The Wonderfully Weird Makeup Trend Sweeping Korea

I'm absolutely obsessed with K-Beauty. 
I swear by Korean skin care. I can honestly say my skin has never ever looked better. It looks firm and smooth and it glows. 
In fact today a new order of skin care products arrived from Memebox. I order all my skin care products through them - they are so inexpensive especially when compared to Sephora's pricing, and because they ship out of San Francisco they get here in about 3 days.

Learn how to layer your skin care Korean style 

Anyway when I opened the Vogue.com email in my inbox today there was a story about K-Beauty, which of course got my attention.

I can't say that I will actually try this technique. Apart from the fact that I'm sure it would go hilariously wrong for me, I'm into super glowy looking skin, rather than matte. But I can imagine it going crazy on Instagram :))

The Wonderfully Weird Makeup Trick That’s Sweeping Korea

by Monica Kim for Vogue.com

image via Vogue.com

“It’s the hot tip in K-beauty right now.” This, I’m told constantly, and always take with a fat grain of salt. But at dinner in Seoul last week with a particularly plugged-in friend, I heard that a rather unorthodox trick called jamsu makeup (roughly translated to “diving” or “submerging”) had swept the city this summer, producing a perfectly matte, melt-proof face with little more than a bottle of baby powder and a basin of water. Given the thick humidity enveloping both the U.S. and Korea of late, I was at least intrigued by the wholly whimsical proposition.

It was purportedly a Japanese beauty blogger who sparked the trend on YouTube, though it quickly became a Korean sensation. The novel technique bears some similarity to “baking”—setting your makeup with powder and body heat—but feels rather next-level. First, cleanse and moisturize, then swipe on primer, foundation, and concealer, per usual. Then, shake heavy handfuls of Johnson’s Baby Powder onto your palms (though any loose powder will do) and pat it on freely, releasing clouds of it into the air until a pale kabuki-style base appears. Filling a sink with cool water, plunge your powdered complexion into the bath and hold it there for no more than 30 seconds. Finally, pat your face dry, and finish the rest of your look with a lasting, pitch-perfect canvas.

“If you have dry skin, don’t push your face in the water too long,” my friend says, adding that one might take a facial mist and spray liberally, instead. A bit reluctantly, I dunk my Ringu-esque head in the sink for some 15 seconds, feeling (frankly) ridiculous. But, I quickly find, the results are beyond. Yes, my skin is intensely matte, but also incredibly smooth and even-toned. Better yet, when shading in my arches and applying liner, there is no oil-induced glide, allowing me to craft fine, pencil-thin strokes that are the best brow-work I’ve done in ages—all thanks to a $4 tin of drugstore powder. It lasts remarkably well with no under-eye smudging and, I’m frequently told, my face looks softer and even younger—appropriately enough, like the skin on a baby’s bottom.

 Learn more about Korean skin care here and here  and here