6 K-pop Inspired Korean Style Eyeliners Tutorial


hanggggg on. haven't i already done an eyeliner tutorial before already? why do some of them look eeriely similar? well, that's because.. just how many different styles of eyeliner can there be!? and no, i'm not trying to cheat another post or video here. i've done this video with selected k-pop artistes in mind, so this differs slightly from my 10 daily eyeliner looks tutorial.

like i said, this video is with respect to a few kpop singers like IU, suzy, sandara park, and sohee. i thought this would make it easier for you all to refer to, you know, much alike the plastic surgeon's office where they hear stuff like "i want XXX's eyes and nose.". now, you can tell me "i want XXX's eyeliner!".

watch the video here!




PRODUCTS USED_______________________________________________________


eyeliner: maybelline eye studio lasting drama gel liner (black) and it's accompanying brush.


matte brown shade: kate designing eyebrow N (EX-4)

PICTORIALS_____________________________________________

here are the pictorials for the 6 different eyeliner looks i've done in my video, complete with annotations and markings!

-ONE-
iu's natural eyeliner.
iu's eyes are naturally lifted upwards slightly, so this look completements her eyes a lot as it seeks to balance the upward lift. the key idea is to make the end of the eyeliner end on the same horizon where your inner corner is lying on. koreans are all about smiley moon shaped eyes, this is one way to get it.


click on image to enlarge slightly!

-TWO-
iu's slightly jazzed up moon shaped eyes. this isn't a good reference photo but i couldn't find one that's large enough to show her eyeliner. she did something like a inward flick to force the appearance of a moon shaped eyes. you'll see what i mean in the pictorial below.

this is also the look i wore for my "5 ways to get a korean gradient lips" video. a few viewers requested for the tutorial on that look to my surprise - i didn't think this look suited me very well. but, to each its own.



step 2 requires you to draw a horizontal line from the end of the upper line until it hits the lower lash line. then elongate it as necessary in step 3.


click on image to enlarge slightly!

-THREE-
suzy's smiley eyes. i think the photo below is most illustrative of what i mean by the half moon eyes, when they smile the eyes take the shape of a half moon! the use of matte brown shadow on the lower lash line helps to create the same effect the black eyeliner does in the previous look, but it looks much softer and natural.




click on image to enlarge slightly!

-FOUR-
sandara's classic kpop eyeliner, which is also the classic cat eyes that a lot of kpop artiste sport since they share similar eye shapes.

as with all my other cat eyes, always squint your eyes to use the lower lash line as a guide to get that gentle flick. if you prefer a stronger angle, keep your eyes wide open instead. 

the key is in step 3, making sure the line that connects the end of the eyeliner to the 1/3 point of the lash line is straight.

i didn't line my lower water line, but you can do it for the added kpop flavour.


click on image to enlarge slightly!

-FIVE-
sohee's look are perfect for single eyelids! i love her oriental eyes, it's rare these days because most koreans do go under the knife to get double lids. hey, it's an open secret, right?

the key is to make sure the inner half of the eyeliner is still barely visible when your eyes are open. it necessary, make markings with the eyes open to know how thick your eyeliner needs to be.


click on image to enlarge slightly!

-SIX-
another sohee's eyeliner look! this is more winged out and makes the eye look longer. again, the trick here is to draw a straight line from the end of the liner to the center of the lids.




click on image to enlarge slightly!

this is probably the last makeup video that i'll post in the near future. i've made an announcement in my video (after the tutorial). if you didn't see it, it's okay. i'll be back after my skin heals :) in the mean time, i'll probably be posting more about makeup news and other things that are still related to makeup, but doesn't require my skin :)

i hope this tutorial was useful!

leave me a comment below on who's eye look should i dissect and explain next time!

HOW TO: Shape and Groom Eyebrow (For Beginners)

previously i talked about how to fill in eyebrows to get the korean style straight eyebrows, i realize it wasn't very helpful as that assumes you've already shaped your brow according. and then i figured.. if you need help filling in your eyebrows, you probably need some guidance on shaping it too.

this tutorial is to build on that so as to prepare your eyebrow for the filling in.

i've showed 2 different styles of eyebrow trimming here, the first is a natural looking eyebrow that harnesses your original eyebrow shape, if you do have some eyebrow to begin with, you can get away with excessive filling in and drawing with the first method since the shaping already gets your eyebrow looking neater and more defined.

the second one is pertaining to korean style eyebrow, and it branches out further into 2 ways on how to get it.

watch the video here!



