If K-beauty is your thing, this one is worth knowing about. After a successful run last year, K-Beauty Layover is making its return to Toronto again. The multi-branded pop-up founded by beauty content creators Juston Wong and Lisa Kim, is bringing together a range of Korean beauty brands that you might not easily find elsewhere in the city.
Products that were once accessible through international shipping or speciality store visits are now easier to find in dedicated spaces such as K-Beauty Layover. Ahead of the pop-up, we connected with the founders about the event, K-beauty trends, and what attendees can expect.
Event details
- May 8 to 11, 2026
- 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- 218 Merton Street, Toronto
In Conversation with the Founders
Tell us about the popup; what was the vision behind it?
Lisa: Canada has never had a K-Beauty pop-up at this scale, and we felt there was a clear opportunity to create one because K-Beauty has been growing exponentially here.
The vision behind K-Beauty Layover was to bridge the gap between global K-Beauty brands and the Canadian market in a way that feels curated and experiential, not just products sitting on shelves.
We wanted to move beyond traditional retail and create a space where discovery happens in real life, almost as if you’ve stepped into a beauty pop-up in Seoul’s most exciting neighbourhood, Seongsu. It’s about being able to touch, test, and truly understand products through education, interactive games, and creative environments.
More importantly, it’s about building and strengthening our local K-Beauty community, bringing together consumers, creators, and brands in one shared space.
At its core, the pop-up is designed to feel like a gateway into K-Beauty, whether you’re just starting out or already deeply immersed in it.
What are the K-beauty trends you’re most excited about right now, and which ones do you think are going to define the next year or two?
Juston: I’m most excited about K-Beauty’s shift toward more clinically backed active ingredients.
We’re seeing a more thoughtful integration of ingredients like peptides, pigment inhibitors such as tranexamic acid and alpha-arbutin, as well as retinal and azelaic acid—all of which I regularly incorporate into my own routines and have seen make a meaningful difference in my overall skin quality.
Looking ahead, I think we’ll continue to see innovation in this space, with exosomes potentially becoming the next standout ingredient once the hype around PDRN dies down. We’re already starting to see early signs of that shift. That said, K-Beauty trends move incredibly fast, from spicules to peel-off masks to extended-wear collagen sheet masks, and what takes off often depends on a breakout product from a leading brand. Once that happens, the rest of the industry tends to follow quickly.
Will there be any interactive or educational elements at the popup, or is it more of a discover-and-shop experience?
Lisa: It’s both. Discovery and shopping are at the core of the experience, but education and interaction are just as important.
What sets our pop-up apart from others is the presence of dedicated brand booths, where K-Beauty brands are actively involved, many even fly in their teams to connect with visitors in person. This allows guests to not only test products, but also learn how to use them properly and understand what makes them effective.
We’ve also incorporated interactive games and activations throughout the space to make the experience more engaging. It goes beyond simply placing products in a shopping basket– it’s about creating a more memorable, hands-on way to discover K-Beauty.
What can someone who has never explored K-beauty before expect to walk away with, and what about someone who already has a multi-step routine at home?
Juston: For someone new to K-Beauty, we want them to walk away with clarity and a sense of intrigue. It can feel overwhelming at first, so our goal with the pop-up is to help them understand where to start, like what their skin needs and how to build a simple, effective routine. Most importantly, we want them to feel excited to try their new products and confident in how to use them.
For those who are more experienced, it’s about discovery and depth. They can explore new brands and find products that aren’t yet widely available in Canada. It becomes a space to go deeper into K-Beauty, almost like a curated wonderland for enthusiasts.
We want people to leave feeling fully stocked, especially with the value we’re offering. With unbeatable prices and added perks through gifts with purchase, it’s an opportunity to experience K-Beauty in a way that feels both exciting and worthwhile.
share:
Be the first to comment