Dasha Kim is seriously makeup, skin, fashion, and everything #goals. And we got her skin care and makeup secrets from her!
From her elegant, Pinterest-worthy wedding photos to her uber cool and authentic vlogs, YouTuber Dasha Kim is an expert at seemingly effortless chic. This week we sat down with her to find out where she gets her inspiration.
Where are some of the places you’ve lived?
I was actually born in Korea, and then when I was five my parents moved to Uzbekistan. I was raised there for 10 years because my parents are missionaries. And then I moved back to Korea for my education. When I finished my university courses, I thought maybe it’s little bit boring to just live in Korea so when I met my husband, he lived in Sydney. So then I thought, why don’t I just move to Sydney? Just have fun there, get a really nice job and enjoy my life. So I moved to Sydney about three years ago, and was just doing makeup when I started doing my YouTube. And now I’m going to move back to Korea for about two years.
How did you meet your husband?
So this is actually a really interesting question, but also a little bit embarrassing because I actually met my husband Jono on Instagram! It’s a little embarrassing and my parents didn’t even know about it. He traveled to Korea while I was living there, so we met up there and had a bit of fun, and that’s how we started dating. I meet people on the internet all the time and I never thought that I would meet my husband that way!
You recently got married so, congratulations! What was your favorite part of your wedding day?
That’s such a hard question because it was so wonderful. I think my favorite part was my veil? I mean the day was just really stressful for me, and I think truly the best part of it was that I had all of these people there that I hadn’t seen for ages since I moved to Sydney. So all of my family and friends came and I think that really was the best. And I cried just a little bit.
So you recently shared your wedding diet with your viewers over a series of videos. What was that experience like?
I think this is also the reason why I do vlogging, as well. I want to record myself so later in the future I can go back and see what I did. Mostly I wanted to experiment a little and record what I ate, how it made me feel and look. I also thought it might be really helpful for people to watch. One of the things I really wanted to do when I started it was to share the recipes, but I ended up not doing that because it was a bit too much. So I just wanted to record my daily life and share it with people.
The best way to stay motivated is to get somebody who can do it with you. I’ve tried so many different things. If you don’t have your gym mate, it just gets way way harder.
How did you first become interested in beauty and skin care?
I think it was when I was 13-years-old, or maybe even younger, and my sister bought beauty magazines and I started reading those every single day because I didn’t really have anything else to do. I used to live in Uzbekistan so it can be a pretty boring place. We didn’t really have magazines or TV shows so I was really going through every single page of that magazine. And I think that really got me interested.
Later when I became a university student, I could afford more makeup and try different things. Then I saw somebody on the internet doing a beauty blog and I thought it looked really fun. I kind of wanted to do similar stuff and maybe get a bit famous or make some money. So that’s how I actually started.
Who taught you about makeup and skin care?
I think I learned pretty much everything myself, but my older sister let me use all of her makeup growing up. And she was the one who bought all the magazines I read. So maybe, in a way, she did help me to do all of this.
What is your favorite video you’ve done?
I think my favorite video by far is my recent look book video, “How to Wear Red,” because it’s something that I haven’t tried for a long time, and most of my videos are beauty makeup or vlogs. I was kind of bored of doing the same thing all the time and wanted to try a special look book.
Everybody has pretty similar look books, using horizontal videos. I wanted to try something that you can watch on your phone easier. It was really fun but at the same time really tough. For the first time I did it all by myself and I had to tilt my neck just to edit the video all day. But that is my favorite still because it’s different, and I worked really hard on it.
What is the inspiration behind your video aesthetic?
I have two things that give me inspiration: the sun and daydreaming. Imagine a sunny quiet day. I love how the sun gives clean, warm and positive vibe. Everything turns more attractive when it meets the sun.
Some people say they get inspired from a certain beautiful object or moment, but mine comes just from daydreaming. I daydream a lot—when I eat or work, or even when I talk to my husband. It just flashes in my mind, like out of nowhere. Maybe it’s a memory of some beautiful, unique moments that I’ve experienced before.
What is your current routine and favorite products?
I have dry-combination skin. My skin is not that sensitive, but depending on what I eat, sometimes I get breakouts. My favorite acne treatment is the Lalisse Anti-spot Skin Serum. It’s all natural and safer for skin than getting injections. It smells terrible though.
I recently started trying The Ordinary products: I use Caffeine Solution around my eyes area, Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA 30ml to even up skin tone, and the Advanced Retinoid 2% for anti aging. After that, I simply finish with rich moisturizers. I’m very keen to try out few other products from The Ordinary, but trying not to go too hard at the moment.
What is your biggest skin concern and how do you treat it?
My biggest skin concern these days is breakouts! It’s actually because I started eating way too much Greek yogurt, because I thought it would help with my diet. I did the diet with my husband, so he’s having the same skin problems as me right now. Both of us are having a really terrible time with acne and breakouts. For me, the best acne treatment is cutting out dairy from my diet, and to stop drinking beer, as well.
What is your favorite makeup trick or skin care hack?
My favorite hack involves my eye makeup. It usually smudges really easily, especially after a long day. Here’s a very simple trick that stops the smudging: After I put on my makeup, I run my finger along my waterline. If you wipe that you’ll see all this makeup that would have previously been smudged later in the day. That’s how I just prevent it.
How do you get such flawless foundation?
I think the most important thing is to exfoliate your skin. It doesn’t matter how great your foundations is, or how good you are at applying it. Because I’ve put a lot of makeup on a lot of different skin types and I’ve found that if you just exfoliate your skin—it doesn’t matter if you have small or big pores—your skin will be smooth and your foundation will look really great.
My foundation hack is to use the least amount of product possible with a small foundation brush. I think this is also a Korean thing to do; it’s how most Korean girls put on their makeup. They don’t really like to put a thick layer on their skin, they usually use a really thin brush and put only a thin layer.
What is your favorite way to exfoliate?
I love to use daily exfoliating pads that contain BHA or AHA instead of toner. I know it’s very annoying to exfoliate skin two to three times a week, and it’s really hard to make a habit out of something that you do not do often. So I just use the products that I could use every day, without reminding myself I have to exfoliate.
What are your favorite brands at the moment?
I think it would have to be The Ordinary, I keep talking about them, but I just think they’re a great brand. There’s also Bbia, which is a Korean makeup brand. It’s an affordable makeup brand and they make really high quality matte lipsticks, which is a super popular look right now. It was my first time try matte lipstick with that specific texture, and it’s very interesting since it does not dry your lips at all. I gave it a try a year ago without any expectation, and on the next day went back to the shop to stack all shades.
Who is your biggest inspirations?
Claire Marshall. She is my favorite by far. It doesn’t matter how many views or followers she has, her videos are so creative! She expresses herself in the exact way that she wants. I’ve seen so many other people trying to make videos like her, but when I see her content I can tell she’s the one who originated the idea. She is very inspirational, very positive, and gives a nice strong energy to the people who watch her videos.
What is the main message you want to get across to your viewers?
I get lots of comments from people telling me they are surprised at how confident I am in myself. But that’s actually really not true! I’m the kind of person who was really self-conscious, I wasn’t super outgoing or social. What I want my viewers to know is that if you hide yourself you will never be able to reach the point that you want to get to. Just be confident.
+ What would you like to ask Dasha Kim? Share your questions in the comments!
