I love trying to re-create things my favourite stars wear [1]. The keyword here is "try." I'll preface this whole thing by saying my makeup skills are subpar at best. I wear the same makeup pretty much every day, except I rotate lipsticks. That being said, I love trying to mimic the makeup looks other people do, which is what I did here with some of the K-pop stars I love [2].
I took six of my favourite looks — many of them very easy to do at home — and tried them for myself. I gave you instructions and products to try on your own, and best of all, it's all very, very easy to re-create no matter your skill level. Don't worry if you don't know how to do a cut crease or the perfect winged liner [3] — I don't either. If you do know how to do those things, by all means, take this tutorial and jazz it up how you see fit, but if your makeup skills are as basic as mine, join me on this journey of re-creation.
Jennie From Blackpink
If I listened to "Kill This Love" on repeat while I re-created Jennie's look from the music video [5], that is neither here nor there. (I absolutely did.) For this look, I blended a dark pink and red eyeshadow on my lids and blended it out a little bit. I then also smudged it under my eyes and then dabbed some gold cream shadow in the middle of my lids. I used a brush and a black eyeliner pencil to smudge liner on my top lids and then used a gold liquid liner to draw the vertical line down the lids and under the eyes. I filled in my brows as usual and swiped on mascara and used a bold pink lipstick.
I added a rhinestone in my part, because Jennie has a rhinestone headpiece, but I'd definitely leave it out next time around. K-pop stars seem to be big on pink eyeshadow, and I don't hate it as much as I thought I might. It's actually pretty fun and the gold strip on the lids is a subtle pop of flair.
Shop the Products:
- Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define [6] ($24)
- Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara [7] ($25)
- Avon True Colour Glimmersticks Waterproof Eye Liner in Blackest Night [8] ($9)
- Mirenesse Secret Weapon 24hr Peel Off Liquid Eyeliner in Pure Gold [9] ($7)
- Self-Adhesive Rhinestone Stickers [10]($6)
- Beauty Glazed High Pigmented Makeup Palette [11] ($16)
- Charlotte Tilbury Eyes To Mesmerise Cream Eyeshadow in Amber Gold [12]($32)
- NARS Liquid Blush in Orgasm [13] ($30)
- Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Firebird [14] ($19)
Jimin From BTS
What I love about the BTS boys is that their makeup is largely very subtle, which is perfect for someone like me who never has any idea what to do with my face. In this Instagram photo of Jimin [15], he's got a very natural look with just a little bit of smoky eye and a glossy lip. This is actually my go-to look for real life because it's simple but still something. For this, I just did a full face of foundation as usual with a little blush and dewy bronzer. On my eyes, i did a navy smoky eye blended into a grey. I swiped on black liquid eyeliner and then mascara. I also filled in my brows, and used a pink stain and gloss on my lips.
I would consider this a pretty standard K-pop look — smooth skin and pink lips.
Shop the Products:
- Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define [16] ($24)
- Avon Get Me Glowing Dazzle Drops [17] ($13)
- Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara [18] ($25)
- Ulta Classic Felt Tip Liner [19] ($9)
- Beauty Glazed High Pigmented Makeup Palette [20] ($16)
- NARS Liquid Blush in Orgasm for cheeks and lips [21] ($30)
- Avon Crave Lip Gloss in Honey Tea [22] ($8)
Felix From Stray Kids
This look is SO good on Felix from Stray Kids [23] and I was so excited to try it but I hate it for me. My face needs eyebrows and eyelashes and putting white on them just made them disappear. However, I tried! To re-create Felix's white look, I put a light pink shadow on my lids and under my eyes. Then I used a chunky white eye pencil on my brows and eyelashes. It would have worked better with a white mascara or something that would make the white more obvious, but I didn't have such a thing, so I made do with the white pencil.
In person you can see it better, it just doesn't show up in photos — instead it made my hair disappear. For my lips, I did a pink stain with a gloss coat. I'll leave this look for Felix.
Shop the Products:
- NYX Jumbo Eyeliner Pencil in Milk [24] ($5)
- Beauty Glazed High Pigmented Makeup Palette [25] ($16)
- Clarins Water Lip Stain in Violet Water [26] ($28)
- Avon Crave Lip Gloss in Honey Tea [27] ($8)
Tzuyu From TWICE
The members of TWICE did a gorgeous photoshoot with Allure [28] recently, and I can't stop thinking about Tzuyu's look. She had a Barbie pink shade on her eyes that I didn't quite have a match for, so I used a softer pink and blended it with a darker pink. I brought it down under my eyes too and then used a small brush to add the darker pink almost as a liner on the top lids. I stuck a couple little rhinestones on my lids, filled in my brows, and swiped on mascara. For my lips I used a dark pink stain and went with a light pink shade of blush. Rhinestones on your eyelids aren't the most comfortable thing to wear, but it's fun for a night out.
Shop the Products:
- Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define [29] ($24)
- Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara [30] ($25)
- Beauty Glazed High Pigmented Makeup Palette [31] ($16)
- Self-Adhesive Rhinestone Stickers [32]($6)
- NARS Liquid Blush in Orgasm [33] ($30)
- Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Firebird [34] ($19)
Sunmi
This look is basically iconic in not just the K-pop world but in the beauty world. When Sunmi shared these photos last year [35], fans all started re-creating the glam look. For my take, I did a little bit of pink eyeshadow on my lids and smudged black liner on with a brush. I filled in my brows and added mascara. Then I drew the small hearts on my cheeks with a red lip liner and cut out a small paper heart, held it on my cheek, and dusted red eyeshadow around the edges to make the outline. On my lips, I used a hot pink lipstick covered with a holographic topper for extra shine. Then of course I added the rhinestones around my face.
While the rhinestones are a bit much for me, I'd definitely use them again to re-create this but just fewer of them.
Shop the Products:
- Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil Ultra Fine Shape & Define [36] ($24)
- Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara [37] ($25)
- Avon True Colour Glimmersticks Waterproof Eye Liner in Blackest Night [38] ($9)
- Beauty Glazed High Pigmented Makeup Palette [39] ($16)
- Self-Adhesive Rhinestone Stickers [40]($6)
- Lip Filler Long-Wearing + Plumping Lip Liner in Maya [41] ($20)
- NARS Liquid Blush in Orgasm [42] ($30)
- Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Firebird [43] ($19)
- Limecrime Lit Lip Topper [44] ($20)