KATSEYE's Yoonchae on Blending Korean and American Makeup Trends
VOGUE JAPAN
In this Vogue Beauty Secrets video, KATSEYE member Yoonchae goes through her skincare and makeup routine step by step. She talks about growing up in Seoul, training as a K-pop trainee, and moving to Los Angeles. Her main theme is how her makeup changed after she arrived in the US. Some Korean habits, like aegyo sal and lash curling, stayed. Others, like skipping eyeliner and wearing pink eyeshadow, gave way to a look her friends back home immediately called "American makeup."
A Skincare Routine Shaped by Acne
Yoonchae starts by washing her face with an Anua cleansing foam, which she calls her favorite. She follows it with toner, a Torriden serum, face cream, and sunscreen. She explains that she had acne growing up, which is why she now keeps a specific, thorough routine.
She describes her skin as oily but also somewhat dry, a type she says Koreans call "soobooji." Because of this, she avoids oily skincare products. She admits she used to hate sunscreen because it made her face oily and uncomfortable, but says she now has to wear it.
Her strongest skincare point is about cleansing. After showers and heavy makeup days, she says she has to remove all her makeup very thoroughly, even when she is exhausted. Her view is that acne often comes from poor cleansing rather than from the products themselves.
She also says she may have introduced Korean skincare to some of the other KATSEYE members. She adds that Korean skincare is already popular enough that they knew about it before she told them, and in some cases knew more than she did.
On days without official schedules, she tries to skip makeup at least once a week so her skin can rest. She notes that she couldn't do that the week of filming, which she says is why skincare matters so much to her.
Base Makeup: A Tip from the Group's Makeup Artist
Before foundation, she uses a product that KATSEYE's makeup artist Andrew taught her to use. She says it helps makeup go on better and stay longer. She has recommended it to her friends and her sister, who liked it too.
That leads to a story about her sister. Yoonchae says that without her sister, she would have worn "crazy makeup" to school. Her sister told her that less makeup is better and not to try too hard. Yoonchae says she knew nothing about makeup back then, and that bold lip colors or eyeshadows would have gone badly.
For foundation, she mixes two products together. She calls this "very Korean" and finds it easier. Next comes a salmon-colored concealer, which she uses to brighten the center of her face so she looks "a little snatched." She sets her base with powder using a very large brush.
From Seoul Trainee to Los Angeles
While doing her base, Yoonchae talks about her background. She lived in Seoul until about two years before filming and then moved to LA to join KATSEYE. She didn't know much English at the time and could only understand a little. She had been a K-pop trainee since age 12, learned that HYBE was holding auditions, and applied. She says she didn't really grasp that she would have to move to LA. She was mostly excited to try something new.
She recalls weekly meetings with the team while training in Seoul for the program. They kept praising her as a hard worker, which surprised her because she felt she was just working the way she always did. That made her think training in America might be easier. It turned out to be very hard. Still, she believes her trainee experience helped her adjust quickly.
Before moving, her only picture of LA came from movies, especially La La Land, which she loves. When she arrived, she felt like she was "in La La Land," but says she didn't know anything else about the city, or much English. She credits the other members with teaching her a lot. She says their talkativeness helped her learn English quickly.
Her family still lives in Seoul. She visits whenever KATSEYE has promotions in Korea or a short break, and her family often visits her in LA.
Why Her Eye Makeup Changed in America
The biggest shift she describes is in her eye makeup. In Korea, she skipped eyeliner and used only eyeshadow, contour, and blush. In LA, she found that eyeshadow without eyeliner made her look "like a baby." So she began mixing Korean style with what she saw around her. She added eyeliner, curled lashes, mascara, and a bit more eyeshadow. She says her makeup changed a lot as a result.
When she went back to Korea, her friends immediately said she was doing American makeup. She thought she was doing the same makeup as always and was surprised they noticed right away.
Her eyeshadow color has also changed. She used to wear a lot of pink. With blond hair in LA, she felt pink looked like too "clean" a makeup look, so she recently started using brown. She openly says she is still learning it. She doesn't really know how to do brown eyeshadow correctly yet. Sometimes she starts with brown and switches back to pink or another color when it doesn't look right.
The eyeshadow step in the video includes a darker color under the eye. After applying it, she remarks that it actually looks good.
Eyebrows: Giving Up the Bleach
When she went blond, Yoonchae bleached her eyebrows to match. She has since stopped, partly because she got a little lazy about it. Her other reason is that bleached brows made her look "crazy" without makeup. She now keeps her brows black.
Lashes: Curling, Heat, and Layering
Curling her lashes is a big part of her routine. She was surprised to learn that some people don't need to curl their lashes at all. She mentions fellow members Megan and Dani as examples and says she is jealous, because curling is hard.
She describes a method she says is common in Korea, where many people care a lot about their lashes. She heats a small stick with a lighter and uses it to curl her lashes. She says this keeps the curl in place and that it really works.
She builds her lashes in layers, alternating one curl and one coat of mascara, then another curl and another coat. She prefers working on lashes one at a time because she thinks they stay better that way. For stage performances, she adds false lower lashes.
