Then I Met You

Then I Met You is a Korean-American beauty brand founded in 2018 by Charlotte Cho, the licensed esthetician and author who also co-founded Soko Glam and helped introduce Korean beauty to Western audiences. The brand takes its philosophy from the Korean concept of jeong, a deep and enduring affection that builds over time, and applies it to skincare as an argument for slow, intentional, layered routines rather than quick fixes. All products are Leaping Bunny Certified, the strictest independent cruelty-free standard, and are manufactured in South Korea, drawing on the country's advanced cosmetic formulation infrastructure. Then I Met You is notably honest about what it is not: the brand explicitly does not position itself as organic or natural-focused, instead prioritising ingredient efficacy and texture, and individual products are formulated without parabens, silicones and sulfates. Its hero products, the Living Cleansing Balm with persimmon extract and the Soothing Tea Cleansing Gel, form the double-cleanse ritual that made the brand a cult favourite, alongside the Renewing Rich Cream and Birch Milk Refining Toner. Priced in the mid-range, the line offers Korean beauty formulation quality without prestige markups. For anyone researching Korean beauty brands, cruelty-free beauty or paraben-free skincare with genuine cultural grounding rather than borrowed aesthetics, Then I Met You stands out for its founder's expertise, its transparent stance on formulation philosophy, and its rejection of the clean beauty marketing language that many competitors adopt without substantiation, making it one of the most intellectually honest brands in the Korean skincare category available internationally today.