Ten products slowly tested and kept, with Charlotte Cho

In 2018 Charlotte Cho chose to launch with two cleansers and keep the line off Soko Glam for a year. That decision sets up the evidence question Face Value asks here. Fewer products, longer testing, and claims that should be checked against concentration, vehicle and use. Ten products in six years suggests restraint. Whether restraint predicts performance is what we examine.

A message from customers started the clearest test. They liked the ritual around a gel cream but not its texture. They asked for a lighter and juicier plant based feel. Cho discontinued the formula and worked with chemists in South Korea until Bong² Bounce Cream arrived, now the number two seller in the range.

Cho has spent more than 15 years studying, testing and bringing Korean skincare to millions of readers. As an esthetician, founder of Soko Glam and author, she influenced how ingredient lists are read. She co founded Soko Glam with her husband Dave Cho, then started Then I Met You in 2018 to produce formulas she could not find.

The brand operates from the United States and all formulas are developed in South Korea with leading cosmetic chemists. Its frame is jeong, a Korean philosophy of deep care and connection that accrues over time. The stated aim is expert formulations that join Korean innovation, considered texture and clinically proven results.

What interests us is control of variables. For the first full year Then I Met You sold through its own site only and did not use Soko Glam traffic. It avoids trend cycles. It favors one or two launches per year, and referral over paid reach. Read as method, this is plant led skincare that places cleansing first and hydration as the daily maintenance step.

The Giving Essence lists 78 percent naturally fermented ingredients with 5 percent niacinamide, used after toner as a liquid hydration step. Why ferment, and why hold niacinamide at that level.

Fermentation lets us get more usable material from plants. During steeping and fermentation, complex botanical matter separates into smaller and more uniform fractions that fit a light liquid. The Giving Essence holds a proprietary blend at 78 percent naturally fermented ingredients plus niacinamide at 5 percent.

I keep that combination because field derived and laboratory derived parts can coexist without friction. The fermented base supplies the slip and layered hydration expected from an essence, normally applied after toner. Niacinamide supports the appearance of more even tone and a stronger looking barrier. We held the level at 5 percent because it suits daily application and remains comfortable for many skin types. Press with palms, allow settling, then seal. One ritual at a time.

You discontinued a gel cream after community notes about texture, then built Bong² Bounce Cream around Hallabong extract and ceramides. What did that revision show about vehicle and dose.

It showed me to respond with action. I listened to that feedback and chose to stop making one product and test a different gel cream. At this point, with 10 products total, the Bong Bounce Cream ranks as our second best seller.

Users wanted a light gel barrier cream that still felt nourishing. We selected Hallabong, a citrus cultivated on Jeju island and rich in vitamin C, for a brightening burst of hydration and juicy finish. We combined it with ceramides to support the look of a smooth barrier. You pat the gel cream at the moisturizer step to lock in hydration. It reads dewy without weight. That profile, citrus over a soft ceramide base, gives the bounce. When a formula fails the ritual, I prefer to withdraw it and replant rather than defend it.

We held the level at 5 percent because it suits daily application and remains comfortable for many skin types.

Charlotte Cho

Your Living Cleansing Balm at 39 dollars for 90 grams dates to 2018 and is massaged onto dry skin as a first cleanse. What did you require from that first step.

I required cleansing that supported soil rather than stripped it. Our widely loved cleansing balm dissolves sunscreen, makeup, excess sebum and other oil based buildup without stripping skin or stinging eyes. You massage it onto dry skin as a first cleanse and it loosens what the day deposits.

That step counts because glass skin begins with a settled barrier. A balm that respects skin helps later layers spread evenly. It arrived in 2018 as our hero and remains a bestseller, cited as the ideal cleansing duo opening with our Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel. When someone is new to us, I advise starting at the sink, with warm hands, dry skin and time. Press, massage, rinse. That procedure taught people our position.

You launched in 2018 with only Living Cleansing Balm and Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel, and you held the new brand off the Soko Glam platform for a full year. What did that boundary preserve.

Thanks for reading us so closely. I wanted Then I Met You to carry a brand story that felt distinct and separate. We did not launch under the Soko Glam name because I wanted Soko Glam to remain independent. I plan to stay committed to the Soko Glam curation over the long term. We enjoy collaborating closely with our partner labels and the brands we stock. The working relationship we share with them is genuinely strong and steady.

So we opened with only two cleansers, a Living Cleansing Balm and a Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel, together forming the perfect cleansing duo. For the first full year we sold solely through our own site. I have tried many hundreds of products through the years, seeing new launches often and talking with makers and chemists open to sharing ideas. I wanted this line to establish itself one ritual at a time, without borrowed traffic. That quiet opening allowed jeong to develop naturally between us and the community.

