Why slowing down is the future of beauty, according to KraveBeauty founder and YouTuber Liah Yoo

Beauty aficionados will recognise Yoo, a Seoul native now based in New York. She is a YouTube OG and according to the video platform, the first person with a Korean IP to upload videos onto it. YouTube was new in Korea at the time in 2011, as Naver dominated the market. After more than a decade creating content, Yoo has amassed over 1.2 million followers.

Yoo grew up following society’s rigorous expectations, diligently walking the path expected of her. “South Korea has a strict definition of what success means—good grades, a prestigious university and a stable corporate job. I followed that track for the longest time. I was a quiet, boring kid because my older brother was the troublemaker. I listened to my parents and obeyed the rules because I wanted to make them happy,” she says.

Given little chance to express herself growing up, Yoo turned to drawing, designing and eventually, YouTube as a creative outlet. 

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She later pursued architectural and interior design at the Ewha Womans University, where she found herself in the heart of South Korea’s beauty revolution.

The school campus was a hotspot for new beauty brands; many chose the university’s surroundings to launch their first flagship stores. This immersive environment shaped her perspective—not just as a consumer but as someone deeply attuned to the evolution of beauty trends.

Around the same time, the fascination with K-pop was quickly growing worldwide. International fans were no longer just admiring the music, they wanted to decode the secrets behind Korean beauty. Why did Korean skin look so flawless? What was that shimmering eyeshadow worn by Girls’ Generation? Yoo, equipped with both access and insight, began answering these questions through her YouTube videos, not fully aware she was positioning herself at the forefront of a cultural shift.

“I naively posted videos about [K-beauty] and opened my eyes to the beauty industry. After finishing my degree in architecture, I didn’t pursue [a career in it]. I did a whole pivot and worked at AmorePacific, the conglomerate internationalising K-beauty.”

Read more: How Charlotte Cho of Soko Glam and Then I Met You brought K-beauty to the world

While working in digital marketing and e-commerce at AmorePacific, Yoo was exposed to the marketing strategies of various brands. On the side, she would still film and upload videos. Her online content particularly resonated with individuals who had acne-prone skin, as she openly shared her struggles and experiences with breakouts.

By the time she decided to leave her job, her YouTube channel had grown to 120,000 subscribers. It was then that she fully embraced her role as a content creator, stepping away from the corporate world to start KraveBeauty. 

Her mission was clear: cut through the noise, reduce overconsumption and create products that genuinely served people’s skin. 

Skincare excess doesn’t just affect individuals, it also takes a toll on the planet. From excessive packaging to discarded formulations, the overproduction and overconsumption of beauty products contribute to significant environmental waste, and Yoo was well aware of this.

When KraveBeauty discovered a batch of its face wash was not manufactured to the expected quality, resulting in US$1.5 million in potential waste, Yoo took an unconventional approach. Rather than discarding the product, she repurposed it into a limited-edition body wash and launched the #WasteMeNot campaign. This transparency—documented through a YouTube video—became a message about sustainability and accountability, earning consumer trust and setting a new standard for honesty in beauty.

In April 2024, KraveBeauty earned its B-Corporation certification. The company is also a member of 1 Percent for the Planet, and certified climate- and plastic-neutral. 

This past January, KraveBeauty introduced the Plumptuous Lip Jelly, a lip oil made with upcycled plum oil and designed with a refillable component and reusable metal applicator. The product took 14 months to develop, underscoring the company’s meticulous approach to creating environmentally conscious products. 

Read more: ‘Stories resonate more than statistics’: Woo Qiyun on why we need to find better ways to talk about climate change

As KraveBeauty grew, so did Yoo’s desire to reshape not only consumer habits, but the beauty industry itself. She launched Press Reset Ventures in 2022, a venture capital fund aimed at reducing the pressure on brands to prioritise profit over purpose. Yoo says she has seen how this pursuit of growth often stripped brands of their authenticity.

“I realised that was a huge privilege [that we didn’t have to accept outside capital]. I had no investors or shareholders to report to, which gave us the freedom to grow at our own pace. So I thought, ‘If we can become a shareholder of other companies and have them do whatever they want, in the way that they want, that would be great,’” says Yoo.

Read more: Recently Funded: What Allies of Skin’s Nicolas Travis learnt from successfully raising $20 million

The fund is an extension of her mission to dismantle the beauty industry’s obsession with excess and quick profits. In recent years, investors flooded the beauty space, eager to cash in on fast-growing brands. The pattern was predictable: investors would hold onto a company for a few years before orchestrating an exit to private equity firms or large conglomerates. In the process, a brand’s original vision often became secondary to shareholder demands and its once-loyal customers an afterthought.

Through Press Reset Ventures, Yoo wants to empower a new wave of beauty entrepreneurs who think differently and care as much about the planet as they do product performance. The fund has backed companies like Bluebird, a climate-tech startup tracking the carbon footprint of packaging, and Innerbottle, which promotes circular packaging solutions to minimise waste.

Press Reset Ventures has also invested in sustainable agroforestry in Indonesia and partnered with the non-profit Women’s Earth Alliance, which has a global network of women-led grassroots environmental organisations. This collaboration focuses on tamanu oil, a key ingredient in KraveBeauty products, with the beauty brand working directly with a farm to gain visibility into the sourcing process, improve the farm’s working conditions and climate resilience.

“We are also giving back to the community by engaging and hiring the harvesters who are primarily old women. That’s their main means of living, so we try to not only increase their labour costs, but also educate them on financial literacy. This way they can have a better idea of how to save more and invest better,” says Yoo.

Read more: Beyond The Billion’s Sarah Chen-Spellings on why female-led businesses are worth the investment

With a focus on thoughtful growth, Yoo is in the process of increasing KraveBeauty’s traceability throughout its entire supply chain.

She is also in the midst of succession planning, bringing in a seasoned president to guide the company through its next phase of expansion. This strategic move will allow Yoo to focus her energy and creativity on product development and customer engagement, cementing its position as an innovative leader in beauty.

Here, we ask Yoo a series of quickfire questions to learn what else makes her tick.

Are you an emotional or logical person?

Liah Yoo (LY): I’m definitely more logical and rational as a leader.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

LY: Looking at the world’s problems gets me fired up and serves as a form of motivation.

Describe yourself in three words.

LY: Curious, creative and obsessive. (laughs) I’m obsessive because I enjoy questioning things beyond what I see and digging deeper. I want to get to the truth as much as possible.

Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently?

LY: No, I don’t think so. From one mistake to another, you’re constantly evolving and growing as a person, founder and leader.

If I’d gone to business school or gotten a business degree, it would have been a more daunting choice. But I was so convicted in the belief that people needed a brand like this; a brand that’s transparent and honest about listening to your skin and not the sales staff or influencers. I wanted people to trust their skin more. 

This article is part of Founder Stories, a series dedicated to discovering the untold stories and challenges of today’s entrepreneurs on their climb to the top. Discover more leaders in beauty across Asia.

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