First came the wave of manufacturing, with Samsung and LG; then the K-pop stars, whose ubiquity reached its regrettable height with Psy. Now comes the latest import from South Korea: a formidable array of beauty products.

先是以三星和LG为代表的制造业；然后是韩国流行歌手，可惜他们的巅峰止于鸟叔(Psy)。现在是韩国的最新进口产品：一系列势不可挡的美容产品。

It all started with the BB cream. In early 2011, the Korean brand Dr. Jart introduced two BB creams at Sephora in the United States. They had dermatologic roots, intended to protect and heal patients' skin after treatment, and had been popular as all-in-one skin-care and makeup¹ products in Korea for several years before they came to the United States.

一切都始于BB霜。2011年初，韩国品牌蒂佳婷(Dr. Jart)在美国丝芙兰化妆品商店(Sephora)推出了两款BB霜。BB霜有皮肤病学的渊源，最初是为了保护和修复治疗后的皮肤。作为一款全效护肤化妆品，它进入美国前已经在韩国畅销了好几年。

The cream was a hit. Major beauty companies took note. Soon enough, it had spawned² versions from L'Oréal, Smashbox, Clinique, Jane Iredale, Stila and Dior — and paved the way for a Korean beauty invasion of the United States.

BB霜很受欢迎。大牌化妆品公司纷纷效仿。很快，欧莱雅、Smashbox、倩碧(Clinique)、珍爱芮德(Jane Iredale)、丝狄拉(Stila)和迪奥(Dior)等品牌都推出了自己的BB霜，为韩国化妆品进军美国铺平了道路。

The beauty market has long been led by European countries, which were thought to be the source of innovation. But in recent years, American women (and beauty companies), their interest piqued³ by the BB cream, began to look more closely at Korean multistep skin-care regimens, and they liked what they saw.

长期以来，化妆品市场由欧洲国家主导，欧洲被认为是创新之源。但是近些年，美国女人（以及美国化妆品公司）对韩国的兴趣被BB霜勾了起来，开始更密切地关注韩式多步护肤法，她们对其护肤效果也感到满意。

"It shifted our consciousness on what it means to take care of your skin," said Megan McIntyre, the beauty director at the lifestyle site Refinery29. Seeing the care Korean women devote to their skin made consumers curious about new techniques, Ms. McIntyre said, adding that the often adorably twee packaging, high-tech⁴ innovations (peel-off lip stains, overnight masks) and affordable⁵ prices have not hurt, either. But let no one think that Korean women just slap on a BB cream and call it a day.

“它改变了我们对护肤的看法，”生活方式网站Refinery29的美容总监梅根·麦金太尔(Megan McIntyre)说。麦金太尔说，顾客们看过韩国女人对护肤的投入后，对新技术很好奇。她补充说，况且韩国化妆品的包装大多很可爱，又有高科技创新（撕拉式唇彩、睡眠面膜），价格也能承受。但是可别以为韩国女人涂上BB霜就完事了。

"The American approach is: the simpler the better, the faster I can get out the door," said Cindy Kim, a founder⁶ of Peach and Lily, one of a number of online retailers⁷, including Soko Glam and Memebox, that sells Korean beauty products. "The Korean mentality⁸ is comprehensive and detailed⁹."

桃子与百合(Peach and Lily)是一家销售韩国化妆品的在线零售商（类似的还有Soko Glam和Memebox）。它的创始人辛迪·金(Cindy Kim)说，“美国女人的方式是：越简单越好，这样我就能更快出门；韩国女人的心态则是全面而细致。”

And it is exhaustive. First, there's cleansing¹⁰, often with two different cleansers (one oil-based to remove makeup, then a foaming¹¹ cleanser), followed by a toner to balance pH levels on the face.

