TIRTIR

TIRTIR is a South Korean direct-to-consumer beauty brand based in Seoul, best known for a cushion foundation that went viral on social media in 2024. It is operated by TIRTIR Co., Ltd., which lists Ahn Byung-Jun as its chief executive, and it markets makeup alongside skincare under the tagline "be you, be confident." The brand remains active, with an official global storefront and continued editorial coverage into 2026.

Sources place its origin in the mid-2010s but disagree on the exact year: Skin Cupid records a 2016 founding [6], while the Baidu Baike entry gives 2015 [7]. Both credit former beauty blogger Lee Yu-bin as the founder [7]; the brand's own site names only Ahn Byung-Jun as its current legal representative [2]. The name TIRTIR is presented by the company as drawn from "Trust In Radiance."

According to third-party accounts, TIRTIR was started by Lee Yu-bin, a former beauty blogger, and built as a direct-to-consumer label [7]. Its headquarters are in the Mapo district of Seoul.

The company describes itself as a makeup brand centred on individuality and self-confidence — helping people "find their own colour and express their individuality freely," in its own words. Its stated mission is to respect and reflect individuality and diversity, and to spread "the beauty of being yourself" internationally. In practice the range blends makeup with skincare benefits, and TIRTIR positions many of its products around glass skin, the K-beauty ideal of a smooth, luminous, almost translucent complexion.

TIRTIR's signature product is the Mask Fit Red Cushion, a full-coverage cushion foundation sold in an egg-shaped crimson compact. The brand's skincare-adjacent line-up also includes the Milk Skin Toner, described by one retailer as "award-winning," and the Ceramic Milk Ampoule, which the company says delivers a glass-skin glow lasting up to 50 hours [6]. Formulas draw on ingredients common in K-beauty, among them niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, Centella Asiatica extract and ceramides [6]. On its global product page, the company describes the Red Cushion as dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic and free of harsh ingredients [4].

The brand sells directly through its Korean and global websites and ships internationally, and its products are also carried by Korean retailers including Olive Young and CHICOR, alongside flagship stores in Seoul.

At its wider launch the Red Cushion was offered in only three fair-to-medium shades. Trade publication WWD reported that as of 2023 the foundation came in just those three tones, and that BIPOC beauty creators criticised the limited range [5]. TIRTIR expanded the line to 40 shades over roughly six months, a response WWD dated to October 2024 [5]. The episode was frequently cited as an example of a brand adjusting to creator feedback.

The Red Cushion gained wide attention through BeautyTok in the summer of 2024, which WWD described as the brand "quietly climbing the ranks and flooding FYPs" [5]. The publication reviewed the foundation that year, noting some 9,000 five-star Amazon reviews [5]. HuffPost also featured the cushion foundation in 2024 [8]. According to the Baidu Baike entry, cumulative sales of the Red Cushion surpassed 10 million units, and it topped sales charts on Amazon in the United States and on Shopee in Singapore [7].

TIRTIR is active and growing. It operates a dedicated global storefront in addition to its Korean site, and editorial coverage through 2024–2026 records the Red Cushion as a continuing top-selling K-beauty cushion foundation [5]. Originally a single-market Korean brand, it now distributes internationally.