August 18, 2020 • 36 mins
Esthetician, entrepreneur, and Korean skin care trendsetter Charlotte Cho discusses her personal journey with her skin, the K-Beauty business, and how that led her to create Soko Glam and her own product line “Then I Met You.” Charlotte demystifies the Korean skincare routine and skin first lifestyle that has spread around the globe, revolutionizing the way people care for their skin.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
I can't survive the whole week without eating Korean food.
I have to. This is something that I always like
felt embarrassed about growing up. My parents would always like,
would go on a camping tip for like three days,
and they'd bring all this, like rice cooker and every dain,
and I'd be so embarrassed. And then I'd go on
a trip somewhere and they'd be like words and yours
cream food restaurant. I'd be like, we are in Europe.
(00:23):
But then now I get it. I have to have
cream food once a week at least, and I will
literally pay up for it. I'm somewhere abroad. I think
one of the greatest gifts the world has seen by Koreans,
hands down, k beauty and skincare. Everyone and their mom
has heard of Korean skincare, and to make sure of that,
(00:45):
we have Charlotte Cho. Charlotte and her husband founded the
beauty destination, Soko, Glam and skincare content sites the clock.
Charlotte has also launched her own skincare line, Then I
Met You, which products I'm literally obsessed with and an
avid user. Seriously, I can rave all day about these products.
(01:05):
But we'll get into that later, And of course she's
also a trained esthetician, author of the Little Book of
Skincare and has one countless awards, and it's featured in
practically every media publication out there. And now I'm not
just saying this, but Charlotte, you are literally like my
inspo in so many ways. Oh my god. Seriously, when
(01:28):
I feel like I need a bump of motivation, I
turned to Charlotte's instagram. Oh my gosh, don't and it
literally gives me like spirit. And also, you single handedly
changed away I think of my skin and therefore my
daily routine on self care. And we met a few
years ago speaking at a panel focused on Korean startups,
(01:49):
and ever since then, I've gotten to know you both
personally and professionally. And side note, I love to cook
for Charlotte because she loves Korean food and they're or
like devours whatever I make, and it makes me feel
like really good about myself. Gosh, this is such a
touching intro. I feel so embarrassed. I don't feel it's
(02:10):
a typical Korean mindset or I don't know I got
this from my mom. I think where I'm just like, no,
shut up. I can't accept any compliment comment it's a
it's a Korean thing. I'm very hard on myself too
when it comes to that. But no, I'm not just
saying this. I literally think Charlotte's so much for transforming
my skin first of all, and um encouraging me to
learn about all the new trends in Korea, because girl,
(02:33):
you're like so on it didn't say like, when I
think of someone that really loves Korean culture and embraces
Korean culture, it's you, not only for what you do,
but just wanting to kind of like spread the Korean
love because that's like what I love to do, and
I think we're very similar. I think that's exactly my
(02:53):
first question to you. How come I didn't really care
about my skin until I met you? See what you're
literally like my then I met you, No, seriously, like
I really of course I knew about Crean skincare and
it's a it was a huge trend, But until I
really got to be friends with you and started following
(03:14):
you on Instagram and like getting to know you, I
really didn't care that much about my skin. Like why
why do you think that? Is? Well? I think you
went on the same journey that I went through when
I went to Korea. So I didn't all. I didn't
care about my skin either growing up in California. And
then when I went to Korea, I started noticing that
all the women and men around me, they actually took
(03:35):
delight in their skincare routine. And that really was intriguing
for me because I always thought it was a chore.
I was like, yeah, about to do other things than skincare,
because you don't really see the impact right away, you know,
like makeup, you just put on lipstick and you're like, wow,
I look good. But then with skincare, it's preventative. You know,
it takes time to see results, you have to study,
and you have to understand your skin. So it just
seemed like a lot more step works and a lot
(03:57):
more work. Um. And so when I saw the people
around me just it was part of their lifestyles, part
of their hygiene, it was part of their self care,
it became a different thing and morphed into something different.
And so that's the kind of journey that I experienced,
and that's how I really introduced green beauty to the
US by talking about how it's a lifestyle, how it's
(04:17):
part of self care, how you can actually actually take
delight and enjoy taking care of your skin. And once
you understand it's less intimidating, you're gonna love the results.
When someone compliments you on your skin, it feels it
feels so good because it's different. It's different from like, oh,
your outfit looks good or you like look pretty, yeah,
But when someone says, oh, your skin looks amazing, you
(04:39):
know it's you, yeah, and you're just like thank you,
and you just feel really good about it. And I
had so many people that email us at Soco Glam
because they do learn about their skin through our content
and through our skin consultations, and they always say, you know,
my husband, who never notices anything about me, said wow,
your skin looks glowing, and it just brightens up their
whole month, you know, And that's and it makes you
(05:01):
want to do it more like and really you start
really caring about your skin and therefore it yourself. And
that's why I said, when I started getting into my skin,
I started caring about myself as well, generally, like health wise.
And I think, honestly, what really is behind my motivation
to even tell people about Korean beauty, Like this lifestyle
(05:23):
that Korean women and men have. It's also because I
lived in Korean and I do love Korea as a whole.
And you're referencing my Instagram, I just am so proud
of being Korean, and I just love showcasing Korean food
or other Korean American entrepreneurs or even parasite weining, gold
golden globe, which is yeah, I'm just like so happy.
That's really a lot of what drove me to even
(05:45):
start Soco Glam in the first place. And so then
it all like kind of ties in all together. Speaking
of which, the rise of not only Korean culture, but
like specifically Korean skincare, how did that happen? Okay, So
it really was phenomenon. Kpat became this crea, became known
for their innovative formulas, their textures, their efficacy of their products,
(06:06):
their natural ingredients, their packaging. Everything was was really coming
from Korea. And then it started to expand in Asia
and people started getting really into it. You know, Chinese
people loved cream beauty. The Southeast Asia started, you know,
they were influenced by Korean k pop stars and how
they had amazing poor less skin and for the U
(06:27):
s specifically, SoC Glamor did have a huge part in that.
And it was just perfect timing because Korean beauty was
present in the US through Korean supermarkets and you could
find the products in these little hole in the wall stores,
but no one was really talking about it in a
way that could translate easy to the mainstream US beauty consumer.
(06:50):
And so SoC Glamor early helped kind of break it down,
make it snack able, digest what is the benefit of
using cream beauty products, What is the routine that you
can use with these products, and so breaking down that
kind of demystifying Koream beauty through a channel like Soco
Lamb really helped it become mainstream and and and social
(07:11):
media helped explain that as well. So just going back
a few steps, can you just give a broad sense
of what it's Korean beauty anyway? So Korean beauty is
all about innovative skincare and makeup and beauty products, so
you can have all of the most interesting textures, the
most innovative ingredients packaged in the most interesting, most useful
(07:36):
formats and um Also it incorporates really really efficacious experiences
so you can actually see results from these products, and
because Korean beauty has all of those elements, when people
try it, they're simply amazed and they want to continue
using it. And it's not just about the products. It's
also about the lifestyle. So the routine, the multi step
(08:01):
skincare routine coming from Korean beauty concepts, it's all of
that intertwined. And then that is cream beauty in my eyes.
So do you think that's the biggest difference the lifestyle
of it, the lifestyle and the innovative products. Yet, can
you describe what you mean by that? I know a
lot of Korean beauty is preventative, which is a different
concept with how the West seas it. Right, right, Korean
(08:24):
beauty is a skin first lifestyle. So whenever you think
of taking care of your body or taking care of
your looks, it's always begins with your skin. It's it's
it's really about practicing this daily morning and night. It's
really about believing that my skin is first before layering
(08:44):
on with makeup, instead of trying to fix problems by
covering it up. You're getting to the root of the condition.
And that is really truly like the skin first veloscy
that Korean men and women all kind of embody and
they have it as part of their daily hygiene and
then just part of their wellness. But Koreans can kind
of be very intense with it, right, Let's be real.
I think I read some something about in Korea the
(09:07):
moms take their toddlers to like get get skincare treatments
before they even become adolescent. Is that true? That's crazy.
