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- [00:00]
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- [00:38]
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- [01:17]
Jen Sullivan
Hello everyone. Welcome to Fat Mascara. What is today, January 10th? I'm Jen Sullivan. This is Fat Mascara, a podcast about beauty culture. How are you all? I wanna go in my little grab bag of comments and reviews because as you know, we here love a review. We love a comment. You could do that on itunes if you listen there. Leave us a review. Maybe some stars, depending on how you're feeling. Or go over to Spotify where you can comment on each episode. We're also uploading video clips from the episodes to Spotify now, so you may see those as well. Let me just see what we got going on here at Spotify most recently. Okay, before we get into the interview, this is from Amanda with many A's little She says, oh, this was from. Oh, okay. So these are from over the break. This was Louis Hotchkiss, who was the candle maker we had on. She said this interview was so interesting. It's actually so important for me as a brand owner who has candles in our catalog to see that even beauty experts don't read the instructions on candles, which I totally understand. It makes me want to change the way these instructions come with the product in a way that the consumer will actually read it. Thank you guys so much for all this content. I'm a big fan. Amanda. Yeah, maybe we should change the instructions. What are they like on the bottom of the candle? I don't even know where they are, but I'm glad we gave you an idea. And I also love to hear that somebody that makes candles and is a beauty brand founder is a listener. So thank you. Oh, we have one more too that I wanted to read. This is from Vajiji Hadid, which might be the best screen name ever, commenting on our last episode with Garrett. Never skip a Garrett episode. We got a clap emoji. We got a praise hand emoji. The absolute best. Love this one. Super insightful. You learn something new every day. Well, I have news for you. Vajiji Hadid Garrett will be back. I think his next episode is January 22nd, so that's less than two weeks away. But today, of course, is Friday, which means we've got an interview for you. So this one is both a hangout session and a beauty gossip session for me and an insightful look into what's going on in South Korean beauty for you right now, which I think gives you a sense of where beauty is headed and the next big things about beauty here in the United States. So I am welcoming to the studio Jenny Jin, journalist Jenny Jin. She is a Korean American writer and editor currently living in Seoul, which she's going to tell us all about. She was most recently the beauty director at Purewow, where she oversaw the Vertical, the Beauty Vertical and wrote a weekly newsletter for Millennial. She's also written for and worked for outlets such as Real Simple Travel and Leisure, Forbes, cup of Joe, and more. I know you're gonna love Jennie as much as I do, so we do have a little bit of a gossip. It's kind of a long interview, but she shares so many insights about what she's seeing right now in Seoul, South Korea. And the nails, the skin, the makeup, all of it. So it's just a really fun episode. I hope you enjoy it. Let's get into it. Jenny Jin, welcome. Welcome to Fat Mascara. Hi.
- [04:19]
Jenny Jin
Ah, hello, Jen. So excited to be here.
- [04:22]
Jen Sullivan
This is, I think, the biggest time difference interview I've ever done. Where are you in South Korea. Where are you based right now?
- [04:29]
Jenny Jin
I'm in Seoul right now. Yes.
- [04:31]
Jen Sullivan
Okay. What time is it?
- [04:32]
Jenny Jin
It is currently 11:12pm do we all.
- [04:36]
Jen Sullivan
Love Jennie for coming in the middle of the night to talk to me? It's 9am here in New York City. We're doing a global podcast today.
- [04:43]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, we had a lot of math that had to happen in between to figure out the right time. Yeah.
- [04:49]
Jen Sullivan
I'm so excited to have you on fatmas, Kara. So I've known you for years, but just for a little background for our listeners. Tell me about your journalism background. You're me, but based in Seoul. That's what I'm saying to myself.
- [05:02]
Jenny Jin
Oh, that's flattering. Jen, stop it. Well, so my path to journalism wasn't necessarily linear, I would say. When I graduated from college, I actually worked in nonprofit near D.C. and it was in solid waste and recycling. So very opposite from beauty. And I did, okay, you're not me.
- [05:23]
Jen Sullivan
In Seoul, but keep going.
- [05:25]
Jenny Jin
I did all of their marketing, email campaigns, and then I switched over to their conferences. I was planning these events for all these burly men across North America. It was quite an experience. But after that, I decided I wanted to move to New York like many other 20 something year old people, I guess I certainly. It was always something I wanted to try. And so if I'm being honest, I took the first paying job that I could to New York. So it wasn't a dream job. It was a means to an end. And it ended up being at an investor relations firm. So again, very much not beauty. And it wasn't until maybe a year or so into my New York life that I started to really think about what it is I actually want to do. And being in New York surrounded by all these magazines, these media brands, I started to see all these editors on Instagram and Twitter posting about their days. I'm pretty sure you were one of them, to be honest.
- [06:27]
Jen Sullivan
Oi. All right.
- [06:29]
Jenny Jin
But I just looked at it like, so starry eyed, you know, it just felt like this is it, this is what I want to do next. So I just started reaching out to all sorts of editors, asking for any sort of informational coffee. Do you need an intern? Can I do anything for you? I did that for about eight months. And then I got my first job at Real simple with Dee Dee Gluck, who is a lifelong friend at this point.
