Arguably the biggest beauty icon in K-Town, Song Hye Kyo ... more on her in a bit!
Three tentative takeaways: The South Koreans are cutely (some say creepily) captivated with looking like children; Laneige is labouring with Singapore scientists on a top-secret quantum leap in skincare slated to launch in 2016; and the latest need-to-know K-Beauty trend is something called the “laser-beaming” effect.
Brief background context: I’ve been flown to the fabled capital of facial miracles and fey flower boys to laud Laneige’s 20th anniversary, in a press pow-wow the K-Beauty brand has called a Global Beauty Camp.
Straight off the plane, we’re wallowing in the dog days of summer – my Kenzo sweaters languish limply in the luggage – and a good half of the guys and girls I spot on the streets sport sun brollies in their hands.
First impressions? As a fellow wordsmith puts it while Beyonce’s subbed Pretty Hurts music vid plays on our hotel room tellie, beauty truly is of the essence here, so to speak … and like the Hallyu cultural craze preceding it, K-Beauty’s pretty much here to stay. While you decide if that’s a good thing, here are some key observations from my sojourn to Seoul:
Singapore scribes surrounding Laneige lady Kwon Geum-joo at our posh temporary residence, JW Marriott. That's me on the far left!
“Whitening” isn’t a dirty word, not in 2014. We’re not whitewashing the ugly issue of colourism here, but as the very articulate senior vice president of the Laneige division at Amore Pacific Corporation, Kwon Geum-joo, puts it, global standards of beauty have become inextricably aligned with Asian aesthetics: “A very poignant example is the development of our White Plus Renew essence. Right from the get-go, we took pains to include an international test group in the conceptualisation and clinical evaluation of the product.”
Botoxed brow still raised in scepticism? When pressed on the polemics surrounding illicit bleaching lotions and their ilk, Ms. Kwon makes a pretty convincing case for reclaiming the W-word: “There’s been an evolution in the whitening mentality of Asian shoppers. What we’re gunning for now is a natural glow – think the sheer coverage afforded by our bestselling BB cushions. The complexion is cleaner but more natural, if you get what I mean.”
You know what’s really interesting? This preference for a minimalist palette isn’t just a beauty fad – there are parallels in the fashion and home decor industry, for instance. As Ms Kwon adds: “Beauty is banded together with a lady’s lifestyle as a whole, so what we’re seeing is Asian beauty really coming to the fore.”
Expect cool Partly Made In Singapore stuff come 2016. Speaking of Asian beauty, you may find your chest puffing up with pride at the following tantalising tidbit: Ms Kwon says the Laneige K-Tech labs are securing the services of Singapore scientists in creating a cutting-edge facial care range. Details remain undisclosed, but beauty buffs can look forward to a skin-quenching breakthrough boasting an “incredibly light yet very hydrating” texture in 2016. Mark your calendars!
Glamour shot of Laneige global trainer, Cat Koh Young Eun. She's beyond cute in person!
Want to be a K-Beauty? Carry on being lazy. That frankly ridiculous 12-step Korean evening ritual reported by the rapacious foreign press? Mostly a myth.
Ms Kwon says that contrary to popular perception, younger Korean shoppers are looking to streamline their regimen: “We find women taking greater care in selecting targeted treatments that do it all. Trends-wise, we foresee the rise of functional skincare in the market, as well as multipurpose makeup products which are simultaneously effective and intuitive to apply.”
Ultimate fantasy? A facial unguent that cleanses, tones, moisturises and masks imperfections in one step. Check back with us in a decade, maybe?
Sneak peek at the very lust-worthy Laneige x Pushbutton collection. This leopard print bullet is Laneige's Serum Intense lippie in Dressy Coral, a new designer hue. $34 each, out in August!
Koreans are avid lip lovers ... Cat Koh Young Eun, the endearingly effervescent global trainer hosting us during the press junket, says that your smackers are the ultimate style accessory; you need only cast your gaze upon the neon lippies from the incredibly covetable designer collab with K-Fashion label Pushbutton to know this to be true.
As for colour swatches, Cat recommends chucking the corals from Spring; for Autumn, stick with a satiny sheen courtesy of rosy reds and neon pinks. Another neat trick: If you intend for your lippie to be the focal point of your face, swipe it on before your base and point colours, then work the rest of your makeup around it. So simple, but incredibly ingenious!
… and laser-shooting freaks of nature.
Laser-beaming effect; noun. Definition: Cat’s startlingly memorable metaphor for what happens when one smiles and the apples of your cheeks surge up and “shoot” beams of light directly into the gaze of your admirer. No words, really.
To manufacture your own weapons of mass flirtation, use tapping motions to apply a creamy coral blush starting from under the centre of your pupils and swirling up into your temples. This triangular wedge of colour will lend your cheeks a subtly lifted effect (see Instragram proof above).
Top tip: To make your blush nigh indetectable, brush it on under your go-to BB cushion or dewy-finish foundie, so the rosiness peeks through your skin like a bona fide flush.
K-Beauty’s fascination with kiddy facial features? More than a little K-razy. I can only speak for myself when I say I find everything from the bushy brows to the alarming aegyo sal fad deeply disquieting, on which more in a bit.
But first, K-Brows. Cat says the trend for thick and slightly tapered eyebrows stems from the curious effect they have on your facial proportions: The flatness irons out adult sensuality and “makes you look like a baby” (her words).
To nail the K-Brow, literally “draw out” and extend the length from the beginning of the brow to your outer arch, so you achieve a drastic “drop” at the precipice where the hairs dip downwards towards the outer tip. (Or bookmark an image of any K-Drama starlet on your smartphone and flash it to your eyebrow expert.)
Beauty class in session. Our teacher's such a bundle of beaming joy!
As for the much maligned aegyo sal, it’s said that these little pouches under your eyes contribute to the overall “friendliness” of your face; try grinning in the mirror and you’ll see them materialise like magic. Like any muscle, these pouches tend to be more prominent in puberty. Indeed, it is their very association with adolescence which bumps up their desirability (what did I say about the Koreans being unnervingly obsessed with youth …)
In any case, here’s how to accentuate your aegyo sal. Use a creamy champagne pencil to outline the palpable band of flesh just below your lower lash line. Don’t smudge the shimmer into your actual eye bags, which no one in their right mind would want to highlight.
Other bits and bobs proving that the Koreans are charmingly counter-intuitive when it comes to cosmetics: Cat says she likes clumpy mascara, and that she recommends you wave your wand in the air back and forth to hasten the drying of the formula. Reasoning: A chunkier consistency grabs onto lashes better for the feathery – some might say spidery – effect that the Koreans are so enamoured with.
I’ll sign off for now with an amusing anecdote courtesy of Cat: She’s amassed multiple complaints from Korean models who’ve had hyaluronic acid fillers shoved under their eyelids to simulate aegyo sal, only to have their “assets” erased in post-pro by over-zealous Singapore art directors. Morale of makeup story? Don’t hire Korean models if you’re not keen on their pouchy peepers!
P.S. More to "Kome" from my Korean press junket, including the dashing new face of Laneige Homme and – drumroll, please – Song Hye Kyo herself!
For more information, visit www.laneige.com.sg and follow the brand on Facebook.