When in Korea...
You must do a beauty haul! Here's what I got.
In keeping with last week’s “announcement” that I’d be doing weekly categories—this week is fashion and beauty! Happy reading!
Another note: I am now using affiliate links! Substack milestone! You all know the drill, buying from the links is at no extra cost to you, but I get a small percentage of sales. Thank you, love you.
I went to Korea last month and it was on the heels of Awards Season™ so by the time I got home I basically disassociated from planet Earth and its inhabitants for as long as I felt comfortable (read: one week).
Now, weeks later, all my souvenirs and a lot of my beauty products and cute kids’ clothes are still in a pile in the corner of my office. So, I am here to kill two birds with one stone with this post: 1) Do a fun show and tell of what beauty products I bought in Seoul, the mecca of all things beauty, and 2) Force myself to spread it all out to organize it asap.
Enjoy, enjoy.
MAKE-UP
After getting my makeup done this Awards Season™ by exclusively Asian makeup artists, my makeup third-eye has been blown wide open! I need more of it by Asian brands! They understand the kind of pigmentation I am seeking, the very light touch I need (a little goes a long way on Asian faces, imo), and the structures of my eyelids and brow bone, most importantly.
So let’s start there, all the cosmetics I got for…
The Eyes and Its Environs
As I get older, I am rapidly losing eyebrow hair (seriously wtf 😫) and need a good pencil to actually draw in hairs. I’ve found that shadows just make them look blurry and dark. What I am going for is a light eyebrow that doesn’t look like a thin arch. This rom&nd Han All Sharp Brow pencil is so delicately thin that I can use a casual, light touch and it layers on so beautifully. Another thing that is happening with age (you will see a pattern here…) is that my eyelids are getting wrinkly?! Again, wtf! So pencil liners need to be super creamy and smooth to not look jagged and weird. I am big into brown eyeliners lately and this one by Clio is a dream. So smooth and great pigmentation. It does smudge a bit through the day but I don’t mind that look. I have also been very curious about a light eyeliner for under the eyes which is big in K beauty, so I got this white one by Too School for School, and I’ve only used it a couple times so far and feel…hmm. I think maybe I should have gotten something with less contrast. And finally, I am trying to lay off the eyelash extensions and trying to find ways to make the tiny wispy eyelashes I have actually curl. I use one of those tube mascaras that add fibers but in combo with this iconic Clio mascara, which is so good. It keeps your lashes curled, even stubbornly straight ones like mine.
Speaking of eyelashes, I also wanted to try out Korean falsies. They are way more subtle and often come in these little pieces. Unfortunately, the Olive Young store I went to didn’t have a huge selection and the two different ones I bought are not quite what I need. However—no-glue lashes are amazing and these were the most natural looking I ever found, so I’ll probably order a more mix and match set like this one online. I also bought one of those tiny eyelash curlers because my makeup artist used one and I found it amazing.
The Lips
Lipstick is hard for me. I have never liked how it looked—the only lip stuff I use are usually glosses or tinted lip balms. There have been a few very moisturizing lipsticks I have liked, but none of them seem to stay on. I really love how lips are done in K beauty—more of a stained look than a lined, solid lip. Like this.
For a stain, I got the rom&nd The Juicy Lasting Tint, the 3CE Lazy Pop Lip Stain, and as mentioned in a previous post, the fwee Blurry Pudding Pot which has the most incredible matte finish. I also couldn’t resist trying a lip liner by my fave brand, and a super moisturizing lip balm.
The Foundation
I have been cushion-curious so I picked up the Clio Kill Mesh Glow Essential cushion. (For those new to K beauty—it’s a foundation in powder form? Hard to explain, it’s just weird magic on your skin.) I have yet to try it out in the real world, but I love having a compact in my bag at all times that could potentially blur the hell outta my skin. I prefer not to use foundation but I was just in my makeup shopping trance, what can I say?
SKIN
I literally needed to take a snack break after the makeup rundown lol. Okay, here’s skincare! Cracks knuckles
Tried and True
I have already sung the praises of my Centella serum but need to sing them again. It’s just such a lovely formulation and my skin feels plumped up and smooth. Same with my favorite sunscreen (I bought like, a dozen, because they don’t sell the Korean formulation here anymore!). A new goodie I’ve started using on the reg is this eye serum which the sales girl told me is best for my age group (RIP), like a foundational serum to help plump up the under eye area. As with all this skincare, time will tell?? 🤷🏻♀️
New Stuff My Sister Bought So I Did, Too
I don’t know why I don’t just stick to one cleanser. By the time I am done with one, I always wanna try something new. So I grabbed this Mung Bean one, and will be using it once I am done with my current! I also love anything moisturizing as my skin tends to get flakey like a pastry without a ton of work, so going to try out this Aestura cream when dry weather hits LA.
Oh, my god I did it.
Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t start taking skincare seriously until a few years ago? And that I normally only wear like three makeup products? But something let loose in me in Olive Young (which is not sponsoring this post but a girl can dream!), and I felt like a teenage girl experimenting with all the colorful things again.
Thanks for being here, as always,
x M A U X
x x This week’s read: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. This tradwife-time-travels-to-real-trad-times book is already on everyone’s radar but I cracked into it over Memorial Day weekend while a billion kids splashed around a pool and it really sucked me in. I have some thoughts but one can’t deny its propulsiveness.
x x x This week’s watch: I watched this last week but plan on rewatching it immediately and what am I referring to? Oh, just the horny hockey college show Off Campus. I can’t. It’s so good in that way that reminds me of being a teenager again. (A theme this week??) I love how Gen Z is approaching the teen rom-com, it feels weirdly healing.
x x x x This week’s listen: The Cannonball ep on the new Michael Jackson movie, Michael. Wesley Morris’s old podcast, Still Processing, did a great episode ages ago about Michael Jackson (miss you, Jenna), and I was dying to hear his take on this movie. It didn’t disappoint—smart, thoughtful, and empathetic as usual.
These are all my favorites too! The aestura range especially has been a god send since my skin became weirdly sensitive after I turned 40. Korean and Japanese skincare and makeup just can’t be beat. Enjoy!
That sunscreen….😉😉