Beauty and fashion brands launch products to celebrate White Day

As White Day approaches, beauty and fashion brands are rushing to roll out new products to help men mark the occasion.

In Korea, March 14 is White Day, when men usually give candy or gifts to women as a way to thank them for the gifts they received on Valentine’s Day.

Italian neoclassical brand Metrocity has launched a crossbody bag to commemorate White Day. The miniature sized bag is described as one that suits young women’s free lifestyle.

The square-shaped bag with a catena chain comes in four colors -- mint, white, black and red.

Local retail giant E-Land’s jewelry brand Lloyd introduced two diamond-studded White Day edition necklaces.

One of the necklaces features a pink rose diamond that evokes the meaning of everlasting love, according to the jewelry maker. Another is the Shine Drop Necklace.

Skincare brand Mary&May also released a limited-edition skincare set, which includes a face serum, soothing gel-cream and pore cleansing foam -- ahead of White Day.

The skincare line contains eoseongcho, a medicinal herb, and tea tree oil, according to the company.

While white chocolate and candies have been popular gifts for White Day, which originated in Japan in the1960s, the trend these days is to give more practical and meaningful gifts.

According to a survey conducted by Duo, Korea’s biggest matchmaking company, both unmarried men and women said a basket of candies is their least preferred gift they would want to receive on White Day.

The company conducted the survey from Feb. 27 to March 10, 2019, among 150 men and 161 women.

About 26.4 percent of the respondents said receiving or gifting a basket of candies was the least desirable, while 29.3 percent of male respondents answered that they wanted to give jewelry and accessories to their loved ones.

“In line with changes in preferred gifts, an increasing number of beauty and fashion brands are releasing and promoting special items for White Day here,” an industry official who wished to remain anonymous told The Korea Herald.

“Since men usually give presents to their lovers (on the romantic holiday), companies lure male buyers with simple and straightforward explanations of their products by giving names such as ‘White Day limited collection’ and ‘White Day special set.’”

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)