K-beauty has been leading the way in worldwide beauty trends for awhile now, and K-pop is one of the easiest places to see the latest trends in K-makeup showcased. (BTW, did you hear 4Minute is breaking up? Devastating!)
Here are our picks for the biggest K-pop makeup trends of the year so far:
- Puppy eyes. You know how we love cat eye liner in the West? That’s so over. Inside of angling up, angle down and create “puppy eyes”! It fits the Korean trend: less sexy, more cutesy, super now.
Photo courtesy of Clinique - Colored contacts and circle lenses. No, we don’t mean the Youtube-real-life-anime-girl circle lenses of old that blacked out your eyes or made them neon alien-style. The trendy circle lenses are less extreme, more of a fashion accent. Browns, greys and lavenders are popular color choices.
K-pop head-ullzang-in-charge Hyun-A rocking both colored contacts AND puppy eyeliner. - Ombre lips. Yup, these are still a thing. They befuddle our American taste for ultra-full Angelina lips, but you have to admit the slightly bitten look of color from the inside can be fetching. This is an easy effect to achieve if you apply your foundation over your lips, then color in from the inside out in a flower-like motion.
Rap queen of K-pop CL rocks bubblegum pink ombre lips.
Trends that are over
The above trends are still in for 2016, but there are some we need to admit are over:
- Aegyo sal (eyebags): this was huge — highlighting the natural fatty deposits under the eyes that are common among east Asians – but it’s over. Let’s stop doing it. (Sorry to those who got plastic surgery to make some under your eyes, but we’re not decorating them anymore, so don’t worry about it.)
Mina from idol group TWICE’s video for “Ooh Ahh” showing off her aegyo sal. - Straight eyebrows. These were all the rage last year, but it’s over now, and thank goodness because this style did NOT flatter every face. There’s a reason we typically arch – it makes your face look lifted, eyes look larger, etc.
Sistar’s Bora in the video for Kpop megahit “Shake It”sporting straight – blond – eyebrows. What trends are you loving / hating?
