K-Beauty Breakdown

If we’re being honest, appearance reigns king in South Korea. The country has one of the highest cosmetic surgery rates in the world, and Korean natives (women more than men in daily life) can attest to the immense pressure of beauty standards placed upon them. Even internationally, fans of Korean pop music can agree that the sparkling visuals of these “idols” are absolutely unmatched. This is all to say – Koreans take their beauty very seriously.

To help maintain their looks and appease society, Korean people equip themselves with lots of different skincare and makeup products on the regular. These products have grown wildly popular not only in their country of origin, but around the world as well! If you visit your local Ulta or Sephora, you’re sure to find plentiful K-beauty sections featuring items from famous brands such as TONYMOLY, innisfree, LANEIGE and many more. Korean skincare especially is world-renowned for its great quality and aesthetic packaging.

Image courtesy of Christin Hume.

What usually makes up a Korean beauty regimen? Let’s break it down!

Skincare

As we’ve come to realize, beauty is not taken lightly in South Korea. This becomes abundantly clear when considering the famous 10-step skincare routine that is implemented by a number of Korean women. How could one possibly use 10 different products, you ask? In short, this routine consists of cleansing, exfoliating, toning, treatments, masks, creams, and sunscreen, with a major emphasis on essences and SPF. And yes, that was the “in short” version. If you’d like a more fleshed-out description of these products and a real account of incorporating them into a skincare routine, you can check out this article by Emily Rekstis.

Makeup

The main goal of Korean makeup is to align one’s natural features with the features sought after by societal beauty standards. For example, a light skin complexion is historically beautiful in Korea, so women and even men use foundation to make skin look bright and flawless. Another important feature of Korean beauty is large eyes, so women use various products, like glitter and light eyeshadows and eyeliners, to feign the appearance of bigger eyes. Not only this, but contact lenses are also used to fake larger eyes or even to give eyes a more “foreign” look with blue, grey, or light brown hues. Other examples of Korean makeup trends include straight eyebrows, coral shades, and gradient lipstick.

Image courtesy of Joanna Kosinska.

Do you have any favorite K-beauty products? Let me know in the comments!