Makeup Tips 8 years ago

3 Korean Makeup Tips



As I’ve mentioned in my 5 French Beauty Tips post– my favorite part about traveling is really embracing the culture! And Korea is really known for their emphasis on beauty products so I was really excited to 1. come back and stock up on my products and 2. learn more about Korean beauty! My friends at Peach and Lily recently introduced me to Ko Won Hye, and I was really excited for this appointment because she’s the most famous MUA (make up artist) in Korea! She does all the top celebrity hair and makeup and she’s the one responsible for taking the powder movement from a matte look to the dewy skin look. She says that she would put a dewy skin look on her clients instead of matte, and since her clientele are all big celebrities, it quickly became a trend. So of course while I got my makeup done, I definitely paid attention to all the things she was doing on my face so I could share it with you guys! Of course beauty standards are different across the world, but here are the 3 Korean Makeup Tips I learned!

Tip 1: Eyebrows
Have you guys ever heard of the saying, “eyebrows are the frames to your face?” Well we all know the importance of having your brow game on-point, but in Korea the eyebrow is very unique in its shape. Compared to the very arched and full eyebrow (think Cara Delevingne) in the states, the Korean eyebrow is very straight and thick. I’ve noticed that most Korean women here sport a thick and very natural looking horizontal brow line. Because I have a longer face, having arched eyebrows actually makes my face look more angular and mature. So in contrast, having horizontal eyebrows makes my face look shorter and more youthful! To get the straight brow look, drop your arch line by drawing it in with a brow pencil (I’m in love with this Charlotte Tilbury pencil!) and then filling it in lightly!

Tip 2: Powder Your Scalp

This tip might be very unexpected, but it’s totally life-changing. All you have to do is use dark brown (or whatever your hair color might be) powder to dab in spots around the edge of your hair line using a flat brush like this Makeup Forever Angled Brush. As you guys might have noticed, I also got a haircut recently, and I noticed that my hair stylist used this powder trick on my hair before I got my makeup done with Ko Won Hye. This simple trick helps make your face look thinner and your hair look thicker and more voluminous!

Tip 3: Cheeks
When you smile, the balls of your cheeks (usually the area you apply blush) pops up giving you a youthful look. However, as you age, your face tends to hallow-out and lose collagen. Because of this, your face can lose some youthful elasticity that brings out the apples of your cheeks. In Korea, it’s very important to look youthful, so it’s important that your cheeks are rosy and your cheekbones pop! My favorite blush right now is this Giorgio Armani Cheek Fabric Blush. When applying makeup, they brush a soft neutral pink on the apples of their cheeks to make it look like they’re actually blushing! In the US, many women use strong contouring to accentuate bone structure, but in Korea they don’t focus on contouring as much as they do with keeping the makeup light and airy. One amazing contouring technique that Won Hye did was that instead of contouring diagonally along my face, she brushed it lightly horizontally under my cheek bones. Brushing diagonally can elongate and mature the face, but brushing horizontally doesn’t lengthen the face and can actually make you look younger!

There you have it! The 3 Korean Make-up tips I’ve learned from the master of makeup herself! Which one will you try first?

Credits:

Photography by Karen Rosalie