Etude

Etude (formerly Etude House) launched in 1985 in Seoul and is one of the original K-beauty makeup houses — owned by Amorepacific, the same conglomerate behind Sulwhasoo and Innisfree. Etude built its identity on pastel, playful, princess-adjacent packaging and a relentless focus on color cosmetics at a time when most Korean brands skewed skincare-first. The brand was a defining gateway into K-beauty makeup for Western consumers in the 2010s through products like the Dear Darling Water Tint and Drawing Eyebrow.

Flagship products include the Fixing Tint (a transfer-proof lip tint that went viral on TikTok in 2023), the Dear Darling Water Tint, the Play Color Eyes palettes, and the Soon Jung skin-prep line. Etude is widely available through Olive Young, YesStyle, Stylevana, and Amazon, with prices typically ranging $8–$22. Its product range — especially the lip tints and brow pencils — has consistently been the K-beauty entry point most often duped by US drugstore brands.