There's a lot of preventative measures. They literally go to
a derm annually or maybe even twice a year, even
though they don't have any skin issues. They just want
to get a check up and say, so, how's my
skin doing. It's like it's kind of like getting like
(09:28):
a medical check up a skin yeah, and I feel
like that. And if you compared to the US, I
would say that people only go to the dermatologist when
they're like, something is terribly wrong with my skin. I've
really severe acne or h or skin cancer or something
that's like prompts them to go to germ. But then
in Korea it's just like, yeah, I'm gonna go get
(09:48):
checked out, or I'm gonna go get you know, something
lasered off here. I'm going to get you know, some
sort of skin treatment or facial here, just because I
want to preserve my skin and make it the best possible,
which is why when you visit Korea, like honestly, every
single Korean has flawless skin. I swear it. It amazed me, Like,
(10:10):
I mean, it's noticeable, like everyone has good skin. It is. Really,
it's been a trend forever to be proud of your
walking out the door and go to brunch without makeup on,
you know, sing on. Oh my god, I can't do
sing I can't either, but you know, it's a source
of pride. It's like the no makeup makeup look. It's
almost like, hey, you know, wow, you'ren't wearing any makeup. Holy,
(10:33):
your skin is glowing. It's just like all even toned.
There's no brown spots like wow, you know, like no
dark circles, and just like you have such a point
of pride if you were able to do that. By
the way, for those of you who don't know what
saying art is saying art, Charlotte, can you explain that
is just completely no makeup, fair skin, bear skaterly bear skin. Yeah,
(10:54):
oh my gosh, I cannot go outside because you here
and there, you know, but you know a lot of
people try. Then that's where the no makeup makeup look
came from, from pretending you like you basically use makeup
to kind of create the look like you're not wearing
any makeup. I wish one day, one day. Honestly, it
(11:25):
can get a little bit scary when it comes to
like getting obsessed right with your and streams to anything,
and when you go off the deep end, that's no
good because I hear like some people in Korea go
to their dermatologist or skincare person, like they go to
the gym. Yeah, there's extremes to anything. And I think
Korean people definitely care about first impressions. I think that's
(11:48):
where it stems from. Like culturally, yeah, it's like a
hyper competitive society. It is really cut throat. I feel
that when it comes to getting jobs or even dating,
you always want to put your best face forward literally later.
So it is really important for them to keep up
their appearances, you know, wear nice clothes and have great
(12:11):
like hair and have great you know, it's just skin,
It's just it is all part of I think first
impressions and them caring deeply about that has Korea always
been like this in your opinion, I think in my opinion,
and what I've observed is that skincare in Korea has
really just been green as part of their lifestyles explained earlier,
at just a young age. It's just been part of
(12:31):
their like daily hygiene. For example, when I go to
Korean sauna in Korea, I see, you know, you have
your grandmother there, your mom there, and like your little
kid there. And I've once observed a Korean grandma exfoliating
her granddaughter's body, you know, scrubbing it with a body towel.
And then I heard her explaining like, oh, you have
(12:53):
to do this because you wanted to have softer skin
and you want to make sure you remove any dead
skin cells and um, you know then that makes your
whole body brighter and your whole face brighter, and make
sure you massage this and make sure you always wash
your face after every evening. And she was explaining that,
and it really reminded me of how an American person
(13:13):
would tell their kid, you have to wash your hands
after using the restroom because it's just clean. You know,
you want to make your teeth. It's like brushing your teeth,
Like you want to brush your teeth because it's daily hygiene.
You want to make sure you don't get cavities. And
it's just ingrained at such a young age that that's
why when they're about you know, fifteen or it's just
second nature to them, Like they're gonna double cleanse, they're
(13:33):
going to exfoliate, they're going to you know, moisturize because
they know it's going to cot and protect their skin
and prevent it from environmental stressures. Like it just becomes
so natural that for us we're like when did this happen?
But they're like why do you brush your chin? Then?
Why do you wash your hands? It's been that way always. Yeah,
I think it's just value. Yeah, it's just part of
their health, you know. Yeah, And I think it's um
(13:54):
to me. For me, I think it's a great practice
of preventative care. I think it's a great practice of patients,
which I think are the younger generation and my generation
included and me included. We're just so about like instant results, fast, fast, fast. Yeah,
Like let's just get you know, it's like Amazon Prime,
I want it now, like two days or less. I
(14:15):
think that's part of what we've grown up in. But
I do value a little bit of like put it
in the work now and you'll reap the benefits leader,
And I think that's a part of the skincare culture
from create. I'd like to remind myself an adopt a ritual,
you know what. It has become like a ritual for
me to you know me, I'm like, go go, go,
go go. I'm always about yeah, you know, as entrepreneurs,
(14:38):
you know, it's all about that lifestyle. Every minute is precious.
But I've learned to really slow down when it comes
to my nightly routine. Let's say, let's maybe in the morning,
I'm I'm rushing. Yeah I'm rushing, But at night, at
least giving myself thirty minutes even right to go through
all the steps, it's like sort of calming. Yeah, THERAPYU
(14:59):
I would say, same thing. I don't even use thirty minutes,
to be honest, Like everyone thinks I have this like
crazy laborate routine at night, but it's you just know
what steps to do and I just put it on
really quickly. But even that, like even ten minutes, carving
out those ten minutes to look at yourself in a mirror,
you know, know exactly what your skin needs, putting on
your favorite products. It is is very therapeutic and call me,
can you give us sort of your skincare routine? Yeah? Yeah, So,
(15:24):
as I said earlier, people think that have this like
crazy one hour routine, but it's just it literally takes
me ten minutes unless I'm putting on a sheet mask
or something that is an additional step that will take
fifteen minutes on top of it. But really it's about
double cleansing. I put the oil cleanser breakdown all those
oil impurities like your sunscreen, your the pollution that all
the products you had on before, like makeup. So you
use that to remove everything, and then you follow it
(15:46):
up with a gel cleanser, like a water based cleanser
that will help remove any impurities that are remaining on
your skin. And the reason why you cleanse twice is
because you actually have so many periods that will cause acne,
it will cause aging. But people don't realize they have
so much on leftover under skin, even if you don't
want to makeup right, yes, yes, even there's so many
oils from the pollution or even your natural oils that
(16:08):
you can clog pores. I think as a chef, you
probably do so much the oils from food, even right
cooking and everything I have my own can get a
routine in the kitchen, so it's like breaking that down
is so important. Um. And for a clear skin. And
then so after a double cleanse, I put on a
toner and so that toner um, I use the venimate
(16:31):
you for milk refining toner, and that is really helping
clear away any fine lines, so it smooths out my
skin texture and it also helps just minimize my pores.
And then I use an essence, so essence really brings
back hydration, makes it really supple and bouncy. And then
I'll follow it up with the moisturizer, or if it's
the daytime, I'll put on a sunscreen after my moisturizer.
(16:52):
But what soundscreen is very important, very important. So it's
really a fortified step routine that I'm talking about here.
And then of course, like when I see it as
fine lines or at night, i'll put I'll add an
I cream or i'll you know, I'll do like a
special mask if I have time, But normally it's it's
really a five routine and this is for men or women? Yes, yeah,
(17:13):
I mean skin is skin. Everyone thinks that there's just
a specific routine for a person of color, or you know,
is this for Asian skin or is this for men
or women? And I'm like, skin is skin. Every person
has different skins. Like literally, I'm thirty four years old.
I deal with acne, and you think that acne's only
for fifteens. It's not like everyone has different skin types, genetics, hormones, stress,
(17:36):
and your skin will be impacted by that, and so
you have to go by what you see on your
skin versus I'm this age and this sex. So what
do you recommend? It's no, it's like what are you
experiencing right now? What are your goals? One thing is
there are a million products out there, especially Korean beauty products.
Oh my gosh, sometimes I get overwhelmed when I go
(17:56):
into a Korean To be honest, when I go on
your website to does I get overwhelmed them? Like how
do I know ice point too? If it's more expensive
doesn't mean it's better. I don't know, honestly, And I'm
sure a lot of people at first get overwhelmed, especially
if you're getting introduced to Korea beauty for the first time.
