The best Chinese beauty brands you can find in Shanghai

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Over the past few years, South Korean products have dominated the beauty scene around the world. However, with homegrown beauty brands on the rise, consumers are turning to C-beauty products instead because of the use of natural and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) ingredients – think cordyceps, Pu'er tea and plenty of ginseng. New to C-beauty? Here are a few of the top brands to try now.

Pechoin

Pechoin has come a long way since it was founded in 1931 here in Shanghai. Up until recently, its appeal was mainly with older generations, but rebranding efforts have helped change that – it was even named the most-used skincare and makeup brand in China in 2018.

Now, it even has beauty influencers (both female and male) recommending products on social media and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu. The brand’s best-seller is an 'invigorating elastic' toner (193RMB), which incorporates ginseng, ginko leaf and cordyceps in its formula to promote skin elasticity and youthfulness. Find Pechoin products here on Jingdong.

Kans

Founded in Shanghai in 2002, Kans is one of the newest players on the C-beauty scene but it has already grown to become one of the top ten brands in China’s online cosmetics market. It’s also one of the brands involved in FutureIsClean, a campaign that promotes the use of clean technologies like the use of solar and wind energy. One of its most popular products is the Hydra Re-Plumping Toner (285RMB), which uses four kinds of hyaluronic acid and the brand’s ‘star ingredient’, double bacteria fermentation, to moisturise skin and promote moisture retention. Find the brand in Watsons and on here on Tmall.

Herborist

One of the few Chinese beauty brands to have an international reach, Herborist, founded in 1998, opened a flagship store in Paris’ Avenue de l'Opéra a few years back. Known for incorporating TCM and natural herbs into its products, the brand also has a line of makeup that includes CC creams, primers, blushes and lipsticks apart from the usual skincare offerings. Its best-sellers however are still its line of skincare, particularly the taiji product line (from 380RMB) that are all based on the theory of yin and yang have herbal extracts like lotus seeds, agarwood, magnolia, perilla and ginseng. Find its products here on Jingdong.

Inoherb

Founded in 2000 by a TCM doctor, Ms Feng Shuai, Inoherb is another C-beauty brand that incorporates Chinese herbs and fruit in its formulas. Its best-selling product is the Rhodiola brightening essence (238RMB), which brightens skin and may help decreases the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles with a formula that includes sea buckthorn, licorice and its star herb, Rhodiola rose, a plant used by the ancient Chinese for skincare.

According to Inoherb's website, it cultivates Rhodiola rose in the Sichuan-Tibet area, and in order to protect and further study the species, has established two planting bases in Tibet. Other best-sellers include the brand’s camellia eye cream and lotus seed two-in-one cleansing milk. Find Inoherb products here on Tmall.

WEI Beauty

Though the brand is based in the US, its founder, Wei Young Brian, was born and raised in China where she studied TCM and uses its principles to create all of the brand's products. Wei also sources its herbs through fair trade practices in China and works with and buys directly from farmers, ensuring all the ingredients that go into its products are safe and authentic. The brand's mud masks are one of its most popular products, especially the golden root purifying mud mask (283RMB), which comes in a box of eight small pods and includes a soft brush for application.

While its official website lists all of its products in English along with info on the herbs used, instructions on how to use each product and what skin problem it helps alleviate, the brand doesn't ship outside of the US currently. However, you can find Wei products in Sephora stores here in Shanghai.

Cha Ling

Made in France with European chemistry and natural Chinese ingredients, Cha Ling has proven itself to be one of the top runners in the C-beauty scene. Owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH, the brand has 50 products in its line, with each packing an average of 85 percent natural ingredients and all ingredients being 100 percent traceable. The brand also uses refillable porcelain packaging that’s both eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing to boot.

Cha Ling uses Pu’er tea harvested in Yunnan, which supposedly has detoxifying and rejuvenating benefits. Its products include fragrances, skin and body care products and can be found brick-and-mortar stores at HKRI Taikoo Hui and IFC Mall. It also has a WeChat store that can be accessed through its official WeChat account (search ID 'chaling_official').