PRODUCTS USED____________________________________________________________


from left to right:
1. KATE stick concealer (light beige)
2. MAYBELLINE eyeliner brush
3. MAYBELLINE colorshow crayon kohl (snow white)
4. KATE designing eyebrow N (EX-4)
5. KATE eyeliner brush (cut into an angled brush by me)
6. KATE dual end brush (using the fluffy one for blending)

TOOLS USED


top to bottom:
1. ruler (or any other straight objects)
2. tweezer (or a razor if you're afraid of over tweezing)
3. spoolie (recycled from maybelline cat eyes mascara)
4. scissors

PICTORIAL_________________________________________________________________ 


in case you didn't catch these in the video, they are permanently here for your reference:

Getting the line of references:

i called this the loci rule because these lines are basically locus where the points of our desired eyebrow lie on.

STEP 1: START OF BROW
some guides suggest that the start of the brow should lie on the line vertically above the side of the nose, but that's not a law, it's just a guide. i prefer my brows to look closer to each other so as to create the illusion of a more defined nose bridge.

the idea here is this:
narrower nose bridge = closer eyebrows = use any point between the tip of your nose and the side of your nose as the reference point to draw the vertical line.
wider nose bridge =further eyebrows = use the side of your nose as the reference point.

STEP 2: FINDING THE ARCH
i've aligned the side of my nose and the side of my iris to get line 2. some guides asks you to align the side of the nose to the centre of the iris instead. it's up to you.

STEP 3: DEFINING THE END OF THE BROW
this is straight forward! align the side of the nose to the end of your eye.

after finding out the 3 lines, you can proceed on to either the natural brow or the korean style brow below.


click on image to enlarge!

NATURAL LOOKING BROW

STEP 4: IDENTIFYING 4 POINTS ON THE LOCI
to get a natural looking brow, use your original eyebrow as a guide. the first three points that will define the upper limit of your brow should be the intersection between the loci and your original eyebrow's upper limit. you can change where the end of your eyebrow is depending on what you fancy, i tried to keep it within my own brows so i don't have to draw the end of the brow should it exist on an place with no brow hair.

the last point would be the lower limit of the start of your brow, it should also intersect with your original brow.

STEP 5: CONNECT THE DOTS
the upper limit should be easy, just connect the 3 dots together. for the lower limit, start from the singular dot at the bottom and draw an line that is parallel to the line above, until it hits line 2.

STEP 6: COMPLETE THE BOX AND SHAPE
remove hair outside the box, fill in whatever empty space (if you have any) inside the box. there shouldn't be much empty space unless your brow is naturally shorter than it should be.


click on image to enlarge!

KOREAN STRAIGHT EYEBROW

after defining the three loci from the steps above, you can carry on here if you prefer straighter eyebrows.

the one on the left is for you if you want your brow to be higher (which also means you will have more lid space, but don't take this too far up or you look too shocked all the time), while the one on the right will make the eyebrow appear lower and closer to your eyes.

as i would prefer my eyebrows to look slightly higher, i used the steps on the left when shaping my eyebrow.

STEP 1: 
LEFT (HIGHER EYEBROW) uses the top of your natural arch as the reference point to find out all the other points.

RIGHT (LOWER EYEBROW) uses the top of your the start of your brow as the reference point.

for both methods, you get to choose where you want the end of your brow is by picking any point along line 3. i suggest to keep it within your original eyebrow.