Can you explain that a little bit and how you curate? Right? So,
(18:17):
I think number one, I totally get it, especially if
you're new to skincare. It's like WHOA, where do I start?
And it is a learning process and it's a journey.
And I would say that's trial and error as well,
because you'll start to understand as you get more deeper
into skincare and using the products, like what your skin
reacts better with. You know what fragrances are non fragrances
(18:38):
that you like and enjoy. It's really trial and error,
but it's really important to get an assessment. I think
it's really important to get a skin consultation if you're
new to skin care, so to buy who Poco Glam
does skin constitutions, Like you can literally text us and
we'll go through like a fifteen and twenty minute text
session with you just by sharing your lifestyle. You know
what you're willing to commit to, you know what you
(18:58):
have time for, what are your skin concerns, what are
your goals, Just sharing like what you've been sensitive to
in the past, and then we'll actually craft a routine
for you based on all of your desires and then
recommend the products the products, and you can even be
like I have a really tight budget, I want to
be everything under twenty dollars per product. Then you know,
we can totally droll that down for you. And that's
(19:19):
really what Soco Clam is about. You know, we're not
just a retailer. We just have products on the shelf
and like buy this cleanser. It's let's let us walk
you through the journey. And that's why we created the Clock,
which is all about escape care education. And so that's
really the heart and soul of Soco Clam and what
we what we do. I'm curious, have you ever been
(19:43):
in an instance where you did go through this consultation
and the products didn't match the person and they like free.
I've had people that came to Soco House. We had
this pop up in the summer and soho she came
to me and said, I've used this all this, like
these best sellers on Soco Clam and I'm still experiencing
acting and she's what else do I buy? I want
to try? And you know, we're very upfront. You have
(20:04):
used this is in this like I think that the
next step is to actually go to a dermatologist because
there's certain things about your skin that are hormonal based,
genetic based, um, stress based because she just moved to
New York. I mean that's that stressful. Yeah. Yeah, there's
a lot of things. So we're not about like, okay,
by these ten other products. You know. It is while
(20:26):
skincare is trial and error. Um, there's certain levels in
which like we understand that, hey, you got to try
this step then that has nothing to do with these products,
and get that checked out. You know, you might need
something oral medication to reduce this or that, and you know,
fluctuate hormonal levels you need to take um, get your
skin checked out for sensitivities, you know, with a nutritionist
(20:47):
or herbalist or you know, there's other steps with skincare
that don't always involve skincare products. It is, so it
is a journey. There's not a one size fits all.
There's no pamphlet. You know. That's stressful. It could get stressful. Yeah,
but that that's where education comes into play. And I
think what's great about skiing care now is that people
are willing to learn and even if it means googling
(21:08):
something or reading a blog or someone that's a skincare
expert that kind of talks about all these different journeys
that could go on and the advice that he or
she may have. I think that's great about the consumer
nowadays in this space is that they're willing to listen,
read reviews, go through the whole process because it's fun
when you figure it out, Like even your dieting, right,
like people go obsessed like Chinese different techniques or trends
(21:28):
or and they're willing to read out about like antexidents
or the benefits of cyber bulls or food you know,
like how do you eat better and all of that.
I think that that's cool that people are taking matters
into their own hands and figuring out what works with
them in their lifestyle. So do you think that ky
beauty and skincare is a trend? What do you think
the future holds? I think Korean beauty in the it's
(21:51):
kind of incredible the pace in which people have adopted
embrace cream beauty in through their lives. I would say
that within four or five years became globally like mainstream,
which is incredible. And if Korean beauty was just a
fad or a trend, it would be gone, no one'ld
be talking about it, no one'd be using these products.
But because k Beauty is rooted in efficacious products innovation,
(22:13):
people now just really aligned with cream beating people. They
trust it because it works. Yeah, that's the most exciting
part of being in this industry and being part of
cream Beauty is that if it didn't work, it would
be so gone. Like three years ago, that's true. Yeah,
and so now it's just now synonymous to innovation. Nowson
wanted us to best skincare, and so even when I
(22:34):
met you, it's a line that I created as a
Korean American in New York. But all of our formulas
are made in Korea, and there's a level of trust
that comes from even me as a formulator and creator.
And the people that purchase our products are like, wow,
it's made in Korea. Like that's a stamp of like
this is gonna be good, and I want to talk
about your products. So I started using it when it
obviously when it first came out, and I am literally obsessed.
(22:58):
It's it's really different than a lot of the other
products on the market. How did you create this product
and why does it make it so different. A lot
of people don't know this, but when it comes to
huge brands out there, a lot of it is like
stuff on the shelf, like it's it's a formula that
has been pre made and then you, if you're a brand,
you'll buy it and then you'll add a little bit
of an ingredient and call it yours. But there's very
(23:21):
few people that are actually going to go through the
process of starting from scratch and trying to be innovative
about the formulas because it's hard work and it's it's
a lot of time invested, and sometimes you'll try something
that won't work out and you just wasted a year. Right. So,
but I think because I've had so much experience curating,
trying so many products, understanding like my esthetition background, and
(23:41):
talking to people about what they want, I've been motivated
to start everything from scratch and really understand what people
are looking for, and then when I try it, I'm like,
this better work. This has to work because I'm not
about creating a million different products. It's about I want
to create products that are holy grails for each and
every part of this line, so that people don't have
(24:02):
to go through this trital and era of like all
these different problems. So yeah, I'm very motivated by different
things that maybe a large company may not care about,
you know, And I think that really matters. I think
that even when it comes to your work, I'm sure
that you put so much care into the ingredients and
the quality ingredients and how you create your food that
I mean it's noticeable, you know, to scale it's hard.
(24:25):
Scale it's hard, yeah, for sure, but it matters. There's
a huge difference between mass produced food that you just
like slap on a plate and like serve versus like
what you go through. I have had your food. It's insane,
it is so good. And then that's why you know,
people keep coming back and they notice it. And I
think that's what's great about like I think about entrepreneurship,
(24:45):
is that you can't take the time, and that's why founders,
I think are a big part of the success of
a brand for sure. For sure. I know you're writing
a new book and it's focused on tongue. Yeah, and
I think tongue is such a big part of Korean
culture and I want you to talk about it a
little bit just because I feel like this. This word
(25:06):
is not really uh, there's no equivalent word. Yeah, it's
a tough one. Yeah, I would say that when I
went to Korea for five years, I learned about Korean beauty.
And I think the second thing and most important thing
I learned that has impacted my life is about chong.
So this chong is a deep emotional connection you could
have with someone. It could be with the city, could
be a person, it could be your pet, it could
(25:28):
be a physical thing, but it's truly a deep connection
and you feel something. It's emotional. It's very emotional. And
I think I have chong with Korea, and I didn't
have it when I first moved there, But over time,
I build this relationship with Korea that now a lot
of the things I care about Korea so much because
I have this relationship career that it motivates me to
(25:49):
do cream beauty. It motivates me to talk about all
these amazing things coming out of Korea, K food, k fashion,
you know, K pop. I love talking about that and
encouraging it and supporting it. Um and I have chung
with a lot of people, including you, And yeah, it's
just something that it doesn't happen overnight. Like it's so
quick to say, like on Instagram, like hey, I love you,
you know I love you, You're awesome, But like, who
(26:11):
do you really have that deep connection with? Who do
you really like? Have you had deep conversations and you
can reveal a lot of things that you know may
not be someone you tell that you've just met over lunch,
you know, and then you could rely on that person.
You could reveal and be vulnerable and you give without
expecting anything in return, like you just want to that.
I think that's an essential part of chong. It's like
(26:33):
thinking with your heart and not with your head, not
being strategic about it, and being like I just really
care about this person. One quick example is like my
uncle in Korea. He's a he's a taxi driver and
he doesn't make a ton of money. But his friend
who's like down with no job and has had struggles
money financially, he asked him for money and my uncle
gave him money. But he gave it knowing full like
(26:55):
awareness that he's never gonna get this money back. And
that I think is he was motivated by chong. He
has chong with this person he knew to get in
trouble with his wife. You know he would you would. Yeah,
it's not a good situation because he knows that money
is going likes bye bye. But you do it because
you're motivated by your heart and not by your head.
