A lipstick by Florasis is displayed at the company's store in Shanghai on Friday. | REUTERS

SHANGHAI/PARIS – China’s beauty brands are stepping out into the global market, armed with intricately carved lipsticks, freeze-dried face masks activated with purified water as well as creams infused with ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine.

Proya Cosmetics, the largest C-beauty brand by revenue, is among the most aggressive. Its Advanced Firming and Original Repair skincare lines will be sold in 400 Ulta stores as well as on Ulta.com across the United States from November, and it opened a Paris research and development center this month.

Other brands had their start in online sales and are now expanding to physical stores abroad. They include Florasis, whose lipsticks and other ornate cosmetics draw on traditional Chinese aesthetics.…