How 10 Beauty Brand Founders Are Celebrating Lunar New Year

Most holidays come with their traditions — Easter has chocolate eggs and bunnies, Thanksgiving involves football and mashed potatoes, and New Years isn’t New Years without some champagne and a countdown (even if you’re counting down from your couch). The same goes for Lunar New Year — also known as Chinese New Year — which is basically New Year’s Day, but according to the Asian lunar calendar. As one of them most widely-celebrated holidays in Asia, many immigrant families continue to faithfully celebrate it and pass on old traditions to younger generations, like kow-towing, red envelopes filled with money, eating sticky rice cakes, and setting off fireworks to scare away bad spirits. It’s an opportunity for families to connect with their roots, and for some, it might be the only holiday that they observe in the year.

But not every Asian American family commemorate Lunar New Year the same way — just as with any other holiday, different cultures will celebrate in their own unique way, creating their own traditions with their loved ones and communities. To inspire your own Lunar New Year plans, TZR asked some of our favorite AAPI beauty founders about how they’re celebrating the Year of the Tiger.

Bee Shapiro, Founder of Ellis Brooklyn

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

Lunar New Year is all about amazing food and family time. I love how in Asia (I’m originally from Taiwan) the cities truly shut down. It’s a wonderful time to regroup. My favorite memory is making dumplings with my family. It’s my Crazy Rich Asian moment, minus the Crazy Rich part.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

With my nanny, who is from China — we’re plotting arts and crafts and also dumpling making (of course!) with my two girls Ellis and Sky. I also got these little Year of the Tiger nail stickers. I’m raising two little beauty-loving girls!

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

I’m manifesting the possibility of being content exactly where I am. These past few years, I spent more time on social media than ever and realized I was completely being seduced by everyone’s “perfect” lives. It’s good to rebalance and live life in the moment!

Ju Rhyu, Co-Founder & CEO of Hero Cosmetics

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

I grew up celebrating both Lunar New Year and the calendar New Year, and both are times of reset and reflection. My parents and relatives in Korea — they go by the Lunar New Year and when they visit Korean fortune tellers to look at how the next year will go, it is always in reference to the Lunar New Year date. So, in some ways, I still refer to Lunar New Year as the true date of reset. My greatest memory for Lunar New Year (which I wasn't very fond of when growing up) is doing the traditional Korean bow to my parents after which they would give me and my brother money after a few New Years wishes. This was done in the mornings and then we would gather for lunch, eating the traditional rice cake soup. The rice cakes symbolize prosperity.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

This year, I'll be at home in Paris with my husband making rice cake soup for lunch.

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

Apparently this year will be a very lucky year for myself (and my husband) so I'm manifesting lots of good things in regards to health, wealth, and family.

David Yi, Founder of Good Light

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

Lunar New Year means family. In our Korean household, that means eating tteokguk, a rice cake soup, and turning another year old. We gather at my older uncle's place, the children bow to the adults, and the adults give them money. We also play a Korean game called yutnori — it's basically the Korean version of Sorry (or is Sorry truly the American version of yutnori?!). It's a game where you try to land all of your pieces back to home without getting knocked off and starting over. It gets super competitive at the Yi household — and full of so many good memories.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

I'm celebrating Lunar New Year by being ever-present, basking in my good light, understanding that I am enough! We are all enough! And want to take breaks occasionally during the work week.

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

Tigers are brave and confident, two things I'm inherently lacking. I want to practice bravery through vulnerability and want to become more confident by practicing more self-love. It's a constant practice — and I'm so ready to do the work and be my most undeniable self this year!

Fiona Chan, Founder of Youthforia

What does the Lunar New Year mean to you?

It's the welcoming of the New Year's energy and new luck! My favorite memories are from when I was a kid and having these big family gatherings. My grandparents used to play mahjong with us and there's this gambling dice game with six animals that we used to always play. I love spending time with family and doing all the auspicious traditions.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

I had lived in Asia for so many years, so Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday I celebrate. I'm taking the day off because it's bad luck to work on Lunar New Year. I'm a new aunt so will be giving my newborn nephews red envelopes, which I'm so excited to do! It gives them good luck and gives me good luck as well!

What are you manifesting for the year of the tiger?

So much! We have a lot of ideas in the Youthforia lab right now of products I really want to exist in the world.

Jason Lau, Founder and Formulator of Phytosurgence

What does the Lunar New Year mean to you?

My favorite memory of Lunar New Year was from my childhood before we immigrated to Canada. We always had a huge family gathering at my grandma's place, where all my cousins and I would all have fresh haircuts and new clothes, and we would have the best time eating Lunar New Year snacks and treats. Of course we would talk about all the things we planned on buying with our red pocket money. It was just the best time.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

For this year's celebrations, it'll likely just be my parents and I having a quaint little dinner at home given the world's current state. I will for sure have to call all of my relatives in Hong Kong and Toronto, wishing everyone good health, prosperity, and happiness in my now very broken Cantonese I wish I had retained more of!