而且韩式化妆非常彻底。先是洁面，通常要用两种洁面产品（先是卸妆油，然后是泡沫洁面乳），然后用柔肤水平衡脸上的pH值。

Then there are "essences" and serums¹², which is "where the number of steps can blow up," Ms. Kim said. The serums often target single issues: aging, radiance, hydration, redness. An eye cream, plus moisturizer, and BB cream (for day) or an overnight sleep mask are applied¹³ next and all sealed with a mist. There is even a term for the desired plump and sticky feeling after application of these products: "chok chok."

之后使用精华液。“这里的步骤可以无限多，”金说。精华液通常是针对单个问题的：延缓老化，提亮肤色，补水，使脸色红润。然后用眼霜、滋润霜和BB霜（白天用）或睡眠面膜，最后用喷雾定妆。韩语中甚至有个词来形容用完这些产品后所期待的饱满水润的感觉：chok chok（大意是水灵灵的）。

Taking a half-hour for your skin-care routine "isn't weird,"said Esther Dong, the senior vice¹⁴ president for marketing¹⁵ at the Korean line Amorepacific, whose Time Response anti-aging moisturizers are selling well in the United States. "When people describe a beautiful girl in the U.S., it's all about the body, and the third or fourth sentence is about the face. When you describe a beautiful girl in Asia, it's about her face and how pure and fine her skin is."

韩国化妆品公司爱茉莉(Amorepacific)的市场营销高级副总裁埃斯特·董(Esther Dong)说，花半小时护肤“不奇怪”。该公司的时光幻彩(Time Response)抗老化保湿霜在美国很畅销。“美国人描述美女全是在说身材，第三或第四句话才提到脸。亚洲人说美女是说她脸庞俊秀、皮肤纯净。”

Such standards are reflective of Korean culture at large. "The culture of South Korea is very much tied with technological¹⁶ advancement¹⁷ and the rapid pace of life,” said Richard You, the deputy general manager for Dr. Jart in the United States. “Everyone has a smartphone, is concerned about their looks, and companies are working around the clock to provide new products. Word gets around quickly regarding what's working and what's not." In Korea, more than one television show is devoted¹⁸ to reviewing new beauty products.

这样的标准反映了韩国文化的整体面貌。“韩国文化与科技进步和生活快节奏紧密相关，”蒂佳婷美国区副总经理理查德·刘(Richard You)说，“每个人都有智能手机，很在意自己的相貌，化妆品公司夜以继日地开发新产品。关于产品效果的评价很快就会传开。”在韩国，不止一个电视节目致力于评价美容新产品。

Even if American women aren't likely to massage¹⁹ five different creams into their faces for 30 minutes, they are willing to try new products. Alicia Yoon, the other founder of Peach and Lily, reported that most of its customers are non-Asian and that, month to month, its sales nearly double.

虽然美国女人不大可能花30分钟时间往脸上抹五种面霜，但她们愿意尝试新产品。桃子与百合网店的另一位创始人艾莉西娅·尹(Alicia Yoon)说，该网店的大部分顾客不是亚洲人，而且销量几乎在逐月翻倍。

"The appetite is huge," said Priya Venkatesh, who oversees²⁰ the merchandising of products with Korean roots at Sephora. And not just for Korean brands. Korean-inspired masks and essences from Dior, Shiseido and SK-II are emerging as popular, she said.

普里亚·凡卡泰斯(Priya Venkatesh)在丝芙兰公司负责与韩国有关的美容产品的促销活动。她说，“顾客们很感兴趣”，而且不只是对韩国品牌，迪奥、资生堂和SK-II等品牌受韩国美容产品启发开发的面膜和精华液也开始流行。

American companies are also hoping to strike a chord with similar products. Peter Thomas Roth, a skin-care line in New York, makes a CC cream (a lighter²¹ sibling²² to the BB cream) in South Korea. Its answer to the Korean essence, a step between cleansing and treatment, is its Un-Wrinkle Turbo Line Smoothing Lotion²³. It also has a sleeping mask (a concentrated mask you wear overnight) and an oil-like product made from squalene, which comes from sugar cane²⁴ and has long been popular in Asia.

