How to Apply Korean Make Up (Step by Step Guide)


Hi, guys!
I had my K-Pop fan girl moment for about two years; back when I was in uni (boy, that was over five years ago). So I am quite familiar with Korean make up and I was actually a loyal user of The Face Shop BB Cream. But that phase over when thesis period came (I wore zero make up on weekdays and on weekend the bare minimal, powder & blush on : MAC, eyebrow & eyeliner : Dolly Wink, and Bodyshop tinted lip balm) and when I graduated, I just completely forgot about all the boy bands and the girl bands. 

But anyway, I noticed there are plenty of American vs Korean Make Up videos online and it did tingled me a little bit. I have completely immersed in American (some people say Western) make up for the past three years so I thought it would nice to switch things up a little bit and did a Korean make up for today's look.



First is CC Cream. This one blur your pores and brighten up your complexion. It doesn't hurt that it has SPF 30++ as well. I LOVE this CC Cream. I look so much fresher as soon as I apply it. This cream act as your primer.


This is another CC cream but it's in a cushion form. The difference is that the CC Cream above is clear while this cushion is tinted and act as your foundation. I'd say it has sheer to medium coverage. I had this for about a year and the cream almost dried out but I managed to pack up my whole face with it. This cushion gives that glowy dewy look Koreans are most famous for. And don't set anything, Koreans are not big on that matte look so they barely use any powder.


While American use concealers in that triangle form under the eye and then along your nose bridge and chin to conceal AND brighten, Koreans use concealer only to conceal blemishes. So I use a couple dots on my under eye and another couple dots around my freckles. I have to say, this concealer does not have that much coverage. But I guess it gives another thin layer to conceal your flaws.


I really like this eyebrow pencil and I think I used this a couple years back when I went to Korea and bought it there, but I had no idea where it is now. Anyway, Koreans draw their eyebrow straight and since I had my eyebrow microbladed, I actually conceal the arch with Nars radiant creamy concealer and drew on top of that.



For eyes, I stick to pinkish shade since Koreans are all about cutesy look. I use the nude pink colour for all over the lid, the dark pink for outer V, and shimmery pink (above the nude) for my middle eye area. For inner corner and under eye, I used Urban Decay Naked "Sin".


For eyeliner, I used Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner. However, I draw the line as thin as I could and draw the wing down instead of up. They say it'll give you a puppy eye look. Mascara I used was Etude House Curl Fix! Long Lash. I'm sorry I forgot to take pic of the mascara but you can see how it looks like in the first pic (bottom right). I like the mascara okay.


Koreans do contour but their aim is to have that V-shape face, not to contour your cheekbone as high as possible or your nose as thin as possible. So using the darkest colour on the left, I focus mostly on my lower cheek and jaw area, a little bit under cheekbone, and use whatever left for my temple. I also contour my nose using my fingers for that soft look.


For blush on, I use my finger to warm up the lipstick and then apply a few dots around the apple cheek (not drawing it upward) and blend it out with my fingers. And then I top it off with the shimmery powder from the contour palette for an even more glowing look.



For lip, I packed up on my inner lip area and then spread it out with my finger for that soft gradient lip that's popular in Korea.

And here is the final result a.k.a the before and after pics.


I surprisingly don't hate it. In fact, I think I quite like it. Korean make up does make you look youthful and cute, no doubt about that. But it's not as transformative as American make up. In my opinion, Korean make up will be more suitable as an everyday make up but I'm not sure I'm liking the tacky-ness of it all. You definitely can't touch your face without some product transferring to your fingers. I also like that Korean make up is very subtle, perfect for beginners.

I think I will stick to my usual western make up. I don't really do that much make up on weekdays (again, the bare minimal, plus bronzer this time) so I want to look like I actually put on an effort in my face, is that make sense? Nothing against the cutesy make up, of course! I might do a Korean look when I'm visiting a uni so I'll pass as a student. LOL.


Couldn't help but to put in an old photo of mine for comparison. 
Which style of make up do you like better? American or Korean?

0 comments

Comments away! Thank you for taking time to leave a little note. Will definitely try my best to get back to you. Please leave your blog link so I can easily find you :)