What I’m Listening To: BTS – Blanket Kick

Let me just start by saying that this is one of the cutest and well composed K-pop songs I’ve ever heard. I do not understand why this song doesn’t get more love because it is one of those sweet songs that touch your soul and put you in your happy place no matter where you are. I’ve been assaulting the repeat button on this song for several days now with no end in sight. Seriously. Listen to this song.

Korean Foundation for Tan/Dark Skin

I winced in embarrassment as I held a mirror up to the finished product of my foundation tester at the Estee Lauder makeup counter. I always hated how prominently displayed the makeup counters were. It was as if they wanted every single human and domesticated animal in the store to witness the three range shit show that was going on on my face. In case on lookers couldn’t tell by the fact that my face was about three shades lighter than the rest of me, I was trying on foundations and it wasn’t going well. On my list of things I wanted to get done that day, looking like Lindsay Lohan in court for drug charges wasn’t one of them. I was a HOT mess, but I didn’t know what else to do. Everything I tried on was either too drying, too heavy, the wrong color entirely, or burned the living hades out of my skin because of whatever chemicals were in it. I was so done. I’m pretty sure I could have a job at the Estee Lauder makeup counter because I’m pretty sure I’ve tried every one of their foundations, and everything else in between because they like to throw in gift bags with their other products.

Nothing was working on my skin, not even the expensive stuff like Estee Lauder! Then I discovered that there is happiness in this world in the form of Korean foundation cushions. I came across the existence of these godly blessings after searching through the Asian Beauty subreddit. I learned that yes, I can purchase Korean foundations and yes, they do make relatively darker shades. But exactly how dark?

So keep in mind that Korea is a homogeneous country with similar beauty standards and such. In other words, there isn’t an abundance of Kerry Washington type brown ladies walking around. Therefore, when I say tan/dark skin, I don’t mean that on the U.S scale. I mean that on a Korean scale, which doesn’t get much darker than me, but if you do have dark skin, you have a few options.

So let’s talk about the Missha Cushion. This foundation doesn’t get super dark, however it is good if you have medium/tan skin. I will go into some options  for those with darker skin tones. So this product is a very hydrating, light-medium covering foundation that is safe for sensitive skin and super dry skin. I have been using this product for over a year and have no desire to switch to anything else. I love it!! And I can sing its praises for days, but lets get to the nitty gritty. I have medium skin and this is what it looks like with the Missha cusion:

 

My skin has never look that good! EVER. It is clear and radiant and for once I actually feel pretty. And to answer your question, yes, I am wearing a Korean Hangbok in this photo. I used to be very active in the Korean Students Association in college and I performed a fan dance (buchaechum) with them. But back to the Missha, the shade I am using is #27 Honey Beige. It’s easy to get intimidated because there is so much freaking beige (it’s like watching an episode of Flip or Flip on HGTV), but if you have similar skin to mine, the #27 should work wonders. There is also a #31 shade that is even darker. Here is a link to a blogger who tried out this color so you can get a better idea of the shade:

http://rebrn.com/re/fotd-why-i-love-missha-perfect-cover-bb-cream-47230/

 

However, if you have darker skin, you can also try Laneige. Here are a couple of reviews of their darkest shade.

http://www.the-beauty-barre.com/2014/07/review-laneige-bb-cushion-in-dark.html

Cushion Foundations: Kiko & Laneige

 

Let’s just be real. The struggle is absolutely real to find s foundation that works for the darker skinned ladies. There are only a few colors available in Korea and in the U.S sometimes they completely miss the mark. But never give up! Never surrender!

Also, if you guys have any more recommendations for Korean foundation for dark skin, lemme know in the comments! 🙂

K-Pop Confessions

See those attractive looking dorks up there? Yeah, that’s Super Junior and they’re the reason for my slow decent into K-pop madness. I don’t want to be that guy that says that they were into K-pop in the U.S before it was cool to be into K-pop in the U.S, but I was that guy who was into K-pop in the U.S  before it was cool to be into K-pop in the U.S. My friends made fun of me and said it was weird, my mom said I was being crazy because she thought I didn’t know what they were saying (she THOUGHT) and I had NO ONE I could fan girl with. I was like the little match girl looking at my Super Junior posters all alone, except I didn’t die at the end. Unless you count the times my biases took their shirts off, then I died about 54 times, but who’s counting.

