Between her many trips to Los Angeles, New York and Western Europe, 19-year-old Angeline Thai decided that she wanted to give her hometown the kind of fun, immersive beauty experiences she enjoyed in the larger cities. Fate struck when her dad, Eric Thai, returned from an annual optometry convention in Las Vegas and asked if she knew about Hapa Kristin, a South Korea-based brand that specializes in FDA-approved colored contact lenses. 

“He was really interested, but didn’t know anything about the skincare, cosmetics and esthetics part,” Angeline explains. But as an LSU pre-med junior interested in pursuing dermatology, she did. Her motivation was simple: bring something fun, unique and beauty-focused to her community so Baton Rouge residents don’t have to just wish for the retail experiences that bigger cities have.

This summer, Angeline opened the Korean beauty and colored contact lens destination Hapa Kristin Baton Rouge next door to her dad’s optometry shop. 

I talked to Angeline about what makes the store a unique retail experience, how Hapa Kristin’s colored contacts are becoming a new must-have accessory and what’s to come for the Baton Rouge location.

Keep reading for the full Q&A.

For someone walking into the store for the first time, what is the experience like compared to a typical retail shop?

“Immediately when you walk in, we always greet you like any store. And because most people don’t really know what it is or like what exactly what it is yet, I’ll explain that we carry Korean skincare, colored contacts, and point them in the direction like where they can look for what they’re interested in. And then, we offer skin analysis if you’re interested in that, and 99% of the people do get a skin analysis. We really try to be really accommodating and focus a lot on customer service. Hapa Kristin itself as a whole company does. That’s why they want to partner with eye doctors, and they prioritize eye health to get their contacts. We really just want to help the customer.”

How would you explain K-beauty to someone who might be new to it, especially compared to more traditional Western skincare?

“Korean skincare focuses more on sustainability and longevity. So the products focus on the foundations of your skin, like hydration and skin barrier, whereas a lot of Western skincare focuses on targeting concerns like acne or fine lines.”

The Hapa Kristin brand is known globally for its colored contacts. Can you walk me through how that process works?

“Let’s start with the most simple thing—picking the colors. We’ll have clients use our photo cards, they’re translucent, transparent, and they have the color of the contact on it, and the shape of an eye, so they can hold it up to their eyes. And we have mirrors all over the store so they can gauge what it might look like on them. We also have the graphic diameters listed out beneath colors of the contacts on the different collections. So if they want something more enlarging or more anime-like, they can look for a bigger diameter. If they want something more natural, then they can look for a smaller diameter with a softer limbal ring. But that’s the cosmetic side.

To be able to purchase them, again, Hapa Kristin always wants to prioritize the health of the eye, so we say that contacts should fit like a glove to prevent any infections or vision loss. And Premier Eye Care and Optical is right next door for the exam. So if they have a glasses prescription or they have a contacts prescription, we’ll let them know what they need to do, what steps that they need to go through, and then Premier Eye Care and Optical will be able to give them an eye exam and fitting if they need it.”

Are the contacts more for special occasions, or can people wear them more regularly?

“The thing about color contacts is that, because of the pigments, the contacts themselves can be heavier. So it’s really hard to find them or to make them really comfortable. But Hoppa Kristin has done that. It just depends on everyone’s own preference and their eyes. Some people just like to wear it for just a night out, and others wear them quite often, almost daily. So we do have daily options, and we have monthly options. It’s really up to the client to see what they want for themselves. But we do get a lot of people coming in saying they wear them almost daily.”

For first-time or overwhelmed customers, what are some starter or holy-grail products you usually recommend?

“Usually our new customers are really overwhelmed by skincare because they’re either beginners in skincare in general or new to Korean skincare. Generally, I would recommend products that are light and easy to use, like the Judox cleansers. Actually, the Judox CEO visited last Sunday for our pop-up event and did a Q&A. But I really like her products—they’re great for sensitive skin and really light, so people don’t get that heavy feeling. 

The next thing I’ll recommend is the I’m from Rice Toner Pads. The toner is already soaked into a pad, so you don’t have to deal with liquid going everywhere, and you just have to pick one out of the container and put it on your face.” 

And the last thing I recommend is the Dear Claire’s Midnight Water Cream. This is really good moisturizer for sensitive skin. It’s light and cooling, and it’s gel-like, so it’s great for simple moisturization and skin repair. And because it’s so light, it won’t feel sticky, and it’s really easy to absorb into your skin.

All three of those are some of our best-selling items. Another one, just a bonus, is like if they’re looking for a serum, also it’s the Hapa Kristin hydrating serum. It’s just really light, and again, it’s just hydrating.

You’re 19 and already running a store while attending LSU full-time. What’s next for the store, and what’s next for you?

“For the store, we have a cosmetologist on board, so she will be introducing full facial services and waxing services quite soon. I recently went to Korea over the summer and took a class on color analysis. So after a little more practice, I’ll also be adding that in as well. Lastly, the facility will be available for rental for birthday parties, bachelorette parties and other events soon. We plan to offer tiered packages that include facial skin analysis and other experiences. And we’re going to continue just having big events like our influencer parties, public pop-ups with skincare experts and other guests.”

To keep up with pop-up events and learn more about Hapa Kristin Baton Rouge’s offerings, follow the store on Instagram @hapakristin_brla