K-beauty, Middle Eastern Fragrances Excited Buyers at Cosmoprof Miami

Winter Storm Fern may have put a wrench in the works for some retail execs and brands attempting to travel to Cosmoprof Miami last week, but it didn’t dampen the spirit of the trade show, which is in its third iteration.

“There is so much good energy,” said Liza Rapay, vice president and head of Cosmoprof North America from the floor. “Miami is organically crafting its own differentiation with Las Vegas naturally because of the geographic location.”

In terms of categories, she noted there’s been a fragrance explosion in terms of exhibitors, now representing 20 percent of the floor. Overall, scent posted the largest growth of any category showing at Cosmoprof Miami, compared to 2025.

“That’s much more than the previous editions, both last year and the year prior. So it’s growing, and it represents what’s happening with the market,” said Rapay, highlighting in particular the cohort of Middle Eastern fragrance brands, including ABC Fragrances, which has brands such as Al Absar and Tubbees; Ahmed Al Maghribi Perfumes and Lataffa Perfumes. “There’s a lot of excitement there.”

According to Rapay, many Middle Eastern fragrance brands are looking to deepen penetration in Latin American markets, as well as in the U.S. About 12 percent of attendees hailed from the region, where the fragrance category is also dynamic. “In Latin America, when you look at fragrance, it’s also penetrating really high for them,” she said. “Miami is special for fragrance, because it is now becoming the hub between global markets, especially the ones like LATAM. It’s easier for them to get here. For Europeans, too.”

Of the fragrance offering, Noah Rosenblatt, president of Beautyspace, which is set to open two freestanding stores in New York City, said: “The continued momentum around Middle Eastern-inspired profiles was notable, with a strong emphasis on EDP and EDT concentrations, signaling a shift away from mist formats toward longer-lasting, more intentional scent experiences.”

Jessica Phillips, vice president of merchandising, Ulta Beauty, added: “Middle Eastern brands dominated the center of the Cosmoprof Miami show. The evolution of gourmand fragrances is being strongly shaped by Middle Eastern influence, bringing greater sophistication, deeper layering, and a more refined sensorial experience.”

K-beauty was another standout category, with crowds of people circling the booths, many of which included the ingredient du jour — PDRN — in everything from skin care to body care to hair care, while cushion foundations from the likes of Tirtir and others caught buyers’ eyes. Other K-beauty brands on show included Mixsoon, VT Cosmetics, Laka, Sungboon Editor, Meamo and Treeannsea.

Data from Cosmoprof showed there was over 12 percent growth in exhibitors from Asia compared to 2025, driven by Korean innovation.

“Even as you compare it to last year, the presence of K-beauty is bigger. It’s just fueling the demand,” said Rapay.

Rosenblatt noted that the K-beauty offering has “evolved well beyond novelty into highly disciplined, results-driven formulations.”

Carolina DelRio, general manager of beauty of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, told WWD she was mainly seeking Korean skin care as well as body care products that combine effective ingredients with eye-catching products. “There was continued strength in K-beauty with innovative formulas and delivery systems. For instance, one brand showcased a serum that comes out as a foam and turns into a water-like serum,” she said.

Buyers were also eying K-beauty makeup. Shannon Monteith, makeup and fragrance director at Space NK, now under the Ulta Beauty umbrella, said: “We’ve definitely still got our eye on K-beauty. We went into partnership with Soko Glam, and we have an edit, which is doing really well. Innovation-wise, there are lots of cushion, compact complexion products here, which is really interesting.”

Sonia Summers, CEO and founder, Beauty Barrage, added: “What’s clear is that K-beauty is no longer a trend; it’s a lasting category offering consumers a different, more intentional choice in how they approach beauty.”

Outside of K-beauty, vitamin patches caught Monteith’s attention. “From a wellness perspective, there definitely seems to be some thought going into accessible formats and interesting acquisition tools.”

One of these brands was BonPatch, founded by former Miss Australia Nicole O’Neil, who was previously on “The Real Housewives of Sydney” before relocating to New York a year ago.  Her transdermal patches target sleep, focus, energy and intimacy, among other needs. She officially launched the brand in the U.S. at the conference.

“The response was incredibly encouraging,” said O’Neil. “Buyers, editors and consumers immediately connected with the simplicity and innovation of transdermal wellness, and the feedback around our patches being an easy, modern alternative to traditional supplements was consistent throughout the show.” 

In hair care, representatives from Brazilian based retailer Marco Boni were present, gearing up to bring its wide selection of hair brushes to the U.S., while Milan-based Janeke was showcasing its Superbrush detangler. In tools, SRI Labs was featuring its infrared DryQ hairdryer among its other hair tools.

Hair growth brands were also present, including Keranique and Bosley MD, which were showing at Cosmoprof Miami for the first time, attracted to this particular show by the Latin American presence. To this point, Keranique is launching internationally in March. “There’s been a lot of interest in the brand,” said Colleen Camp, global education director of Keranique and Bosley MD. “People are looking for things that are scientifically substantiated.”

David Rosenblatt, president and CEO of Beauty Quest Group, whose brands include Rusk, Aquage, and One ‘n Only, was in attendance for the third year in a row, also attracted by the Latin American presence. “We have distributors in South America so this is the purpose of being here. We want to grow in Latin America, particularly with our One ‘n Only products.”

Glampton Beauty, which offers hair accessories among other items like fragrance and lip products, was exhibiting for the first time. “It’s nice when everyone can come and see the entire collection, and not just a curated amount of [stock keeping units] that I’m bringing to you for our meeting,” said Lori Waiser, founder of Glampton, which is part of Pro’s Choice Beauty Care. “The beauty buyer walks around with the accessories buyer, who walks around the fragrance buyer, who walks around the hair buyer. We also have a really nice opportunity to do business in Latin America so Chile, Peru and Panama.”

Of the skin and hair offering, Ulta’s Phillips said: “In skin and hair, a strong focus emerged around ingredient-led storytelling rooted in diverse regions of the world, closely aligned with broader market shifts toward holistic wellness and sustainability. While K-Beauty remains highly relevant, we also saw compelling ingredient narratives from Latin America and other parts of Asia, delivering meaningful consumer benefits while opening the door to rich, visually driven storytelling.”

On the manufacturing front, Cohere Beauty CEO Christine Staples was flying the flag for its fragrance facility in Cedar Grove, N.J. “We’ve launched a fragrance collective, to showcase our fragrance capability. It’s unique that we can do hair care, body care, skin care, and then fragrance, especially for the brands that are crossing over,” said Staples, who is also eager to cater to viral TikTok brands.

“We had a brand come to us last week and it’s preparing for a TikTok launch, and expects that revenues could grow by $2 million in a 90-day period. That takes a lot of flex in your manufacturing. That dynamic market is what we’re paying attention to. Speed is of the essence.”

Speaking of TikTok, Christina Tran, head of TikTok Shop beauty business development, said: “Cosmoprof Miami felt like a professional ‘winter break,’ combining warm weather and high-energy engagements, with a strong sense of community. Our team loves discovering new brands and strengthening our existing partnerships. It’s always fascinating to see how TikTok trends manifest in physical products. This year, the gourmand and food-inspired beauty trend took center stage: from pickle-shaped eye patches, to matcha makeup primers, and of course, Dubai chocolate-inspired fragrances.”