South Korean makeup studios are reforming "female stars" in batches

Recently, there has been a wave of people going to Korea to experience authentic Korean makeup on social platforms. With clean skin and simple makeup, the new Korean aesthetic has become popular with adjectives such as "mommy" and "sagby", which are influencing people's preference for beauty. But is the famous Korean makeup really so godly?

Author | Twilight

Edit | Lu Yiming

Title Picture | Anna

Walking into a local Korean makeup studio, under the simple yet stylish decoration, the mirror and floor shimmer, the sound of hair dryers whirring, and Tony is doing the hair of the guests, busy and orderly.

The clerk came over and asked you which package you wanted, and the local escort around you helped you convey: "Please help her be an artist with the same style!"

After getting your hair done, you're guided to the second floor. The makeup artist assistant will take the trouble to help you do the pre-makeup primer, and the water emulsion moisturizing step by step.

Looking at the Korean actress looks plastered all over the wall, you can't help but mutter: "Is there really such a 'god' as said on the Internet?"

Whose face did this "Korean wind" blow on?

On March 20, at the concert in Fort Worth, Zhang Yuanying made up sweet makeup and danced smartly, and "one turn" attracted countless fans. As of March 27, the hot search on Xiaohongshu "Zhang Yuanying circled and controlled me for 30 seconds" had more than 9 million hits, while on Douyin, Zhang Yuanying circled and imitated the challenge and rushed to the TOP2 of the challenge list.

Netizens commented: "I tried it, my waist seems to have a backstage, it is very hard." How can you be so confident and light?" (Photo/Douyin screenshot)

Although it is out of the circle on stage, the perfect and exquisite makeup of this top-notch idol highlights her beauty just right, and many netizens in the comment area of related topics have carefully picked up her makeup supplies.

Zhang Yuanying is keen on watery skin, and was once complained by netizens as "oily". But recently, with the increased acceptance of Korean watery skin by Chinese netizens, coupled with the persuasiveness of Zhang Yuanying's own beauty hardware, her makeup has become a reference template for learning Korean makeup. Some beauty bloggers even joked: "Zhang Yuanying is active, we should also go to work." ”

In recent years, the wind of Korean makeup has been overwhelming, and the exquisite makeup of Korean stars in TV dramas and variety shows can always trigger a wave of imitation. Social platforms are full of "Korean makeup tutorials" and "girl group imitation makeup", and the makeup of Korean girl group members such as Hyuna, Jennie, Jang Wonying, and Bae Joo-hyun can cause a wave of discussion every time they do it.

Clean skin and simple makeup, the new Korean aesthetic has become popular with adjectives such as "mommy" and "sagby", which is influencing people's preference for beauty.

At the same time, there are also "Korean female beauty businessmen" who are praised to the sky: in makeup, we should pursue "people are greater than makeup" to show our unique charm, and in photography, we should pursue "vitality" and "natural relaxation", and what we want is a beautiful and relaxed feeling.

Fans love to watch it, and the blogger has come up with Korean girl-style makeup and photo tutorials. (Photo/Screenshot of Xiaohongshu @ Mei Dabao)

But at the same time, it has also exacerbated many people's appearance anxiety. After all, it looks "effortlessly beautiful", it's just looking. At the moment when "American service" is raging, many girls begin to worry about whether their skin is good enough and whether their body is perfect enough, and even feel inferior and uneasy about it;

At the same time, some people think that it is just "pleasing yourself" and wanting to be what you like better, after all, "the pursuit of beauty itself is a thing that can secrete dopamine".

Nowadays, domestic ID photo shooting studios have tended to give customers Korean-style makeup, because Korean makeup focuses on natural clarity, high facial flatness and youthfulness, which improves the delicacy without looking too exaggerated.

Even bridal makeup, which has always been dominated by traditional Chinese style, has been influenced by Korean makeup. Under the bright atmosphere, dignified and elegant aesthetics, there are also brides who prefer to do "subtraction" in makeup, such as light base makeup, natural eye makeup and elegant lip color, facing the important moments of life with simple and elegant makeup.

In China, people usually spend money on makeup outside because they want to attend important occasions, participate in performances, or have filming needs. For "exquisite" Koreans, going to a makeup studio is a very "everyday" thing, and even if it is a simple date, they will consider doing a look.

