With the recent rise of the popularity of K-pop and K-dramas all over the world, there has been more and more interest in Korean beauty culture, especially Korean skincare.
Asians and especially Koreans are famous for having clear, glowy, and hydrated skin. Their stars especially have beautiful skin even without makeup on.
In Korea, skin care is part of the culture hence, you learn how to pamper yourself from a very young age.
The center of beauty in Korea focuses on good, healthy skin that’s even in tone. Many people in the beauty community have a big misconception about cutely packaged products which seem good but cause a lot of damage to your skin. This is absolutely untrue when it comes to K-beauty. Koreans know how to make their skincare routine entertaining but, effective at the same time which is one of the main differences between them and the Western world. Koreans use 10-18 products a day which explains how much Koreans care for their skin.
Korean beauty culture is constantly changing because of fast-changing trends. It’s all about creating new formulas, and ingredients and creating an entirely different category of beauty.
In fact, Korea is the country that came out with cushion foundations, BB cream, sheet masks, etc. Koreans spend twice as much time and money on skincare routine. Koreans are famous for having perfectly clear, smooth, and radiant skin. They sometimes look like they have no pores and wrinkles despite being over 30.
Koreans are some of the savviest consumers out there. When you care so much about your skin, you’re definitely going to make sure what it is that you’re putting on it.
There have recently been 3 very popular trends in Korean skincare: Glass skin, Honey skin, and Dewy dumpling skin. Let’s dig deeper and see what these trends really are.
1. Glass skin
This popular skincare trend went viral after a popular makeup artist who goes by the name of Elle Choi [@elliejellyb3an] posted a selfie of herself on Instagram where her beautiful skin that looked poreless and transparent like a baby’s skin caught people’s attention instantly.
So, many of her current followers and non-followers were curious to know her skincare routine and the secret behind her beautiful skin. People started calling this poreless skin as ‘glass skin’.
Today, ‘glass skin’ is defined as a skin that looks clear, translucent, luminous, and poreless just like a piece of glass.
2. Honey Skin
Honey skin is all about hydrated, glowing skin. It is one of the oldest skincare trends in Korea, even before Glass skin became trendy. This phrase is mainly used to describe skin that looks like honey. If you look at honey closely, you will realize that it is often shiny and looks really smooth and supple hence that’s basically what ‘honey skin’ is all about.
One thing to remember is that when we say ‘honey skin’ we are not talking about a product or a kind of treatment using honey, which is often a misunderstanding. Honey skin is the kind of skin care that looks good with or without makeup.
It is actually hard to differentiate between ‘glass skin’ and ‘honey skin’, even if you look at the close-up shots of pictures side by side.
The main difference is that while ‘glass skin’ is all about the texture and radiance of the skin from within. Whereas, honey skin is all about hydration and luminosity of the skin that is, honey-like sheer skin.
3. Dewy Dumpling Skin
This trend is a little different from the others in a sense that it is more of a makeup trend than skincare. Makeup artist Nam Vo who is often called “Highlighting Queen” on Instagram, is the one who popularised this trend.
It’s all about having that dumpling-like sheen using highlighters. Dewy dumpling skin uses really minimal makeup.
In this type of routine, the highlighter is used to have that extra 3-D look especially towards the temples and above the cheekbones.
But according to Nam Vo, having dewy dumpling skin really does start with skin care hence, the reason why we are including this trend on the list. According to her, the better your skin is, the better the makeup is going to lay on your skin.
All these mentioned skin care trends may look and sound similar to a number of people especially people who are aware of the world of K-beauty. But, they are all slightly different from each other. Glass skin is all about having that luminous and poreless skin. Honey skin is all about supple, plump, and nourished skin. And lastly, dewy dumpling skin is the one that relies on the skillful use of highlighters to create that 3-D effect on the skin but with radiant and moist skin as a base.
Korean beauty products are inclusive and are for everyone and every skin type who is interested in K-beauty.
In fact, it is reported that it is more difficult for people of fair complexion to achieve the three mentioned skincare trends because of redness and broken capillaries. The only ideal trend that Korean skincare follows is hydrated and well-nourished skin.
Korean skincare trends are fascinating and are worth the hype but it may not be for everyone. So, just know that you can have perfectly healthy skin without trying to have a Korean ideal skin.
