Los Angeles will soon have a South Korea-beloved beauty source for sustainable skin care, sheet masks and makeup products that are (almost) too cute to use. Amore Pacific-owned beauty brand Innisfree is expanding in the U.S. with its first West Coast location, which is set to open at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica this Friday, May 17.
Innisfree — which takes its name from a William Butler Yeats poem — was founded in 2000 and is known for its innovative ingredients (like lava seawater and oil-absorbing volcanic clusters) sourced from South Korea's Jeju Island, famed for its breathtaking landscapes (including a dormant volcano) and home to the world's longest lava tube.
The Disney-collaborating brand's 1,600-square-foot L.A. flagship is taking over Skechers' former space and will stock over 900 skincare products, cosmetics, and beauty tools, including bestsellers like the Intensive Hydrating Serum with Green Tea Seed ($27), Youth-Enriched Cream with Orchid ($29), and Pore Clearing Clay Mousse Mask with Super Volcanic Cluster ($15) alongside over 150 U.S. exclusives as well as the new Beauty Green Tea collection.
Also on offer are the brand's DIY cushion foundation compacts, which can be customized by shade, finish (matte or dewy), foam applicator type, and case style for $27. Of course, there'll be plenty of sheet masks, from the My Real Squeeze masks ($1.80) featuring ingredients like green tea, aloe, manuka honey, and açai berry to the anti-aging line of hydro-gel masks ($3.90) to the five-in-one Fermented Soybean Bio Cellulose line ($6).
As far as the interiors, the façade will feature a lush green wall (a signature at Innisfree's other stores), while the interior will boast walls of reclaimed wood lined with free-standing plants as a nod to California's free spirit.
That's not all: This Friday starting at 10 a.m., the brand is fêting its first L.A. beauty shop with a slew of giveaways. The first 100 customers will receive a Most-Wanted Kit with deluxe minis of best-selling products, sustainable tote bags, and even a free year of beauty freebies, while the next 900 customers will also score the Most-Wanted Kit. During the entire month of May, Innisfree's street teams will be popping up all over L.A. to spread the word of the new store, offering Angelenos a chance to experience popular products.
The Korean beauty brand's first Stateside outpost opened in New York in 2017, and it plans to open at least eight more U.S. locations by the end of 2020. Stay tuned for more on the SaMo boutique.
Innisfree at Third Street Promenade, 1343 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, 90401; Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
