Hince Hannam • 힌스 한남

Hince (힌스) is a South-Korean makeup brand that is well known for their “mood-narrative” focused beauty products. Founded in 2019, Hince was first started with a vision to expand the standard of Korean bold transparent makeup that was popular at the time by creating products with more neutral color palettes and different, lighter textures. The aim was to enhance customers’ natural beauty and features so they can create their own unique aura. And with the majority of other brands focusing on the brighter (fairer) and bolder color choices, this move actually made Hince stood out from the rest of their competitors. Hince has now expanded their lineups from lip products, to makeup and fragrances which you can discover and experience in person at Hince Hannam (힌스 한남), one of their offline stores in Seoul.

 

Hince Hannam • 힌스 한남

Address: 서울 용산구 이태원로49길 14-2 1층
Telephone: 02-2135-3031
Hours: Everyday 11:00-20:00

Instagram: @hince_official
Website: https://hince.co.kr/

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Cosmic Mansion Hannam • 코스믹맨션 한남점

Cosmic Mansion Hannam (코스믹맨션 한남점) is a home fragrance shop that is tucked away in one of the alleyways of Hannam-dong (한남동). This local brand has been around since 2013 and is probably considered one of the more famous niche fragrance brands in Seoul with its own loyal following. The brand has a sleek, minimalistic monochromatic branding and they sell high-quality, eco-friendly and all-natural scented products with affordable price.

Cosmic Mansion (코스믹맨션) is actually one of (if not) the first fragrance stores that I visited during my very first trip to Hannam-dong years ago when I was first visiting Seoul. It was one of the shops that left quite an impression on me since fragrance stores back then were not as abundant as they are now in city. Back then, if I remember correctly, they’re mainly focusing on home fragrance products (candle, soaps, room sprays, diffusers). But now, they’ve expanded their product lineup to include linen sachets, perfume and body & hand care products as well. I usually try to stop by the store every time I’m in the area and on every single visit, I usually ended up buying something before walking out of the store. My last purchase was 2 bottles of their Our Maison room spray (Scent: ‘Another Morning’ & ‘Garden Rain’) and ‘Another Morning’ perfume. Love their scents.

If you’re looking for an alternative or a more affordable options than the usual Tamburins, Grandhand or Non-Fiction selections, Cosmic Mansion is definitely the brand you should check out.

 

Cosmic Mansion • 코스믹맨션

Address: 서울 용산구 이태원로54길 31 2층
Telephone: 0507-1316-0652
Hours: Everyday 11:00 - 20:30

Instagram: @cosmicmansion
Cosmic Mansion Website

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I Hate Monday • 아이헤이트먼데이

If you have visited enough shops that sells local brands in Seoul, you’ll probably notice this one socks brand that keeps making appearances over and over again in different stores and locations. I Hate Monday (아이헤이트먼데이) is a popular Korean socks brand that was started with the main goal is to beat the Monday Blues.

The founder of the brand, sock designer Hong Jung Mi started this business because she used to hate going back to work on Monday after the weekend. "When you think of going to work on Monday, you often start to get nervous from Sunday evening onwards. So I decided to make something fun, creative and unique to help make people feel a bit more comfortable on their way to work," she said on an interview with The Chosunilbo. This sentiment clearly resonates with a lot of people since after started selling her socks on a vending machine in Sinsa-dong, it became really really popular and the business has only became a bigger and more popular until these days.

The brand has now expanded their socks line as well as working with other brands for collaboration projects. Their latest collaboration project includes working together with Innocean Worldwide to make braille socks for visually impaired (read the article here).

When I visited the store, I ended up talking with the person who was manning the store for a bit and she did told me about the story of her boss quitting her corporate job to start this brand because she really hated Mondays. Now that she owns this successful brand, I don’t think she hates Monday as much as she used to ;)

I Hate Monday • 아이헤이트먼데이

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 합정동 363-30
Telephone: 070-4028-1867
Hours: 11:30 - 19:00 (Weekdays. Lunch Break: 12:30 - 14:00) | 13:00 - 18:00 (Saturdays) | Closed on Sundays.

Website: I Hate Monday
Instagram: @ihatemondaysocks

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