Beauty News

Six Fascinating Korean Beauty Facts

As a self-confessed beauty minimalist, Scarlett Conlon found a recent trip to Seoul in South Korea an eye-opening experience. "I had heard that the beauty scene was big out there, that K-beauty was 'a thing', and I had countless emails from friends recommending things to buy and try, but the reality was something else," she said. Here, she shares the things that she found most fascinating about the K-beauty scene.

By Scarlett Conlon

28 April 2016

Image may contain Costume Human Person and Mei Lanfang

Mario Testino

Masks are huge news. In Seoul, there is shop after shop selling nothing but face masks with all manner of claims and for all concerns. Korean women use masks every single day, as opposed to in the West where they are used more for a special occasion or a pick-me-up, according to international beauty director for Condé Nast Asia, Kathy Phillips.
Plastic surgery is nothing to hide; instead it is something to be proud about. "Plastic surgery is part of everyday life. In Korea, plastic surgery is so common that people walk around with bandaged faces like it is nothing. In America or Europe people might think they were hurt - not in Korea," according to Sangjoon Park, president of Seoul's ID Hospital.
Packaging is as important as product. It's all about storytelling, with lots of princesses, princes, castles and crowns and diamante. Christine Chang, co-founder of Glow Recipe, thinks K-beauty is having such a boom because of the cute, social-media friendly packaging of Korean products and the power of electronic peer-group influence.

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Nose jobs, facial reconstruction and surgeries are seen as ways to help young millennials get jobs, as employers are concerned with having a good-looking workforce. "Parents pay for surgeries here as they think it is their responsibility to help their children go into the job market," according to Park. Young women are frequently being gifted plastic surgery for a 16th or 18th birthday present, or an end-of-exams present and are very proud about it.
The already extensive Korean beauty regime is only getting more so. Women see their daily beauty regime as pampering experience and one that should be slowly enjoyed - not rushed through to get out of the house. Whereas in the West, consumers are targeted with time-saving solutions, in Korea the seven-step regime is creeping up to 11 stages, says Phillips, and is an experience to be savoured.
Plastic surgery is starting to seriously rival the hard luxury industry, with many choosing to spend $5,000 on a new nose, rather than a new handbag or piece of jewellery, as they see it as a better investment. Plastic surgery in Korea is also tax-exempt for the next five years.