- [06:54]
Jen Sullivan
And you were in the beauty department?
- [06:56]
Jenny Jin
I was in the beauty department. I was her assistant. Yep.
- [07:00]
Jen Sullivan
So from there, like, did you find yourself gravitating towards a beat within the beauty world? Like, there's so many different things you could be writing about and reporting on. What's the Jenny Jin thing?
- [07:12]
Jenny Jin
For sure? Always skincare. I'm gonna owe that to growing up as a Korean being surrounded by it. And nails. I always loved nails. I mean, I just always love the fun designs.
- [07:24]
Jen Sullivan
Guys, her nails are so good right now.
- [07:26]
Jenny Jin
There's a miffy.
- [07:27]
Jen Sullivan
Wow. We have to get into that. And that is kind of the reason we're doing this podcast. Jenny told me she was moving to Seoul and I was like, I need to know everything about a why you're moving. Let's actually ask that first before I hear about the beauty culture in South Korea. So what inspired this move?
- [07:47]
Jenny Jin
Honestly, it is an itch that I've always wanted to scratch since I was probably 8 years old when I first got into K Pop. I just was always fascinated with the culture here, the music, my cousins who lived here. I just wanted to know more about it. And all of my visits just felt too short. You know, I'd come and be able to stay for 10 days at a time, if that. Right. And I thought to myself one day, maybe I can live in Korea, even if it's just for a couple months. You know, just have my adult version of study abroad. And yeah, I didn't think it would actually happen when it happened, but I think that's also part of it. I realized at some point that there was never gonna be an ideal time to try something like this, to pick.
- [08:31]
Jen Sullivan
Up a move halfway across the world.
- [08:33]
Jenny Jin
Right. But you know, I had been at my job for a long time at this point. I had just gone through a season of illness. I got out of a long term relationship, like tmi. Tmi, like all of these life changes that made me feel like, Jenny, you are healthy, you have savings. It's now, if you don't do it now. I just didn't want to be this old lady thinking about like my regrets, like, why didn't I go to Korea when I could? You know, I.
- [09:04]
Jen Sullivan
Now I just want to dig into this and not beauty. Because I'm just like, tell me more about this. So you, do you feel like now? How long have you been living there now?
- [09:11]
Jenny Jin
Just short of two months. I'm coming up on my two month anniversary.
- [09:16]
Jen Sullivan
Was it a good decision?
- [09:17]
Jenny Jin
Yes.
- [09:18]
Jen Sullivan
What are you doing there?
- [09:19]
Jenny Jin
The thing is, is it's not like, oh my God, this place is perfect. It's, you know, it's not. It's that it feels. How do I put this? I feel at ease. I just feel at ease. And I feel excited about the silliest, smallest things in my day. You know, I'm constantly swooning over trees because there was no foliage in la, where I was last living. And the beauty scene here too. Like, of course I'm gonna be looking at that. And I have to be honest with you, after being a beauty editor for over a decade, I started to get a little jaded about some things. You know, it takes a lot to excite us. After a while, I'm gonna, you know, to Being honest.
- [10:04]
Jen Sullivan
No, absolutely. I'm sure people can hear that as they listen to this podcast. I think that's why they come to Fat Mascara too. Cause, like, we're not just like rah, rah. We like to dig in and be a little bit critical thinkers, which I know you are.
- [10:15]
Jenny Jin
Exactly. So I kind of hit. It was like all roads pointing to this and I'm here now and I feel excited again. And by beauty, too. I'm just going into the stores and looking at things through the eyes of my teenage self, you know, just excited to see the new thing.
- [10:33]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that feeling of fandom a little bit. Comes back that you probably had early in your career.
- [10:39]
Jenny Jin
Oh, I love that. Yeah.
- [10:41]
Jen Sullivan
So who are you hanging out with in South Korea? Like, did you have family? Did you have friends? Are there beauty editors? There is. I like. Cause I would see you at events at things in New York City and I would know what your life is like now.
- [10:52]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. So I think, well, first of all, I'm staying with my fabulous aunt. She is retired, single, empty nester. Just check, check, check. And so I hope I'm keeping her company and helping out just as much as she's helping me by giving me a place to stay. So that's nice having.
- [11:10]
Jen Sullivan
Is she a beauty girl?
- [11:12]
Jenny Jin
Yes, but in a. How do I put this? She's like the most low key, high key beauty gal that I know.
- [11:18]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, go on.
- [11:19]
Jenny Jin
This is how. She doesn't wear makeup. She doesn't really get dressed up. But her skincare is another level. She goes to the Korean bathhouse almost every single day where she puts on honey masks and hair treatments. And she's always massaging her face. And she has this new face that I gave her a couple years ago. She does it religiously.
- [11:41]
Jen Sullivan
The device.
