I Went to Seoul and Learned 8 Makeup Secrets Korean Women Use to Look Younger

We know that Korean skincare is elite, but Korean makeup or K-Beauty is one of the most innovative categories of all time. The highlighters are buttery-smooth and melt into your face like a second skin, the lip tints give the Popsicle-stained look without feeling dry, and the cushions, oh yes, the cushions– they come in every formula imaginable and are full of skin-loving ingredients. All of these textures contribute to the ethereal, dewy, glass-skin effect we all dream of achieving, but there’s so much more Korean makeup can do—namely, help you look younger.

During my time in Seoul. I attended Korean makeup artist Cat Ko's masterclass, where she imparted some of her wisdom. “In America, I think girls want to look sexier and more mature. In Korea, we love looking younger.” This has resulted in a slew of makeup application techniques that are all meant to help you channel your most innocent, wide-eyed (literally), youthful self. We asked Ko and Rael beauty founder, Yanghee Paik, to share their best tips on K-Beauty. Keep scrolling for makeup tricks Korean women use to look younger, and how to create the looks yourself.

1. Follow the K-Beauty skincare philosophy

Paik says that Korean makeup follows the K-Beauty skincare philosophy, which always begins with a clean base, emphasizing healthy and youthful-looking skin. "The process starts with preparing the skin by applying toner, serum, cream, and even a facial sheet mask to ensure it remains well-moisturized," she says. "A very natural-looking complexion is achieved using K-Beauty cushion foundation." (More on this later.) Subsequently, Paik adds that "layers of colors and shades are applied to contour and give the face a more three-dimensional appearance."

2. Embrace a straighter brow shape.

Ko used a brow cushion product from Laneige on the models' brows, which created a supernatural effect. "The liquid cushion texture makes it look like her real brow hair," she explains. Sadly, the product isn't available in the U.S. yet, but she says that you can mimic the youthful brow effect by drawing in your brows as more straight-across than severely arched. Korean women prefer a barely there curve when it comes to their brows because they think it makes them look younger (supposedly, everyone's brows are straight across when you're a baby). "A super-curved eyebrow is too much," Ko says. "In Korea, we call it a 'seaweed brow!'"

3. Try "fruit juice" makeup.

To look as youthful as possible, Ko says Korean women tend to stick to an aesthetic she calls juicy-ism or fruit juice makeup. "It means getting enough color on your cheeks as if they were a ripe fruit ready to eat and bursting with juice," she explains. You can achieve this by applying fruit-colored blush (think watermelon, peach, strawberries, etc.) directly onto the front apples of your cheeks instead of blending upward and outward, which is usually the technique used in America (see: draping). Then, finish with a fruit-colored lip tint like Merit Beauty Flush Balm.

4. Give peach blossom eyes a chance.

Speaking of peach, as a subcategory of fruit juice makeup, Ko says that Korean women also like to blend peach-colored or reddish shadow around their eyes specifically. The reasoning? The effect makes it look like you might have just cried, which is a quality that makes you more attractive in Korea.

5. Try teardrop eyes 

In that same vein, Ko says that Korean women also tend to favor a subtle glint of glitter around the eye area. "In America, when you're wearing glitter, you want it to look like you're wearing glitter," she says. "In Korea, we want it to be subtler. Is she wearing glitter? Is she not? Is that a teardrop?" For a subtle shimmer, try Urban Decay's 24/7 Moondust Glitter Eyeshadow Singles in Space Cowboy.

6. Swap cat eyes for puppy dog eyes.

Cat eyes are a ubiquitous part of the Western beauty vernacular, but in Korea, women are all about puppy dog eyes. Ko explains that to pull off a puppy dog eye, you should keep your eye open when winging your liner and then bring it ever so slightly downward. "You want it to look naturally long and slightly curved down," she explains. "Not sagging or drooping, but just a lower angle than a cat-eye."

7. Fake laughing eye bags.

In Korea, women call the little pocket of fat that crinkles under your eyes when you smile aegyo sal, and it's so coveted that some women will even get plastic surgery to make theirs more pronounced. "It's different from under-eye bags," Ko says. "It's the muscle that pops out when you're smiling and makes you look cuter." To emphasize your own aegyo sal, she suggests applying a highlighter shade directly underneath your eye and then a slightly darker shadow directly underneath.

"Applying lighter color eye shadows or even glitters to the aegyo sal helps to accentuate this area, giving a more youthful and lively appearance," adds Paik, who adds that the Dasique Shadow Palette glitter shadow works perfectly for the aegyo-sal makeup technique.

8. Use cushion everything.

Ko says that cushions have helped Koreans whittle down the time it takes to get their luminescent, glass-skin effect from 13 minutes down to an average of seven, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a single person in Korea who prefers a traditional foundation over a cushion. Her tip for applying a cushion foundation: Press the middle of the compact with the cushion to disperse the formula to help it spread evenly on the applicator. Then, gently dab it around your face in a pressing motion.

"When you use a beauty sponge, you can't control the application as much," she says. "With a cushion, you can literally use your fingertips to evenly distribute the foundation across your skin." Our pick is the Korean brand Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Foundation Compact for its ability to conceal hyperpigmentation with the addition of SPF.

For foundation, Paik loves the JungSaemMool cushion, part of a beauty line created by one of Korea's most successful makeup artists.