Snow Blossom

Sulwhasoo may have its roots in ginseng, but the hero ingredient in its latest Bloomstay Vitalizing line truly embodies the essence of its name, reports Chloe Pek

- Chloe Pek

PLUM BLOSSOMS BLOOMING IN the snow paint a pretty picture, but more than that, it sends a message of strength and resilience. The delicate flower blooms vibrantly to mark the arrival of spring, after enduring the harsh winter snow. It is this tenacity that inspired South Korea’s leading beauty brand Sulwhasoo when it first came into being in 1987. Sulwha, in Korean, means “blooming like a beautiful snow blossom on the skin”, while Soo is “exceptionally beautiful”.

“We selected plum blossoms as part of our identity because it signifies vitality and a strong spirit,” says Mina Kim, senior vice president of Sulwhasoo. “Ever since we started using ‘Sulwha’ in our brand name, we wanted to use plum blossoms as a key ingredient in our products.”

So it is fair to say that the brand’s new anti-aging Bloomsday Vitalizing line, which reaps the antioxidant properties of plum blossoms, has been decades in the making. “When Sulwhasoo first started, we didn’t have the technology to extract the effective components from plum blossoms, so we started to research on the fragrance that we could get from them,” Kim explains.