Ariana Grande, Kylie Jenner and Rihanna may be beauty icons for many, but for me, being of Asian descent and all, looking to them for hair and makeup inspo never really made sense. I’m not denying the fact that I still admire Ariana’s perfect cat eye or Kylie’s pillowy lips, but because the actual structure of my face is so different from the theirs, looking to the east just makes more sense. Cue the Korean wave and its K-pop idols.
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It’s no secret the entertainment industry plays a big role in the beauty market. Honestly, you can’t walk the streets of Seoul without spotting lifesize cutouts of K-Pop and K-Drama idols in front of the shops. With all the SoKo girls (and guys) looking to their fave stars for the hottest trends – be it rainbow hair, pink eyebrows or mismatched coloured contacts – in music videos or dramas, it’s obvious that the K-beauty scene is fuelled by its pop culture. That’s why star-endorsed products generally sell like crazy across Asia.
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Though K-Pop stars get a lot of flack for generally looking identical (plastic surgery culture is real there), you can’t deny their A-game when it comes to hair, makeup and nails. Need proof? Just look to any of the super catchy K-pop music videos, courtesy of the hottest female talents in the country. Dewy skin, matchy-matchy makeup, face stickers---K-pop really has got it all.
Flip through to see the 16 best K-pop beauty trends (that are actually wearable for everyday!) I picked up from watching the top music vids of the moment.
Trend: Nail art, courtesy of Park Eunkyung of Unistella Seen in: BlackPink’s “As If It’s Your Last”
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