And and so that is essential quote essential chong and
(27:18):
having an emotional connection with someone I think or something too,
yeah or something, And that's I think that's what has
driven me in my career. And I think that I
love that concept and cultural part of career so much
that I tried embody it in my life. And that's
why I'm trying to create a book about it because
I think that our society needs it more than ever.
I think, so, yeah, I think that everything is so telling.
(27:39):
Is everything It's it's like a it's it's what you
can motivate you, it's it makes life meaning pol if right, Yeah,
I don't care about I think that that money is
like a huge factor for everyone, you know, like their
success or happiness is so hinged on money. But like
you will not be happy with money, I think. I think, Yeah,
cheng is like love, you know how they say sometimes
(28:01):
like you get confused with love and tongue. Yeah, like
is it chenge is so much deeper than love. Love
you could fall out of like real quick, like you
know they say, like that's deep. Love flames out like
you can be like super obss with somebody and then
like the next day you're like but then with Chong,
like you can't sever it. Once you have tongue with
that person, it's endless. It's endless, and even it could
(28:22):
be Mu and Chung too, which is like a hatred
like it's opposite of it's like hate love hate relationship.
So once you have that with someone, it never severed
even though like you have animosity towards up, it's forever
in your heart. Yeah, you still have tongue with it.
I also feel like you have tongue with Um which
(28:44):
I brought for you today to eat, so time you
have started and sold you. Oh my gosh. It's just
like a quintessential Korean combo when it comes to cream food, right,
so time gets it's port belly on the grill and
like I feel like sum gipside and Soldier is one
of those like Korean things that that has like so
(29:05):
much tongue, Like you build tongue with whoever you have
this with, right, totally, which this is like perfect, Oh
my god, it's so funny, it's so perfect. Yeah, so
can you talk about like sum Gipsie and soldier real
quick and why this is your favorite? I love the
chung you can have with somebody over a bottle of
Souldu and s barbecue koream mabe some peop saying like
there's something about pouring a drink for somebody and having
(29:28):
it poured back to you, because in Korean culture you
don't pour your own drinks, and it's you literally ripped
the bottle away from their hands if they try to
pour themselves, because it's like bad luck for the personnel
cross from you exactly. And so it's just like that
that giving and then like receiving and just like the
conversations you'll have over a bottle sold you and like
you know, you've seen cream dramas, like the main characters
(29:50):
like sobbing or like so down in the dumps because
they broke up with this like dramatic, and then like
your friend is like joining in with you, you know,
like and under Dannian listening to you as you're like
pouring your heart out over something that's like devastating you.
It's just like that's that moment is so beautiful. I
love it, So you please sponsor. Right, we're gonna do
(30:13):
a little tasting. Obviously this morning I was like cooking
some upside in my heartment at eight in the morning
for you. Thank you. This is like part of my
tongue towards you. Oh my gosh, No, seriously, Yester, You're
so awesome to Charlotte, your favorite one of your favorite
fait gifts are so excited. So Tom gift starded is
pork belly in Korean and pork belli in Korea. I
(30:35):
feel like it's a little bit different because I don't
really see you know, the culture is just like grilling
pork belly as it is. Usually it's like braised because
people think it's like more of a tough piece of meat.
But Koreans love that chewiness of the pork, like that
crispy like chewy fattiness. So anyways, Tom gift started is
also one of my favorite things ever. Right, So Tom Gifts,
(30:58):
I bought you the sum which is like the lettuce,
and then I brought all these condiments for me. I
love the condiments. Love yeah, because cream barbecue, you can't
just have it in wrapped in a piece of lettuce.
But you need to see an explosion in your mouth. Yeah,
it's not one you don't get bored, because if you
get bored with one flavor, then you eat the other
(31:19):
punch exactly. It's very versatile. So the sides that I
brought you some young is very important. And and my
son Jiang is made with bacon. Oh yeah, I know.
I had to go there. The sesame oil and salt,
that's important. And then I have like these pickled tie
chilies because I'm like obsessed with this right now. And
(31:41):
in some it is so good, especially if you like spicy,
which I love. And then I like spicy mayo sometimes
because sometimes you just want that richness, right And that's
kind of like my addition to this. My mouth is watering.
And then I have boozing two types, which is just
like plain diicon. Then I have to die on kuchi,
and then I bought some cold get for you. Than
(32:03):
please explain how you're building your something. Yeah. So um,
I just have a piece of lettuce and it's a
smaller cut. I like that. You know, you can't just
get a huge old leaf like cold foods and wrap it.
It's and then I got one piece um of the
pork belly and I'm going to add some of the
Everyone likes to do this their own way, right, And
(32:26):
the beauty of this is if you get bored of
like building like one type of stung, you can like
change it up. Definitely describe it for our audience. M
you hear that. That's the sum mm hmmmm explosion in
my mouth. I'm married juicy and the pork bell. Yeah,
(32:48):
it's so good. It's so crazy how flavorful of the
pork is, even though you just there's no marination. There's
no marination. Um, there's no salt on it. Literally, I
just sliced it and I just sualtated because all the
flavors from the car I know, and I like that
a lot. Oh my god, Hello, this is all for you.
(33:09):
You know what I loved. I love so getney. It
is perilla. That's my favorite thing to wrap it with
me too. Yeah, I am like such a sucker for perilla.
But in New York you don't see a lot of
key barbecues. It's expensive. Yeah, it's expensive. So I'm like,
come on, guy, but we gotta pay in your sad,
(33:30):
I brought getney for you. I didn't have fresh pilla.
So great. One of the great things about Korean food,
especially as someone that's so busy, A lot of things
are fermented and pickled, and they can live in your
fridge for like months and months if you need like
an emergency meal and your home and like most most
(33:50):
of the time, your frist can be empty, but you
always have like kim cheese or like something. Yeah, so
I can't survive a whole week without eating Korean food,
I have to you. This is something that I always
like felt embarrassed about growing up. My parents would always
like we'd go on a campionship for like three days
and they'd bring all this like rice cooker and every
(34:10):
day and be like, okay, we can serve and I'd
be so embarrassed. And then I'd go on a trip
to like somewhere and they'd be like, Where's and nears
cream food restaurant. I'd be like, we are in Europe
or something. You know, It's like why are we doing this?
But then now I get it. I have to have
cream food once a week at least, and I will
literally pay up for it if I'm somewhere abroad. I
(34:31):
totally feel you because when I travel, there's always ramen always,
you know, and I feel like every lot of Korean
people are like this, like Americans too. Yeah, Like when
I traveled my mom she cryoac She buys the cryoa
kimchi and brings that all with us with the lama.
(34:52):
I love traveling with my mom because she always has
like mad Korean food. You think other people are like
crazy like people that. I don't know if anyone else
feels that way, maybe they are Asians, but I mean Korean.
I feel like Koreans are the only people that you
go to like a Korean restaurant and it's just packed
with Korean people. Like Koreans will always go eat Korean
(35:15):
food wherever they are. That's true. Yeah, oh my god.
I literally started eating the pork belly on its own
with no wrap because it's so good. It's like my
favorite food, you know. I used to like steak before
I went to live in Korea, but after living in Krea,
eating some peoples are yeah, I was like, I actually
like pork better, which is funny. It's not the nicer
grade meat or whatever, Like it's cheaper, right, but I wait,
per I personally like some peoples are met, I love
(35:38):
some gips are yeah, like I have to eat it
at least once a week. So, Charlotte, where can everyone
to find you? I'm mainly on Instagram, Charlotte j Cho
And if you want to follow Soco glam Or at
Soco glam Or, then I met you. You guys, go
get yourself some Crean barbecue and sold you tonight because
I know y'all want it. Char And thank you so
(36:00):
much for joining me. Thank you, and that's our show.