- [11:42]
Jenny Jin
The device, yeah, yeah. She pops it on while she's watching tv and she keeps up with it, which I don't know about you, but I. It's hard for me to keep up with those devices.
- [11:53]
Jen Sullivan
The devices, like, I know they work if you work them. And I have never been able to make it part of my practice. And that's what I tell everybody. I'm always like, yeah, you have to do it every day, though. But. So auntie does.
- [12:04]
Jenny Jin
Auntie does. And it shows because that woman is.
- [12:07]
Jen Sullivan
She looks good.
- [12:08]
Jenny Jin
She looks good. Yes.
- [12:10]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, we can all learn from her. Okay, so you're living with your aunt and are you writing? Are you reporting what's going on?
- [12:17]
Jenny Jin
Honestly, the first month I was here, I told myself, jenny Please take this rare moment of break, to actually take a break. Let your mind empty. But even two weeks in, I started to feel a little antsy. I'm kind of like, oh, should I be doing something? You know? So that said, I have slowly started freelancing, but I've been trying my very best to be mindful about the things that I take on right now. I know that's like a luxury to say, and I think it's because I'm staying with my aunt, right? So I'm not worrying about room and board, for instance. I have savings, like all those logical things. But yeah, so. And it's been interesting because since coming to Korea, there's been very fun opportunities. Even this right now, us talking about this transition that I'm in. It's not something that, I don't know, it's not that something that I would have sought out or that I would have expected to happen had I been staying stagnant in my career, I guess, or life even. Not even just career.
- [13:21]
Jen Sullivan
You're making me want to do a whole other spinoff. It's not even a spin off podcast. A podcast about what happens when you, like, upend your life and go somewhere else. Because I think a lot of people have this dream of, you know, my life will be, you're still you, but, like, if in another place you can be a new you. It's like when you go off to, say, college, if you go to college, like, who am I here? And it's like, who is Jennie in Seoul, South Korea? It turns out you still like beauty Jenny.
- [13:44]
Jenny Jin
Oh, yeah. And turns out I like it even more again.
- [13:48]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah. So tell me this, like, so the reason I wanted to talk to you, we're gonna have to do like a sidebar, just you and me personally and getting into all that. But the reason I wanted to talk to you for the fat mascara listeners was we see often South Korea as the future of beauty. A lot of the trends that make their way to the States, you know, they start there. And we've talked about this on the podcast before. And so I wanted us to talk about 2025 as a whole. Like, what. What's going on in Korea? Which is probably what we can expect to be going on, I think, in the United States in a bit and around the world in a bit. But I also just wanted to hear because I know this is one of the most beauty culture cultures around the world, what it's like there. So tell me about, like, first the media landscape, like, where do you notice Other women and men getting their beauty information from in South Korean these days.
- [14:35]
Jenny Jin
Honestly, I feel like in many ways it's kind of similar to the States, especially with younger generations. Everyone is finding their information online on social media. A lot of YouTubers. I swear there's more beauty YouTubers here than anywhere else. I don't know if that's because I'm being targeted that now, But I open YouTube and my whole explore page is all beauty influencers now. So, yeah, a lot of that, a lot of word of mouth, even more so than.
- [15:01]
Jen Sullivan
Are there any that you've been drawn to that we might. That I might not know about? And there's plenty I don't know about.
- [15:06]
Jenny Jin
But, like, that's something I need to think about because I have fallen down too many rabbit holes since being here with the YouTubers.
- [15:14]
Jen Sullivan
And you're watching Korean language?
- [15:16]
Jenny Jin
I'm watching Korean language, yeah.
- [15:18]
Jen Sullivan
Okay.
- [15:18]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. So I need to think of which ones have subs because there are some Korean Americans who have lived here for a long time who are also beauty influencers here. They're fun to follow.
- [15:28]
Jen Sullivan
Is this in your future, Jennie?
- [15:30]
Jenny Jin
I don't know, Jen. I don't know. I don't know because I'm constantly. The later grammar, you know, I never post things in the moment. I've. I'm always like, way later. Maybe I'll post.
- [15:42]
Jen Sullivan
You have to process. You have to process.
- [15:43]
Jenny Jin
I have to process. And even after that, I overthink it a lot of the time. So I don't know.
- [15:51]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, so people are going to YouTube, social media. Is TikTok there?
- [15:56]
Jenny Jin
Yes, it is a thing, but I also feel like it's not as big as in the States, obviously. My sample size. The few people I talk to about this, they said that it's because of. They don't. Basically, they don't trust it. You know, they're kind of sus about the TikTok.
- [16:11]
Jen Sullivan
Okay.
- [16:12]
Jenny Jin
But again, it's not like I.
- [16:14]
Jen Sullivan
Is there a social shopping scene? You know, like in. In a social shopping scene? Like, I know it's huge in something like in China, for example, and it started to trickle into the United States where, like, we're doing that social selling shopping thing where you're like, am I entertained or am I buying stuff? Does that. Is that part of the media landscape as well?
