Whether you are a K-beauty novice looking to dip your toes into the world of lip tints or a seasoned makeup enthusiast wanting to refine your skills, these techniques are timeless. Here is your ultimate guide to the 7 biggest Korean makeup trends and explanations on how exactly you can recreate them at home.
1. “Glass Skin” (The Flawless, Dewy Base)
You cannot talk about Korean makeup without talking about “glass skin.” This is the foundational pillar of K-beauty. I’m so glad that this trend has substituted the boring all-over matte look. The goal is to create a complexion that is so intensely hydrated, smooth, and luminous that it reflects light like a pane of clear glass.
Unlike Western trends that often rely on heavy, full-coverage matte foundations, the Korean approach relies heavily on skincare prep and sheer, buildable coverage. The skin should look like actual skin—just the healthiest version of it, and singer Tzuyu proves this trend to be so cool.
How to get the look:
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Prep is Everything: Apply multiple layers of hydrating toners, essences, and a glowing serum or ampoule before you even touch your makeup bag.
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Ditch the Heavy Foundation: Swap your full-coverage matte foundation for a lightweight BB cream, a CC cream, or a classic Korean cushion foundation. Cushion foundations are fantastic because they press the product into the skin for a seamless, ultra-natural finish.
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Spot Conceal: Instead of painting large triangles of concealer under your eyes, use a tiny precision brush to spot-conceal only the blemishes or dark circles that truly need it.
2. Gradient “Popsicle” Lips
While bold lipstick colors have their place, Korean beauty favors a much softer, more innocent approach known as the gradient lip. Often referred to as “popsicle lips,” this trend mimics the flushed, stained look your lips get after eating a cherry popsicle.
The color is concentrated in the very center of the lips and softly fades out toward the edges. It makes the lips look naturally plump, pillowy, and effortlessly pretty without the harshness of a lip liner.
How to get the look:
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Mute the Edges: Lightly dab a tiny amount of your foundation or concealer around the outer edges of your lips to blur your natural lip line.
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Apply to the Center: Swipe a highly pigmented water tint, velvet lip tint, or liquid lipstick solely on the inner center of your top and bottom lips.
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Blend it Out: Use your ring finger or a fluffy eyeshadow brush to tap and blend the color outward toward the edges. Top it with a clear gloss for a juicy, hydrated finish.
3. Straight, Soft Eyebrows
Eyebrows frame the entire face, and the way you shape them can drastically alter your vibe. Korean makeup artists prefer a straighter, softer, and slightly thicker brow, and K-Pop idols often flaunt the look! Here is a beautiful Irene from Red Velvet and her cute, straight eyebrows.
A straight brow mimics the way our eyebrows naturally look when we are children. By removing the harsh arch, the face instantly looks softer, sweeter, and significantly more youthful.
How to get the look:
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Soften the Arch: If you have a natural arch, you do not need to shave it off! Instead, use an eyebrow pencil to gently fill in the space underneath your arch to create a straighter baseline.
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Use Lighter Colors: Korean women often dye their brows or use a brow mascara that is one or two shades lighter than their natural hair color. This prevents the brows from looking too heavy or dominating the face.
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Powder Over Pomade: Opt for a soft brow powder or a fine-tipped pencil rather than heavy, waxy pomades. Use light, feathery strokes to mimic natural hair.
4. “Aegyo Sal” (Smiling Eyes)
This might be the most uniquely Korean trend on the list, and it is an absolute game-changer once you master it. Aegyo sal translates to “charming fat” or “winsome flesh.” It refers to the small, naturally occurring pocket of fat that sits directly beneath the lower lash line and puffs up when you smile.
Do not confuse this with dark under-eye bags (which are caused by exhaustion and sit much lower on the face). Aegyo sal makes the eyes look larger, brighter, and as though you are constantly smiling.
How to get the look:
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Find Your Aegyo Sal: Smile widely in the mirror. You will see a slight crescent-shaped puff appear right under your lower lashes.