Korean women are exquisite, and Korean men are not far behind. (Photo/"The Goddess Descent")

Recently, there has been a wave of craze on social platforms to experience authentic Korean makeup, and you can see a large number of shared notes and videos by searching for keywords such as "Korean makeup", "Korean makeup" and "Korean makeup studio" on Xiaohongshu. All of a sudden, the Korean makeup studio was blown to the ground. In the videos of some bloggers visiting the store, you can also see well-known artists like Song Yuqi just coming out of the studio.

However, is the so-called celebrity with the same style really so powerful?

The makeup artist waved the brush, and I was blown up and changed to a female star

Can't hold back his curiosity, blogger @全智圆 (hereinafter referred to as "Yuanyuan") found a local companion who studied in South Korea and decided to go to South Korea to experience an authentic "beauty three-piece suit", that is, cutting hair, makeup, and taking ID photos.

Before you set off, the studio's previous works are the biggest persuasive. Whether it is on domestic or Korean social platforms, the studios recommended by popular guides usually put on makeup for artists.

And this kind of studio, usually the fee is relatively high, some studios just makeup costs 2,000 yuan. Under the trade-off, Yuanyuan chose a local studio that was not popular, and the price was relatively affordable, but it still cost more than 1,100 yuan for the full set.

She chose a studio that combines makeup and hair that is very popular in Korea. In this kind of studio, consumers can do a complete set of looks at one time, which is very convenient. The interior of the store is usually a duplex decoration, with a barber area on the first floor with large mirrors on display, and a makeup area on the second floor.

Won Yuan does hair in a Korean studio. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)

"Fine" is the biggest feature of Korean makeup studios, from every hair strand to every pore, people are taken care of.

Yuan Yuan said that before doing her hair, the hairstylist patiently and carefully communicated with her about the desired hairstyle, including the level and length. A seemingly simple Korean-style big wave, blowing, curling iron, hair roots, fluffy clips, using 4 hairdressing tools. "I heard before I came that Korean 'Tony', especially 'female Tony', understands the needs of girls better, and that's true. ”

And the blogger @美大宝, who also went to South Korea to experience it, also told me that for the sake of the conformity of the makeup, the makeup assistant can help make the pre-makeup and base makeup for half an hour. Make-up is no exception, "When applying eye makeup, the eyelashes are tufted and brushed one by one, and the lipstick is traced over and over again with the rest of the paste. ”

Dabao released a video on the Internet after makeup, and it was seen in the comment area that this was Zhang Yuanying's imitation makeup, and some netizens gave a high evaluation of "effective makeup".

From left to right: Dabao's light makeup, and the makeup that Korean makeup artists put on her. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)

Although the Korean actress's watery skin is very beautiful, the current domestic aesthetic still generally likes matte makeup. "A Chinese woman who has a matte life", what she is most afraid of is the "pig gangguana" who has been turned into an oily face by a Korean makeup artist. When applying makeup, Yuanyuan was a little apprehensive about the large and bright lying silkworms and the large number of water light sticks, "Their makeup is to sweep it twice in the T area, I was worried that it would be oily, but I didn't expect it to blend well with the base makeup." ”

After putting on makeup, taking a Korean-style ID photo is the last step of the "three-piece" experience.

Whether it is makeup or photo service, South Korea has formed a fairly mature process and system. Yuan Yuan said that the studio photographer she went to was the same person as the post-production, particularly silky, and did not hesitate at all when directing the movements, feeling that it had been patterned, "Whoever should be this set of operations." ”

Rather than a passport photo, a "style photo of an ID photo" is more appropriate. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)

Internet celebrity makeup, or copy and paste?

The successful experience of the two bloggers can show that Korean makeup does have "two brushes". However, not all experiences were so satisfactory, in fact, the first time Dabao found a makeup artist in South Korea, she wanted to cry without tears.

The first time I experienced it, the makeup artist was skilled and meticulous, but Dabao said, "When I saw her take out a whole false eyelash, I was a little panicked. The saddest thing is that she gave me a very thin eyebrow, and after she finished makeup, my friend said it looked like a 'fake model in a shopping mall.'"

