Dr. Jart+

A Korean architecture graduate who had never worked in cosmetics launched a tinted skincare cream in 2005 that single-handedly introduced an entire category to Western markets. Estee Lauder paid him over $1 billion for the company 13 years later. June Song Li studied architecture and worked in graphic design in Seoul, through the early 2000s before founding HAV and Biko in 2005. His first product, launched under the Dr. Jart+ brand, was a black-label Detox BB Beauty Balm, a tinted cream that blended the functions of a moisturiser, primer, sunscreen and sheer foundation. The BB cream had been a Korean and German dermatology staple for decades, but had never crossed into mass Western markets. Dr. Jart+ brought it to Sephora in 2011. The BB cream was the wedge into American distribution.