I had a request for more Korean centric tutorials and since then I’ve been hunting the web and magazines for Korean style makeup and tutorials.
One thing that strikes me as being the MAINSTAY for any Korean look is
NATURAL LOOKING EYEBROWS
&
A CLEAN CLEAR FACE
Let’s start off with the eyebrows. The shape of Korean eyebrows are never ever thin or sparse looking. They all have a gentle arch at the end and I really like how they make their eyebrows look so natural and full looking. They truly believe in the idea that “ Eyebrows aren’t suppose to look like twins but sisters” ( I remember this from Michelle Phan’s videos). Also, its such a relief that their eyebrows aren’t perfectly shaped. I’ve never been able to draw a perfectly shaped eyebrow in my life, it looks very unnatural on me.
Korean styled eyebrows gives a youthful appearance because they tend to frame wide faces very nicely. I should know cause I have a wide face myself! If I have thin eyebrows, my face will look really big. That is not cute at all!
Achieving Korean Styled Eyebrows:
First and foremost, its critical to understand the structure of an eyebrow.
The picture below was taken from a Japanese Magazine, which captures perfectly the essence of naturally shaped brows.
1) Use a pencil( 2 shades lighter than ur own brow) to draw your eyebrow shape and fill it in with small strokes.
Over here, I have zoomed in on the eyebrows to show the basic shape of a Korean eyebrow. It is extremely tapered and fine at the end while being much broader at the start. Also, the arc is very gradual and soft.
2) Taking a similar colored eye shadow blend onto eyebrow with a brush.Color should be concentrated on the ends,with the least color concentration at the beginning. This pictorial diagram from MIna magazine describes how to use eye shadow to fill in the brows. It’s a pretty good guideline.
3) Use the brush below to blend the eye shadow and pencil. Pay attention to how well you blend because this is critical to making ur brows natural looking. If you don’t blend enough, it can look harsh.
4) Perfection is not the aim here. Take your eyebrow mascara ( light color) to gently sweep your eyebrows, to make it look neat and well groomed.
I know the order isn’t right but the FIRST most important step would be to create a blank canvas to work on.
Koreans have amazing skin which allows them to easily create an illusion of flawless beauty. Its okay if you have imperfections but its recommended to cover up flaws to achieve that flawless Korean Look.
In the past, I used to put on full face and full coverage makeup, but it was for makeup school and the important occasions. I like to let my skin breathe.Nowadays, I’m focused on clearing my skin to reduce the amount of stuff I have to use. I use a sunblock instead of foundation or powder.Its pretty heavy duty and covers most of my reddness and imperfections. For that huge zit or stubborn acne marks, I still use a doctor prescribed concealor on top of my sunblock.
Many still stick with full face coverage and these were the steps I used to achieve a Blank Canvas:
1) Moisturize – This step is critical is achieving a smooth base and will assist with blending of the foundation.
Great Moisturisers : Clinique dramatically different moisturiser, Yamano Moisturiser, Dr Secrets, Biotherm combination skin moisturiser
2) Dab spots,dark areas,imperfections and blend with a Salmon Colored Concealor
Great Concealor: Bobbi Brown,YSL
3) Mix liquid foundation with a cream foundation and blend with a foundation brush. Blend the foundation from the T ZONE out.
This gives the most natural looking and lasting coverage effect. Alternatively, you can replace concealor and foundation with plain old BB cream if its good enough for you! I personally don’t use BB cream so I can’t recommend.
Great Foundations: Shu Uemura, YSL ,Maybelline, Cream Foundation ( Kryolan )
Foundation color should be a shade or two lighter than your own skin tone because foundation tends to oxidize and get darker with time.
4) Set with light powdering – Careful not to be too heavy handed or generous with powder or your korean look can end up looking very cakey & completely overdone.
Great Powders: Shu Uemura, ZA, Maybelline
5) Check your blank canvas in the mirror and especially where there is natural light. Look out for unblended or cakey areas. You can always use a tissue paper to lightly dab away unwanted foundation or use a brush to patch up on blank areas.
6) Some people set their makeup with a spritz of Evian Water. Apparently it sets the makeup… …
VIOLA, you should have a clear canvas by now. Remember that full coverage makeup should always be removed at the end of the day with a good cleansing oil. Never sleep with makeup on because it will definitely clog ur pores.
Some Korean Makeup You Tube Videos * ENJOY*!
KOREAN HAIRSTYLES!
The Koreans also have their own version of the Up-do bun. Its neater compared to the Japanese version.
Try it out & lemme know if you look Korean!
Good Luck & CIAO BELLAS!