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EveryFaceShape

Style capital, South Korea

Seoul

The centre of K-beauty, whose skincare-first looks, straight brows and soft gradient lips spread worldwide in the 2010s.

Seoul is the centre of K-beauty, the South Korean cosmetics and skincare industry that grew into a global export in the 2010s. Looks shaped in Seoul, such as dewy "glass skin", straight soft brows, gradient lips and puppy-dog eyeliner, travelled through Korean dramas and pop music. The city's Myeongdong and Gangnam districts are lined with beauty shops.

Skin first

Korean beauty puts skincare before makeup: layered toners, serums and sheet masks aim for smooth, luminous skin, and makeup is kept light. Highlight is used for a glow rather than sharp contour. Straight, softly filled brows became a signature, as did gradient lips, darker in the centre and fading out. Many looks are designed to work with monolid and creased eyes alike, using soft shadow rather than heavy liner.

A global trade

South Korea's cosmetics exports grew rapidly from the early 2010s, helped by the spread of Korean television and K-pop across Asia and beyond. Beauty shops in Myeongdong serve visitors from across the world. The industry has also drawn criticism, from within Korea and outside, for narrow beauty standards and pressure on young people over looks, and campaigns there have pushed back.

Guides of Seoul

EyebrowStraight, soft brows became a K-beauty signatureMonolidsK-beauty looks are made for monolids and creased lids

Still to be written: Highlighter (cosmetics), Rouge (cosmetics).

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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