- [16:32]
Jenny Jin
It is, but I've gotta say, when you first said social shopping, I thought you meant like socially or out in the wild shopping, because that's what I've been doing since I've gotten here.
- [16:43]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, let's get into that then. But no, I did mean like the, you know, they're on for three hours straight, like QVC but brought to you in your phone kind of vibes.
- [16:50]
Jenny Jin
Yes. And there's actually a home shopping network that the fabulous auntie that I told you about orders things from often.
- [16:58]
Jen Sullivan
What's the name of the network?
- [17:01]
Jenny Jin
She calls it Home Shopping. I don't know if there's an actual.
- [17:04]
Jen Sullivan
The English word is what is used there literally.
- [17:07]
Jenny Jin
I'm like, I hope, I hope that's. There must be a real name for it. But she always refers to it to me as home shopping. So.
- [17:14]
Jen Sullivan
So there's the home shopping, but then there's you out in the world experiencing the retail experience in South Korea and Seoul. What are you seeing, like, culturally speaking, like, what's it like to be a beauty consumer in South Korea right now?
- [17:29]
Jenny Jin
Oh my gosh. Okay. Where do I even begin? I have so much to say about this. There's so much to buy. There's so much temptation even for me. Just I try to be very critical about the things that I'm purchasing. But the packaging, the experience of these stores, everything is so sensorial, everything smells good, everyone looks so polished. Who's selling it to you, but also the consumers themselves. It's just, I don't know, I had to literally write a post it Jenn, that is telling me the things that I cannot buy because I already bought too many of them.
- [18:08]
Jen Sullivan
Wait, what's on the post? It.
- [18:10]
Jenny Jin
Oh my goodness. First of all, lip products. I purchased any lip product that looks cute.
- [18:16]
Jen Sullivan
What are you holding up?
- [18:17]
Jenny Jin
What is that? This is a lip tint from a brand called Color Brand, Color gram, Color grammar. It's so cute and delicious. I mean I have so many lip tints now. So that's on my list. That's one of the things on my list.
- [18:32]
Jen Sullivan
The no no list, no more list.
- [18:33]
Jenny Jin
The no no list. Have I followed through with it? Not, not strictly.
- [18:40]
Jen Sullivan
And so tell me about like the road shops and the retail are these like Ulta, like Sephora, like for people who haven't been to Korea, like what is the retail experience in beauty?
- [18:50]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. So I think the primary retailer that everyone who comes to Korea knows about and shop. Olive Young. Olive Young is basically Sephora, but they also have a snack section and a adult beverage section. I found out recently where they sell wine and soju and hard kombucha. Yeah. So it's a one stop shop strategy.
- [19:14]
Jen Sullivan
Get people a little loosened up.
- [19:15]
Jenny Jin
That's what I'm Saying so. And they have supplements too. There's just. But mostly the focus is on beauty. And depending on where in Seoul you go to an Olive Young, some of them are small, some of them are three, three, three floors with different themes. You know, this is the hair floor, this is the fragrance section. You know, they're everywhere. When I say they're everywhere, I mean you can't walk 10 blocks without running into one.
- [19:39]
Jen Sullivan
And this particular shop, not even this particular shop.
- [19:42]
Jenny Jin
So imagine walking and seeing Sephora every couple blocks. It's like that. You see it everywhere, everywhere.
- [19:50]
Jen Sullivan
So that's the number one, the omnipresence of beauty retail.
- [19:54]
Jenny Jin
Correct. No, for real. And so that's the one that comes to mind first and foremost. And then there's a one that opened recently that I think it's more of a if you know, you know, kind of situation as of now still. It's called hemeko. And a YouTube famous hairstylist named Kyu K I U he, I think opened this store and the whole concept is convenience store beauty. So that's the way they kind of laid out the store. There's like all these wire bins with tons of beauty products in them. And he features a lot of indie brands. So I had a lot of fun visiting that store recently actually. And some of my favorite new finds are from Himeko.
- [20:38]
Jen Sullivan
And what's the price point like for Himeko, for example, are we talking drugstore level? Like prestige?
- [20:45]
Jenny Jin
I want to say most items are closer to. If we're talking drugstore, I'm talking like La Roche Posay drugstore. A little.
- [20:53]
Jen Sullivan
All right, Mestige, if you will.
- [20:55]
Jenny Jin
Yes, exactly.
- [20:56]
Jen Sullivan
Do beauty consumers in South Korea think about it that way of the levels of like, okay, drugstore, Mestige, prestige, luxury, or is that not how it works?
- [21:05]
Jenny Jin
Honestly, from what I've seen just out in the wild, it seems like people go olive, young or really expensive. You know, there's like. No, they're not really like thinking about all the levels. It's just I've noticed that too.
- [21:18]
Jen Sullivan
Like a shift towards really high end and then your basics, your elf, your Nyx, that kind of thing. And then middle ground kind of falling out a little bit.
- [21:28]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, I feel like that's pretty similar here too.
- [21:31]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, so how was your Hemiko experience? Did you enjoy?
