From The Straits Times    |

If you’re a K-Beauty fanatic like me, part of your daily routine may consist of searching for beauty products using Korean hashtags on Instagram, mostly for interesting K-Beauty releases that are unavailable here.

In my case, a usually intense hunt on e-retailer GMarket follows, all for the best exclusive items that have caught my eye. Since the start of this year, my shopping cart has been filled with Innisfree’s new fragrance line – two candles, two home diffusers and four different types of diffuser reeds, to be exact. (And that already means exercising self-control by my standards.)

B Korean brand Innisfree new store handmade Jeju soap and fragrance lines.png

Image: @kimsoohyang

The Korean beauty brand’s lifestyle range consists of clean cut bottles with simple scents, cleverly named to conjure up images of lush greenery, clean linen and bright cloudy skies. What’s not to love about something that makes you feel this good?

Most of South Korea must have felt the same way, since pictures of the products were all that filled the Innisfree hashtag feed for a considerable amount of time.

But clever marketing aside, much of the reason for its popularity stems from the brand’s collaboration with scent specialist Soohyang Kim (whose name actually means excellent fragrance in Korean, talk about coincidence).

Innisfree x Soohyang Villa Kim Soohyang Villa Kim Hee Chul super junior.png

Fragrance specialist Soo Hyang Kim with Super Junior member Kim Hee Chul in Villa Soohyang. Image: @kimsoohyang

Soohyang’s own lifestyle fragrance store – a cult-favourite amongst trendy Seoulistas (we hear K-Pop queen Boa Kwon is a fan) – started from a tiny space in Itaewon, first specialising in soy wax candles named after the city’s trendiest streets like Itaewon 565 and Gangnam 8.

Soon, the range expanded to include diffusers and body mists, all packed in tasteful pastel pink boxes. And Soohyang’s flagship store now sits right in the middle of Seoul’s up-market Gangnam district aptly named Villa Soohyang.

Innisfree x Soohyang fragrance line available in Singapore Vivocity new outlet.png

The Innisfree collaboration naturally followed, with all products made with natural ingredients from Jeju. Similarly, the candles are a 100 percent vegetable wax, derived from soy and coconut, and topped off with a soot-free wick. Innisfree’s range also includes some of Soohyang’s original store favourites, such as Champagne Supernova and Risky Citrus.

Perfumed Body Sprays Innisfree x Soohyang Vivocity new outlet coming to Singapore.png

If you’re just as drawn to the hype as I am, be glad to know that come July, the range of candles, diffusers and perfumed body sprays will all be available in Singapore at the brand’s new store in VivoCity.

My top picks? The home diffuser in herbal-smelling Bija – which interestingly, is the same ingredient used in Innisfree’s acne line – and the candle in woody Jeju Volcanic Ash (trust me, it does smell good). Enjoy!

Follow Soo Hyang on Instagram as she shares more about her fragrance line and past collaborations with hot Korean fashion labels Low Classic and Lewitt as well as broadcasting station MBC.

Love K-Beauty? Then you must check out these new brands that will be coming to Singapore 2015, as well as the hot hair colour trend that K-Pop idols use to brighten their skin!

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