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Contour the Shadow: Using a cool-toned, light brown eyeshadow or a specific aegyo sal liner, draw a very faint, curved shadow line directly underneath that pocket of fat. Blend it out so there are no harsh lines.
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Highlight the Puff: Fill in the space between your lower lash line and the shadow you just drew with a pale, shimmering champagne or pearl eyeshadow. The contrast between the highlight and the shadow makes the eyes pop beautifully.
5. Puppy Eyeliner
The sharp, upward-flicking cat-eye is designed to look fierce, sultry, and lifted. The Korean “puppy eyeliner” trend, however, goes in the exact opposite direction. It is designed to make the eyes look rounder, larger, and incredibly endearing. South Korean singer-songwriter and actress Iu demonstrates how the so-called puppy eye look emphasizes her beauty.
Instead of flicking the eyeliner up toward the tail of the eyebrow, puppy eyeliner follows the natural downward curve of the upper lash line, extending slightly outward and down.
How to get the look:
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Follow the Curve: Line your upper lash line as you normally would. When you reach the outer corner, instead of sweeping up, continue following the natural downward slope of your eye for just a few millimeters.
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Connect the Lower Lash Line: Apply a soft brown shadow or liner to the outer third of your lower lash line, connecting it to the downward flick of your upper liner to create a small, soft triangle at the outer corner.
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Keep it Soft: Liquid eyeliner can look too harsh for this trend. Use a brown gel pencil or dark eyeshadow applied with an angled brush for a softer, smudged effect.
6. “Juicy” Watercolor Blush
Blush is a massive component of K-beauty, but the placement and texture are key. Similar to the popular Douyin makeup look, the goal is to achieve an “Igbae” (fruit juice) look. Your cheeks should look as though they are practically bursting with healthy, fruity color, like a ripe peach or a strawberry. Look how beautiful AESPA’s Karina’s cheeks are! She knows how to pull the look so well.
Instead of sweeping blush high up along the cheekbones to contour the face, Korean makeup trends center the blush on the “apples” of the cheeks, directly under the eyes. This brings the focus to the center of the face, enhancing that signature youthful aesthetic.
How to get the look:
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Choose the Right Formula: While powder blushes work, cream or liquid blushes are ideal for this trend because they melt seamlessly into a “glass skin” base without looking chalky.
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Color Selection: Opt for bright, clear, pastel colors like soft coral, bright peach, or milky lavender-pink.
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Center Placement: Smile to find the apples of your cheeks. Tap the blush directly onto the center of your cheeks and blend it softly outward in a circular motion, keeping it relatively close to the nose and under the eyes.
7. Strategic, Chunky Glitter (Point Makeup)
In K-beauty, eyeshadow is usually kept very sheer and matte (often using soft peach, beige, or dusty rose tones), but the look is elevated using “point” makeup—strategic dots of high-impact, chunky glitter. For instance, K-Pop idol Winter wears glitter as a cute freckle to embellish her face.
Adding a pop of highly reflective, multi-dimensional glitter catches the light beautifully when you blink, giving the eyes a wet, ethereal, and fairy-like appearance.
How to get the look:
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The Base: Sweep a matte, neutral shadow over your entire lid to create a clean canvas.
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The Lid Pop: Using your finger or a silicone applicator, tap a liquid glitter or chunky shimmer shadow directly onto the very center of your upper eyelid.
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The Tear Drop: For an extra doll-like effect, place a single dot of chunky glitter right in the center of your lower lash line (in the middle of your aegyo sal). When the light hits it, it creates the beautiful illusion of a sparkling tear.
Concluding…
So, the next time you sit down at your vanity, try swapping your heavy matte foundation for a dewy cushion, or trade your sharp cat-eye for a soft, downward flick. You might just find that this youthful, glowing, “less is more” approach is the exact makeup routine you have been searching for all along.