Thanks for listening. If you like what you heard, please
subscribe and leave us a five star review. Get Down
with Kaytown is a production of I Heart Radio and
was created by our executive producer Christopher Hasiotis and me
Esther Troy. Follow me on all social media at toy
Bites and I'd also like to thank our producer, editor
(36:22):
and mixer Marcy Topina. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
I can't survive the whole week without eating Korean food.
I have to. This is something that I always like
felt embarrassed about growing up. My parents would always like,
would go on a camping tip for like three days,
and they'd bring all this, like rice cooker and every dain,
and I'd be so embarrassed. And then I'd go on
a trip somewhere and they'd be like words and yours
cream food restaurant. I'd be like, we are in Europe.
(00:23):
But then now I get it. I have to have
cream food once a week at least, and I will
literally pay up for it. I'm somewhere abroad. I think
one of the greatest gifts the world has seen by Koreans,
hands down, k beauty and skincare. Everyone and their mom
has heard of Korean skincare, and to make sure of that,
(00:45):
we have Charlotte Cho. Charlotte and her husband founded the
beauty destination, Soko, Glam and skincare content sites the clock.
Charlotte has also launched her own skincare line, Then I
Met You, which products I'm literally obsessed with and an
avid user. Seriously, I can rave all day about these products.
(01:05):
But we'll get into that later, And of course she's
also a trained esthetician, author of the Little Book of
Skincare and has one countless awards, and it's featured in
practically every media publication out there. And now I'm not
just saying this, but Charlotte, you are literally like my
inspo in so many ways. Oh my god. Seriously, when
(01:28):
I feel like I need a bump of motivation, I
turned to Charlotte's instagram. Oh my gosh, don't and it
literally gives me like spirit. And also, you single handedly
changed away I think of my skin and therefore my
daily routine on self care. And we met a few
years ago speaking at a panel focused on Korean startups,
(01:49):
and ever since then, I've gotten to know you both
personally and professionally. And side note, I love to cook
for Charlotte because she loves Korean food and they're or
like devours whatever I make, and it makes me feel
like really good about myself. Gosh, this is such a
touching intro. I feel so embarrassed. I don't feel it's
(02:10):
a typical Korean mindset or I don't know I got
this from my mom. I think where I'm just like, no,
shut up. I can't accept any compliment comment it's a
it's a Korean thing. I'm very hard on myself too
when it comes to that. But no, I'm not just
saying this. I literally think Charlotte's so much for transforming
my skin first of all, and um encouraging me to
learn about all the new trends in Korea, because girl,
(02:33):
you're like so on it didn't say like, when I
think of someone that really loves Korean culture and embraces
Korean culture, it's you, not only for what you do,
but just wanting to kind of like spread the Korean
love because that's like what I love to do, and
I think we're very similar. I think that's exactly my
(02:53):
first question to you. How come I didn't really care
about my skin until I met you? See what you're
literally like my then I met you, No, seriously, like
I really of course I knew about Crean skincare and
it's a it was a huge trend, But until I
really got to be friends with you and started following
(03:14):
you on Instagram and like getting to know you, I
really didn't care that much about my skin. Like why
why do you think that? Is? Well? I think you
went on the same journey that I went through when
I went to Korea. So I didn't all. I didn't
care about my skin either growing up in California. And
then when I went to Korea, I started noticing that
all the women and men around me, they actually took
(03:35):
delight in their skincare routine. And that really was intriguing
for me because I always thought it was a chore.
I was like, yeah, about to do other things than skincare,
because you don't really see the impact right away, you know,
like makeup, you just put on lipstick and you're like, wow,
I look good. But then with skincare, it's preventative. You know,
it takes time to see results, you have to study,
and you have to understand your skin. So it just
seemed like a lot more step works and a lot
(03:57):
more work. Um. And so when I saw the people
around me just it was part of their lifestyles, part
of their hygiene, it was part of their self care,
it became a different thing and morphed into something different.
And so that's the kind of journey that I experienced,
and that's how I really introduced green beauty to the
US by talking about how it's a lifestyle, how it's
(04:17):
part of self care, how you can actually actually take
delight and enjoy taking care of your skin. And once
you understand it's less intimidating, you're gonna love the results.
When someone compliments you on your skin, it feels it
feels so good because it's different. It's different from like, oh,
your outfit looks good or you like look pretty, yeah,
But when someone says, oh, your skin looks amazing, you
(04:39):
know it's you, yeah, and you're just like thank you,
and you just feel really good about it. And I
had so many people that email us at Soco Glam
because they do learn about their skin through our content
and through our skin consultations, and they always say, you know,
my husband, who never notices anything about me, said wow,
your skin looks glowing, and it just brightens up their
whole month, you know, And that's and it makes you
(05:01):
want to do it more like and really you start
really caring about your skin and therefore it yourself. And
that's why I said, when I started getting into my skin,
I started caring about myself as well, generally, like health wise.
And I think, honestly, what really is behind my motivation
to even tell people about Korean beauty, Like this lifestyle
(05:23):
that Korean women and men have. It's also because I
lived in Korean and I do love Korea as a whole.
And you're referencing my Instagram, I just am so proud
of being Korean, and I just love showcasing Korean food
or other Korean American entrepreneurs or even parasite weining, gold
golden globe, which is yeah, I'm just like so happy.
That's really a lot of what drove me to even
(05:45):
start Soco Glam in the first place. And so then
it all like kind of ties in all together. Speaking
of which, the rise of not only Korean culture, but
like specifically Korean skincare, how did that happen? Okay, So
it really was phenomenon. Kpat became this crea, became known
for their innovative formulas, their textures, their efficacy of their products,
(06:06):
their natural ingredients, their packaging. Everything was was really coming
from Korea. And then it started to expand in Asia
and people started getting really into it. You know, Chinese
people loved cream beauty. The Southeast Asia started, you know,
they were influenced by Korean k pop stars and how
they had amazing poor less skin and for the U
(06:27):
s specifically, SoC Glamor did have a huge part in that.
And it was just perfect timing because Korean beauty was
present in the US through Korean supermarkets and you could
find the products in these little hole in the wall stores,
but no one was really talking about it in a
way that could translate easy to the mainstream US beauty consumer.
(06:50):
And so SoC Glamor early helped kind of break it down,
make it snack able, digest what is the benefit of
using cream beauty products, What is the routine that you
can use with these products, and so breaking down that
kind of demystifying Koream beauty through a channel like Soco
Lamb really helped it become mainstream and and and social
(07:11):
media helped explain that as well. So just going back
a few steps, can you just give a broad sense
of what it's Korean beauty anyway? So Korean beauty is
all about innovative skincare and makeup and beauty products, so
you can have all of the most interesting textures, the
most innovative ingredients packaged in the most interesting, most useful
(07:36):
formats and um Also it incorporates really really efficacious experiences
so you can actually see results from these products, and
because Korean beauty has all of those elements, when people
try it, they're simply amazed and they want to continue
using it. And it's not just about the products. It's
also about the lifestyle. So the routine, the multi step
(08:01):
skincare routine coming from Korean beauty concepts, it's all of
that intertwined. And then that is cream beauty in my eyes.
So do you think that's the biggest difference the lifestyle
of it, the lifestyle and the innovative products. Yet, can
you describe what you mean by that? I know a
lot of Korean beauty is preventative, which is a different
concept with how the West seas it. Right, right, Korean
(08:24):
beauty is a skin first lifestyle. So whenever you think
of taking care of your body or taking care of
your looks, it's always begins with your skin. It's it's
it's really about practicing this daily morning and night. It's
really about believing that my skin is first before layering
(08:44):
on with makeup, instead of trying to fix problems by
covering it up. You're getting to the root of the condition.
And that is really truly like the skin first veloscy
that Korean men and women all kind of embody and
they have it as part of their daily hygiene and
then just part of their wellness. But Koreans can kind
of be very intense with it, right, Let's be real.
I think I read some something about in Korea the
(09:07):
moms take their toddlers to like get get skincare treatments
before they even become adolescent. Is that true? That's crazy.