You define jeong as deep care and connection that builds over time, and you repeat the phrases glass skin and skin first philosophy. Where does jeong alter a formulation choice.

Jeong grounds all our work. It is a Korean word that describes a deep and emotional connection, and for me it signals formulating with sustained attention rather than quick interest. Korean beauty has never centered on one product, one category or even one brand. It has reflected a skin first philosophy.

In practice that means I prefer one or two products a year over chasing every skincare trend. Even though we are six years old, our lineup still includes only 10 products. This reflects the intentionality behind the brand. We are here to make holy grails and earn the trust of the community, so my goal is only standout products that deliver results. A plant extract must justify inclusion through what it contributes to skin, to texture and under consistent use, not merely because it sounds botanical.

Your Snail Mucin Eye Cream combines 30 percent Snail Mucin Complex with 5 percent Volufiline to visibly plump, firm and smooth fine lines. How should a rich treatment be applied near the eyes.

Use a light touch and repeat it. Use a small amount around the eyes to hydrate and smooth, in the morning and at night. Warm between ring fingers, then press softly along the orbital bone. Avoid dragging.

Snail mucin matters because it provides hydrating polysaccharides and proteins that help skin appear smooth and supple. In our clinically tested eye cream, the 30 percent Snail Mucin Complex joins 5 percent Volufiline to support the appearance of firmness and reduce the look of fine lines. It is an award winning bestseller, often included in limited edition duos, because users notice texture change with regular use. Maintain a thin film. Allow absorption before sunscreen or makeup. Method counts as much as formula here.

You collaborate with leading chemists in South Korea while holding a skin first philosophy drawn from Korean practice. What does that work involve across a harvest year.

It involves deliberate slowness. Each formula is made in South Korea with experienced cosmetic chemists, pairing Korean methods with proven actives. I contribute lessons from evaluating thousands of products and working alongside Korea’s leading beauty innovators. They contribute process knowledge, stability testing and access to new botanical fractions.

We review plant origin, season, extraction method and behavior in texture. A Hallabong extract that smells clean in glass can turn sour once it sits in a jar. A fermented liquid has the ability to make a cream feel thinner. We revise, rest the batch, assess again. I prefer months spent on infusion rates and pH over rushing to meet a calendar slot. That is how textures stay agreeable and results stay steady. Breakthrough innovation counts for little when the daily ritual feels too poor to repeat.

If you do not have a community, then you do not have a brand, and word of mouth stays your strongest form of awareness. How do you build trust without relying on advertising spend.

Through proximity and candor. Without a real community behind it, a label does not really function as a brand. A brand cannot expand in this very saturated beauty market without word of mouth, and that remains the most powerful form of marketing or brand awareness.

That means we decline to scale through advertising spend alone. We explain use, we reply to questions, we acknowledge when texture falls short. Trust can take many years to earn, yet it can disappear in a single night. So we release routines, we demonstrate the double cleanse, the essence press, the gel cream seal. We hold the assortment narrow so each product can turn into a steady favourite for someone. Trust forms at the sink and at the vanity, not in claims.

From Cult Beauty in 2021 to Space NK online and 33 stores in 2024, including Manchester Trafford Centre, you scaled in stages. What determines where you place the line next.

Attention determines it. To be honest, I have not measured that figure so far. I want to be certain that we keep our attention firmly placed on growth. Every retail partner must grasp ritual and agree to teach it.

Entry at Cult Beauty connected us to shoppers who already study ingredient lists. Our brick and mortar debut in the UK at Space NK, online and in 33 stores, with a gondola at the newest Space NK store in Manchester Trafford Centre until December, allowed texture testing before purchase. That contact matters for balms and gel creams. Next, we will keep the shelf narrow and instruction plain. One or two products a year, only when they are standouts. Roots persist when planting stays sparse.

Closing note from the desk

What remains is the withdrawal. Cho removed a formula that fell short, limited the catalog to ten, and allowed a citrus gel cream to show that user feedback can guide reformulation. The stance reads anchored rather than limited, with soil prepared with care before new planting.

Then I Met You aimed to join Korean beauty experience with an American esthetician background, and to pursue glass skin results through sensorial ritual. Cleanse first, essence second, moisture to close. Read as protocol, that sequence still stands.

Product spotlight

Living Cleansing Balm, 39 dollars for 90 grams plus a 15 dollar travel size at 20 grams. A first cleanse that dissolves sunscreen, makeup and excess sebum without stripping or eye sting. Massage onto dry skin with warm hands, add water to emulsify, rinse, then add a water based second cleanse.

Bong² Bounce Cream, 46 dollars for 50 mL plus a 17 dollar travel size at 15 mL. A light gel barrier cream with Vitamin C rich Hallabong extract and ceramides for juicy, bouncy hydration. Pat at the moisturizer step to seal essence and support the appearance of dewy, smooth skin.