Sue Lee, Vice President of DKCOS, Discusses Their HIP CHIC Line of Hair and Nail Care Products

Sue Lee is the Vice President of DKCOS, which includes beauty and cosmetics brands Unicorn Glow, Soo’AE, HIP CHIC, L.O.C.K. Color, among others. She was previous the Sales & Marketing Director at DKCOS and has a demonstrated history of working in the cosmetics industry. She studied Communications at and earned a master’s degree from Indiana State University.

Inspired by a traditional hair care ingredient from the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Korea – HIP CHIC has introduced itself to the world with a hair care product duo: Apple Vinegar Rinse and Grape Vinegar Rinse. While maintaining a cost-conscious price point, these potent, but light-weighted products promise to keep your scalp hydrated and refreshed from the inside out, supporting an environment for healthy hair growth, stronger strands, and less shedding.

The HIP CHIC philosophy toward hair is simple: treat your scalp like it’s an extension of your skin. While taking inspiration from skincare and creating formulas to address various scalp and hair care needs, HIP CHIC offers all around the world a perfect choice of products for all types of consumer needs and all beauty dreams.

With many products in development and plans for further expansion of our products at a wide range of prices, across all categories: haircare, hair glitter, skincare, nail care, and others, HIP CHIC is excited to do bigger things in 2023. HIP CHIC will continue to strive its best to provide “Quality Products, Best Value, and Fun & Affordable Haircare Experience,” for its customers from all backgrounds to meet their ever-increasing needs.

Grit Daily: With so many brands under the DKCOS belt, how are you planning to continue to expand this empire?

Sue Lee: We plan to continuously expand our brands and products to meet the needs of our customers. Our brand strives to meet customer needs and improve the quality of life through each unique brand identity product, and we plan to expand our brand and products in such a way that we can consistently present high-quality and easy-to-use products. Among them, HIP CHIC is a brand for Generation Z and young millennials and is planning to expand the brand by reflecting their values.

Grit Daily: What sets your brand apart from competitors?

Sue Lee: All of our brands are differentiated from other brands because they are localized to Western customers and markets based on a K-beauty that is sensitive to trends and challenges new things. In the case of HIP CHIC, I think that it is quite different from existing brands in that it is a brand that introduces new products to the market by providing freshness and fun to customers through various attempts without being bound by a specific category or concept.

Grit Daily: You recently launched the HIP CHIC Nailed It Collection; can you share information on the collection?

Sue Lee: HIP CHIC Semi-Cured Gel Nail Strips make at-home nails affordable, beautiful, and simple. Semi-cured gel nail strips are just like the gel nails people would get at a nail salon, but at a lower cost. The semi-cured gel has real gel nail polish quality that is cured at 60% and designed to be applied like a sticker. So, people can see that the quality of the nail is the same as the real gel nail polish after curing with UV lamp. HIP CHIC Nailed It collection has 5 different design moods.

– Starter Kit includes a Mini UV/LED lamp and 3 basic colors including Atlantic Ocean, Burgundy, and Be Born (nude beige color).

– Special Day Collection:  These are unique and cute designs for Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s, and Holiday seasons and they will brighten up any mood and add that special touch to any holiday season.

– Daily Nail Collection: HIP CHIC’s Daily Nail Collection compliments your look for every occasion and keeps your nails looking flawless. Choose anything from classic to dressy, depending on your mood and style that authentically expresses you.

– Hangout Day Collection: These stunning nails are perfect for a glammed-up look. Hangout Day Collection will make you look as stylish and as amazing as possible. 

– HIP CHIC Mood Collection: These are the nails for playful touch to your nails and to stand out in the crowd. Embracing ultra-bright colors, fresh new textures, stylish shapes, and daring designs, HIP CHIC Mood Collection will help you discover fun ways to update your signature style, as well as this season’s most on-trend nails.

Grit Daily: What goals did you have in mind when you started Hip Chic and what are your goals moving forward?

Sue Lee: HIP CHIC was launched to stimulate their curiosity and creativity and satisfy their needs by introducing a new form of product (concept/look/ingredient/category, etc.). Therefore, HIP CHIC plans to continuously strive to identify consumer needs, challenge new things, lead new beauty trends, and develop markets. In addition, HIP CHIC aims to become a brand that relieves customers’ inconvenience and solves their problems by composing easy-to-use and effective products.

Grit Daily: How is HIP CHIC using social media to reach its target demographic, Gen Z?

Sue Lee: As video-form content has become the primary tool to reach Gen Z, we have a lot of video content in the making including reviews by influencers and tutorials for our social media. Aside from informational content, we are also planning to focus on content with humor and memes to connect with our audience in a light-hearted way. We have also made progress in producing eye-catching contents that incorporate on-trend, kitschy and y2k aesthetics that are popular among Gen Z, and audios and video formats that are trending on Tik Tok.

Grit Daily: How is HIP CHIC different from other brands that have similar products such as the Nailed It Collection?

Sue Lee: The HIP CHIC Nailed It Semi-cured Gel Nail Strips are differentiated from other brand products with their unique design and high-quality products. With the HIP CHIC Nailed It collection, people can have instant salon-quality gel nails at home. It is super easy to apply, allowing people to have gorgeous nails right in the comfort of their homes, for a fraction of the time and cost. Also, Semi-cured gel nail strips and UV/LED lamp let nails stay in place longer than traditional polish and any other at-home nail options. It offers a gorgeous shine and plumpness that look like actual salon gel nails. Lastly, no matter the nail shape, length, and nail conditions, everyone of all ages can create tailor-fit, salon-quality nails.

Grit Daily: How is the brand making a difference and giving back?

Sue Lee: HIP CHIC, as a brand, considers diversity in all forms. This includes age, appearance, ethnicity, and gender identity- as well as language, socio-economic status, religion, and physical/mental ability. We strive to understand the true humanity of our consumers, to better meet their needs, and to communicate to them in a way that feels relevant & cuts through. Our goal is to create more fundraising campaigns for LGBT communities and increase charitable donations for nonprofits to help embrace diversity in all forms. HIP CHIC is taking a baby step to resonate with all people from all backgrounds and empower them to express their truest selves through beauty and confidence.