By now you've probably seen the news. Olive Young, the massive Korean beauty retailer that operates over 1,370 stores in Korea, is opening its first US location in Pasadena this May, with a second store at Century City Mall opening shortly after and more California locations planned throughout 2026. They've also partnered with Sephora to roll out curated K-beauty zones in roughly 700 Sephora stores this fall across North America.
This is not a small deal. In fact, it is one of the most significant shifts to hit the professional skincare space in the US in a very long time, and I think it's worth a conversation.
The Pasadena store alone is going to carry over 200 brands, including names many of our clients already recognize, like Beauty of Joseon, COSRX, Anua, Mediheal, and a whole roster of emerging brands that most American consumers have never heard of. They are also bringing a model that has made them the dominant beauty retailer in Korea: AI-powered skin analysis stations that provide scans that check things like hydration and sebum levels. They will also offer sunscreen demonstration zones, beginner-friendly routine consultations, and staff trained in Korean skincare philosophies who use what they call a "half-response" policy, where they greet you warmly and then give you space to explore. It is a guided experience without being pushy, which is exactly the kind of retail environment American consumers tend to love.
And then there's the Sephora partnership rolling out later this year. Olive Young is not just curating a section at Sephora, they're bringing their entire curatorial model into those stores, meaning the products on those shelves will be chosen by Olive Young's Korean team based on Korean consumer trends and real-time data. That matters because it means trends will hit the US market faster and with more authority than we've ever seen.
So what we are looking at is not a new competitor in the way we usually think about competitors. We are looking at a massive, well-funded, trend-setting retailer who is about to make Korean skincare dramatically more accessible to our clients, complete with free skin analysis and staff who know the products inside and out.
I know this is a lot, but don't panic.
Olive Young coming to the US is not going to end our industry, but it is going to change the competitive landscape, and it is going to raise the bar on what clients expect from the people they pay for skincare guidance. But the work we do is fundamentally different from what Olive Young is offering, and once we understand that difference clearly, we can double down on the things that make us irreplaceable.
Here is what Olive Young is really good at: product discovery, trend curation. They are good at creating a fun, and an exploratory retail experience. They are good at making Korean skincare feel accessible and affordable and exciting. For a client who walks in wanting to try the latest serum, Olive Young is going to deliver a great experience.
Here is what Olive Young cannot do: They cannot put hands on a client's skin (unless they start offering facials), take into account medical history, and product history the way we do in a real consultation. They cannot follow a client through years of life changes or build the kind of relationship that turns into a lifelong client.
I firmly believe the value we offer has never been about having access to the products. It has always been about what we do with those products and how we make our clients feel. Olive Young makes that picture harder for us to ignore, and it pushes us to get better at the thing we were always supposed to be doing.
Here's what to focus on
Here are the things I want us all to be thinking about over the next several months as Olive Young opens its doors.
Your consultations need to be unforgettable + meaningful. I know we have talked about this before, but this is the moment where it really matters. Your consultation is the single biggest differentiator you have from a retail store, and most of us are still underutilizing it. A great consultation is not a fifteen-minute checklist before a facial. It is a real conversation that covers stress, sleep, cycle, digestion, homecare history, medical context, and the goals your client actually has for their skin. By the end of it, your client should feel more seen than they have felt by any skincare professional in their life. If your current consultation is not doing that, start building one that does. In saying this it is also important to make sure we aren't blurring lines between licensure.
The treatment room experience is your second biggest differentiator. This is more than just a clean room and a comfortable table. It is every single little detail that makes up the whole: hot towel experience, the caidence of the treatment, the smells, music choice, lighting, it's all of it. Every detail of that experience is something a store cannot replicate, and it is worth investing real attention in every element of it.
Get obsessive about product knowledge. Olive Young staff are going to be trained on the products they carry. Sephora staff are going to get Olive Young curation support. Your clients are going to walk into your treatment room with questions about ingredients and brands they have heard about from these retailers, and the worst thing you can do is be caught off guard. This means reading about new ingredients as they emerge, and knowing the difference between marketing copy and actual mechanism of action.
Double down on relationships. I'll say it again, double down on relationships! This one matters more than any other point on this list. The estheticians whose businesses are going to thrive over the next five years are the ones whose clients truly feel cared for. That means remembering details between appointments, following up after a treatment to see how their skin is doing, sending a birthday note, and taking the extra few minutes when they need to talk through something. These small, consistent acts of care are what build the kind of loyalty that no retailer can compete with, and this is where your business gets safeguarded.
Educate your clients about what you do that a store cannot. A lot of clients have never had it explained to them why working with a skincare professional is different from buying products at a store. Most clients do not know that homecare is eighty percent of the result and that a professional who helps them build the right homecare is worth their weight in gold. You have to teach them these things. In consultations, in your content, in your follow-up emails, in every touch point. When your clients understand the difference, they will not stop working with you just because a fun new store opened down the street.
Invest in continuing education. Now is the time to commit to the courses you have been meaning to take. The more you know, the more valuable you become. We are going to keep building out Kin Academy with the kind of depth that prepares you for every new trend, every new ingredient, every new modality.
Honestly, I think Olive Young coming to the US is going to be good for our industry, even if it is uncomfortable in the short term. It is going to push all of us to sharpen our consultations, invest more seriously in education, and get better at articulating the value of what we do. The estheticians who were coasting on proximity to Korean products as their main differentiator without addressing the philosophy or focusing on their why are going to feel real pressure. The estheticians who have been building their business on expertise, relationships, and experience are going to be just fine. Probably better than fine.
The through-line of everything we teach at Kin is that the work we do is relational, not transactional. This moment is a good reminder of why that framing matters. A store can sell products. Only we can build the kind of trust that turns a client into a client for life.
That is what protects your business. Olive Young coming to town does not change that. It just makes it more important to do it well.
