In recent years, Korean beauty, skincare, and makeup have blown up and entered the international spotlight. Extremely popular in Asian countries, Korean products have also made it to the west and have become favourites among many people. I am one of those people. I was enticed by the more delicate, light, sparkly, and soft makeup looks created by Korean influencers like PONY and worn by celebrities like Kim So-hyun, so I couldn’t help but pick up and try out some popular products from YesStyle. Interested in checking out some great products, too? You’ve come to the right article!
1. Base – MISSHA Perfect Cover BB Cream
This BB cream is well known in the K-beauty community for having an impressively high coverage for a BB cream. It covers quite well, smooths out pores and fine lines, offers SPF protection, and leaves a healthy dewy finish which can be mattified with powder. The best part is that it looks like skin. It’s a favourite among many people and is definitely worth a try. But beware! This BB cream is very fragranced and can be a bit grey on some people. I find that the grey issue isn’t so bad as long as you’ve purchased the right colour for your skin, but it can be off-putting for some.
2. Base – Moonshot Micro Setting Fit Cushion
A little while ago, cushions became quite popular in Korea and continue to be a popular format for base products in Asia. The concept behind the design was to ensure that people got the perfect amount of product every time. This format is also easy to travel with and allows for on-the-go touch-ups. For those who are worried about how sanitary this is, many puffs are made to be anti-bacterial in order to keep the product clean. That’s enough about general cushions—what’s so special about this product? This Moonshot cushion provides very skin-like light coverage and a healthy glow. It’s not too fragranced, it has SPF 50, and it applies smoothly and evenly.
3. Base – CLIO Kill Cover Conceal Cushion
This cushion has very impressive coverage—a single pat can cover the whole face, meaning that a little definitely goes a long way. It’s quite matte for a BB cream, but still provides a relatively skin-like finish and glow. It is lightly fragranced, provides SPF 40, and is meant to moisturize as well as cover.
4. Lips – Bbi@ Last Series Red Lipstick II
These lipsticks are extremely matte and highly pigmented. With so many shades of red, pink, and nude (in this series as well as their other series), it’s easy to find a colour that suits your skin tone and colour. For matte lipsticks, they’re definitely a bit powdery and dry on the lips, but that is to be expected considering the colour payoff and the finish, so dry lips beware! It’s very easy to feather these lipsticks out for a soft gradient look as well as a bold statement look.
5. Lips – MISSHA Dare Tint Moist Velvet in Toast Peach
Don’t be fooled by the name—these aren’t your regular watery drying lip tints. MISSHA has created my absolute favourite formula for a lip product, as this product provides long-lasting high colour payoff while remaining very comfortable on the lips. With its creamy texture, it’s easy to create gradient lip looks as well as full and bold lip looks. You can even dot just a little bit on the lips and blend it out into oblivion, making it look like your lips are naturally a little rosy. There are 14 classy colours perfect for any occasion, and I honestly want them all!
6. Lips – PONY EFFECT Powder Touch Lip Lacquer
The first time you try a velvety lip tint, you might be a little surprised—I know I was. The texture is unlike anything on the western market. It really does feel like velvet! At first, I found the texture off-putting, but I’m glad I kept trying it because I did learn to love it. These lacquers are relatively comfortable on the lips and are formulated specifically to not dry them out. High colour payoff, long-lasting, easily blendable—it definitely checks off all my boxes!
7. Eyes – Etude House Play Colour Eyes #Caffeine Holic
Korean eyeshadows are typically known to be less pigmented than those from the west. While high pigmentation can be great for bold and loud looks, I find that the more subdued Korean eyeshadows are better for natural daily makeup, and that’s definitely true for this palette. The eyeshadows are very blendable and easy to work with, and—despite the small pan sizes—it takes quite a while to get through the shades. Besides being absolutely adorable, the packaging is also sleek and small, which means it’s great for travelling. While I don’t use the mirror inside, it can be quite useful to some. Overall, it’s a great daily palette and perfect for all kinds of makeup users, especially beginners.
8. Eyes – CLIO Pro Eye Palette Simply Pink
This palette first caught my eyes because of its similarities to Huda Beauty’s New Nude palette. While this is not at all a cheap palette, it’s definitely cheaper than Huda’s, which retails for $86CAD at Sephora, and can become even cheaper if you wait for a good YesStyle sale. While the shadows may not be as pigmented as New Nude’s shadows, they’re easy to work with and still provide a great colour payoff. The pan sizes are quite large, there is a small mirror and brush included, and there aren’t any of the unsafe eye glitters that are present in New Nude. Overall, I would say it’s a great Korean makeup dupe and stands well as its own makeup product.
9. Blush – Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher
When it comes to blushes, products tend to be much the same across the board regardless of what country they’re from. Still, I included this segment because of the sheer adorable-ness factor of these products. The presentation and packaging make them absolute joys to use. That’s definitely true for the lovely cookie blushes, which are very pigmented if you pack on a lot but also sheer and buildable if you choose to swipe on some colour with a brush. It’s matte and feathery, and thus perfect for any natural look.
10. Blush – Peach C Peach Cotton Blusher
The texture, wearability, quality, and use are all very similar to the previous blush, but this one is particularly interesting because it offers a yellow blush shade. A little while ago, yellow blushes became a chic summer trend. It may seem a little intimidating, but with a sheer layer, it looks very youthful, warm, and summery. Even if you’re not interested in the yellow blush, these blushes are very soft, feathery, and buildable.
From my mini-reviews, you may be able to tell that I’m kind of a big fan of Korean beauty and cosmetics. While I enjoy most products I’ve purchased, there are always some things I wouldn’t recommend, such as mascaras (which I find to be often waterproof and thus too harsh on the eyelashes for my taste). Another thing about Korean beauty, which you may have noticed, is that there are not a lot of shade options when it comes to foundations and concealers. A lot of this is probably because the brands tend to focus on a particular demographic, but hopefully more shades will come out as the brands expand and become more widespread and available in the western market. So, that’s it for Korean beauty (for now)! What will you try?