- [21:36]
Jenny Jin
So fun. I walked out with a full basket. A full basket. I had to lug across the city back home. But it's just I'm looking at my desk right now because I have stuff all around. All around me.
- [21:46]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, well, we're gonna get into products. But I'm curious, as a critical thinking journalist, like, knowing that beauty's on every block, do you think it affects the way you're thinking about beauty personally and. Or the people that are there, your friends and family? Is it more top of mind? Like, how does that affect the way you walk through life?
- [22:04]
Jenny Jin
For me, it definitely became top of mind. I'm slowly starting to get a little more grounded back to la. Jenny, who is very no makeup, sweatpants kind of galaxy for the most part. But my first month here, I was almost kind of obsessed with it in a way that I didn't like, you know, I just felt like I. I had to go outside with a polished face. I couldn't go out with no makeup. Not couldn't. I just felt. I felt like everyone else looked so polished, so I should at least keep up a little bit, you know?
- [22:37]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, yeah.
- [22:38]
Jenny Jin
I don't know, I felt this sort of pressure to look a little bit more put together than I usually would feel back in la. But I, you know, I thought about it and I did have some of those feelings in New York, too, when I was living downtown.
- [22:51]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, I know what you mean. Like, culturally, you want to bring it because other people are bringing it, if you will.
- [22:58]
Jenny Jin
Yes. And you're so up close and personal with so many people being on public transit all the time, I feel perceived.
- [23:05]
Jen Sullivan
I remember my friend Maureen when we visited Seoul together, I asked her how to say excuse me in Korean. You know, when you bump into somebody.
- [23:13]
Jenny Jin
Yeah.
- [23:14]
Jen Sullivan
Do you have to fact check me on this? And she said to me, she's like, oh, we don't have a word for that. If you said excuse me every time you bumped into somebody in Seoul, you'd never get anywhere.
- [23:22]
Jenny Jin
No, it's true. It's so troubling. What do you think about this? You don't say anything. If anything, sometimes maybe you'll give them a little, like, a little like a.
- [23:30]
Jen Sullivan
Like a mini bow, Like a mini.
- [23:32]
Jenny Jin
Like a mini nod.
- [23:33]
Jen Sullivan
Maybe even a nod, a chin nod.
- [23:35]
Jenny Jin
Okay. If that, if that. The elders. Some of the elders. You don't even get that. You're just kind of business as usual.
- [23:42]
Jen Sullivan
It's true, though. Like. Like, we got time for that. We got to get to. We got to get to Etude House. We got to go to Olivia.
- [23:48]
Jenny Jin
We got to go to Hemet Co. We got plans. Yeah.
- [23:51]
Jen Sullivan
Actually, is Etude House still big there? Like, is that a retail shop that you've been in? Honestly, I know it's also a brand, but.
- [23:59]
Jenny Jin
Well, that's hard to say because I was about to say I don't think it's as big, but maybe it's just that there's so many other things now, you know.
- [24:06]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, my reference is dated. Sorry, guys.
- [24:09]
Jenny Jin
No, that's the speed here though. I feel like six months later my references are gonna be dated. It just moves so quickly. The trends here and the products and what's hot and what's not.
- [24:29]
Jen Sullivan
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- [27:03]
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- [27:49]
Jen Sullivan
You've talked to me about the retail. I'm curious as you walk around and are meeting people and talking to people like what about the treatment and surgery? Because we hear about people sometimes going to South Korea for plastic surgery because it is less expensive there because they are are pretty far advanced in some of their techniques. Is that something that infiltrates everyday life for you?
- [28:09]
Jenny Jin
I do think that, yes. I was trying to think. I was trying to think. No, it has, it has. I've become a little bit more. I've been obsessively researching things that I never really thought about as much of back home in the States, which is crazy because I worked in beauty for so long, right? But here, I don't know, there's just. There's so many options and everyone's talking about how they did it and how the results are so great. It's so normalized. Pretty much any meeting that you go to, you'll hear someone talking about some skin procedure that they did or treatment that they tried a lot of lifting lasers that's like the one that I'm currently doing a lot of research on before I plunk down the money.
- [28:51]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, so a lifting laser. What does that mean to us?
- [28:55]
Jenny Jin
What does that mean? It's basically, there's two gold standards in lifting lasers. It's ultherapy and thermage. And they actually sell it as a combo here, often at skin clinics, and they call it Ulthamar.
- [29:11]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, so you're getting the ultrasound and the. Is it heat or it's radio frequency? It's heat.
- [29:18]
Jenny Jin
Thermogenic.
- [29:19]
Jen Sullivan
Neither of them are technically lasers, but the whole idea is like we're putting a device on your skin, these two devices, quote, unquote, lasers, and you're going to look lifted.
- [29:27]
Jenny Jin
They call it lifting lasers. And then there's all these other versions of these types of lasers, Korean versions like Oligio or Shurink, like all these names I've never heard of. So this is why I'm on these YouTube rabbit holes. Jen, so you're.
- [29:43]
Jen Sullivan
Are you tempted?