K-Pop seems to be a rising trend in the U.S with the rise of groups like BTS and Got7. It seems like the wave is going to take the United States by storm. And who better to lead the charge than fluent English speaking Rap Monster of BTS and Jackson of Got7. You’d think they’d be in like flynn! But before I talk about that I wanna give a little background as to why I like K-Pop.

So I got into K-Pop as a teenager by accident. I used to live near a pretty large Korean American community and so I took Saturday morning immersion classes to see how much Korean I could learn. Guys, my intentions were as pure as snow. I did not learn Korean because of Siwon Choi’s chocolaty abs or TOP (just all of TOP), I learned because I had a genuine interest in the culture. It was really beautiful to me and the language sounded so fluid. So then when, naturally, the girls in school start talking about T-ARA and stuff, I grew curious.  And then the light was revealed to me. As if I was Loki my eyes were opened and I became burdened with glorious purpose. I began listening to all kinds of Kpop groups that were popular at the time (Shinee, Shinhwa, etc). Then I came upon Super Junior. Super Junior had like 13 members! It was like an all you can eat Korean buffet of cuteness. If you didn’t like one member, just continue down the line until you found something you liked. I was obsessed with Super Junior. I was to Super Junior what Donatella Versace was to surgical enhancements. I’ve got signed autographs and everything.

Fast forward like ten years, and you’ll find me, 22 years old, still obsessed with K-Pop. But this time it is in the form of BTS, GOT7 and Jay Park. Why? Because they are hella cute and the Korean language is amazing to me. What I love most about BTS is that they are very worldly. They are fluent in multiple languages and have done extensive outreach into countries like Japan and the U.S. It’s really cute actually! Yes, I will tell you who my bias is! I’m so glad you asked! I would say that my bias is Namjoon (Rap Monster) because he is intelligent and tall. That is the bread and butter for me.

So back to point. K-Pop is growing rapidly, but I don’t think that it’s ‘popular’ on the Western side. It’s still a niche entertainment industry and it still has very few fans in the U.S. But I should be grateful that it has grown and take the good with the bad. The bad being the sometimes racist aspects and the good being the cuties and the music. So if you’re a fan of BTS, GOT7, Big Bang and Super Junior let me know so we can fan girl together!

Meanwhile, this pic of BTS got me like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want Clear Skin? Try the Korean Skincare Routine!

When I was 13 years old, I was told that I had the physique to become a model. I was flattered by these remarks, yet perplexed. How could I, the one everyone made fun of in school, be good enough to be a model? Sure, I was and and thin and tall. However, my skin left much to be desired. My mother, knowing how painfully difficult it can be to take care of skin, sent me to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with eczema. Rats! There goes my opportunity for the lime light, I thought. But my mom was pretty adamant about modeling. I attended a modeling school in the evenings anyway and was taught how to behave, walk and talk like a model. Meanwhile, my mom and I raised hell trying to find skin care products that could moisturize the dryness, not irritate my very sensitive skin and manage to even out my blotchy complexion. Every product ended up like a Greek tragedy. They would either dry my skin out to the point of flaking, irritate my skin to the point of tomato like redness, or, and most amazingly, they would cake on and make my pores look huge. Then you’d find me siting in the corner on the floor thinking about my life. There was absolutely no winning.

I continued to model in college, but I was stuck with Cetaphil. The chemical based, gunky crap that kept the dry skin away but only that. I still have no idea what chemicals I dumped on to my face everyday from the chemical cesspool of ingredients it had in it. Needless to say, it wasn’t working. Until I discovered Korean beauty.

 

What is K-Beauty?

Korean beauty is an intensive and comprehensive beauty routine that highlights the importance of moisture, an even complexion and a youthful glow. It’s most important component is its 10 step daily beauty routine. Though it sounds like a lot, it’s definitely worth it for clear, glowing, and youthful skin! Trust me.

 

How Does it Work?

So the most important steps of the Korean routine are as follows: cleanser, toner, essence, serum, emulsion, moisturizer. Your routine should change to suit your skin care needs. For example, I have added a few steps to my routine because I have ridiculously dry skin, but feel free to remove and supplement steps as needed. If you are wondering, I will explain what each of these steps are and what additional steps you can add to your routine for extra moisture.

