14 DAY TRIAL // A little BB cream or even light foundation can go a long way. Throw in some eyeliner and mascara, eyeshadow and face powder, or even the more extreme (but very popular) face contouring, and you can look almost like an entirely different person.
Makeup does that. Whether you’re more of a natural girl or you’re a man who loves a woman who is skilled at applying makeup, there’s no denying that makeup has almost magical powers in certain cases. Take for example the South Korean woman in the video below.
Creating an illusion with makeup
The video was posted online at the beginning of the month, but it’s already nearing 3 million views fast, and getting attention from the international media. Once you see the startling difference in the woman’s face at the end of it, you will understand this kind of interest in it.
The unidentified woman starts off the video by looking and smiling into the camera: she’s got a face full of makeup, which is clear both from her porcelain, flawless skin and her eyes, heavy with smoky makeup.
She applies some makeup remover to one pad and then proceeds to removing half her face. By the time she looks into the camera again, half her face is completely clean, while the other is as it was at the beginning, and there is a huge difference between the two.
Commenters in the video claim some editing trickery must also be involved, because she seems to be wearing iris enlarging contacts at the beginning of the video, but she’s never seen removing the lens from one eye. Neither is she seen removing the fake lashes that she appears to be wearing.
These details aside, the video shows the magic of makeup, if you know how to apply it to emphasize your best features and to hide what you perceive as your flaws.
On a related note, it’s also getting attention because people want to know what kind of makeup remover she’s using. Normally, removing the amount of makeup she does in the video would require some scrubbing and at least 2 cotton pads, but she does it easily, with just one - and some soaking.
South Korea, different beauty ideals
A recent piece in the Washington Post talks about beauty ideals in South Korea and how they led to an unprecedented boost in demand for makeup products, both for women and men.
In South Korea, the younger and less physically flawed you appear, the better your odds of success in every walk of life, from the workplace to your love life. This has prompted cosmetic giants to focus more on a market previously explored to a minimum, that of male cosmetic products.
Today, men apply BB cream and foundation, and use moisturizers, sunblock and face masks on the regular. The fussier gent will also apply eyeshadow and mascara, and dedicate at least 30 minutes of his day to a complete beauty and makeup routine.
This would explain why the makeup industry in South Korea right now is worth $10 billion (€8.95 billion) annually.