- [29:44]
Jenny Jin
I'm so tempted. I am tempted. I am very tempted. Check back with me in like two months, I might have gotten.
- [29:51]
Jen Sullivan
What age, though, are people. So here in the States, I would say by the time you're looking at ultherapy and that type of treatment, you're hitting 40 is my guess. Not to judge anybody choices earlier or later. But what age are we talking about in South Korea where people start to think about these kind of treatments?
- [30:10]
Jenny Jin
I mean, I have seen people in their mid to late twenties do weaker versions of it. There are less strong versions that you could do that are also cheaper. So I've seen younger influencers talk about doing these treatments. But I think by the time you're in your 30s, I think that's when a lot of the women here start to do more of these procedures, is what I've been gathering from just talking to local people, talking to my cousins, talking to friends, and I'm right in that demo.
- [30:38]
Jen Sullivan
Like, what percentage do you think? And this is. Obviously you've not done a study and I'm not asking you, but I'm just like, as you're talking, you're saying at meetings, cousins, friends. It sounds like anytime you're talking to a woman there, at some point this kind of thing will come up and like the majority of the population that can afford to are taking part. Is that right?
- [30:56]
Jenny Jin
That's certainly how it feels. Definitely way more than back in la, you know, I don't know, I just.
- [31:01]
Jen Sullivan
Which is itself like one of the places in the States where a Lot of that stuff is happening, for sure.
- [31:08]
Jenny Jin
And I have to remind myself, hmm, I don't know. Just because I'm talking to people who are doing this, it doesn't necessarily mean that the whole of Seoul is doing this. But it is definitely way more prevalent here than anywhere else I've lived or visited, that's for sure.
- [31:25]
Jen Sullivan
What other treatments are you hearing about the lifting laser being one? What else are people talking about?
- [31:33]
Jenny Jin
Well, we say in Korean, everything, you know, the pronunciation of English words.
- [31:37]
Jen Sullivan
Give me the. I want to feel like I'm there.
- [31:39]
Jenny Jin
You want to feel the whole rejuven.
- [31:42]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, okay.
- [31:43]
Jenny Jin
But you might have heard of it. It's the salmon. The salmon sperm injections, pdri.
- [31:50]
Jen Sullivan
Why did it get that name? Tell us about it. And then can we discuss how that became what it's searched for online? But go ahead. What is this?
- [31:57]
Jenny Jin
Basically, they take molecules from salmon DNA. I prefer to call it DNA, but they do call it salmon sperm. I think it's like the alliteration, the clickheadiness of head clickiness, clickheadiness of it all. It's catchy, but it's all the rage here. It's every skin clinic you go to, they're marketing it everywhere, and all the influencers talk about it. You see these crazy pictures of people with embossing on their face, right?
- [32:23]
Jen Sullivan
So it's like you're getting microneedled and then spreading this serum from the DNA of the salmon, and it's penetrating. How much is someone charging for that kind? Do they call it a facial or they just call it rejuron?
- [32:38]
Jenny Jin
They call it rejuron, and depending on where you get it, you either get it microneedled in with like one of those stamping devices, but they say that's less effective. The more effective route is to get it injected point by point all over your face. Your face is getting hundreds of pricks and it's going deeper than your typical microneedling. So I heard it's very painful, almost.
- [33:02]
Jen Sullivan
Like if you were doing skin vive, which is like the ha filler at the micro level, like that, but all over. And they do a map on your face and they just hit all the spots. Do you know anybody that got it done?
- [33:12]
Jenny Jin
Yes, so many people. And my friends tell me, what did they say? My friends who were visiting from the States, they all did it at the end of their trip. They made it part of their itinerary. So most people say that it's very good for adding moisture to your face. They call it sokgwang, which Is like the moisture or the shine that comes from within. It's hard to make.
- [33:33]
Jen Sullivan
Yes. We just had a big discussion. Luminosity or radiance? Like, is there a difference? But say this word again for me and that's like, I'm lit from within. Glow. Kind of. Yeah.
- [33:46]
Jenny Jin
Oh my gosh. Yes. That favorite phrase that we all used a million times.
- [33:50]
Jen Sullivan
How many times have we written that? Okay, so the, the reguron just does that.
- [33:55]
Jenny Jin
Yes. But it's famous for being painful. It's famous for the embossing that it leaves behind. People say that it's anywhere between. I've heard anywhere between one to three days to a week.
- [34:07]
Jen Sullivan
It just depends that you're not gonna look good before everything starts to kick in.
- [34:11]
Jenny Jin
That's right. It takes a bit of time. And then, of course, this is what I. We hear this about so many treatments. But they say you see the real effects after you do a series of them.
- [34:21]
Jen Sullivan
You know, spoken like me, I'm always like, is that just to get us to buy more?
- [34:27]
Jenny Jin
So I don't know. I don't know. But I am curious. I think I'm more curious because one of my biggest hesitations about trying rejuron is I heard it hurts like a mother. Like they say it hurts so much. So I was a little nervous about that. But I had skin Botox done maybe two weeks ago. And that apparently is supposed to be very painful too, but I thought it was totally bearable personally.
