Kowon is the makeup artist extraordinaire behind our newest brand launch Lagom. She teamed up with a team of 12 acclaimed scientists to create the line. Kowon went into the project having many years of experience, which she brought and used to create skincare she knew her A-List clients were looking for, and would love. The result is a line that has an immense focus on hydration, making your skin naturally plump and hydrated, and as best prepared as it can possibly be for smooth and flawless makeup application.
Alicia has known Kowon….
We asked this acclaimed makeup artist a few questions about her career skincare philosophy, and all things Korean makeup:
What does beauty mean to you?
What is natural, starting from your skincare routine all the way down to all the details that you would do on someone’s face with makeup using tiny, delicate beauty tools, all of that is so that when that person is presenting themselves to the world, they are most themselves. Nothing is unbalanced on their face, nothing is super exaggerated. To me, ideal beauty is really drawing out that person’s natural beauty. But it begins, obviously, with healthy skin.
Were you always interested in becoming a makeup artist?
Since I was very young, I always liked looking at people. Kind of, marveling at their faces. So I always liked looking at people’s faces, kind of analyzing their faces. I was an art major, and so it seemed very natural that I was drawn to art on the face. Then, I professionally studied makeup artistry and got started working, after I’d finished school.
What was the moment in your career that you felt like “I’ve made it!”
I believe that a career, and my aspirations, are not about a certain moment of making it but it’s a lifestyle—it’s about being dedicated, it’s about being an artisan, it’s about being persistent, it’s about being a perfectionist in my craft, and so, when I look back, it’s really hard to say, at any moment, “that’s the moment I made it.”
However, LAGOM is my philosophy. It is everything I ever thought about what skincare should be. That is what I put into the brand. And the fact that it’s receiving a lot of love right now, I think, I’m starting to feel more like, this is the moment.
What has been the most rewarding part of your career?//What are your favorite/least favorite parts of your career?
On what means the most to her in her career
The most meaningful work for me, is, for makeup, there’s so many different elements to it. It’s not just making someone “prettier”—it’s something where you can change their entire ambiance. You can also really impact the way that they feel about themselves, when they realize how they can look their best. When somebody receives a makeover from me, it’s not necessarily “Oh, their makeup came out the prettiest,” but they themselves see themselves in a new light, and they themselves feel that happiness, and that’s when I feel the most meaningful impact of my work.
On her favorite career moments
I have many students in Korea who have studied under me, who are now also celebrity makeup artists. People come in and learn under me, and I taught and mentored them, and then they spread their wings, and they’re super successful, and seeing that makes me so happy. [Note from Alicia: Even Song Hye Park (?) who did the makeup for the photography campaign done when we opened our first location at Macy’s, started out learning from, and then working under Kowon.]
On her least favorite part of her career
When I’m doing makeup for a Korean drama or commercial or advertisements—I have a vision that I know will really highlight the person’s natural beauty the best, but sometimes, whether it’s the agency or the star, and they’re like “no, no matter what, I want dark lips.” At times like that, I feel the most frustrated. Those are the most challenging moment because this is my expertise, and I really try to highlight what I know, which I’ve learned from through many different times that I’ve done advertisements, and how it looks on camera, I have that experience, and so when I’m not able to provide my expertise, that’s when it’s most challenging.
What are three makeup tips every girl (around the world!) should know?
- The first is: it begins with your skin. So, in skincare, it then begins with cleansing. For all that you put into your skincare, taking off your makeup, and taking off your skincare is equally important. And, how you do that is important. So, more than amazing makeup artistry and skills, is the underlying canvas—when it’s healthy and that is at the best, the makeup that goes on top of it just looks that much better. So I tell all of my clients that making sure that you get your skincare right (especially your cleansing step, which keeps the water and lipid balance healthy) is the beginning for everything.
