Lots of ground to cover in part deux of my Seoul shenanigans – every inch of scrumptious six-foot-tall Song Jae Lim, for one – so let’s do this, Quick n’ Dirty-style!
But first, take five. I’ll be right here waiting while you (guffaw) “pore” over my previous not-to-miss missive straight from South Korea. Sexy stuff aplenty, including what may be the strangest K-Beauty trend yet.
Right, then. Still with me? Re-entering Seoul’s riveting rabbit hole in three, two …
Ladies, lay eyes on Laneige’s new lad. It’s day three of beauty boot camp. Just when things couldn’t get any tougher – clinking cocktails in the lobby lounge! Sipping soju in tawdry taverns! Guzzling gin with G-Dragon grinding on the hotel tellie! – us beleaguered beauty scribes are forced to share breathing space with Song Jae Lim. Oh, Laneige, you make things so very hard.
Jesting aside, the 29-year-old is quite frankly a sublimely sexy specimen of studhood. Song Jae who? The model-actor isn’t a star on Song Hye Kyo’s cosmic level (more on her in a bit!) but SJL’s certainly a comely little comet in his own right.
Firsthand impressions? SJL more than passes the sniff test, if you will; his scent reminds me of a sun-drenched vineyard (just putting it out there…) And as the fey new face of Laneige Homme, SJL is a canny choice on the K-Beauty brand’s part: His complexion is preternaturally poreless up close, and his adorable almond peepers call to mind a competitor’s popular ambassador (cough, Kim Soo-hyun, cough).
Song Jae Lim is turned on by this in girls, and this in guys. SJL is either an equal opportunity flirt or, and this is more likely, just a jocular jokester – a rare jewel in the rigidly micromanaged world of K-Anything.
To wit: When quizzed for a man’s perspective on Korean beauty, he says crystal clear and pleasingly “plump” skin is universally attractive, before letting rip with this amusing anecdote: “Korean guys can be distracted by womanly figures with sleek, straight hair, but I’ve learnt the hard way that sometimes this can be very deceiving ... especially when the girl in question turns around and her face comes into view.”
Or this: Asked for the qualities in a woman he considers important, his razor-sharp riposte is deliciously cheeky: “Her skin or her body? Bouncy skin that looks translucent is very attractive to me.”
Then there’s this: “Guy grooming guidance? Dudes these days go the whole hog, with manis and pedis thrown in for good measure. Outer beauty’s great and all, but decorum and civility complete a man.” So, to recap: If you’re a woman, aim for skin that’s plump and bouncy; if you’re a guy, take care of your tootsies and cultivate good manners!
Song Jae Lim’s DNA is on my iPhone screen. When he gets up to leave for wherever hot Korean men head to in their downtime, a kerfuffle ensues as erstwhile jaded journalists scramble for a selfie with the hunk of the hour.
Clearly, SJL loves me and my beauty bestie most. Here’s the three of us huddled together, the Laneige Homme ambassador serving as the happy meat in the sandwich. Oh, and SJL clicked the camera button himself, which must mean some miniscule trace of the man remains on my screen. Girls, you know what to do. This smartphone goes to the highest bidder!
Here’s the recipe for Song Hye Kyo’s lippie ... Our hosts very thoughtfully decided to give us respite from Laneige Homme hotness by arranging for a walkabout at Story Garden, a glittering guest lodge located right smack in parent company Amorepacific’s R&D hub in Osan City.
We were prohibited from documenting what goes down at Laneige’s magic makeup factory, but I can tell you this: To nail Laneige’s legendary Serum Intense lippie – the range responsible for Song Hye Kyo’s smackers, natch – you’ll need LC987, RED#6, Y#5, Y#10, OTS-2 I.O RED, OTS-2 I.O BLACK and RED #28. Chemists, get to it, pronto!
… And this is my very own, one-of-a-kind lip colour! I promised you the “hottest lipstick ever” – and here it is! After one makeup masterclass and an anxious week of waiting later, I’m beyond chuffed to bestow upon the world The EQ, an off-the-charts, one-tube-only shade of sizzling salmon.
A gaggle of girls were shortlisted to testdrive The EQ, so consider yourself lucky, owner of unidentified pout above. I do so adore my custom colour – achieved by mixing and matching multiple dyes in a beaker – worthy of anointing Song Hye Kyo’s A-list lips, if I dare say so myself.
Speaking of Song Hye Kyo, I have a confession to make … And now we come to the final flourish, the crème de la crème, the dusting of loose powder, the woman herself. I’ve scrutinised Song Hye Kyo’s visage in ad visuals so often that when she finally materialised on the last night of the press junket, it was as if a hallucinatory holograph had punctured the fabric of my reality (or maybe it was just the glass of red talking).
She’s shockingly short in person, very calm and very, very beautiful: So beautiful, I got a little wet in the eye. She toasted the brand, whispered a few salutary words, then wafted off into the wilderness. All told, my eyes gazed upon Her Grace for 10 minutes, tops – but that was enough. If Laneige is the key to SHK’s loveliness, then take my money already!
P.S. Want more? Read the first entry in my mini travel catalogue chronicling K-Beauty’s Kutest and Kraziest trends. Kam-sa-hae-yo!
For more information, visit www.laneige.com.sg and follow the brand on Facebook.