For China’s unofficial Valentine’s Day on May 20 — also known as I Love You Day as the numeral date sounds like “I love you” in Mandarin — YSL and Valentino created limited edition gift boxes, infused with a romantic spirit; Pink Bear collaborated with Hello Kitty to celebrate the cartoon’s 50th anniversary by offering a cute makeup set; Givenchy L'Interdit introduced new looks for seductive nights; and local beauty giant Florasis launches a sunscreen.
Jing Daily explores beauty activations and outreach for this year’s Chinese celebration of love.
YSL#
YSL has also been promoting its heart-shaped 520 gift box by launching an exhibition in Shanghai titled YSL Love Shine Factory, attended by ambassadors and stars, such as actress Qiu Tian, singer Li Yuchun, and idol Zuo Ye. Additionally, YSL partnered with KOLs and KOCs through gifting or co-creating advertorial campaigns to amplify its reach.
YSL’s 520 Day campaign is one of the most successful to launch this year, so far. Notably Li Yuchun’s Weibo post from the Shanghai event has hit 2.3 million views. Related posts are proliferating on Xiaohongshu.
The French beauty label’s limited series gift box features the newly launched YSL pink tube lip balm, alongside the iconic YSL Paris-limited perfume, Mon Paris body lotion, mini leather foundation cushion, and mini Mon Paris Lumière perfume.
Encased in a metallic pink silver shell, the YSL pink tube lip balm is proving popular in the mainland market thanks to its sophisticated and girlish packaging and its lip hydrating effect. But more importantly, it creates a bare-faced makeup look. This natural makeup style has long been trending in China.
Valentino#
To promote their 520 gift set, Valentino leveraged influential KOL Jiuge (@九哥), who has rapidly gained popularity thanks to her beauty unboxing videos and her straightforward comments criticizing Dior’s advent calendar. On Douyin, the beauty blogger boasts 1.8 million followers.
Adorned with a rococo bow reminiscent of the maison’s latest haute couture collection, this gift box evokes the romance of ballet. Increasingly brands are aligning their fashion line aesthetics and vision into their beauty line, no longer seeing it as an independent category.
In a video, Jiuge praises Valentino’s packaging, saying that the glittering pink bows reminded her of her childhood hairclips. Then she explained one by one each product contained in the box — the Donna Born in Roma series’ pink cushion and perfume, lipstick 151R, bare tube lipstick 113R, mini cushion, and a small bottle of the Donna Born in Roma Coral Fantasy perfume, and a mirror.
The collaboration was clearly a success. A Beijing-based Douyin user (@美丽的大母猴) commented under the post, “Your video made me, a poor college student, want to shop at Valentino.”
Florasis#
Surprisingly, Florasis is not touting its makeup for this 520 Day. Instead, it launched the Florasis Little Lotus Umbrella sunscreen.
Inspired by the lotus flower, this high-index sunscreen is gentle on sensitive skin, thanks to its patented membrane. The product’s formula is infused with ingredients derived from the lotus and Dendrobium, and this sunscreen provides not only sun protection but also hydration, soothing, and antioxidant properties.
However, the gambit might be less surprising when considering that China’s sunscreen category is growing three times faster than its beauty sector. The country’s sunscreen market is forecast to soar from $2 billion (14.8 billion RMB) in 2023 to $3.1 billion (22.4 billion RMB) by 2028. In particular, formulations targeting sensitive skin concerns are piquing the interest of shoppers looking for a non-irritating product with skincare functionality.
As summer approaches, the proliferation of outdoor activities and travel lifestyles makes sunscreen a must-have product.
Givenchy#
This year, Givenchy Beauty presents a fusion of avant-garde flair and haute couture elegance with its L’Interdit Flower Language haute couture gift boxes. The brand released a campaign for the gift boxes starring idol and Givenchy makeup ambassador Fan Cheng Cheng, who boasts 28.3 million followers on Weibo and commands a large army of fans who are eager to support the star’s endorsements.
Each box is adorned with the flower of love design, symbolizing the depth of emotion expressed through florals. The collection comprises five gift boxes: Star, Kiss, Fragrance, Dual-Color, and Premium. They showcase products like the brand’s iconic face powder, L’Interdit series’ lipstick and perfume, all inspired by a legendary evening gown designed by Givenchy.
The floral pattern aligns with the Met Gala’s “The Garden of Time” theme that saw A-list celebrities dress up with blooming flowers wrapped around their bodies at the yearly event. Global searches for “floral” surged 82 percent on May 6, the day following the fashion fest, according to Google trends.
Pink Bear#
Pink Bear’s collaboration series with Hello Kitty, commemorating the cartoon icon’s 50th anniversary, celebrates the spirit of youth. The kit includes a facial palette, water essence lipstick, water mist lip glaze, hand mirror, and lipstick bag, all adorned with Hello Kitty motifs.
Whether a fan of sweet pastels or bold hues, this is a shrewd tie-up that caters to many a girl’s heart, delivering a touch of nostalgia and joy with every application.
In China, Hello Kitty is hugely popular. There are over 1.02 million pieces of Hello Kitty-related UGC on Xiaohongshu; on Douyin, Hello Kitty-related videos have amassed 9.32 billion views; and the hashtag Hello Kitty on Weibo has amassed 430 million views.