This overturn made Dabao very unwilling, "Is it because I'm a tourist that I found a makeup artist to make it for me?" Later, she calmed down, she felt that the makeup artist should not be good at putting on the makeup she requested, "I don't believe in evil, so I found a second one, and I didn't ask too much, so I let the makeup artist be good at it." ”

However, if you only wear one kind of makeup, no matter how good it is, it can hardly be called "magical", after all, not everyone has the same face. Some people are "satisfied", and some people return disappointed. Yuan Yuan told me that some friends around me went to Korea to experience makeup, and they felt that "it was not suitable for me at all".

Whoever wears Korean makeup on anyone's face, it seems to be the same, "No matter what eye shape you have, you will be given a well-defined false eyelashes, and the ancestral fire stick is indispensable." The blush should be heavy and the lip color must be light. "If it was originally a strong complexion, it was suitable for wearing richer makeup such as hot girl makeup, but it had to be "welded" with light makeup, and the matching degree was naturally very low.

Qian Songyi: I don't have any pores at all. (Photo/"You from the Star")

Copy-pasting is one of the common problems in the entire makeup industry. In recent years, domestic makeup studios have sprung up, which are currently mainly divided into two types: photo studios that integrate costumes and makeup, or makeup artists' personal studios.

The photo gallery with integrated service is generally concentrated in the scenic spot, and the shortage of manpower is very serious during the peak period of passenger flow. Yuan Yuan has experienced the "Gege Makeup" style photo in Beijing, "The sister who makes up may have to put on a dozen or dozens of people every day, and she just wants to finish this as soon as possible and make the next one better, and she doesn't have the extra patience to carve it for every guest." ”

As a result, this kind of photo studio that integrates service and transformation is basically an assembly line operation. In the past two years, driven by hot topics such as "I am a princess in Xishuangbanna" and "I am a Korean princess in Yanji", businesses from all over the world want to undertake this wave of traffic, but they may not be fully prepared.

In a photo gallery in Beijing, Yuan Yuan is doing makeup and hair. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)

Under normal circumstances, in order to achieve better shooting results, as a blogger, Yuanyuan prefers to choose a personal makeup studio, "mainly to look at the makeup artist's previous works, and it doesn't matter if the technique is good, it doesn't matter if it's expensive." ”

In fact, the heyday of Korean makeup in China may have been in 2015 and 2016, but now it is not as good as before, but its vitality is tenacious, because the makeup of some film and television actresses and idols has "turned popular" to varying degrees many times. In the past two years, makeup that is more in line with Chinese characteristics such as "new Chinese makeup" and "Guotai Min'an makeup" is becoming popular, which has the meaning of the rise of Chinese aesthetic confidence.

At present, the mainstream of bridal makeup in China still prefers Chinese style, Korean makeup pays more attention to the painted skin, while Chinese makeup will pay more attention to the three courts and five eyes, and tends to create facial folding, which makes it more personal and temperamental.

Round bridal makeup. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)

At present, the concept of makeup studios for ordinary people in China is not strong enough, so people have high expectations for Korean makeup studios, and they have to go to South Korea to try.

However, assembly line work, shoddy manufacturing, and no after-sales service, it seems that such makeup studios can be encountered anywhere.

Some makeup artists, who have just learned and started to produce in batches, "Sometimes when I meet a makeup artist who makes me want to cry, I don't even think about whether the makeup is suitable for me, so I put it on." Dabao said.

Yuan Yuan also said: "If the car rolls over, you can only ask the makeup artist to make some minor adjustments." They still have to rush to the next order, and it is almost impossible to re-chemical, so they can only sew and mend by themselves. ”

Whether in Korea or China, the quality of makeup studios is uneven, and it is very dependent on the makeup artist's personal aesthetic and makeup technique. When customers go to the store, they put their faces in the hands of others, and the final effect can only be recognized whether they are satisfied or not. There are many disappointed people, and the image of Korean makeup being deified has collapsed.

The biggest motivation for people to choose makeup services is to "become more beautiful". The most amazing thing about makeup is that you play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. In the face of this huge business opportunity, I am afraid that only by effectively improving the technical level can businesses stand out in the big team.

Nowadays, makeup consumption accounts for an increasing proportion of people's spending. When the domestic makeup industry develops more maturely, it may become the "daily life" of ordinary people to do makeup before going out to an appointment.

Proofreading: Meet, Operation: Lu Zirui, Typesetting: Liang Ningyan