There's a lot of preventative measures. They literally go to
a derm annually or maybe even twice a year, even
though they don't have any skin issues. They just want
to get a check up and say, so, how's my
skin doing. It's like it's kind of like getting like
(09:28):
a medical check up a skin yeah, and I feel
like that. And if you compared to the US, I
would say that people only go to the dermatologist when
they're like, something is terribly wrong with my skin. I've
really severe acne or h or skin cancer or something
that's like prompts them to go to germ. But then
in Korea it's just like, yeah, I'm gonna go get
(09:48):
checked out, or I'm gonna go get you know, something
lasered off here. I'm going to get you know, some
sort of skin treatment or facial here, just because I
want to preserve my skin and make it the best possible,
which is why when you visit Korea, like honestly, every
single Korean has flawless skin. I swear it. It amazed me, Like,
(10:10):
I mean, it's noticeable, like everyone has good skin. It is. Really,
it's been a trend forever to be proud of your
walking out the door and go to brunch without makeup on,
you know, sing on. Oh my god, I can't do
sing I can't either, but you know, it's a source
of pride. It's like the no makeup makeup look. It's
almost like, hey, you know, wow, you'ren't wearing any makeup. Holy,
(10:33):
your skin is glowing. It's just like all even toned.
There's no brown spots like wow, you know, like no
dark circles, and just like you have such a point
of pride if you were able to do that. By
the way, for those of you who don't know what
saying art is saying art, Charlotte, can you explain that
is just completely no makeup, fair skin, bear skaterly bear skin. Yeah,
(10:54):
oh my gosh, I cannot go outside because you here
and there, you know, but you know a lot of
people try. Then that's where the no makeup makeup look
came from, from pretending you like you basically use makeup
to kind of create the look like you're not wearing
any makeup. I wish one day, one day. Honestly, it
(11:25):
can get a little bit scary when it comes to
like getting obsessed right with your and streams to anything,
and when you go off the deep end, that's no
good because I hear like some people in Korea go
to their dermatologist or skincare person, like they go to
the gym. Yeah, there's extremes to anything. And I think
Korean people definitely care about first impressions. I think that's
(11:48):
where it stems from. Like culturally, yeah, it's like a
hyper competitive society. It is really cut throat. I feel
that when it comes to getting jobs or even dating,
you always want to put your best face forward literally later.
So it is really important for them to keep up
their appearances, you know, wear nice clothes and have great
(12:11):
like hair and have great you know, it's just skin,
It's just it is all part of I think first
impressions and them caring deeply about that has Korea always
been like this in your opinion, I think in my opinion,
and what I've observed is that skincare in Korea has
really just been green as part of their lifestyles explained earlier,
at just a young age. It's just been part of
(12:31):
their like daily hygiene. For example, when I go to
Korean sauna in Korea, I see, you know, you have
your grandmother there, your mom there, and like your little
kid there. And I've once observed a Korean grandma exfoliating
her granddaughter's body, you know, scrubbing it with a body towel.
And then I heard her explaining like, oh, you have
(12:53):
to do this because you wanted to have softer skin
and you want to make sure you remove any dead
skin cells and um, you know then that makes your
whole body brighter and your whole face brighter, and make
sure you massage this and make sure you always wash
your face after every evening. And she was explaining that,
and it really reminded me of how an American person
(13:13):
would tell their kid, you have to wash your hands
after using the restroom because it's just clean. You know,
you want to make your teeth. It's like brushing your teeth,
Like you want to brush your teeth because it's daily hygiene.
You want to make sure you don't get cavities. And
it's just ingrained at such a young age that that's
why when they're about you know, fifteen or it's just
second nature to them, Like they're gonna double cleanse, they're
(13:33):
going to exfoliate, they're going to you know, moisturize because
they know it's going to cot and protect their skin
and prevent it from environmental stressures. Like it just becomes
so natural that for us we're like when did this happen?
But they're like why do you brush your chin? Then?
Why do you wash your hands? It's been that way always. Yeah,
I think it's just value. Yeah, it's just part of
their health, you know. Yeah, And I think it's um
(13:54):
to me. For me, I think it's a great practice
of preventative care. I think it's a great practice of patients,
which I think are the younger generation and my generation
included and me included. We're just so about like instant results, fast, fast, fast. Yeah,
Like let's just get you know, it's like Amazon Prime,
I want it now, like two days or less. I
(14:15):
think that's part of what we've grown up in. But
I do value a little bit of like put it
in the work now and you'll reap the benefits leader,
And I think that's a part of the skincare culture
from create. I'd like to remind myself an adopt a ritual,
you know what. It has become like a ritual for
me to you know me, I'm like, go go, go,
go go. I'm always about yeah, you know, as entrepreneurs,
(14:38):
you know, it's all about that lifestyle. Every minute is precious.
But I've learned to really slow down when it comes
to my nightly routine. Let's say, let's maybe in the morning,
I'm I'm rushing. Yeah I'm rushing, But at night, at
least giving myself thirty minutes even right to go through
all the steps, it's like sort of calming. Yeah, THERAPYU
(14:59):
I would say, same thing. I don't even use thirty minutes,
to be honest, Like everyone thinks I have this like
crazy laborate routine at night, but it's you just know
what steps to do and I just put it on
really quickly. But even that, like even ten minutes, carving
out those ten minutes to look at yourself in a mirror,
you know, know exactly what your skin needs, putting on
your favorite products. It is is very therapeutic and call me,
can you give us sort of your skincare routine? Yeah? Yeah, So,
(15:24):
as I said earlier, people think that have this like
crazy one hour routine, but it's just it literally takes
me ten minutes unless I'm putting on a sheet mask
or something that is an additional step that will take
fifteen minutes on top of it. But really it's about
double cleansing. I put the oil cleanser breakdown all those
oil impurities like your sunscreen, your the pollution that all
the products you had on before, like makeup. So you
use that to remove everything, and then you follow it
(15:46):
up with a gel cleanser, like a water based cleanser
that will help remove any impurities that are remaining on
your skin. And the reason why you cleanse twice is
because you actually have so many periods that will cause acne,
it will cause aging. But people don't realize they have
so much on leftover under skin, even if you don't
want to makeup right, yes, yes, even there's so many
oils from the pollution or even your natural oils that
(16:08):
you can clog pores. I think as a chef, you
probably do so much the oils from food, even right
cooking and everything I have my own can get a
routine in the kitchen, so it's like breaking that down
is so important. Um. And for a clear skin. And
then so after a double cleanse, I put on a
toner and so that toner um, I use the venimate
(16:31):
you for milk refining toner, and that is really helping
clear away any fine lines, so it smooths out my
skin texture and it also helps just minimize my pores.
And then I use an essence, so essence really brings
back hydration, makes it really supple and bouncy. And then
I'll follow it up with the moisturizer, or if it's
the daytime, I'll put on a sunscreen after my moisturizer.
(16:52):
But what soundscreen is very important, very important. So it's
really a fortified step routine that I'm talking about here.
And then of course, like when I see it as
fine lines or at night, i'll put I'll add an
I cream or i'll you know, I'll do like a
special mask if I have time, But normally it's it's
really a five routine and this is for men or women? Yes, yeah,
(17:13):
I mean skin is skin. Everyone thinks that there's just
a specific routine for a person of color, or you know,
is this for Asian skin or is this for men
or women? And I'm like, skin is skin. Every person
has different skins. Like literally, I'm thirty four years old.
I deal with acne, and you think that acne's only
for fifteens. It's not like everyone has different skin types, genetics, hormones, stress,
(17:36):
and your skin will be impacted by that, and so
you have to go by what you see on your
skin versus I'm this age and this sex. So what
do you recommend? It's no, it's like what are you
experiencing right now? What are your goals? One thing is
there are a million products out there, especially Korean beauty products.
Oh my gosh, sometimes I get overwhelmed when I go
(17:56):
into a Korean To be honest, when I go on
your website to does I get overwhelmed them? Like how
do I know ice point too? If it's more expensive
doesn't mean it's better. I don't know, honestly, And I'm
sure a lot of people at first get overwhelmed, especially
if you're getting introduced to Korea beauty for the first time.
Can you explain that a little bit and how you curate? Right? So,
(18:17):
I think number one, I totally get it, especially if
you're new to skincare. It's like WHOA, where do I start?