THE REST OF THE STEPS ARE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.


click on image to enlarge!


final look of the korean style eyebrow at two different angles, front and side.

the truth is, i use a mixture of the two styles to get me a versatile eyebrow. i trim my eyebrow using the natural method so as to retain most of my original eyebrow shape. when i fill in, i can change my brows very slightly get get me different looks for the day.

please experiment and test out which style suits you the best! this is just a guide, it gives you a starting point to kick start the iteration process. i didn't end up in this brow in a single try, what you see now is actually months of tweaking this and that until i found one that suits me the best currently.

hope you found this useful! :D

xoxo
karman

HOW TO: Glowy Skin With Powder Foundation (ft. My Go To MakeUp)

i put together this video because i struggled with unnatural and flat looking skin before i adopted this method. everything is pretty much trail and error and this is what i've got so far! i love the glowy effect these powder products gave me! it can't compare to the effects of liquid and moisturizing products, but i can't always rock those looks as it'll just melt off in Singapore's climate.

powder foundation is in fact one of the fastest thing that i can apply onto my face (as compared to liquid products), and i've found that a flat top brush gives me the best finish as of now. the buffing motion probably polished my face somewhat, the powder are sticking really close to my skin (thanks fo the moisturizing step prior to that) and it's pushed into every visible pore.

the secret to getting glowy skin is none other than the highlighter (and a shimmery blush too). the highlighter makes our skin shiny and a little more specular-reflective. i'm not saying matte foundation powder don't reflect light - everything that you can see (that don't produce its own light) reflects light, but powder foundation tends to produce scattered light, whereas highlighters produce more of a specular reflection. IN LAYMAN'S TERM, highlighter is making our skin more "mirror like".

i think an image would explain this better.


image taken from the world wide web.

as always, be creative! if you only have a matte blush, use the blusher before the highlighter! the highlighter will go on top of the blusher to give you that glow.

and i just had to throw in my "daily" 10 minutes makeup look. i call it daily because that's my default look if i'm not intending to look fancy, i would have called it my auto-pilot look but i'm not sure if anyone can relate to that. it took longer in the video (like 18 minutes?) because of the extra cuts. otherwise it's just 10 usually!

watch the video here!



PRODUCTS USED____________________________________________________________


from left to right, clockwise:
1. NATURE REPUBLIC super origin brightening CC cream
2. KATE mineral foundation powder (OC-B)
3. KATE gradical eyes A (BR-1)
4. KOJI eyelash curler (73)
5. BOURJOIS little round pot blusher (32 ambre d'or)
6. MAYBELLINE masterliner (brown)
7. HEROINE MAKE volume & curl mascara
8. REVLON just bitten balm stain (040 rendezvous)
9. L'OREAL lucent magique highlighter pen (fair)
10. CANMAKE highlighter (05)
11. KATE designing eyebrow N (EX-4)

BRUSHES USED


face: elf powder brush
eyebrow: kate eyeliner brush (cut into an angled brush by me)


the elf powder brush is a flat top brush, awesome for buffing in products.



PICTORIAL_________________________________________________________________ 

i just put the more important things into image form for easy reference!

BASE MAKEUP:




1. FOUNDATION
i tend to apply foundation on on the centre of my face for a more natural effect. that already helps to bring the centre of the face up due to the brightening effect of the foundation (i use a tone lighter than my skin tone). buff it out in small circular motions for a polished and tight fitting look.

2. HIGHLIGHTER
buff the highlighter onto the highest point of your face, namely the T zone and along the cheekbone. without makeup, these places will appear lighter in colour due to the amount of light they reflect. since we "flattened" our face by unifying the colour on our face, we need to lift these places up.

i think pearly highlighters are more natural as they only reflect more light under direct light source. if you want a more theatrical look, you can opt for a light coloured concealer to do the job.

buff it in for a tighter fit, the effect will be more obvious than if you were to use a fluffy brush to dust the highlighter over your skin.

EYE MAKEUP:


click on image to enlarge!

this is my most used colour placement. i tend to use this for most of my eyeshadow quads:
1. lightest colour as a base,
2. medium colour on the outer half for depth,
3. darkest colour along outer half of my lash line, blended upwards for a gradient effect, same colour applied on the outer third of my lower lash line too.
4. highlight colour either on the centre of my lid or just my inner corners.