- The second is: it’s about your natural beauty. That doesn’t mean you’re not wearing a lot of makeup because sometimes getting that natural beauty, highlighted, and looking natural, can actually be harder than really exaggerated makeup. So, practicing, how you can draw out your natural beauty the most, is also not bad, for yourself, because you won’t always have a makeup artist to go to. Look at your face, and look at its most beautiful aspects, whether it’s your eyes or your lips, and highlight that. Find confidence in your natural beauty and emphasize who you are. Don’t try to be someone else because there’s only one you. In fact, when you wear so much makeup, it almost makes you look like you’re trying to cover yourself up. Instead, when you’re trying to reveal yourself, and highlight your natural beauty, there’s a certain confidence that comes out and that’s very beautiful. It’s all about balance, and harmony, and bringing those things out—making your natural beauty the most beautiful it can be versus trying to look like someone else, and doing exaggerated makeup and making it a very unbalanced look.
- The third is—you don’t just do your makeup and walk out the door, and that’s it. You have to look at it during the day to figure out if it’s staying put. There’s nothing worse than a woman’s face just completely looking messy and also, you can figure out, how you can get your makeup to stay better when you realize, okay, that didn’t work, but it requires a certain amount of diligence, to kind of check your face throughout the day to see what stays or not.
[Note from Alicia: Kowon focuses on the longevity of makeup quite a bit, because, while sometimes she can be there on the scene to help do touch-ups and so forth, if it’s for a wedding, or someone going out on stage, she can’t actually be there to touch up their makeup in the middle of a performance—so she’s always figuring out, what will make this last the longest, but if you’re doing it for yourself, you kind of need to figure that out. You might not find some holy grail solution where everything stays perfect all day long, but you can keep your eyes open during the day to make sure you don’t have raccoon eyes going on!]
What are the products you always keep in your bag?
Lip balm, the LAGOM mist, and a mitsuyoshi combination pencil!
What is your skincare philosophy?
Again, for me, cleansing is everything. In fact, I have multiple cleansers. Depending on my skin condition that day: whether it’s sensitized, or it’s a little more humid, or I didn’t get a lot of sleep, I actually will pick different cleansers based on the condition—that’s how much focus I put on the cleanser, and that’s why for me the LAGOM cleansers were a really big thing that I was agonizing over, which is how they were born.
What makeup brands do you like?
Nars, MAC, and (RNK ?)
Of the K-beauty trends, what’s the trend that you like the most?
Unlike caucasians, or black people, or even Indians...Asians—Koreans have relatively less pronounced features. Your nose is not as tall, your eyes are not as deep set, it’s not as 3-D, essentially, and therefore, doing all this makeup can look really funny on Koreans. Like, contouring can look weird when your actual features are not contoured, and you’re just on a flatter canvas, doing all that shadowing, it can look strange. Your face can actually look puffier. So for me, it’s actually, the Korean style that I like and is also my personal style, is, first of all, your skin is a huge asset. Korean women already take care of their skin so well, so it’s a huge thing to show off. That radiant skin, and that alone can be a huge makeup style. The second is emphasizing one feature. If it’s your eyes, do makeup that focuses on your eyes. A lot of Koreans might do a bare face with a pop on the lips. It’s a one-feature-point makeup that I like.
How do you think the Korean makeup look differs from other parts of the world?
In the West, I see that it’s a lot of contouring, strobing, shadowing, all of that. And also, using very bold colors to do eyeshadow. There’s a lot of focus on color. In Korea, starting with the skin is everything. There’s skincare, SPF, really detailed concealer, to make your skin look like one smooth, flawless canvas. That’s the focus.
Who was your first star client and how did you get to know them?
Oh my, that was a long time ago, so it’s hard to remember. However I can tell you that today, there are beautiful celebrities that come to me, basically 100% to me, including Bae Doona, Honey Lee, Chung / Jung Yoomee, Chang Yoonju? super famous model, came out with this really popular book, The Body Book…
How does it feel to be one of the most celebrated makeup artists in Korea?
Even this question alone is satisfying enough for me. It makes me very happy. I think that Peach & Lily will be a big source of strength to me, as you also love LAGOM, as many of the people trying it in Korea do, and I am so excited to have this position and be able to help the beauty of Korean beauty, go more global. I am dedicated to doing that.
Also, as the person who started the radiant, dewy-faced look, I’m happy because this is a look that a lot of people can do easily for themselves! I will continue to focus on things that are not just for celebrities, but these beautiful looks that all people in the world can aspire to, and do on their own.
What is the thing that you’re most proud of?
Just the fact alone that people like my makeup work/artistry. The fact that there are students who want to learn from me, that alone is very fulfilling for me.