Brand spotlight: South Korean skincare brand Huxley

Huxley is a South Korean minimalist skincare brand that harnesses the beautifying powers of prickly pear seed oil from the Sahara Desert in all of its products. Prickly pear seed oil is a precious key ingredient carefully sourced from Morocco, and is hand-selected and cold-pressed to reap the maximum benefits.

Huxley’s brand story is set around the use of the little-known natural ingredient, aligning with Mintel’s 2018 Global Beauty & Personal Care Trend ‘Playing Mother Nature’ which explains how the popularity of natural beauty ingredients means brands need to find new options and use technology to bioengineer new ingredients.

Exploring a seldom-discovered, yet highly effective tactic, Huxley makes the natural health of skin its top priority to provide solutions that protect skin against harmful environmental stressors, particularly in the urban areas.

The fact that the brand is unlike a typical K-beauty offering makes it stand out in the market. Instead of fitting in with the rest of the competition, Huxley’s product line is packaged in a minimalist yet luxurious way.

Oil essence
Huxley Secret of Sahara Oil Essence is a non-greasy, long-lasting formula that has the optimal balance of oil and essence to energise and revitalise skin for a fresh, silky-smooth finish.

Anti-gravity cream
Huxley Secret of Sahara Anti-gravity Cream is a rich, non-sticky antioxidant cream that smooths rough, dull and stressed skin and protects it from various environmental stressors, to leave it looking healthy and nourished all day long.Two-part facial mask
Huxley Secret of Sahara Glow and Brightness Mask features a transparent-texture liquid that transforms into a milky essence and a microfibre sheet mask to help the essence quickly absorb into skin. The two parts need to be mixed before use.

With a streamlined range of products, the brand embodies simplicity in its routine, which again differs from most South Korean skincare lines. This caters more to global consumers, for whom a ‘less-is-more’ concept resonates. However, we are starting to see a shift in consumption behaviour among South Korean consumers as many are now opting for minimalist lifestyles—including their beauty regimes.

The future for Huxley

As the beauty industry continues to scour the globe for new natural ingredients, consumers may gradually lose interest in the Huxley brand story when the next ‘cool’ ingredient emerges. The minimalist approach and focus on one key ingredient works to the brand’s advantage at present, as simplicity and minimalism have started to re-enter the K-beauty marketplace.

However, the brand’s longevity and new product innovation may become a challenge when trying to keep up with the ever-changing demands of consumers. To stay fresh and on trend in this competitive industry, Huxley will need to do more than centre its brand story on prickly pear seed oil.

That said, the ‘less-is-more’, fuss-free philosophy may withstand the test of time as a backlash to the overwhelming amount of information available in the beauty industry today. Therefore, it is essential that Huxley periodically reminds its consumers of its underlying philosophy, without causing brand fatigue.

Sharon Kwek
Sharon is Senior Innovation and Insights Analyst, Beauty and Personal Care at Mintel. Based in Singapore, she provides insights on Asia’s beauty and personal care categories.

 

Hwa Jun Lee
Hwa Jun is a Senior Beauty and Personal Care Analyst at Mintel, based in Seoul.