Beauty

Beauty Tips from a Korean Makeup Artist

Many have envied the flawless and translucent skin of Korean women. Fresh after attending a makeup workshop conducted by Laneige’s International Trainer, Jin Lee (from Seoul) here are a couple of the beauty tips she shared.

Korean makeup artist Jin Lee dispensing valuable tips at the workshop

So these aren’t beauty tips from just any Korean woman, it’s from a skin care and make-up expert. She reveals how women in Korea take care of their skin. One excellent tip i learned was how to interpret the sun protection information on skin care and makeup labels.

Let’s get on to find out what she divulged shall we?

Your God given hands is a magical massage tool

The palms of your hands will cover your eyes perfectly. When your eyes are tired or stressed, just press the palms of your hands to your eye sockets, applying gentle pressure. That itself is a great massage for your eye area. Go ahead, try it!

Use outward & upwards strokes when washing your face

When washing your face, do not use vertical up-down strokes which will loosen your facial muscles and promote skin sag. Use outward and upward strokes instead. According to Jin Lee, this small change will make a huge difference.

 

Korean women are really serious about skin care

Laneíge has a basic 4 steps skin care routine after you cleanse your face.

Refiner —> Emulsion —> Essence —> Cream

This sounds more complicated than the tone & moisturize basic steps. Good glowing skin does not come by being lazy.


 

Korean women take more steps after cleansing

Prevent premature aging

You start aging at 18! It’s never too early to use anti-aging products and taking extra precautions under the sun – which is the number one cause for premature aging, is vital. Never go out under the hot sun without protection. Nowadays, sun protection is included in makeup and Laneíge’s foundation comes with protection of SPF 22, PA+. Now what does SPF and PA all mean? Read on to find out…

Sun Protection explained

UV A and UV B
There are two types of UV rays which we need to protect ourselves from. UV B has a shorter wave length and causes burning (generates melanin which causes you to get darker & freckles to pop up).

UV A has a longer wave length and penetrates deep within the skin’s collagen and elastin layer and causes aging and fine lines.


UVA and UVB explained

When selecting products, here’s how to interpret the sun protection information:

SPF – sun protection factor against UV B

SPF 22 means you get to spend 22 times longer under the sun (than which you would without protection from UV B) before you start burning. Example: If you have fair skin and it takes you 20 minutes in the hot sun to get a sun burn. With SPF 22, you get to spend 440 minutes (22 x 20) in the sun before you start burning.

PA – protects against UV A

PA+ minimum UV A protection
PA++ average UV A protection

PA+++ very high UV A protection

Use whitening products & lots of it!

I used to think that whitening products are for those with fair skin who want to become even fairer! Like Snow White. Women in Korea use whitening products to combat skin pigmentation problems due to hormone imbalance especially during pregnancy. Pigmentation is prone to appear below the eyes, on the upper cheeks. To avoid developing huge freckle like marks on your face during pregnancy, use lots of whitening products.

Detailed Makeup Steps

Korean women apply 17 – 18 products every morning before stepping out of the house! Are you a Korean woman? Do you do this? Anyway, here is the make-up routine of a typical Korean woman who wants to portray having a flawless complexion. There are eleven steps!

  1. Preparation: Primer + make-up base (corrects your skin tone)
  2. Foundation
  3. Conceal imperfection (concealer)
  4. Setting: Set and fix foundation with powder or pact (The pact is now the Korean woman’s favourite touch-up item)
  5. Highlighting: Enhance vitality with make-up Brightener
  6. Eye brow
  7. Eye shadow
  8. Eyeliner
  9. Mascara
  10. Lip
  11. Blusher

Okay, there you have it. Do you have any tips or beauty secrets you want to share?

We recommend:
Shiseido Sun Protection Stick Foundation SPF35
Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Face & Body Lotion SPF 60 PA+++
Baviphat Indi Girl Tea Tree Trouble Catch Sun Cream SPF 35 PA++
Shu Uemura UV Armor High Protection SPF 50 PA+++

Related:
Laneige Makeup Workshop
Korean Beauty Tip: 5 step skin care routine

29 thoughts on “Beauty Tips from a Korean Makeup Artist

  • Hey I am so excited I found your website, I really found you defebdagkkka

  • Oh gosh I’m OBSESSED with skincare!!I anyshoots, I skip the essence part. ampoules are just enough to me. =p

    and oh yeah, I you put non wash-off mask, be sure to tone first.

  • Blahcupcakez

    Rice water helps you whiten and soften your skin, a tip I learned from my Korean mother.

  • -as@mira-

    my teacher is Korean and she told us that korean has one of the most healthiest food in world…so i think basically korean food is healthy and that's why they also get the healthy and beauty skin..

