Popular Korean cosmetics brand ‘THE FACE SHOP’ is preparing for its Northern California launch with a ‘Multiethnic Natural Beauty Contest.’ With beautiful contestants from various ethnic backgrounds participating, the competition is emerging as one of the region’s largest beauty events.

A total of 80 contestants advanced to the first preliminary round of the Multiethnic Natural Beauty Contest, held at Arthur Restaurant in Santa Clara on the 15th.
They were selected through a document screening process from 280 applicants.

The contestants included 12 Japanese Americans, 10 Vietnamese, 10 Chinese Americans, as well as Filipino, Indian, Hispanic, and seven Korean participants.

Ethnic media organizations participating as media sponsors included this newspaper, the Chinese-language World Journal, Japan’s Nichi Bei Times, the Hispanic newspaper El Observador, Asian Journal, The Wave Magazine, Na Magazine, Nirvana Woman Magazine, and Harberson Models.

This marked the first time local ethnic media organizations participated as sponsors of a Korean cosmetics event, and the inaugural competition received favorable reviews.

The seven Korean contestants selected for the first preliminary round included Ji-eun Kim, Yu-na Nam, Jin-hee Kim, Myung-hwa Seo, and Jae-shin Kim, along with Jennifer Field, who is of mixed heritage, and Annie Noguchi, who was adopted by a Japanese family.

The first preliminary round included photo shoots for the contestants, introductions of the media sponsors, and greetings from the participants.

Shia Kim, THE FACE SHOP’s Northern California regional director, who organized the event, expressed confidence, saying, “We plan to hold this competition every year,” and “It can establish itself as a leading regional beauty pageant.”

Participants in the Natural Beauty Contest are women between the ages of 18 and 28.

The second preliminary round will be held on October 6, followed by the finals on October 21. Winners will receive cash and generous cosmetics prizes and will represent ‘THE FACE SHOP’ as models for one year.

Winners will also receive complimentary professional photo shoots from Harberson Models and other professional modeling studios.

Various additional benefits will also be provided.

‘THE FACE SHOP’ is a popular Korean brand offering approximately 1,000 affordable and moderately priced cosmetics made with natural plant-based ingredients. Seven Northern California stores are reportedly scheduled to open, including one at Lawrence Shopping Center in Santa Clara.