And it is a learning process and it's a journey.
And I would say that's trial and error as well,
because you'll start to understand as you get more deeper
into skincare and using the products, like what your skin
reacts better with. You know what fragrances are non fragrances
(18:38):
that you like and enjoy. It's really trial and error,
but it's really important to get an assessment. I think
it's really important to get a skin consultation if you're
new to skin care, so to buy who Poco Glam
does skin constitutions, Like you can literally text us and
we'll go through like a fifteen and twenty minute text
session with you just by sharing your lifestyle. You know
what you're willing to commit to, you know what you
(18:58):
have time for, what are your skin concerns, what are
your goals, Just sharing like what you've been sensitive to
in the past, and then we'll actually craft a routine
for you based on all of your desires and then
recommend the products the products, and you can even be
like I have a really tight budget, I want to
be everything under twenty dollars per product. Then you know,
we can totally droll that down for you. And that's
(19:19):
really what Soco Clam is about. You know, we're not
just a retailer. We just have products on the shelf
and like buy this cleanser. It's let's let us walk
you through the journey. And that's why we created the Clock,
which is all about escape care education. And so that's
really the heart and soul of Soco Clam and what
we what we do. I'm curious, have you ever been
(19:43):
in an instance where you did go through this consultation
and the products didn't match the person and they like free.
I've had people that came to Soco House. We had
this pop up in the summer and soho she came
to me and said, I've used this all this, like
these best sellers on Soco Clam and I'm still experiencing
acting and she's what else do I buy? I want
to try? And you know, we're very upfront. You have
(20:04):
used this is in this like I think that the
next step is to actually go to a dermatologist because
there's certain things about your skin that are hormonal based,
genetic based, um, stress based because she just moved to
New York. I mean that's that stressful. Yeah. Yeah, there's
a lot of things. So we're not about like, okay,
by these ten other products. You know. It is while
(20:26):
skincare is trial and error. Um, there's certain levels in
which like we understand that, hey, you got to try
this step then that has nothing to do with these products,
and get that checked out. You know, you might need
something oral medication to reduce this or that, and you know,
fluctuate hormonal levels you need to take um, get your
skin checked out for sensitivities, you know, with a nutritionist
(20:47):
or herbalist or you know, there's other steps with skincare
that don't always involve skincare products. It is, so it
is a journey. There's not a one size fits all.
There's no pamphlet. You know. That's stressful. It could get stressful. Yeah,
but that that's where education comes into play. And I
think what's great about skiing care now is that people
are willing to learn and even if it means googling
(21:08):
something or reading a blog or someone that's a skincare
expert that kind of talks about all these different journeys
that could go on and the advice that he or
she may have. I think that's great about the consumer
nowadays in this space is that they're willing to listen,
read reviews, go through the whole process because it's fun
when you figure it out, Like even your dieting, right,
like people go obsessed like Chinese different techniques or trends
(21:28):
or and they're willing to read out about like antexidents
or the benefits of cyber bulls or food you know,
like how do you eat better and all of that.
I think that that's cool that people are taking matters
into their own hands and figuring out what works with
them in their lifestyle. So do you think that ky
beauty and skincare is a trend? What do you think
the future holds? I think Korean beauty in the it's
(21:51):
kind of incredible the pace in which people have adopted
embrace cream beauty in through their lives. I would say
that within four or five years became globally like mainstream,
which is incredible. And if Korean beauty was just a
fad or a trend, it would be gone, no one'ld
be talking about it, no one'd be using these products.
But because k Beauty is rooted in efficacious products innovation,
(22:13):
people now just really aligned with cream beating people. They
trust it because it works. Yeah, that's the most exciting
part of being in this industry and being part of
cream Beauty is that if it didn't work, it would
be so gone. Like three years ago, that's true. Yeah,
and so now it's just now synonymous to innovation. Nowson
wanted us to best skincare, and so even when I
(22:34):
met you, it's a line that I created as a
Korean American in New York. But all of our formulas
are made in Korea, and there's a level of trust
that comes from even me as a formulator and creator.
And the people that purchase our products are like, wow,
it's made in Korea. Like that's a stamp of like
this is gonna be good, and I want to talk
about your products. So I started using it when it
obviously when it first came out, and I am literally obsessed.
(22:58):
It's it's really different than a lot of the other
products on the market. How did you create this product
and why does it make it so different. A lot
of people don't know this, but when it comes to
huge brands out there, a lot of it is like
stuff on the shelf, like it's it's a formula that
has been pre made and then you, if you're a brand,
you'll buy it and then you'll add a little bit
of an ingredient and call it yours. But there's very
(23:21):
few people that are actually going to go through the
process of starting from scratch and trying to be innovative
about the formulas because it's hard work and it's it's
a lot of time invested, and sometimes you'll try something
that won't work out and you just wasted a year. Right. So,
but I think because I've had so much experience curating,
trying so many products, understanding like my esthetition background, and
(23:41):
talking to people about what they want, I've been motivated
to start everything from scratch and really understand what people
are looking for, and then when I try it, I'm like,
this better work. This has to work because I'm not
about creating a million different products. It's about I want
to create products that are holy grails for each and
every part of this line, so that people don't have
(24:02):
to go through this trital and era of like all
these different problems. So yeah, I'm very motivated by different
things that maybe a large company may not care about,
you know, And I think that really matters. I think
that even when it comes to your work, I'm sure
that you put so much care into the ingredients and
the quality ingredients and how you create your food that
I mean it's noticeable, you know, to scale it's hard.
(24:25):
Scale it's hard, yeah, for sure, but it matters. There's
a huge difference between mass produced food that you just
like slap on a plate and like serve versus like
what you go through. I have had your food. It's insane,
it is so good. And then that's why you know,
people keep coming back and they notice it. And I
think that's what's great about like I think about entrepreneurship,
(24:45):
is that you can't take the time, and that's why founders,
I think are a big part of the success of
a brand for sure. For sure. I know you're writing
a new book and it's focused on tongue. Yeah, and
I think tongue is such a big part of Korean
culture and I want you to talk about it a
little bit just because I feel like this. This word
(25:06):
is not really uh, there's no equivalent word. Yeah, it's
a tough one. Yeah, I would say that when I
went to Korea for five years, I learned about Korean beauty.
And I think the second thing and most important thing
I learned that has impacted my life is about chong.
So this chong is a deep emotional connection you could
have with someone. It could be with the city, could
be a person, it could be your pet, it could
(25:28):
be a physical thing, but it's truly a deep connection
and you feel something. It's emotional. It's very emotional. And
I think I have chong with Korea, and I didn't
have it when I first moved there, But over time,
I build this relationship with Korea that now a lot
of the things I care about Korea so much because
I have this relationship career that it motivates me to
(25:49):
do cream beauty. It motivates me to talk about all
these amazing things coming out of Korea, K food, k fashion,
you know, K pop. I love talking about that and
encouraging it and supporting it. Um and I have chung
with a lot of people, including you, And yeah, it's
just something that it doesn't happen overnight. Like it's so
quick to say, like on Instagram, like hey, I love you,
you know I love you, You're awesome, But like, who
(26:11):
do you really have that deep connection with? Who do
you really like? Have you had deep conversations and you
can reveal a lot of things that you know may
not be someone you tell that you've just met over lunch,
you know, and then you could rely on that person.
You could reveal and be vulnerable and you give without
expecting anything in return, like you just want to that.
I think that's an essential part of chong. It's like
(26:33):
thinking with your heart and not with your head, not
being strategic about it, and being like I just really
care about this person. One quick example is like my
uncle in Korea. He's a he's a taxi driver and
he doesn't make a ton of money. But his friend
who's like down with no job and has had struggles
money financially, he asked him for money and my uncle
gave him money. But he gave it knowing full like
(26:55):
awareness that he's never gonna get this money back. And
that I think is he was motivated by chong. He
has chong with this person he knew to get in
trouble with his wife. You know he would you would. Yeah,
it's not a good situation because he knows that money
is going likes bye bye. But you do it because
you're motivated by your heart and not by your head.