- [34:49]
Jen Sullivan
Tell us about your skin Botox experience and what that is.
- [34:52]
Jenny Jin
So basically they take a form of Botox. They use a lot of local Korean or domestic Botox here if you want to save some money. But they also offer, you know, the allergan Botox and dysport. And I never say this right. Xiaomin Zhao Min.
- [35:09]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah. Oh, in my head it's always been not that, but go ahead.
- [35:12]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, I could have said it wrong. The one with Jojodo.
- [35:16]
Jen Sullivan
I never, you know those words you see, but don't really say out loud.
- [35:19]
Jenny Jin
Oh, so many of them in beauty.
- [35:22]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, so many. But okay, so. But there's also Korean made neuromodulators and neurotoxins.
- [35:28]
Jenny Jin
Correct.
- [35:28]
Jen Sullivan
Skin Botox, we're calling it. And is that what it's called in Korean? Did they use the Botox term?
- [35:33]
Jenny Jin
No, they just call it Botox. But when they say skin Botox, what they mean by that is they take the Botox of your choice, they dilute it so it's weaker, and then they inject it again one by one. Just like rejuran and into. I think it's. I want to say it's the dermis, or it's either the dermis or it's between, like, the fat and the dermis. It goes a little bit deeper than you want it to, basically, but not.
- [35:58]
Jen Sullivan
All the way that I'm immobilizing a muscle.
- [36:00]
Jenny Jin
Correct. And that's kind of one of the selling points of it, is that you still retain movement, but you smooth out the overall appearance of your skin. So people say that it looks more natural, and because it's on the surface more, so it has more of, like, a tightening effect with your pores especially.
- [36:19]
Jen Sullivan
So a lot of what have you noticed?
- [36:21]
Jenny Jin
So two weeks in, I will say this is what I noticed. My makeup wears better. I'd say the overall surface of my skin appears smoother, but I didn't get the shine that I was hoping for. When I see. Because I hear that this is something that a lot of K pop idols do before a big show or something. It's part of their routine. So I was kind of expecting to be like, a reflective surface after doing this once.
- [36:45]
Jen Sullivan
That's. Cause you didn't get your rejuron too, Jenny. No. Okay. So. So, like, it's like your pores almost kind of just like, relax a little or suck up a little. Okay, got it. Like, I put on a tight astringent, but not that feeling exactly.
- [37:00]
Jenny Jin
And.
- [37:00]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, I can picture it.
- [37:02]
Jenny Jin
You can picture it, right? And then, like, even your forehead, I have. If I get Botox and just even, like, it's very sensitive, my forehead. So I get a droop. I get ptosis very easily. So with skin Botox, they're saying it's much less likely to happen because you're not hitting the muscle. That's what they say.
- [37:18]
Jen Sullivan
Can I ask what you spent on your skin Botox treatment?
- [37:21]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. So I actually got the skin Botox done as part of a package with a lifting laser, one of the lifting lasers I told you about.
- [37:29]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, okay.
- [37:29]
Jenny Jin
But not the one that I told. Not Ulthermage or Ultherapy or any of the versions of that. In hindsight, I'm kind of like, why didn't I just go straight for that? I think because I know that's like $3 signs as opposed to $2 signs. I had a little more hesitation. But this one, it's called Winback.
- [37:49]
Jen Sullivan
So you got a package with Winbach and skin Botox, which is, quote, medium expensive, at the clinic that you went to. And how much did you pay for this?
- [37:58]
Jenny Jin
All in all, it was, I want to say the equivalent of 600 USD. But it's the Wimbeck laser that really added the dollar sign there because skin.
- [38:10]
Jen Sullivan
Botox alone would be. How much do you think?
- [38:14]
Jenny Jin
Honestly, probably 100. I would quote it at about 100. And you can get it cheaper too, I've heard, because there's, you know, so many skin factory, they're skin clinics, but they're so big and they operate on such a scale that I've heard the prices are extremely affordable.
- [38:32]
Jen Sullivan
Under a hundred dollars for Botox would be unheard of in the United States.
- [38:37]
Jenny Jin
Unheard of. I know, it's wild. I kind of, I do a double take and the conversion right now is so in the USD's favor. So. Oh yeah, it's a plus plus for anyone who's traveling. So that's actually a big thing here.
- [38:51]
Jen Sullivan
You got this double treatment. Like what was the experience like and how long did it take?
- [38:55]
Jenny Jin
This is something that I love about any kind of beauty treatment. In Korea, the service is just, it's top notch. The thing that I was most impressed about was the aftercare. And what I mean by that is directly after you get your treatment done, they have this whole red carpet situation like where they massage your face, they do some cryotherapy. If they've heated up your face to cool it down, they will do a modeling mask. Also to help bring down any inflammation, they'll do a sheet mask on you. Oh, those rubber masks, remember, they're popular for a while and they cover your face and you just look like a rubber person. They do that for you. They hit you with a red light panel to help speed up the healing.
