You know when you catch yourself not listening to the last 12 words out of somebody’s mouth because you’re wondering what the hell they’re using on their face—that you don’t—to get such perfectly even skin?

The Korean girls’ guide to makeup is simply something we need to learn.

This is a city—nay, a culture—that believes in a million-step skincare regimen and very minimal makeup. They’ve dominated the skincare game for, like, centuries, but it wasn’t until Koreans perfected the popularized BB cream that cosmetics companies throughout the world have been hawk-eyeing their makeup innovations, too.

Which is to say, if it’s big in Korea, you can bet that it’s going to be the next billion-dollar global product.

Here’s the makeup that every girl in Seoul is rocking right now:

Dewy Skin

 

Koreans call this kind of skin 물광피부 (mul-kwang-pi-bu) which means watery light skin. They look incredibly hydrated, bouncy and natural.

This look is typically achieved with the well known cushion foundation. A few recommended are the Laneige BB Cushion, Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cushion Compact and the IOPE Air Cushion Compact; just to name a few.

The Straight Eyebrows

Korean women don’t leave the house without defining their brows—always thick, straight-across lines completely lacking arches. The sheer brown color and angled application of Design My Eyebrow Pencil from The Faceshop, that twists up so you never have to sharpen it is an important feature for all the lazy girls out there. Equally important is its sturdy spoolie on the opposite end, to brush away any obvious pencil lines.

 

The goal here is to soften the arch of your brows to get a youthful look. A more appropriate brow shape for the Asians because Asian brows are not as arched as other ancestry.  But this brow shape gives the face that softer, lighter and more innocent look.

The Gradient Lips

 A makeup artist in Seoul once said to stay away from perfectly-manicured lips because they can make you look older. And if you take stock of the mouths of K-Pop starlets, along with pretty much every girl in the South Korean capital, it seems they’ve all ditched the liner + lip brush combo in favor of creating an advanced gradient lip with a creamy pink tint, as if they’ve just sucked on strawberry lollipops.

We love this look so much thanks to Jun Jin Hyun, or commonly known as Cheon Song-Yi from My Love from Another Star.

This creates an illusion of a smaller lip and also gives a youthful and innocent glow to the face.

What do you girls think?

Do you prefer the American or Korean makeup?