And and so that is essential quote essential chong and
(27:18):
having an emotional connection with someone I think or something too,
yeah or something, And that's I think that's what has
driven me in my career. And I think that I
love that concept and cultural part of career so much
that I tried embody it in my life. And that's
why I'm trying to create a book about it because
I think that our society needs it more than ever.
I think, so, yeah, I think that everything is so telling.
(27:39):
Is everything It's it's like a it's it's what you
can motivate you, it's it makes life meaning pol if right, Yeah,
I don't care about I think that that money is
like a huge factor for everyone, you know, like their
success or happiness is so hinged on money. But like
you will not be happy with money, I think. I think, Yeah,
cheng is like love, you know how they say sometimes
(28:01):
like you get confused with love and tongue. Yeah, like
is it chenge is so much deeper than love. Love
you could fall out of like real quick, like you
know they say, like that's deep. Love flames out like
you can be like super obss with somebody and then
like the next day you're like but then with Chong,
like you can't sever it. Once you have tongue with
that person, it's endless. It's endless, and even it could
(28:22):
be Mu and Chung too, which is like a hatred
like it's opposite of it's like hate love hate relationship.
So once you have that with someone, it never severed
even though like you have animosity towards up, it's forever
in your heart. Yeah, you still have tongue with it.
I also feel like you have tongue with Um which
(28:44):
I brought for you today to eat, so time you
have started and sold you. Oh my gosh. It's just
like a quintessential Korean combo when it comes to cream food, right,
so time gets it's port belly on the grill and
like I feel like sum gipside and Soldier is one
of those like Korean things that that has like so
(29:05):
much tongue, Like you build tongue with whoever you have
this with, right, totally, which this is like perfect, Oh
my god, it's so funny, it's so perfect. Yeah, so
can you talk about like sum Gipsie and soldier real
quick and why this is your favorite? I love the
chung you can have with somebody over a bottle of
Souldu and s barbecue koream mabe some peop saying like
there's something about pouring a drink for somebody and having
(29:28):
it poured back to you, because in Korean culture you
don't pour your own drinks, and it's you literally ripped
the bottle away from their hands if they try to
pour themselves, because it's like bad luck for the personnel
cross from you exactly. And so it's just like that
that giving and then like receiving and just like the
conversations you'll have over a bottle sold you and like
you know, you've seen cream dramas, like the main characters
(29:50):
like sobbing or like so down in the dumps because
they broke up with this like dramatic, and then like
your friend is like joining in with you, you know,
like and under Dannian listening to you as you're like
pouring your heart out over something that's like devastating you.
It's just like that's that moment is so beautiful. I
love it, So you please sponsor. Right, we're gonna do
(30:13):
a little tasting. Obviously this morning I was like cooking
some upside in my heartment at eight in the morning
for you. Thank you. This is like part of my
tongue towards you. Oh my gosh, No, seriously, Yester, You're
so awesome to Charlotte, your favorite one of your favorite
fait gifts are so excited. So Tom gift starded is
pork belly in Korean and pork belli in Korea. I
(30:35):
feel like it's a little bit different because I don't
really see you know, the culture is just like grilling
pork belly as it is. Usually it's like braised because
people think it's like more of a tough piece of meat.
But Koreans love that chewiness of the pork, like that
crispy like chewy fattiness. So anyways, Tom gift started is
also one of my favorite things ever. Right, So Tom Gifts,
(30:58):
I bought you the sum which is like the lettuce,
and then I brought all these condiments for me. I
love the condiments. Love yeah, because cream barbecue, you can't
just have it in wrapped in a piece of lettuce.
But you need to see an explosion in your mouth. Yeah,
it's not one you don't get bored, because if you
get bored with one flavor, then you eat the other
(31:19):
punch exactly. It's very versatile. So the sides that I
brought you some young is very important. And and my
son Jiang is made with bacon. Oh yeah, I know.
I had to go there. The sesame oil and salt,
that's important. And then I have like these pickled tie
chilies because I'm like obsessed with this right now. And
(31:41):
in some it is so good, especially if you like spicy,
which I love. And then I like spicy mayo sometimes
because sometimes you just want that richness, right And that's
kind of like my addition to this. My mouth is watering.
And then I have boozing two types, which is just
like plain diicon. Then I have to die on kuchi,
and then I bought some cold get for you. Than
(32:03):
please explain how you're building your something. Yeah. So um,
I just have a piece of lettuce and it's a
smaller cut. I like that. You know, you can't just
get a huge old leaf like cold foods and wrap it.
It's and then I got one piece um of the
pork belly and I'm going to add some of the
Everyone likes to do this their own way, right, And
(32:26):
the beauty of this is if you get bored of
like building like one type of stung, you can like
change it up. Definitely describe it for our audience. M
you hear that. That's the sum mm hmmmm explosion in
my mouth. I'm married juicy and the pork bell. Yeah,
(32:48):
it's so good. It's so crazy how flavorful of the
pork is, even though you just there's no marination. There's
no marination. Um, there's no salt on it. Literally, I
just sliced it and I just sualtated because all the
flavors from the car I know, and I like that
a lot. Oh my god, Hello, this is all for you.
(33:09):
You know what I loved. I love so getney. It
is perilla. That's my favorite thing to wrap it with
me too. Yeah, I am like such a sucker for perilla.
But in New York you don't see a lot of
key barbecues. It's expensive. Yeah, it's expensive. So I'm like,
come on, guy, but we gotta pay in your sad,
(33:30):
I brought getney for you. I didn't have fresh pilla.
So great. One of the great things about Korean food,
especially as someone that's so busy, A lot of things
are fermented and pickled, and they can live in your
fridge for like months and months if you need like
an emergency meal and your home and like most most
(33:50):
of the time, your frist can be empty, but you
always have like kim cheese or like something. Yeah, so
I can't survive a whole week without eating Korean food,
I have to you. This is something that I always
like felt embarrassed about growing up. My parents would always
like we'd go on a campionship for like three days
and they'd bring all this like rice cooker and every
(34:10):
day and be like, okay, we can serve and I'd
be so embarrassed. And then I'd go on a trip
to like somewhere and they'd be like, Where's and nears
cream food restaurant. I'd be like, we are in Europe
or something. You know, It's like why are we doing this?
But then now I get it. I have to have
cream food once a week at least, and I will
literally pay up for it if I'm somewhere abroad. I
(34:31):
totally feel you because when I travel, there's always ramen always,
you know, and I feel like every lot of Korean
people are like this, like Americans too. Yeah, Like when
I traveled my mom she cryoac She buys the cryoa
kimchi and brings that all with us with the lama.
(34:52):
I love traveling with my mom because she always has
like mad Korean food. You think other people are like
crazy like people that. I don't know if anyone else
feels that way, maybe they are Asians, but I mean Korean.
I feel like Koreans are the only people that you
go to like a Korean restaurant and it's just packed
with Korean people. Like Koreans will always go eat Korean
(35:15):
food wherever they are. That's true. Yeah, oh my god.
I literally started eating the pork belly on its own
with no wrap because it's so good. It's like my
favorite food, you know. I used to like steak before
I went to live in Korea, but after living in Krea,
eating some peoples are yeah, I was like, I actually
like pork better, which is funny. It's not the nicer
grade meat or whatever, Like it's cheaper, right, but I wait,
per I personally like some peoples are met, I love
(35:38):
some gips are yeah, like I have to eat it
at least once a week. So, Charlotte, where can everyone
to find you? I'm mainly on Instagram, Charlotte j Cho
And if you want to follow Soco glam Or at
Soco glam Or, then I met you. You guys, go
get yourself some Crean barbecue and sold you tonight because
I know y'all want it. Char And thank you so
(36:00):
much for joining me. Thank you, and that's our show.
Thanks for listening. If you like what you heard, please
subscribe and leave us a five star review. Get Down
with Kaytown is a production of I Heart Radio and
was created by our executive producer Christopher Hasiotis and me
Esther Troy. Follow me on all social media at toy
Bites and I'd also like to thank our producer, editor
(36:22):
and mixer Marcy Topina. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.
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