People may think cutesy and sweet when they think of K-beauty (and K-dramas, for that matter). So thank goodness for chic Korean beauty brand Hera to bring a little bad girl (and reality) into our K-beauty world. Um, is it getting hot in here?
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With all the noise in the beauty and K-beauty world — the next big thing! This is going viral! Try this now! — it's sometimes hard to notice the slow and steady brands, the ones with longevity and a loyal following, the ones with consistently high quality products and really noticeable results.
Hera is one such brand, at least for the average K-beauty aficionado. Though many in the West are familiar with Hera's popular UV Mist Cushion (it was awarded the best cushion compact by popular Asian magazine CéCi's Chinese readership in 2015), not many are familiar with the rest of the line. (Like Hera's award-winning Sun Mate Essence Gel, which won best sunscreen by Korean readers that same year — no small feat, considering Koreans are religious about their sun protection and have no shortage of excellent sunscreen options among Korean brands.)
And yet Hera is huge in Korea. So much so that Seoul Fashion Week is officially called Hera Seoul Fashion Week, with Hera directing the cutting-edge makeup looks backstage since 2015.
Its fashion-forward sensibility is reflected in its frequent collaborations with artists and designers from around the world. Big international names like French-English designer Olympia Le-Tan, French illustrator Eric Giriat, British shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood, and fashion illustrator Garance Wilkens have all graced Hera's chic packaging with incredibly collectable designs. And if that isn't proof enough, check out Hera's long-time official spokesperson: Jun Ji Hyun.
What's refreshing about Hera in what sometimes can appear like a monolithic Korean aesthetic of gradient lips and il-ja brows is the brand's embrace of brows with a more natural curve, skin that's more velvety and less mul-gwang, and — gasp! — a more diverse (and realistic) range of skin tones.
But it's Hera's recent campaign for its new Rouge Holic Cream lipstick line that had us raising our eyebrows. Compared to the usual overly-cutesy ads Korean beauty brands put out, this super sexy series had us wishing more Korean dramas would follow suit. Check out what we mean below:
Rouge Holic Cream Lipstick in Killing Pink:
Rouge Holic Cream Lipstick in Stunning Coral:
Rouge Holic Cream Lipstick in Tempting Cherry:
Rouge Holic Cream Lipstick in Flame Moment:
What do you think of the Hera ads? Have you tried any Hera products, and if so, what do you think of the brand?
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