FINISHED LOOK____________________________________________________________


because i find it hilarious to do a side by side comparison :X


flashed from the front.
the highest point of my cheek is being brought "forward" as it looks lighter in colour.


natural lighting from way above me.


flashed on the side of my face.


natural light on the side of my face.


flash on the side of my face. see that "C area"? that's the highlighter! you don't see it in the previous photos because pearly highlighters only reflect light when it receives a direct light source.


natural light. i think the highlighter helped to make my cheeks look fuller and more three dimensional!

hope you found this useful for days when you're rushing but still wanna look good!

xoxo
karman

Fall Makeup #2: Korean Ulzzang Style Burgundy Eyes

i must be honest here: i purchased the etude house look at my eyes cafe eyeshadow in PK004 thinking it's a burgundy shade because it look like that via my monitor (i'm wrong). it turned out to be more of a wine shade, meaning it has more purple than red to make it burgundy-ish. just when i thought i can't rock this colour (because it gave me a case of bruised eye look), i managed to find a way to use it. it has gotta be korean style because by confining the colour within the eyelid fold, the wine shade suddenly look gorgeous instead of bruise looking!

you may wonder, what exactly is burgundy? it's just another name for ox blood (in the west). it's a reddish brown colour.



by mixing in some brown, it can make the wine look more burgundy-ish. this can also work for red/brown colour combination. pink brown may be stretching the limit but you can give that a try!

the entire point of this video is to show you how you can make use of whatever colour you have on hand to achieve a burgundy colour instead of buying one. well, no one usually buys a wine eyeshadow anyway, if you don't own one, i got you covered. you can use a lipstick or blush from the reddish/wine-ish spectrum. i think the chances of someone owning a lipstick in this shade is way higher than owning an eyeshadow in this shade. if you wanna learn how to work an lipstick as an eyeshadow, you can watch this tutorial where i used my wine lipstick for the look.




i illustrated the products above because i don't own so many colours, yet. :P



the end result! you can't really see the colours when my eyes are open. :P

watch the video tutorial here!



PRODUCTS USED____________________________________________________________


from left to right, clockwise:
1. revlon nearly naked 020 light pale
2. innisfree creamy tint lip mousse 05 vitamin red
3. etude house look at my eyes cafe PK004
4. kate colorcious diamond BR-1
5. heroine make volume and curl mascara
6. maybelline eye studio creamy gel eyeliner 02 brown
7. kate designing eyebrow N EX-4
8. maybelline lashionista mascara
9. nature republic brightening CC cream
10. revlon super lustrous matte 010 wine not
11. media cheek color A PK-1
12. etude house precious mineral any cushion W13 natural beige
13. lancome blush subtil (rose sable)
14. canmake eye nuance 13

BRUSHES USED:

from left to right:
1. elf studio complexion brush
2. essence eyeshadow brush
3. generic eyeshadow brush (flat and has a rectangular surface for picking up colours)
4. maybelline eyeliner brush
5. kate eyeliner brush (cut into an angled brush for eyebrow)

EYESHADOW COLOURS


from the canmake eye nuance (13) - gold


etude house look at my eyes cafe (PK004) - wine



from the kate colorcious diamond (BR-1) - shimmery peach and dark brown

COLOURS AT A GLANCE

the combination of colours for this look!

PICTORIAL_________________________________________________________________

simple pictorial for the eye to supplement the video! i've marked out all the different areas for different products!

FACE:

keep it hydrated and moisturized as fall tends to be drier. the brightening effect of the foundation allowed me to skip out on concealer this time round.

i went for two layers of foundation over my eyes to prepare it for the reddish/purplish colours as they tend to look like a bruise on my yellow skin.

EYEBROWS:

straighter eyebrows for a more korean look! i've done a tutorial on this before already so i won't go into much details.

remember to contour your nose after all that brightening.


EYES:

a little note: KEEP THE EYESHADOW WITHIN YOUR EYELID FOLDS.

this is the only reason why the wine shade can look good on my eyes. if i did the smokey effect like i did for my previous look, the purplish tone will seriously make me look like i was punched.

the magical step is probably when we add the dark brown to the wine, it changes it into a burgundy shade :D

extend the eyeliner according to your original eye shape (extend it horizontally when your eyes are half open). if you need a more detailed guide, you can find the eyeliner in my eyeliner tutorial. it's a combination of the "natural" and the "kpop" eyeliner.

use the glittery shade to help blend out any edges or boundaries (as shown in step 9).

for this look i used two mascaras - the waterproof volumnizing one for holding the curls, and a lengthening one to lengthen. i didn't use the latter on its own as fibre mascara tend to have a sucky holding powder. using the waterproof mascara as a base helps to hold the curls in place before i load up on the fibres.


click on image to enlarge!