What are you manifesting for the year of the tiger?

The tiger is my dad's zodiac sign, and I am manifesting the ability/circumstances to send my parents back to Hong Kong! It's been years since they have been able to go back, and they really miss their siblings over there. Is it strange that I didn't even manifest anything for myself? But I feel like it's a very Chinese thing to do — manifesting good things to happen to others.

Melissa Medvedich, Founder of Supernal

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

For me, Lunar New Year symbolizes family — celebrating and heading into the new year together with love and luck. A favorite memory is the first time my now husband came to Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner, which was also the first time ever he met my parents and grandparents!

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

This is the first Lunar New Year we will be celebrating without my beloved grandpa, who we said goodbye to in 2021. We will have a small family dinner with my parents and grandma, and we will toast to Gung Gung’s beautiful (almost) 98 years.

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

Good health and joy for all of my loved ones.

Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, Co-Founders of Glow Recipe

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

Christine: Traveling long distances to gather with family members is commonplace during Lunar New Year and the traffic gets really intense during this time. We’d often spend hours in the car to visit my grandmother’s house. Some of my best memories are actually from this time, when our family would sing, talk and share snacks during the car ride. And I loved the bear hugs I’d get from my grandmother when we finally arrived at our destination — her beautiful hanbok would smell faintly of all of the delicious foods she’d been cooking all day in anticipation of our arrival.

Sarah: Soella — Korean word for Lunar New Year — was a day I looked forward to every year. It symbolized growing up, and spending time with all of my family members, often times in Hanbok (Korean traditional costume). After a meal with traditional dishes, the younger generations of the family paid respect to the elders by taking a deep bow called ‘sebae’. As a child, this was one of my favorite moments of Lunar New Year. My cousins, brother, and I received sebaetdon (New Year’s money) as a gift. We used this money to take all of the family members to a karaoke nearby and sing our hearts out. This was our annual tradition!

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

Christine: I plan on celebrating the Lunar New Year with my family and my closest friends. We’ll cook a feast of traditional Korean dishes to ring in the new year with loved ones!

Sarah: After zooming with our families who live in Seoul and Shanghai, my husband and I plan on celebrating by eating our favorite Lunar New Year dishes. We’ll celebrate my Korean heritage with traditional dishes like tteokguk (Korean rice cake soup), alongside traditional Chinese Lunar New Year dishes, such as dumplings, which celebrate my husband’s heritage. It’s one of our favorite moments of the year!

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

Christine: The year of the Tiger is associated with bravery, vitality and well-being — an opportunity to renew everything. I love this meaning and hope this year will be one where we can bring that healthy and balanced energy to everything.

Sarah: 2022 is not only the Year of the Tiger, it’s the year of the Water Tiger, meaning more empathy, connectivity, and interpersonal relationships. For me, this applies to my family, friends, my team at Glow Recipe, and our community. It will be another year of growth, and more than ever powered by collaboration, team spirit, and positivity.

Amy Liu, Founder of Tower 28

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

Every year, I go to my kids' school and teach their classmates about the Lunar New Year and its importance in Chinese culture. We bring in a craft, read a story, and simulate fireworks with bubble wrap! For me, it’s an opportunity to celebrate our heritage, and I love seeing how proud my kids are to be part of such a rich background.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

Since we're still in the middle of COVID, we had a virtual dumpling making party with my team, which was super fun! With my family, we will be following all of the regular traditions in an effort to start the new year off right — with a clean house, fresh haircuts for everyone, and a full belly of lucky Chinese food. 2022 has been a doozy so far, so I’m hopeful for a new start.

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

Kindness. Grace. Generosity. The AAPI community has suffered greatly the past two years. It’s so easy to fall into the negativity of the world when so much has happened and continues to. But as they say, where there is darkness there is always light, and I know the community will be stronger than ever. Together, I’m hopeful we can change things for the next generation.

Eileen Feighny, Founder of Tulura

What does Lunar New Year mean to you?

I loved watching my mom and her sisters gather around together the day before making rice cakes and mandoo. You make enough to drop off to your entire family and friends.

It’s very important to eat tteokguk (sliced rice cake soup) for New Year in Korea — my mom always said the more rice cakes you eat, the better luck you will have in the new year.

How are you celebrating the Lunar New Year this year?

This year, my dear friend and makeup artist Nam Vo is hosting a big traditional Lunar New Year dinner at Congee Village. This tradition was started by our friend Kim Phan of Yumi Kim many years ago, but Nam has adopted the tradition this year and I’m so excited to gather and catch up with close friends! We eat tons of food and Kim always passes out red envelopes for everyone during dinner — but I’m sure this year Nam will be handing out beauty products from her Dewy Dumpling closet!

What are you manifesting for the year of the Tiger?

I’m manifesting ease this year. We’ve had some personal difficulties the last few years and I want this year to be easy, light, and filled with love.