Open a Korean teenager’s makeup bag and you’ll spot something curious: the same day they grab a 3,000-won mascara at Daiso, they’ll buy a 50,000-won serum at Olive Young. If you want to know where the latest wave of K-beauty starts, follow the wallets of the generation with the smallest budget and the fastest information. Here’s the map — with the real data, and a search link for every product and store so you can look it up yourself. (Prices run from about 3,000 won / $2 to 20,000 won / $14.)
Short answer (2026)
- Teen makeup shopping is split between Daiso (value, color) and Olive Young (variety, base care).
- Daiso cosmetics sales jumped +150% year-on-year in 2024 (base care +200%, color +80%).
- Popular picks: Round Lab sun cream, rom&nd and peripera tints, VT Reedle Shot (3,000 won).
- For a gift, a Round Lab sunscreen + rom&nd tint + Daiso Reedle Shot trio is a safe bet.
Daiso vs Olive Young: where do teens go?
In a 2025 survey of 1,001 cosmetics shoppers nationwide by market researcher Pickply, teens and 20-somethings had far more Olive Young and Daiso experience than any other generation. Teens in particular skewed toward color over base care, with a strong urge to “try lots of different products.”
The interesting part: they don’t stick to one store. Buying a 3,000-won mascara and lip tint at Daiso, then a 30,000–50,000-won sunscreen or serum at Olive Young — this “channel split” has become the standard Gen Z pattern. It works for visitors too: buy the fun color you’ll experiment with at Daiso, and the base you’ll wear all day at Olive Young.
| Category | Daiso | Olive Young |
|---|---|---|
| Core customer | Teens–20s, Gen Z | Women 20s–30s + tourists |
| Price range | 500–5,000 won (ultra-low) | 3,000–100,000 won+ (mid) |
| Avg. spend per visit | ~6,260 won | ~29,340 won |
| Cosmetics brands carried | 47 (346 items) | ~2,400 (20,000+ items) |
| Store count | ~1,519 | ~1,354 |
| Shopper image | ”Great value” (65.8%) | “Wide brand variety” (31.5%) |
| 2025 annual sales | ~3.97tn won (total) | ~5.83tn won (beauty) |
Sources: Pickply consumer survey (Apr 2025), Aseong Daiso & CJ Olive Young 2025 results, Asia Economy (Sep 2024).
Why Daiso? Unbeatable value
Since going all-in on cosmetics from 2021, Daiso has become the teen “beauty playground” almost overnight.
The strategy is “small size + rock-bottom price.” VT Reedle Shot (about 30,000 won on the open market → 3,000 won at Daiso) and the Son & Park Artist Spread Color Balm (a lookalike for the 63,000-won Chanel lip-and-cheek balm → 3,000 won) have driven repeat sell-outs. For a teen, the clincher is being able to try a product they saw go viral on social media without straining their pocket money.
In 2024, Daiso cosmetics sales grew +150% year-on-year (base care +200%, color +80%), and some items outsold even Olive Young’s private-label lines. Big brands like Amorepacific (Mamonde) and LG Household & Health Care (CNP) have moved in too, lifting the trust factor.
If you’re traveling, head to a multi-floor flagship Daiso in a busy area like Myeongdong, Hongdae, or Gangnam — the beauty and seasonal sections are far deeper there.
Why Olive Young? Where the trends live
Olive Young is still the runaway leader with a 20.2% share of Korea’s beauty market. For teens too, “let’s go buy makeup” defaults to a trip to Olive Young.
The reasons are simple: (1) it’s the fastest place to touch new launches and viral products, (2) you can test shades and try samples in person, and (3) for base products like sunscreen and serum, you can compare trusted brands directly. They’ll buy a 3,000-won color item at Daiso, but for what goes on their face all day, they choose the credibility of Olive Young.
For visitors, Olive Young is the easiest single stop to scan all of K-beauty. Large flagship stores in tourist areas like Myeongdong and Hongdae often have foreign-language help and passport-based perks for foreign shoppers (instant tax refund, etc.), though this varies by store and date.
What Korean teens actually buy — the top picks
These are the teen favorites drawn from 2025 review data across major beauty platforms (Olive Young, Glowpick, Hwahae). They cluster heavily around sun care and lips. The Naver search link under each table takes you straight to real photos, prices, and reviews.