CHEEKS AND LIPS:

i use two tone for both the cheeks and lips.

for the cheeks, it's baby pink on the apples of the cheeks and a darker rose shade on the outer half of the cheeks, swept along my cheek bone.

the lips uses a red as a base and the center of the lip is darkened with a wine lipstick. the red was too bright originally, while there are no rules saying i can't wear red in fall, i wanted to darken it just a little to suit the mood. adding the darker colour in the inner half of the lips is a good way to do that while retaining some youthfulness to the overall look.

FINISHED LOOK____________________________________________________________



i'm wearing my geo angel brown for a slight enlarging effect.









hope you like this look and tutorial! I LOVE IT! well, there isn't a time i don't like my look, right? hahaha! tweak this look to suit yourself!

xoxo
karman

Fall Makeup #1: Burgundy Smokey Eyes For Asian Eyes

i'm surprised how much love this look garnered when i first shared it on my instagram. i thought the look was a little to dark for daily looks, but SURPRISE SURPRISE! so here's a tutorial on it :D

it's definitely fall inspired, it's probably the only time i can feel comfortable wearing this much burgundy colour out in public. and that berry tinted lips? I LOVE IT. wearing it full on makes me look too old for my liking, therefore a slight tint (with a touch of gradient lips) is the best way for me!



i have been experimenting with burgundy of late, and i realize it works best when i apply it to the outer corner instead of all over my eyelids because the latter will give me a bruised eye look. =_=

i believe this will work for almost all kinds of asian eyes because of 2 reasons:
1) asians tend to have a smaller "double-eyelid-fold to eyebrow" distance when the eyes are open. it's safe for us to place the main colour on the outer corner instead so that the colours can be seen blending into the skin (as opposed to being hidden by our eyelid folds). of course, there are some asians with a lot of eyelid space to place with, this look will still suit you though!

2) i'm using the eye socket as a guide for this eye look. whatever makeup looks that references the eye socket will technically conform to each and everyone's original proportions much more better than if i were to use any fixed number like "5mm above your eyelids".

browns with a reddish hue (think of rose golds) will complement the burgundy well. i'm not sure how this look will turn out if you used yellowish browns. the kate colorcious diamond palette that i own happens to be pinkish/reddish toned.

watch the video tutorial here!



PRODUCTS USED____________________________________________________________


from left to right, clockwise:
1. innisfree no-sebum mineral powder
2. sonia kashuk hidden agenda concealer palette 07
3. loreal lucent magique foundation N2 pure porcelain
4. heroine make volume and curl mascara
5. kate designing eyebrow N EX-4
6. maybelline eye studio creamy gel liner 02 brown
7. revlon super lustrous matte 010 wine not
8. kate colorcious diamond BR-1


from left to right:
1. smith's strawberry lip balm
2. meishoku organic rose moisture cream

BRUSHES USED:

from left to right:
1. elf studio complexion brush
2. essence eyeshadow brush
3. generic eyeshadow brush (flat and has a rectangular surface for picking up colours)
4. maybelline eyeliner brush
5. kate eyeliner brush (cut into an angled brush for eyebrow)


PICTORIAL_________________________________________________________________

simple pictorial to supplement the video! i've marked out all the different areas for different products!

FACE:

the moisture cream and moisturizing foundation is meant for dryer climates since autumn tend to be drier. this is just a demonstration! please use your trusted foundation according to your climate and needs. switch up the heavy cream with a light lotion if necessary.

the warmth from the hands help the foundation stay even closer to your skin!


click on image to enlarge!

make sure to conceal and colour correct any form of redness on your face. you wouldn't want redness for this look because burgundy is already reddish hued. more redness on your face will tip the entire balance of this look off the scale. also, as the eyes are taking on a darker look, brighten the under eye area for better contrast.

if you've no idea how to conceal the dark circles, you may like to refer to this entry where i go more in depth into that science behind it. basically you'll need a slightly darker colour to colour correct and cover the dark circles (for my skintone, a peach colour worked great), followed up with brightening with a lighter shade. i went beneath my "eye bags" to lighten up the shadow and to lift my inner cheek area.

set the concealer by patting the fluffy brush over the entire eye area. keep the face powder-free.


click on image to enlarge!