Eyeliner, Contour, and the Camera
For eyeliner, she uses a black-brown pencil to fill in her waterline. She laughs that it makes her "look crazy" at that stage. Then she draws the actual line with liquid eyeliner, which she has used so much that the product is breaking apart. She also praises a palette she can use every shade from.
Contour matters most on camera, she says. Without it she looks "a little bit empty," so she contours heavily when filming. She considers nose contour especially important. She also warns that too harsh a nose contour can make her look too serious. By this point she notes she already looks different from her bare face.
Aegyo Sal: A Korean Habit That Surprised LA
Yoonchae draws aegyo sal, the area just beneath the lower lashes. She says it makes her eyes look bigger and cuter and also helps her look more snatched.
When she came to LA, she was surprised that nobody did aegyo sal. Most of the other members didn't know about it, though a few did. They were so interested that she showed them how.
She does not wear aegyo sal for stage or performances, though. She explains that aegyo sal makes you look cuter, and KATSEYE's concept isn't cute. The group's makeup artist is Korean, and Yoonchae says she always asks for aegyo sal anyway. She laughs that the answer is always no. For this look, she finishes the area with a little pink.
Blush, Highlighter, and Tour Plans
She applies blush with a flat brush to the middle of her cheeks, right under her eyes. Highlighter comes next, and she calls it the best part of makeup.
Along the way, she talks about upcoming work. KATSEYE is about to start its first arena tour, which she is very excited about. She is also excited for the group's new EP and says she loves all the songs. She singles out a song she says Lara wrote for the group. That song gives her a belting vocal line, and she is looking forward to singing it on tour.
Lips: Overlining, Not Filler
Lips come last. She starts with lip liner and overlines her lips, a tip she says she learned after debuting. She jokes that it looks like she got filler. She says many people have commented that she should look into lip filler. She uses the video to "stop the rumor": it is only lip liner, not filler. She encourages viewers to try it because it works.
Her final lip product is a plumper, one she has used up completely. Her makeup artist used it on her during the Beautiful Chaos Tour. She likes that it doesn't dry out her lips the way some plumpers do. She avoids lip gloss on stage because her hair sticks to her lips throughout the performance.
She also mentions that she usually plays YouTube videos in the background while doing her makeup. She finishes with setting spray and says she likes the result. She is heading out for a girls' night.
Hey Vogue, it's Yoonchae, and I'm going to show you my skincare and my makeup look.
I wash my face first. This Anua. I think this is my favorite cleansing foam.
Next, I'm going to do toner.
Because I had acne growing up, I have a specific skincare routine now. And next is Torriden serum.
I think I have oily, but also kind of dry. In Korea, we call it soobooji type. So that's why I don't use any oily skincare products. Next one is face cream.
Some of the other KATSEYE, maybe I inspired them. But also I think Korean skincare is pretty popular, so they already knew before I told them. They knew more than me, actually.
Sunscreen is really important, but I used to hate putting the sunscreen on my face because it makes you oily and it makes you uncomfortable, but now I have to put on sunscreen.
After we have shower, after we have heavy makeup, even though I'm super tired, I really have to remove all of my makeup very, very well. Because I think one of the reasons you get acne, it's not about the products, it's about the cleansing.
Okay, skincare done. Let's do makeup. I use this. This is actually really good. Our makeup artist Andrew taught me how to do this. This makes makeup stay so much better and it goes on really better. I introduced this to my friends and my sister, and they really liked it.
I'm so glad that I have a sister because if I didn't have my sister, I would have done crazy makeup to go to school. Because my sister would tell me less makeup is so much better, and don't try to do too much because I don't know anything about makeup, and if I put crazy lip color or crazy eyeshadow, it'll be crazy.
Next step is going to be my foundation. This foundation. And this and this, mix them.
This is very Korean. I feel like this is so much easier.
I grew up in Seoul until two years ago. And I came to LA to be in KATSEYE. I didn't really know the English that much. I could only understand a little bit. I was actually a K-pop trainee when I was 12. I found out that HYBE is also auditioning too. I actually didn't really realize that I have to come to LA. I was just so excited to do something new.
My next step is this concealer, and it's actually salmon color. I like to brighten this middle part, so I look a little snatched.
When I was training in Seoul for this program, I usually had a meeting once a week with the team, and they were like, "Wow, Yoonchae, you work so hard. You're a hard worker." And I was like, "Oh, thank you." And I was a little bit surprised because that's how I usually do. So I thought, "Okay, maybe then in America it'll be easier. The training will be easier." And I went there, and actually it was very hard. But I think because I was a trainee, I got used to it very quickly.
I'm going to put lip balm on because it's getting dry.
Next is powder. I use this huge brush to do powder.
When we don't have any important schedule, an official schedule, I do my own makeup. I used to do pink eyeshadow a lot, but recently I've been starting to do brown eyeshadow because when I do pink eyeshadow and do blonde, in LA, it looks a little bit too clean makeup.
