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hince Now Has a Launch Date at Ulta Beauty in the U.S.
Color cosmetics look pretty different in a photo than they do once you actually put them on. Lip products, blush, and powder in particular change a great deal depending on skin tone, texture, and lighting. It’s now confirmed that hince, the color cosmetics brand under LG Household & Health Care subsidiary Vivawave, will launch simultaneously in Ulta Beauty’s U.S. online and offline channels on October 4. Of Ulta’s roughly 1,400 stores nationwide, hince will start out in 451, with the product line also going live on Ulta’s online store at the same time. For American shoppers who were curious about hince but held back over international shipping or limited retail points, this opens up a real chance to compare actual colors and formulas in person.
Ulta Beauty is a major U.S. beauty retailer that carries makeup alongside skincare, hair, fragrance, and both mass-market and prestige brands under one roof. That’s why this launch can mean more than simply adding one more retail point. It puts hince in front of customers who were already seeking out K-beauty online, but also in front of shoppers who regularly buy their base makeup or lip products at Ulta already — meaning hince becomes a direct point of comparison for them. From here on, the brand needs to win people over on product quality, not just on being a new name from Korea.
There’s a Reason for Opening Online and In-Store at the Same Time
An online-only launch can reach a wide swath of consumers quickly, but it has real limits for color cosmetics. The color you see on screen depends on the viewer’s monitor, lighting, and whatever editing has been applied. Go purely offline, on the other hand, and testing gets easy, but accessibility ends up depending on where you happen to live. Launching in both Ulta’s online and offline channels at once is hince’s way of combining both advantages. It opens up a path where you can test the product in store and then repurchase online, or read reviews online and then head to a nearby store to compare shades in person.
This approach also holds a brand to a higher standard. Online, images and content shape the first impression, but in a store, the finish of the packaging, how the tester actually feels on skin, and the naming and shade system all get judged on the spot. For color cosmetics especially, what matters is what color actually shows up on real skin, not one pretty photo. For hince to establish itself in the U.S. market, it needs to hold onto the brand sensibility it built in Korea and Japan while offering explanations and product lineups tailored to a much wider range of skin tones and makeup preferences.
“Muted Color” Doesn’t Mean the Same Shade for Everyone
hince has built its identity around calm, restrained color and a makeup look that reads naturally on skin. There’s a common misconception worth flagging here: the idea that “muted” or “natural” color is universally flattering. In fact, the same rose beige or brown-toned shade can look completely different depending on your skin’s depth, undertone, and your natural lip color. Expecting the exact shade you saw online can leave you disappointed, so once the store opens in October, it’s worth taking full advantage of that in-person advantage.
When you use an in-store tester, check the color along your jawline or somewhere close to your actual face rather than on the back of your hand — the skin tone there can read differently than your face does. Lip products need to be weighed against your own natural lip color, and base products like powder or blush need to be checked for whether they sit oddly or dry out on your particular skin. When you’re trying a new brand, it’s better to build up color in thin layers rather than applying a lot at once, so you can judge the balance between payoff and staying power as you go.
Japan’s Reception Is a Starting Point, Not a Guarantee
hince has spent recent years building Japan into its core overseas market, and more than half of the brand’s revenue is reportedly generated there. LG H&H says hince’s new releases have continued to perform well in Japan, its key market — recently ranking near the top during a promotional event on the Japanese shopping platform Qoo10, for instance. At home in Korea, the brand has also established itself as a growth story centered on health-and-beauty retail channels. That track record is a genuine asset heading into the U.S. But there’s no guarantee that the colors, pricing, and marketing messages that worked in Japan will translate directly to the U.S., simply because the retail environment and the consumer base are different.
The U.S. color cosmetics market already offers an enormous range of choice. Major global brands, indie labels, celebrity brands, and newcomers that grew fast on social media all compete on the very same shelves. Within that field, hince’s task is to move past getting attention simply for being “a K-beauty brand” and instead show clearly what kind of skin finish and what kind of color it’s actually strong at. Landing in 451 Ulta stores massively widens its reach, but it’s also, at the very same time, the point where direct consumer comparison begins.
There’s an Equity Deal Behind This Expansion, Too
Look a little deeper into hince’s push into North America, and it turns out to be tied to Vivawave’s own equity structure. LG H&H acquired 75% of Vivawave for 42.5 billion won in September 2023, with founder and CEO Heo Jae-seok holding onto the remaining 25%. Under that agreement, Heo can exercise the right to sell his remaining stake to LG H&H starting after December 31, 2026, with the sale price set based on the previous fiscal year’s revenue and operating margin. Vivawave’s revenue has climbed steadily, from 27.6 billion won in 2023 to 45.2 billion won in 2024 and 61.5 billion won in 2025, and operating profit has grown right along with it, from 200 million won in 2023 to 4.6 billion won in 2025. In other words, the better this U.S. push goes, the more real money is on the line for both the founder and LG H&H.
Knowing this background doesn’t need to change the standard you use to pick a product. But it does help explain why now, and why so much care is going into preparing this Ulta launch. If you come across hince in the U.S., start by thinking through your own makeup habits. If you tend to lead with your lips, compare how long the lip product lasts and how well it pairs with the lip liner you already own; if you care more about how your skin reads overall, compare how the base products apply and how long they hold up. Rather than trying to build a whole look around one new product, checking how it works alongside the base you already use will save you from most disappointments. Watch hince’s first U.S. season with a level head, and see which products actually earn repeat purchases from local customers once they hit Ulta’s shelves in October.
Source: Businesspost, July 29, 2026; LG Household & Health Care official statement, July 2026; LG Household & Health Care Q2 2026 earnings release, July 29, 2026.