美国化妆品公司也希望用类似的产品打动顾客。纽约护肤品牌彼得罗夫(Peter Thomas Roth)在韩国生产CC霜（一款比BB霜清淡的姐妹产品）。它的精纯胜肽精华(Un-Wrinkle Turbo Line Smoothing Lotion)是一款与韩国的精华液（清洁和护肤之间的一个步骤）类似的产品。它也有睡眠面膜（可以敷着入睡的浓缩面膜），还有一款用鲨烯做的卸妆油，这种从甘蔗中提取出来的鲨烯在亚洲流行已久。

For sure, there is an exoticism to Korean ingredients, with products like LadyKin Vanpir Dark Repair Cream (which touts²⁵ Red Dragon Blood Resin²⁶ Extract) and Mizon Returning Starfish Cream (with 70 percent starfish extract). Alpha-hydroxy acid-based peeling foot masks that remove layers of dead skin have been gaining followers²⁷ here, the most popular being Baby Foot. (Best not to Google the product. Eeew.)

毫无疑问，韩国护肤品的成分具有异国情调，比如LadyKin吸血鬼暗黑复活面霜(LadyKin Vanpir Dark Repair Cream，含有红龙木树脂提取液）和谜之芬海星再生面霜（Mizon Returning Starfish Cream，含有70%的海星萃取物）。果酸去死皮足膜在美国也被追捧，最流行的是宝贝脚(Baby Foot)牌的（最好别去谷歌上搜索这种产品。呃！）。

So pronounced is the interest in Korean products among Refinery29 readers that Ms. McIntyre recently hired Joyce Kong, a Korean-American writer in Seoul, as its Korean beauty correspondent.

Refinery29网站的读者们对韩国护肤品的兴趣非常明显，所以麦金太尔最近聘用首尔的韩裔美国作家乔伊斯·孔(Joyce Kong)担任韩国美容记者。

"Every month there's something new, so much of my job is to figure out, is this a fad²⁸ or something that's going to be a real trend?” Ms. Kong said. “There has been snail²⁹ cream and snake venom³⁰ lotion. Right now donkey milk is a thing."

“每个月都有新产品，我的工作很大一部分是弄清楚某种新产品只是一时流行还是会成为真正的潮流，”孔说，“曾有过蜗牛霜和蛇毒液。现在新出现的是驴奶。”

A contender for the next blockbuster is the single-use sheet mask, a piece of thin paper or fabric³¹ coated in active ingredients. "Say my skin routine focuses on hydrating and firming," Ms. Yoon said, “but I've been tired so I want something to promote an inner glow. That's where a mask comes in.”

下一个热门可能是一次性薄片面膜，就是一片涂有活性成分的薄纸或薄布。“比如，我平常护肤主要是补水和紧致，”尹说，“但我感到疲倦，想提升皮肤的内在光彩。这时就需要面膜。”

In Korea, these are already ubiquitous. "You walk into any drugstore and there are walls filled with sheet masks that cost anywhere from $1 to $10," Ms. Kim said. “They're very much part of the routine over there."

在韩国，这些已经非常普遍。“你走进任何一家化妆品商店，都能看见墙上摆满薄片面膜，售价从1美元到10美元不等，”金说，“在韩国，面膜几乎是必用的。”

Ms. McIntyre said she thinks the next big things could be sleeping masks and cushion compacts, in which BB cream in a compact form comes with a spongelike applicator for a dewy finish.

麦金太尔认为接下来流行的可能是睡眠面膜和气垫BB霜。BB霜紧密地填在盒内，附有海绵状的敷抹器，能让皮肤最后呈现出水灵灵的感觉。

One sure thing is that beauty companies will continue looking to Korea. Ms. McIntyre said, “It has become almost an arms race to see what the next big thing will be."

有一点是可以肯定的：化妆品公司将继续向韩国学习。麦金太尔说，“大家都争着开发下一个热门产品，有点像军备竞赛。”