I'm going to do eyebrows. I actually used to bleach my eyebrows too when I went blonde, but now I'm a little bit lazy to do that. So I've been just keeping these black brows. And also, when I had bleached brows, when I don't have makeup on, I looked crazy.
In Korea, I used to not do eyeliner, and I used to just do eyeshadow with contour and blush, that's all. But after I came here, when I did just eyeshadow and not eyeliner, I looked like a baby. So I had to kind of mix the makeup with Korean style here. So I started to do eyeliner and eyelash curl and mascara, and a little bit more eyeshadow. So I learned a lot. That's why after I came here, my makeup changed a lot.
When I went back to Korea and I met my friends, my friends were like, "Oh my gosh, you're doing American makeup." I was like, "What do you mean? I'm doing the same makeup." So I was surprised that my friends noticed right away.
Okay, my next step is eyeshadow.
I just started doing brown eyeshadow makeup, so I actually don't really know how to do it correctly. So sometimes I start with brown makeup and I go back to pink, another eyeshadow color makeup, because sometimes it looks a little bit not right.
I try to not do makeup when I'm not on schedule because my skin needs a rest too. So I try to rest my skin at least once a week, but this week my skin couldn't rest, and that's why skincare is very important.
And I put hard color, and I have to put dark eyeshadow under my eye.
Oh, actually looks good. I have to curl my lashes, and also I was so surprised. I didn't know that some people don't have to curl their lashes. Megan or Dani doesn't have to curl her lashes, so I was like, "Wow, I'm so jealous," because this curling lashes is very hard.
In Korea, because a lot of Koreans love to do their lashes very... What I do is with a little stick, and I put lighter on and make it hot and curl my lashes like this. So it stays there, and it actually works.
When I go on stage, I put fake lower lashes. I do one curl, one mascara, and one curl, one mascara.
I like to do my lashes each one at a time because I think it stays better. My next step is eyeliner. I do black brown. I fill in the waterline.
I look crazy.
And I'm going to do line, actual eyeliner.
My family is in Seoul. Every time we have promo in Korea, I visit them, and also when we have a little bit of break, I go to Korea. And also they come to LA often too.
I learned about LA only from movies. Because I watched La La Land, I love La La Land. So that's why when I came here, I was like, "Oh gosh, I'm in La La Land." And I was like, "Wow." And I only knew that, and I didn't know anything about it. English too. Our members taught me a lot. And also our members are very talkative, so I think that also made me learn my English so fast.
That was pencil eyeliner, and this is liquid eyeliner. And I use so much that it's breaking.
This is actually a good palette because I can use everything. And for nose contour, I use this.
I do it to look snatched because, especially on camera, when I don't do contour, I look a little bit empty. So when I'm on camera, I do contour a lot. And I feel like especially nose contour is very important. It can't be too hard because it will look like, I don't know, it will look a little bit too serious. I already look a little bit different.
I'm going to use this. I don't see it. There's one empty eyeshadow I use so much.
And I have to draw aegyo-sal. It makes eyes look bigger and a little bit cuter, and it also helps look a little bit more snatched.
When I came here, no one does aegyo-sal here. So I was very surprised. I was like, "Wait, no one does the aegyo-sal?" And our members didn't know either. Some of our members knew, but I had to show them because they were so interested.
When I go on stage or when I'm performing, I don't do aegyo-sal because aegyo-sal makes you look a little bit cuter. So KATSEYE is not a cute concept. So our makeup artist doesn't like to do aegyo-sal to me. I always ask because she's Korean, so I always ask, "Can you do aegyo-sal for me?" But he would always be like, "No." Just put a little bit color, pink.
Next is blush. I use this blush, this color. I use flat brush. And I put on the middle and right under my eyes.
I'm so excited to go on tour. And it's our first arena tour, so I'm very, very, very excited. I'm so excited for this EP to come out because I love all the songs. And especially the song that Lara wrote for us is very, very good. She gave me a line, belting line, belting singing vocal line. So I'm very excited to sing that song on tour.
Highlighter. Put the highlighter on. Done. Woo! I love this feeling. Putting highlighter on is the best part of makeup.
Okay, and I'll do lip now. My last part of makeup. I do lip liner first. This is a lip liner.
And looks like I got a filler. I found out this beauty tip after I debuted. So I've been doing this overline. And a lot of people are saying that you should check out lip filler. You guys should try this too because it actually works. I'm stopping the rumor. This is just a lip liner and not the lip filler.
I actually watch YouTube when I do makeup. And I just play it and I listen to it and I do makeup.
The last thing I do is this. I used all of them. During the Beautiful Chaos Tour, my makeup artist used this on me, and I was like, "This is so good." Because some lip plumper makes your lips very dry, but this one is not.
And I can't wear lip gloss when I'm performing because of the hair. Because if I put lip gloss on, the hair will stick on my lips, and it'll, when I'm performing, the whole time.
Setting spray.
Yes. Okay, my makeup is done. And I like it. I'm going to have a girls' night later. So love you. Bye, Vogue.
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