I Shopped at Olive Young in Korea and the US. Here’s the Biggest Difference

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to shop with a beauty editor? Welcome to Counter Service. A series where we head to our favorite beauty boutiques IRL. We visit carefully selected spaces and locations that are worth shopping in person. And please come with me. Come join us at America’s first Olive Young and shop all the best in K-Beauty.

Exactly one week after leaving Olive Young’s flagship store in Seongsu, South Korea, I walked through the doors of the retailer’s first brick-and-mortar store in the United States. as Allures As a Senior Commerce Director, comparing retail experiences is really part of my job. So when I returned home a few days after my trip, I headed to the store feeling half excited and half jet-lagged.

In-store experience

I came expecting a large crowd. As it turns out, on opening day, customers camped out all night and there was a line around the block. I arrived an hour before the store opened, and there were eager customers of all ages stationed on the sidewalk.

Walking through the door feels like walking into a hybrid pharmacy/Ulta Beauty store. It’s bright and comfortable. Opposite the entry door is a wall-to-wall screen flashing various Olive Young lettering treatments. There’s puffy paint pink, edgy chrome, and a reminder that Olive Young is an anagram of “All Live Young.” At first glance, it looked very similar to the Olive Young stores I visited in Korea, and a lot of that is due to the floor plan.

You will immediately see two “zones”. These zones are essentially pop-ups within stores dedicated to specific brands. The left side is exclusive to Mediheal, the Korean brand behind the viral Madecassoside Blemish toner pads, and next to the window is a larger-than-life replica of the cyan-colored box. For scale, it’s about the same size as the delivery robot creature, and yes, it includes tweezers. The zone on the right is dedicated to Urban Decay, which may come as a surprise to American customers but is nothing new to Korean shoppers. I’ve seen Korean Olive Youngs stock a lot of global brands, including Kiehl’s, La Roche-Posay, Maybelline New York, lots of Supergoop, Touchland, and even Ollie Vitamins. the same can be said Olive Young’s US e-commerce sitewas reviewed in detail by an editor who is particular about K-beauty.

Assortments are typically organized both by brand and product type. This is something you’ll find at big box stores and convenience stores, but not necessarily at specialty retailers. This layout characterizes my shopping experience at Holy Water Olive Young on the 5th floor (and I’ll admit, I was a little underwhelmed).