How old you are is a matter of birth date, but how old you feel is a matter of context. If for some reason you’re seeking a temporary conversion back to adolescence — and summer is the season to do it — a visit to TonyMoly is the fastest way to get there.

Founded about a decade ago, TonyMoly is a South Korean beauty company that has recently stepped into the United States market, opening two boutiques in New York and sprinkling its products in Urban Outfitters and Sephora stores. The new shop can be reached by squeezing down West 32nd between Fifth and Broadway. Once inside, the youthifying effect is instant.

Blippy music blasts at high volume, selfies are being taken, the air smells like strawberry candy. You can feel your attention span plummet. It’s a small space with a crowd density like Penn Station at rush hour, but everyone is a teenager or a woman who could pass for a teenager from behind. It has a steamroller effect, to which you can only lie back and murmur, “Steamroll me.”

Image Credit... Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times

Before visiting TonyMoly, I was briefed by a friend with intimate knowledge of the Korean beauty market. From him I learned that TonyMoly is known for its cute packaging, intrepid use of freaky ingredients and an emphasis on the caretaking of skin over the painting of it.