If you’re looking for trending makeup in Korea, look no further! We’ve compiled a list of the most intriguing and beautiful makeup trends happening in Korean beauty right now. It’s the perfect time to upgrade your look for the summer!
Two Tone Gradient Lips
If you follow Korean makeup trends at all, or if you watch Korean dramas, then you’ve probably seen this makeup trend before. In fact, it’s the makeup trend Korean-American actress and singer Megan Lee told us she’d love to see move into the states.
The look involves using two lipstick colors, (or if you’re lazy like me, using one stick that has two colors, like the Etude House Balm + Color Tint). Place the darker color in the center of your lips. Then blend out the darker shade, using your second, lighter lipstick color. You can always add more of the darker lipstick if you think the color gets too blended. Topping this look off with Chapstick gives a more natural blend and keeps your lips feeling soft even under all the product. This look can also be achieved using one lipstick color and using concealer to blend out, or just blending out into your natural lip color! Whatever you like!
Koreans are also changing up two tone lips by using a lighter shade on the top lip and a darker shade on the bottom lip!
Matte Lips
Sure, matte lips aren’t exactly a new trend stateside. They’ve been around for years, but the trend hasn’t translated to the east until now. Korean brands have finally begun bringing out their own matte lipsticks. But they’ve upped their game! Matte lipsticks are notorious for being dry, but many Korean matte lipsticks are made using gel formulas rather than powder formulas, so they’re not so drying on the lips. It’s the best of skin care and makeup combined! The gel formula means you can still achieve a bold gradient lip that’s still matte like the queen of the gradient lip, actress Lee Sung Kyung, seen above.
Bold Under-Eyes
“Aegyo-sal,” as a makeup trend in Korea has been around for a while now. In fact, Charlotte did a small tutorial on it way back when in 2013. It emphasizes the fat under the eyes (rather than hiding it) to give a youthful, “smiling eyes” appearance. But Korean people are upping their under-eye makeup game and using brighter and bolder colors to really make the eyes pop! Applying light—especially reflective and glittery—shadows to the under-eyes helps to make the eyes appear bigger, whereas blending your sultry, smoky eye down into your under-eye area can be just the thing you need to change up your normal going out makeup look!
Or mix it up even more by adding glitter! Try out ChungHa’s signature single chunk of glitter underneath the eye. Or with festival season now upon us, it’s the perfect time to add fun chunky glitter and stars to the under-eye area! Pony has even added a glossy lip to top it all off. Right now we’re loving the Skinfood Tomato Jelly Tint Lip. The packaging is super cute and it gives your lips a pop of color and a dose of moisture!
No Makeup-Makeup
With Korea’s hefty emphasis on skin care, it’s no surprise that no-makeup makeup is a huge trend out there. What more perfect way to celebrate your beautiful skin than by using minimal products on it to really celebrate what your skin looks like? This makeup trend, sometimes called “chok chok,” celebrates that signature skin glow we’re all striving toward. And it starts with skin care, rather than makeup.
You have to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate that skin! Start with a moisturizer. Since it’s summer, go for an emulsion or gel cream. Then follow up with sunscreen. And definitely make sure you’re misting throughout the day! It’s also helpful to apply mist in between each of your face makeup steps, (foundation then mist, then concealer, then mist, etc.) to make sure you’re really amping up the hydration.
Skip the bronzer, and instead use highlighter and blush to sculpt your face and really emphasize the places where you want the light to hit you just right. The key to this look is skipping the brows and eye makeup to make you look just undone enough that it looks completely natural. And then finish off with your favorite “my lips but better” lipstick. And then, of course, mist again!
Colored Contacts
This isn’t makeup, but hear me out. This might be just the thing your look needs. If you’re like me and not particularly good at makeup or adventurous with your makeup looks, colored contacts are the solution. Colored contacts can range from very natural to bold and exciting. If you have dark brown eyes, a medium or amber brown, you can make your eyes pop without being too obvious.
On the opposite side of the scale, a grey or a blue will make your eyes a definite talking point. K-pop stars have been using colored contacts for years to create their bold makeup looks. I’m always here for embracing natural beauty and loving your natural eye color, but changing it up is an easy and harmless way to spice up your makeup look for the new season!
+ Which other trending makeup in Korea do you love? Share your picks in the comments!
Main image credit: @laneige_kr
