Yet since launching her cosmetics brand, Moumou, in December 2023, she has quietly built a devoted following — driven largely by a steady stream of tutorial-focused Instagram content.
“The secret to our success? Merely Instagram,” she said in a recent interview at her Cheongdam-dong salon, The Class Monarch.
Yu, who spent more than a decade working with leading Korean broadcasters such as SBS and MBC, became a familiar name in media circles as the artist behind the polished looks of high-profile news anchors like Park Sun-young and Bae Hyun-jin.
“I wasn’t someone who set out to start a business,” Yu said. “My parents were entrepreneurs, so I knew it wasn’t always a happy path.”
Still, her move into cosmetics was a natural evolution, particularly as social media reshaped the beauty industry. Her salon began gaining traction on Instagram as early as 2016, well before the platform became mainstream in South Korea.
“Every makeup artist dreams of creating their own brand,” she said. “We have a deeper love for cosmetics — and unique styles we want to express.”
With Moumou, Yu aimed to break from the image of professional makeup brands she found too “sophisticated and difficult,” and instead positioned her products with an emphasis on usability. Her brand is built on what she calls a “friendship artist” philosophy.
“I wanted cosmetics that not only looked pretty but also came with instructions on how to use them to look pretty,” she explained. “Like an appliance manual — but for makeup.”
Naming the brand proved to be an unexpectedly complex process. She wanted a name that began with “M” to echo her salon, Monarch. After facing a series of trademark rejections, she settled on “Moumou” — a simple, visually intuitive name that she said even elementary schoolers could recognize online. “People don’t discover products by sound anymore. It’s all visual.”
Yu’s business model eschews traditional advertising in favor of educational content.
“If we release a grapefruit-colored product, we focus on showing people how to use it, not just how it looks in a photo,” she said. Her tutorials regularly attract between 800,000 and 1 million views, with demonstrative content far outperforming static imagery in generating sales.
The strategy appears to be working. The brand has gained a particularly strong following in Japan, where consumers are drawn to Moumou’s soft, princess-inspired aesthetic. Japanese customers now represent roughly 80 percent of Moumou’s overseas clientele.
“Distributors even asked if we created the brand specifically for Japan,” she said with a laugh. “We didn’t — but apparently the style resonates.”
In April, Moumou entered the Japanese market through Bihibi, a distributor known for bringing Korean brands such as Skin Angel and AOU to local shelves. The company plans to expand into Loft stores by the second half of 2025.
Yu attributes her trend sensitivity to her salon’s location in Seoul’s upscale Cheongdam-dong neighborhood, where beauty-savvy clients arrive with highly specific requests.
“They won’t just ask for a pink lipstick,” she said. “They'll ask for detailed under-eye techniques or specific lip-overlining styles.”
Despite close working relationships with her team — many of whom followed her from her broadcast days — Yu maintains clear boundaries.
“Even though my deputy director and I have worked together for 17 years, we’ve only had two meals together,” she said. “I don’t message staff after hours unless it’s urgent. That distance keeps the relationship healthy.”
As her employees began building social media followings of their own, Yu restructured the salon’s employment model, shifting from salaried positions to freelance contracts.
“When they started receiving brand deals, I encouraged them to go freelance,” she said. “They can keep their outside income and still earn incentives through salon work.”
Yu has turned down offers to expand through major platforms such as Amazon, preferring a deliberate, incremental approach to growth. “We’re a small brand, and I believe in doing each step right, rather than rushing.”
While international markets beckon, her immediate focus remains on deepening Moumou’s presence at home. “My goal isn’t just to sell makeup — it’s to teach people how to enjoy it,” she said. “I want to help solve the concerns that clients bring to me every day.”
reporter
Candice Kim
candicekim1121@ajupress.com
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