 

Optional: Oil Cleanser

Oil cleansing is a huge trend right now. But believe me, it is a very helpful step to incorporate into your routine if you struggle with clogged pores. Are you real, you’re probably asking, how does putting oil on my face get rid of oil on my face!? You might wanna open a window, it’s about to get scientific up in here. Chemically speaking, oil dissolves oil. By applying oil to the skin, you are dissolving old oil and cleansing the skin with fresh new oil that it needs. However, here’s the rub. You need to rinse the oil off thoroughly and follow up with a gentle cleaner. DO NOT USE THE OIL CLEANSING METHOD AS YOUR ONLY CLEANSER. This method is not scientifically tested to be used as the only method of cleansing. If you have trouble skin, like me, that will break out from the mere thought of you possibly having clear skin, you especially need to follow up with a gentle cleanser to make sure the oil is not sitting on the skin clogging pores even further. I personally like to use Coconut oil and grapseed oil organic mix. You can also purchase an oil cleanser, but eh… I would just use the real stuff.

 

Cleanser

This one is pretty self explanatory. Based on your skin type, look for a gentle, moisturizing cleanser. I am trying out CORSX Low PH cleanser and will write a review about it soon, but so far it has been excellent for my dry, sensitive skin. Try just googling best Korean cleansers for ___ skin and that will get you started.

 

Toner

Korean toners are not the same as the ones you’ll find as CVS. They are much more hydrating, and are characteristically less stripping. A toner should not make your skin feel dry. Instead it should act as a level three mild cleanser that hydrates and prepares skin for all the buckets of moisture you’r going to pour into it after.

 

Essence

There is a bit of confusion about what essence actually is and why you need it. To keep it brief, essence is a light added layer of moisture that penetrates deep into the skin and helps to provide very deeply moisturized skin. You can consider it a helper to the heavier moisturizers you will be using after. It works to boost their moisturizing effects. The Essence I am currently using is actually Missha Time Revolution and so far so good!

 

Serum

A serum is typically an oil based product that you drop onto the skin to deal with specific problem areas. So if you have dry skin, you’ll want an extra moisturizing serum. If you have dark spots, you can buy a vitamin C serum to even your complexion. You can also buy serums to reduce the appearance of pores and stuff. The possibilities are endless!

 

Mask

So I think it’s weird to have this step here in the routine but if the shoe fits… So masks are an integral part of the Korean Beauty routine. So stock up on various masks to help reinforce moisture into your skin. You can also purchase masks for specific uses like pore reduction, whitening, moisture, etc. You can purchase a large pack of them on Amazon for about $8. I personally use them and they’ve got wonderful reviews as well, so you should give it a try!

 

Eye Cream

When I get to this step I become nostalgic. Does anyone else remember those really awkward infomercials advertising some product for getting rid of under eye bags, but it doesn’t actually work at all? It always made me laugh because they would show a black and white clip of a woman without make-up sighing in the mirror as she looks at her purple circles of tiredness under he eyes. Then it skips to a colorful clip of a woman clearly just wearing concealer yet claiming it was the product. That just killed me. Back to the subject matter at hand, this step is for eye creams that actually work. Whether it be for just reducing puffiness or for reducing the appearance of dark circles. Here’s where you’ll need to do ample research to see which products actually work, and which ones have a really poorly made infomercial. Okay, I’m done.

 

Moisturizer

This is my favorite part of the routine. I call it the ‘come together’ step. All the moisture you have added up to this point is sealed in with this step and you can rest easy knowing that the fruits of your labor will lead to beautiful, healthy skin.

 

Optional: Sleeping Mask

If you feel that you need an extra bit of hydration at night that helps seal in moisture while you sleep, you may need to look into a sleeping mask. I am currently experimenting with Mizon’s sleeping mask but I have heard good things about Laneige as well.

After a longs night of beauty up keep now you can rest. Ah,… I often feel like a wise old man in a traditional Korean home staring out over the mountains reflecting on my accomplishments. Look at what I have accomplished pupil. Look at that even complexion, no breakouts or acne, lovely glow and plump moisturized skin. I can die happy now. But all jokes aside, after a few weeks of this method, you will begin to see the results and you won’t be disappointed. Ever since starting with this method, I have only had a break out or two and that is caused by the change in season. Other than that, it has been smooth sailing. I will give you the run down on my favorite products in a later post, but I hope this was helpful!!

 

photo credit: http://thechrisellefactor.com/