EYEBROWS:

i made my brows look more arched for this look because you can't deny it: this look is leaning on the more mature side. an arched brow will complement the look really well.

if you don't know how to make your eyebrow appear more arched, just extend the first line downwards, beyond the end of your eyebrows.

make sure to contour your nose as we wouldn't be using a highlighter for this look as there will be too many focus on the face in that case.




EYES:

before you start on your eyes, you'd need to find out where is the hollow of your eyes first. i poked my eyes to show you what i'm talking about. you really just need to feel the bone with your finger. use that as a guide for this look.

in the pictorial below, that guide is denoted by the white dotted line. the first wash of burgundy goes slightly beyond the dotted line (the middle of your finger pad should be touching the socket bone boundary, this will already get the colour beyond the socket).

slowly build up the burgundy colour to get that wonderful gradient, the area gets progressively smaller so most of the colour is concentrated nearer to the lash line. we'll then smoke it out with a dash of dark brown near the lash line, making sure to blend it upwards but not exceeding the height of the burgundy colour.

don't forget to blend out any harsh edges with your finger (in the 6th and 7th picture).


click on image to enlarge!

use a brown eyeliner to complement the burgundy colour. you don't need a very distinct eyeliner for this look in fact. give it a slight wing for a flirty look.

add some bling into the eyes (as always! i don't think i ever did a look WITHOUT glitter) to add to the contrast.

the matte lipstick blends really easily, but it will definitely require setting because it does come off by rubbing. set it the way you set the concealer.


click on image to enlarge!

apply the mascara. i used a waterproof formula to hold curls better. focus the mascara on the inner half of the lashes to contrast the brighter inner part of the eyes.


click on image to enlarge!

CHEEKS AND LIPS:

another special point of this makeup: the blusher will be on the outer half of the cheeks. use your fingers as a guide to help you find where to concentrate the colours on.

place your ring finger on the apples of your cheeks, the part where your first finger rest upon is the part which should get the most colour.

again, using your bone structure as a guide, dot along your cheek bone, blending the colour below your cheekbone initially before blending out the edges above the cheekbones. this will get you a more contoured face very very naturally.
 



click on image to enlarge!

moisturize your lips with a lip balm, blot off the excess so that the lip colour can go on easier. if you want a tinted look, dot the lipstick on. for a slightly darker look, apply more lipstick on the inner half of your lips.




click on image to enlarge!


FINISHED LOOK____________________________________________________________

i happened to take more selfies this time because i actually remembered to. :)


i'm wearing my geo tri colour gray. it's the only colour lens i have for now.

FOR SINGLE EYELIDS

i was inspired by an eye look i saw on the etude house community one day, i thought it suited single eyelids SO PERFECTLY. i don't have single eyelids, so this is the best i can do when it comes to a tutorial for single eyelids.

step 1 requires you to decide where you want the boundary to be.
1. the black line is about 2.5mm above your visible lash line when your eyes are open (very important for you to find this boundary with opened eyes). feel free to change this height according to your liking. for a lighter look, stick to a smaller number.
2. the red line is on your socket line and is the maximum height you can go for, this will be a slightly heavier look. anything above the socket line may look out of proportions.

once you decided which boundary to use, just follow the steps. the techniques are the same, the only difference is the colour difference.


click on image to enlarge!

FINAL LOOK



clearly, this colour placement don't look that good when my eyes are fully opened because my eyelid folds covered all of the gradient. what you see is a very distinct "cut" between the colour and my skin. that's why.. i do not have enough lid space (space between my eyelid fold and my eyebrow) to do a gradient. i'd say this look is suitable not just for single eyelids, but also for people with a lot of eyelid space. typically, they happen to have single eyelid or very narrow double eyelids.

hope you like this tutorial!

xoxo
karman