When you think of possible inspirations for cosmetics, spicy chicken ramen is not the first thing that comes to mind. Yet TonyMoly, a South Korean cosmetics brand established in 2006 whose name means "putting style into packaging," decided that cosmetics and spicy noodles have a logical connection.
Ramen fans will no doubt be familiar Samyang's Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen, which was launched in South Korea in 2012, and has become an immensely popular instant-noodles item. The ramen, known for its loveable cartoon chicken mascot named Hochi that fittingly has a bowl cut, is wildly popular on Amazon.
Earlier this month, TonyMoly decided that a collaboration with Samyang was a natural fit and announced the launch of the Samyang x Tonymoly Hot Edition makeup collection. “Through this unusual collaboration with Spicy Buldak Chicken Ramen, we are excited to launch special and entertaining products,” a TonyMoly spokesperson told The Korean Herald. Buldak, which translates to “fire chicken” refers to grilled chicken marinated in a super-hot red chili paste. The dish has been popular in South Korea since the early 2000s.
The collection includes the Hot Coverdak Cushion, a cushion-compact foundation that features a refill that looks like a sauce packet; Noodle Blusher, which is available in a bright red called Bad Red and a pale pink called Carbolighter; the Lip Care Stick, a lip balm, and Lip Sauce Tint, which is available in Spicy Red and Cheese Red.
The online site Beauty Box Korea has made the collection available to American shoppers. Buyers have the option of adding a 70-gram Spicy Fried Noodle Buldak Bokkeummyun Cup to their order. Could a Fenty x Flaming Hot Cheetos collaboration be far off?
TonyMoly Co. is South Korea's sixth-largest cosmetic brand. Though the company was blacklisted by China in retaliation for South Korea’s plan to approve a US-sponsored anti-missile system, the ban has since been lifted. The brand has had significant success among Westerners on Amazon, where its sheet masks have topped the Facial Mask category.
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Amazon, as a result of the demand, has launched a new Korean Beauty category on its marketplace. Last year, the retailer started an online seminar for Korean sellers to offer instructions on its international sales procedures as well as to share case studies of Korean companies that have had overseas success thanks to the platform.