  • undertaker

    Hi, umm wow that was interesting…knowing about the korean skincare routine. im not even remotely korean…but i love their skin and stuff. i just have one question, what does essence really mean here? like what is it? some sort of mask or a serum you aply on your skin?
    thanks for the article, its lovely how women around the world have their own skincare routines and stuff lol..

  • Anonymous

    krns tend to use korean products for skincare products alot and sunscreen is very important to them.. they also do take care of their skin alot more than other women,, so that can also be an affect,, even i started following that 5 step rule when i moved to korea for college.. its usually toner,essence, moisturizer, and then sunscreen,n then makeup base or primer.. thats what my krn frends do..

  • Anonymous

    well.. honestly i do have to say,, that the whole 5 step plan is true.. its called something like

    gi-cho hwajang or something in korean. (meaning premakeup)

    1. put toner
    2. essence
    3. moisturizer
    4. cream..(eye cream) / sunscreen
    5. primer/makeup base
    6. and then makeup..

    this is what i read on naver question/answer thing.. my mom does it n she’s krn,,my cousin from korea told me i had to start doing it,, cuz i only do toner, moisturizer,base and then makeup,,

  • Caroline

    This is silly. I’m a Korean girl and Koreans are ordinary people. There is no miracle process. My friends say my skin is nice but all I do is use face wash, toner and lotion. However, I know Korean people with major acne problems.
    The only difference I notice is that women from Korea often use Korean or Japanese products like Shiseido sunscreen, masks and scrubs.
    Maybe it also has to do with food? Korean cuisine includes lots of vegetables.

  • Anonymous

    one question how do Koreans fend off acne?
    that drives me insane right now T_T

    any ideas?

    estel_

  • Korean women are really serious about skin care

    Laneíge has a basic 4 steps skin care routine after you cleanse your face.

    Refiner —> Emulsion —> Essence —> Cream

    This sounds more complicated than the tone & moisturize basic steps. Good glowing skin does not come by being lazy.

    where can i get this??

  • helloo
    im indonesian grl.and i dunno why,even if i use sunblock it doesnt really matter..still my skin is burninggg.i dont like if my skin turning darker :(.it hurts my skin.
    any solution?
    (i already used spf 70!) huhu

  • Hey, let’s go to Baguio City for K-popped Travels! Then I can finally visit Philippine’s gorgeous beaches. ;p

  • i’m a typical malaysian girl. lols, i dun put on ANYTHING when i go out.

    LOL!!! ME TOO! @_______@;
    I really just dont like to makeup , only when there are important events >_>

  • @ lea

    LANEIGE is actually available in a Korean cosmetics shop in Baguio City (the shop is really nice and the products are sold at reasonable prices and you might chance upon their discounts). the shop’s name is MODERATO, located at the 3rd floor, leftmost wing of PortaVaga Bldg, Session Rd. Baguio City… i frequent this shop to buy DEOPROCE products, formerly endorsed by Song Hye Kyo, now endorsing LANEIGE… i also use VOV products available at SM north edsa and Trinoma department stores… the products i mentioned are really good… i love their yogurt packs and facial massage creams… they also have cleansers, toners, emulsions, essences, and creams.. try them if you want…
    (i’m from baguio city btw, and as you know, 20%++ of the korean population in the philippines is in baguio city so they have reliable shops and grocery stores there…. totally k-popped city)…

  • wow! this is cool. i hope it will be available in the philippines soon..
    love your blogsite. more power! =)

  • my soon-to-be-korean-husband has mistaken me for a “”simple”” korean woman the first time he saw me… and pursued me since.. i always kid him that maybe he liked me because i can go out without make-up (without really doing all those steps) in the morning, that he’ll save too much on cosmetics and he’d just laugh out loud…

  • ladies! and gents…if you don’t do anything to your skin…at the very LEAST, you should use sunscreen everyday!!! protect your skin from harmful UV rays and sun exposure!!! sorry, i’m just such a huge advocate of skin protection and sunscreen. 🙂

  • o.o thanks for the info!
    im gonna be 19 soon. i have no idea they do so much to jaga their skin. i totally agree with erv about not putting anything when going out..cuz my face isnt perfect so putting makeup will kill my skin even more.
    omg….gotta start on this steps! *heaves* 🙂

  • Hi Orchid!
    thanks for sharing the tips.
    lols. i gotta say, i’m a typical malaysian girl. lols, i dun put on ANYTHING when i go out. 😛 hahaha..
    gosh. that korean product sure is expensive eh?
    hmmmm….hmm…argh! i’ve been aging for 1 year already and i haven done anything about it (:

    gosh. korean women, i really admire them. SO MANY STEPS!

  • omg i need sun protection
    i go in the sun for 5 minutes and i’m burnt 🙁 I even started to get a wrinkle recently *gasp* which is why i just got some spf 70 😛
    sun = my enemy xP

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