at several price levels.

An unnamed official at a leading Korean cosmetics company said only a handful of brands could compete with the speed and scale of investment by local Chinese brands. For competitors, the pressure comes from how quickly those businesses can spend, develop products and enter new markets.

Why Makeup Is an Easier Opening Than Skincare

Skincare continues to dominate South Korea's cosmetics exports, supported by a reputation for effectiveness and safety over time. Chinese companies have found their initial international success in color cosmetics, including eyeshadow and false eyelashes.

Makeup gives shoppers an opportunity to try a new look at a relatively low price. Customers following changing trends may switch brands frequently, making these categories less dependent on lasting brand loyalty. Skincare involves a different decision because buyers are concerned about how a product will affect their skin through repeated use.

Hong Ju-mi, a theatrical makeup artist based in Seoul, described why she buys some Chinese beauty products while remaining cautious about unfamiliar skincare:

I could try new styles at relatively low prices by buying Chinese products like eyeshadow and false eyelashes through platforms such as Temu and AliExpress, but I remain hesitant to try new skincare products from overseas as I am uncertain about their long-term effects.

Her experience captures the divide Chinese brands face. Perfect Diary and Florasis have gained market share in makeup, while Chinese brands struggle to attract comparable customer traffic in premium skincare.

South Korea's Accumulated Trust

Vincentia Vania Natasha, a sales and marketing professional in the Korean beauty industry, identifies sustained consumer trust as the key difference between Korean and Chinese cosmetics. She says products from the two countries are now in a similar price range, while Korean skincare benefits from 15 years of accumulated trust in the global market.

That helps explain why improving prices and product quality may bring different results in makeup and skincare. A shopper willing to experiment with a new eyeshadow may prefer a familiar skincare brand when choosing something intended for regular use.

South Korea's reputation has also grown alongside international interest in glass skin and routines involving multiple steps. Glass skin describes the smooth, luminous appearance that has become closely associated with Korean beauty. The routines and the desired look give consumers a recognizable connection to Korean products.

Korean companies are finding substantial demand beyond China. Their exports to the United States rose by 53 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared with a year earlier. That growth shows why competition between the two countries increasingly involves Western markets as well as Asia.

Can Chinese Entertainment Help Sell Cosmetics?

K-pop idols and Korean dramas have given Korean beauty a powerful source of recognition abroad. Their popularity creates a halo effect: interest in performers, characters and their appearance can carry over to cosmetics associated with South Korea.

Chinese brands are trying to build their own connection between entertainment, distinctive looks and shopping. On Douyin and TikTok, they promote dramatic makeup resembling dolls, grounded in Chinese aesthetics. Those images give products a recognizable visual identity that can travel through social media.

Chinese beauty still lacks a cultural vehicle with the same global reach as the Korean Wave. Xu Tianchen, a senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, points to micro dramas as a possible way to reach more consumers.

These fast paced series reached an audience of 662 million in China in 2024 and are gaining traction internationally. Xu's proposed connection is straightforward: if actresses in popular dramas wear Chinese makeup, viewers' interest in those looks could provide a commercial boost to domestic brands.

The possibility adds another route to the overseas expansion already being pursued through exports and acquisitions. Korean companies benefit from a widely recognized entertainment culture, while Chinese companies are exploring how their own popular content can support beauty sales.

China's Online Shopping Advantage

Online channels account for 87 percent of total hair and skincare sales in China, compared with 41 percent in the United States. The difference is 46 percentage points, with China's share more than twice the American figure.

That environment has pushed Chinese beauty companies to become skilled in social commerce, livestreaming and influencer marketing. Social commerce connects product promotion and shopping on social platforms, allowing customers to move from watching a demonstration to considering a purchase in the same setting.

Brands use interactive product demonstrations and questions and answers during live sessions to engage shoppers. Customers can see how a product is presented and ask about it while the broadcast is taking place, rather than relying only on a static product description.

Chinese companies can carry that experience into Southeast Asia, where use of ecommerce is also high. Their familiarity with selling through digital platforms gives them a practical strength as they seek customers outside China.

Temu and AliExpress provide another route for shoppers to encounter Chinese products, as Hong's purchases of eyeshadow and false eyelashes illustrate. Digital access can make experimenting with unfamiliar makeup easier, while confidence in skincare still depends on the product and the brand.

Research and Products for More Demanding Shoppers

Chinese companies are investing heavily in research and development as they seek to compete on more than packaging and price. Government reforms are being implemented to streamline market access and encourage innovation.

Brands are focusing on four consumer demands: sun protection, whitening, skin rejuvenation and treatments intended to reduce signs of aging. These priorities put attention on what products are designed to do, alongside how they look or how effectively they are promoted.

Artificial intelligence is also changing the industry through highly personalized recommendations and virtual trials of makeup. Recommendations aim to match products to individual shoppers, while virtual trials let people preview a look digitally before deciding whether to buy.

Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about ingredients, increasing the pressure on brands to explain their formulations. Chinese companies are responding with formulations supported by science. DR PLANT, for example, focuses on extracts from plants growing at high altitudes as part of its effort to establish product value beyond promotion.

Chinese beauty's challenge to South Korea therefore has several parts: a large domestic market, improving products, strong digital selling skills and expansion through foreign acquisitions. South Korea retains advantages in skincare trust, cultural recognition and export scale. No date has been given for when China might close the export gap.

Key Points

• South Korea remained the world's second largest cosmetics exporter behind France, with a record $10.3 billion exported in the first 11 months of 2025.
• China exported $3.99 billion in cosmetics during the same period, up 8.7 percent, while its imports fell 3.4 percent.
• Chinese beauty companies held 55.7 percent of their domestic market in 2024, supported by local preferences and the guochao movement.
• Chinese brands have found an opening in color cosmetics, while Korean skincare benefits from established consumer trust.
• Ushopal's purchase of Payot and international moves by Mao Geping, Flower Knows, Proya and S'Young reflect wider ambitions.
• Online channels account for 87 percent of hair and skincare sales in China, compared with 41 percent in the United States.
• Korean cosmetics exports to the United States rose 53 percent in the first quarter of 2025.
• Research, artificial intelligence and entertainment are becoming further tools in Chinese brands' expansion.