🧴 Sun care — the daily essential
| Rank | Product | Brand | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birch Juice Moisturizing Sun Cream (자작나무 수분 선크림) | Round Lab | ~20,000 won | Olive Young sun-care staple. No white cast, hydrating |
| 2 | Tone-up Sun Cream (톤업 선크림) | Round Lab | ~20,000 won | Natural tone-up — wear it instead of makeup |
| 3 | Sun Serum (선세럼) | Beauty of Joseon | ~15,000 won | Applies as light as a serum |
🔎 Round Lab sunscreen on Naver 🔎 Beauty of Joseon sun serum on Naver
💄 Lips — the heart of the “no-makeup” look
| Rank | Product | Brand | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasting Color Gloss (글래스팅 컬러 글로스) | rom&nd | ~12,000 won | Dewy glass shine, gorgeous color |
| 2 | Ink Mood Glowy Tint (잉크 무드 글로이 틴트) | peripera | ~10,000 won | Long-lasting tint + gloss |
| 3 | Velvet Lip Pencil (벨벳 립 펜슬) | CLIO | ~10,000 won | Smooth grip, easy over-lining |
| 4 | Tanghulu Tangle Tint (탕후루 탱글 틴트) | Colorgram | ~10,000 won | Candied-fruit glass shine |
| 5 | Raw Glow Gel Tint (로 글로우 젤 틴트) | hince | ~15,000 won | Bouncy gel texture, natural color |
🔎 rom&nd Glasting tint on Naver 🔎 peripera tint on Naver
🛒 Daiso hits — the 3,000-won miracle
| Product | Brand | Daiso price | Retail price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reedle Shot 100 (리들샷 100) | VT | 3,000 won | ~30,000 won | 1/10-size mini, the sell-out star |
| Artist Spread Color Balm (아티 스프레드 컬러밤) | Son & Park | 3,000 won | — | The “cheap Chanel,” subtle color |
| Sheet masks (various) | Mediheal etc. | 1,000–2,000 won | — | Fun to pick one or two at a time |
🔎 VT Reedle Shot on Naver 🔎 Son & Park color balm on Naver
Prices as of 2025–2026 and may vary by store. Daiso items are small-size mini versions.
The teen trend: “clean girl” and beauty as play
The biggest current in teen beauty right now is the “clean girl” look. Rather than heavy coverage, the standard is a natural finish from just tone-up sunscreen + tint + mascara. That “barely-there” skin you see on teens around Korea is mostly this combo.
Within that current, beauty is play. Swatching a viral product with friends, testing a new color with a 3,000-won Daiso lip tint, snagging a long-wanted sunscreen during an Olive Young seasonal sale (Amazing Week) — it’s consumption closer to experience than ownership.
Visiting? How to shop K-beauty like a Korean teen
A Korean teen’s method works just as well for a traveler. One principle: color and minis you’ll experiment with go to Daiso; the base you’ll wear all day comes from Olive Young, verified.
- They cluster on one street — in tourist-heavy Myeongdong, Hongdae, and Gangnam, Olive Young and large Daiso stores sit close together, so you can hit both in one outing.
- Check Olive Young’s foreigner perks — large stores in tourist areas often run passport discounts and instant tax refunds (varies by store and date).
- Daiso is best for bulk gifting — Reedle Shot, color balm, and masks run 1,000–3,000 won each and are small, so a fistful barely dents your suitcase.
- Watch for sell-outs — hot items (VT Reedle Shot especially) go fast. Locals grab them the moment they see them.
📍 Find Olive Young 📍 Find Daiso
Korean teen beauty spending, by the numbers
| Metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daiso 2024 cosmetics sales growth | +150% (base +200%, color +80%) | Hankyung (Apr 2025) |
| Daiso avg. spend per visit | ~6,260 won | RetailTalk (2024) |
| Olive Young avg. spend per visit | ~29,340 won | RetailTalk (2024) |
| Daiso cosmetics brands | 47 / 346 items | Asia Economy (Sep 2024) |
| Teen image of Daiso | ”Great value” 65.8% | Pickply (Apr 2025) |
| Teen image of Olive Young | ”Wide brand variety” 31.5% | Pickply (Apr 2025) |
The takeaway: a 3-item gift set
The standout trait of Korean teen beauty shopping is the smart way they split channels. The budget is small, but the information runs faster than anyone’s: read the trend on social media, experiment cheaply at Daiso, secure the proven product at Olive Young.
Picking a K-beauty gift for a teen niece, nephew, or child back home? A Round Lab sunscreen + rom&nd tint + Daiso Reedle Shot trio is close to the 2026 answer. It’s easy on the wallet, it’s what Korean teens actually use, and the mix keeps you under your duty-free limit.
🔎 Round Lab sunscreen 🔎 rom&nd tint 🔎 Daiso Reedle Shot
Sources
- Pickply: cosmetics shopping channels by generation — Korea Startup Post (Apr 2025)
- Asia Economy: is Daiso cosmetics catching Olive Young — Why&Next (Sep 2024)
- Scrivenio: Olive Young 5.8tn vs Daiso 4tn — 2026 cosmetics channel war (May 2026)
- RetailTalk: Olive Young vs Daiso purchase metrics — Issue (2024)
- BeautyGenieLab: 2026 teen popular cosmetics TOP 10 — Tistory (Sep 2025)
- Hankyung: cosmetics for 3,000 won, teens flock to value Daiso — (Apr 2025)