Over N Over Beauty is being asked a lot of questions about its prices — customers have left comments on the Korean beauty store’s Instagram account, and others have asked questions while shopping at its Chicago stores.
New tariffs on goods from South Korea have caused a slight panic among Chicago shoppers, who worry their favorite Korean beauty brands will become too pricey .
“Customers are very concerned,” Over N Over Beauty Marketing Manager Kat Taborda said.
South Korea was facing 25% tariffs in April when President Donald Trump announced a slew of “reciprocal” tariffs unless countries negotiated a trade deal. While Trump paused the deadline for countries until last week, he announced the U.S. was able to reach a new trade deal with South Korea on July 30 that included 15% tariffs.
Korean beauty, called K-beauty, has become popular in recent years as “Hallyu,” or the Korean Wave, continues to pick up steam. Hallyu refers to the growing global popularity of Korean culture from products to entertainment, like K-pop music.
K-beauty product reviews can net millions of TikTok views, with influencers praising the lower price tag — competitive with drugstore pricing — and innovative formulas for items like toners, masks and sunscreens.
Chicago is home to a handful of small businesses specializing in K-beauty. And dedicated shoppers know most small businesses import from South Korea, unlike major retailers like Amazon that often source Korean products with American formulation, Taborda said.
Over N Over primarily sells skincare. Prices range from $2 for face masks to $54.95 for an essence or toner.
Owner Johnny Shin said after the baseline 10% tariffs on most countries, including South Korea, were enacted in April, vendor prices started going up.
Beauty of Joseon’s sunscreen — a viral product and Over N Over bestseller — was available wholesale for $8 each. After April, Shin said its vendor is now charging them $11.
But the retailer hasn’t increased its prices, and it doesn’t plan to.
“There’s so much competition going on, so we try to keep it as low as we can,” Shin said.
Thankfully, he has a “great relationship” with his vendors, and they’ve offered free shipping, which has helped Over N Over not pass along its higher costs to customers.
But Shin said it’s unclear how the new 15% tariff will impact pricing.
“Our vendor is also debating — do they have to price up again or stay the same?” he said.
Over N Over, which has a location in Bucktown and Streeterville, plans to open a third location in South Loop this fall. It was supposed to open sooner, but Trump’s tariff announcements earlier this year created too much uncertainty.
“The biggest thing is we are trying not to change the prices right away, and we’ve tried to even lower some prices. … We don’t want the 15% [tariff] reflected on the consumer,” Taborda said. “We’re eating it into our profit.”
Osaka Ebisu, a Japanese and Korean beauty store in Bridgeport, sells skincare, makeup and hair care products. Most items are less than $30.
Owner Kelvin Li said he raised prices a couple of months ago by about 10%, though some went up higher. A top-selling Korean brand at Osaka Ebisu is Anua. The skincare line’s Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner went from $19.99 to $22.99, a 15% increase.
Li anticipates raising prices again with the new 15% tariffs, but he hopes to negotiate a deal with vendors. Meanwhile, Japanese imports also have new 15% tariffs.
Li said he’s working with vendors to see if they both can absorb the higher costs “so we don’t have to increase the price for the customer.”
He said some Korean brands source things like makeup brushes from China, where tariffs are 30%. Li said sales of those products — which jumped from $14 to $22 — have fallen.
“We see barely any sales for those products,” he said, adding he plans to stock fewer of those items.
The fear of price increases from tariffs led some K-beauty fans to stock up, even before Trump started his trade war earlier this year.
Over N Over saw Beauty of Joseon and Medicube products fly off the shelves. At Osaka Ebisu, Li said he’s seen customers grab as many as eight of the same product.
“Once we got a [tariff] notice from our supplier, we sent out a notice on Instagram and TikTok as well,” Li said. “If people are still willing to pay for that price, we will still carry [the items].”
Shin, of Over N Over, has recently noticed customers spending less since South Korea’s tariffs were announced.
“I think the average sale per customer has gone down,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s because of the tariff, but … we get a lot of questions about it.”
If the tariffs were any higher, Shin said he might have to raise Over N Over’s prices.
“I cannot prepare long term because everything is uncertain right now,” he said. “If [tariffs] get worse, then maybe I’d have to do a price change. … That’s the worst scenario.”
At Osaka Ebisu, Michelle Meng had toothpaste, a keychain and a hair care product in her basket. Meng, 24, primarily buys Korean makeup and wishes she had stocked up on her favorites before the tariffs hit.
“It would probably stop me from shopping,” she said.
Donna Robles, 19, compares prices at K-beauty stores with those on Amazon to find better deals.
“As a college student who doesn’t have a big income, [higher prices] would make it hard for me to shop,” she said.