[Content Commerce] "Bought With My Own Money" Beauty Reviews... 1.5 Million Views Jackpot

Interview with Sang Eun Son, CEO of Haming and Operator of the YouTube Channel "LUCY"

Sang Eun Son, CEO of Haming, is an 8-year YouTube creator who runs the beauty channel "LUCY." She has gained popularity for her friendly approach?like a neighborly older sister?introducing the pros and cons of cosmetics and explaining detailed usage tips in an easy-to-understand way. As a result, her channel now has over 70,000 subscribers.

Son's passion for beauty began when she was in elementary school. Having been interested in cosmetics from an early age, she experimented with and studied a variety of products to express a "lovely, natural watercolor tone." Among her friends, she was known as "the friend who gives the most delightful explanations about cosmetics." These early experiences led her to start a beauty blog in her early twenties, which eventually evolved into launching her own YouTube channel.

Sang Eun Son, CEO of Harming. Provided by Cafe24.

She adheres to her philosophy of "only reviewing products she has used for a long time" by consistently introducing cosmetics she has personally tested.Son said, "Since I was young, I enjoyed discovering and recommending great products that were not yet well known," adding, "As a creator, I focus on introducing 'hidden gems' that I wish everyone would know about."

In particular, her "beauty shop tour" content, which she started two to three years ago, has become so popular that it is now considered a genre in the beauty YouTube industry. For example, her video where she visits a beauty shop in Cheongdam-dong and receives makeup services worth 250,000 won has reached 1.61 million views. In another instance, when a TV program introduced makeup techniques that keep one’s face looking pale even after drinking alcohol (as demonstrated by a celebrity), Son quickly ordered the relevant products and created content, which surpassed 910,000 views.

Sang Eun Son, CEO of Haming, is introducing the product on the YouTube channel. YouTube screen capture.

As her subscriber base grew, so did requests for her own product line. In response, Son began preparing her own brand in 2023 and launched "Haming" in March of last year. She personally leads every step of the process, from product planning to defining key features and creating detailed product pages. Haming's main products include blushers and glosses.

Products such as the cool-tone cosmetics "Jelly Air Cheek No. 5 Organdy" and "No. 6 Fogtaro," developed based on viewer feedback, have become especially popular. Son explained, "Most of the developers I work with have warm skin tones, so the brand initially focused on warm-tone products. However, many YouTube viewers requested cool-tone cosmetics," adding, "After posting content to gather input from cool-tone viewers and communicating with them, we introduced two cool-tone colors, which have become some of our brand’s most popular items."

Haming is characterized by its spirit of experimentation. Instead of the traditional liquid or pressed blushers, Son personally designed a "powder blusher" to embody the "Chugumi" (a neologism meaning 'the beauty one pursues') concept from the LUCY channel. She created the product by crushing and mixing various cosmetics she owned and testing them herself. She said, "When I made a sample and asked an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) lab employee to produce it, they told me they had never seen anyone so passionate, and were surprised by my dedication."

Within just a few months of its launch, Haming entered Olive Young, as well as beauty select shop online malls in Japan and China. Since March, Haming has also been available for offline purchase in Japan. Additionally, by utilizing the Cafe24 platform, Son has implemented a "YouTube Shopping" feature, allowing sales directly through the "Store" on the LUCY YouTube channel. Son commented, "I introduced YouTube Shopping because I believed that if our content performed well, more viewers would naturally become interested in our products," adding, "Compared to marketplaces, it allows us to save costs and pass those benefits on to our viewers."