Musinsa launches makeup brand
Musinsa's newly launched cosmetics brand Oddtype's lip care products / Courtesy of Musinsa
By Kim Jae-heun
Musinsa has launched a new cosmetics brand called Oddtype to expand its business portfolio, Korea's largest online fashion platform said Thursday.
Oddtype is a vegan-certified brand that Musinsa created to target young MZ Generation customers. As the name suggests, Oddtype products are differentiated from those of other cosmetics firms by giving unique names to its various color types.
Instead of describing product colors as simply red or pink, Oddtype lip products use names such as “Uri” and “Jayu,” which mean “we” and “freedom” in Korean.
“We wanted to create a new brand that pursues uniqueness, something that breaks away from cliches. Cosmetics is an extended business of fashion. Like how Musinsa grew with casual street brands in a saturated fashion market, we know there is a niche market for those who seek new makeup items,” a Musinsa official said.
Currently, there are two types of products introduced under the Oddtype brand: the dewy blur-type called Unseen Blur Tint and the glow-type branded as Unseen Mirror Tint. Both items are provided with a special blender, or brush, suiting their respective characteristics.
Musinsa also received vegan certification from the Forest Stewardship Council for packages of all Oddtype tint products by using soy ink only.
The fashion firm plans to launch two more products within the first half of this year. However, it will focus on lip products for a while.
“We want to start slow, introducing lip products first only. Think of Oddtype as a makeup brand for now. Later, we plan to make power pact and foundation items too,” the official said.
Established in 2001, Musinsa started as an online fashion community sharing information about sneakers. It grew explosively based on men's and women's fashion items, and in 2017, the company launched the private brand Musinsa Standard. As of this year, Musinsa has 10 million membership users with its total transaction value exceeding 3 trillion won ($2.26 billion) annually.