- [39:40]
Jen Sullivan
Oh yeah, to bring down inflammation or whatever.
- [39:43]
Jenny Jin
This is all part of whatever treatment you get. I've gotten. I got that Wimbeck laser. I got the skin Botox. I was offered that awesome post care right afterwards. I don't know, I just, it's like part and parcel almost, it seems.
- [39:58]
Jen Sullivan
So it was like a spa day. It wasn't like a clinical. Like I went to the doctor and got a thing and now I leave.
- [40:03]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, or you get the thing and that part might hurt. But afterwards they treat you well. Yeah, yeah, I was impressed with that part because I feel like, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, maybe I'm going to the wrong places. But anytime in the states that I've gotten any sort of Botox or any sort of treatment, maybe they'll give you an ice pack if you ask and then you're Bye.
- [40:25]
Jen Sullivan
No, I don't think you're wrong. I also think it's like going to the hair salon or anywhere every time a little bit of an add on. Like the rubber mask, this, the. You know, they'll charge you extra for it. And by the time you leave, sometimes you feel like, did I get my money's worth? But it sounds like things are definitely much more affordable as far as beauty treatments.
- [40:42]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. And I think that has to just do with the competition. Right. There's just. There's so many clinics and there's so many hair salons and there's so many nail salons. They have to nail prices.
- [40:53]
Jen Sullivan
Let's get into it. Because I'm looking at your manicure. So what's been your. What have you been doing with your nails since you've been there? And what's the nail scene like right now?
- [41:00]
Jenny Jin
My goodness. The nail scene is lit. There's just so many really creative artists here. Basically, anything you can imagine in your head, I want to try this. You can find an artist who can do it. And it's interesting too because I feel like each nail salon or artist kind of has their own aesthetic. Like there's this one salon that I really like called 5x5x5. They have several locations throughout Seoul. And their whole aesthetic is very artistic. Like they always do a Monet based nail art one month, you know. And they'll do different variations of that depending on the season. So I really like going to them for those types of designs. My most recent design is from our girl Unicetella. She's still going strong and she did a Miffy manicure for me. Because I've been really into Miffy. The little bun, you the money. Okay.
- [41:52]
Jen Sullivan
I knew. I saw when you showed me the nail, but I didn't know that was their name. Hi, Miffy.
- [41:57]
Jenny Jin
Yes.
- [41:58]
Jen Sullivan
You guys have seen Miffy? Miffy is like everywhere.
- [42:01]
Jenny Jin
I have a Miffy phone stand right here on my desk.
- [42:04]
Jen Sullivan
Yes, there's Miffy.
- [42:05]
Jenny Jin
That's my.
- [42:06]
Jen Sullivan
So Miffy's on your nails. Are you getting. Is it powder dip? Is it gel? Is it UV gels? Like what are we calling it in Seoul?
- [42:13]
Jenny Jin
Oh my goodness. This one in particular, she screen. Okay. How do I explain this? She printed designs of Miffy using a printer at home on laser paper which she then brought to the salon. She cut out these designs and kind of stretched them over my nail like Saran Wrap.
- [42:33]
Jen Sullivan
Okay.
- [42:34]
Jenny Jin
So it's almost. How do you. Is that like screen printing?
- [42:37]
Jen Sullivan
Almost a decal. Like a decal and then she shellacked it on with like a clear polymer.
- [42:42]
Jenny Jin
Of some sort with a top coat of gel polish which she then cures. But then in addition to that, if there are little detail. Miffy over here. I'll explain it. Since this is an audio medium, you know, she'll add, Miffy had one star in this screen printed thing. She thought Miffy needed four more stars. So she'll hand paint that on very fine details like collage work.
- [43:06]
Jen Sullivan
The layering of like a collage that an artist would do.
- [43:09]
Jenny Jin
Correct. I may or may not be writing a story about this in the future. Near future. So I don't want to say too much, but that is.
- [43:16]
Jen Sullivan
Is there a particular term that is used for that or. This was just like a regular degular manicure at 5 by 5 by 5.
- [43:22]
Jenny Jin
This is a regular degular manicure for Unicellar for sure. Because I feel like she's very experimental, you know.
- [43:29]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah. Treating it like little mini canvases.
- [43:32]
Jenny Jin
Little mini canvases. Whereas 5x5x5. One of the things that I appreciate about them is that they have a very strong aesthetic and they don't veer too far from it. You know what you're going to get when you go there.
- [43:43]
Jen Sullivan
Okay.
- [43:44]
Jenny Jin
Yeah.
- [43:44]
Jen Sullivan
And is everybody getting gels? Who's going to cause this nail art? I assume if you have a great artist, do it. You want it to last.
- [43:51]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. I want to say. I was gonna say 10 out of 10, but I feel like at least 9 out of 10 people at the nail salon, they're getting gels and I see women of all ages with nail art. It's so fun. Actually. I love being on the subway and when someone like grabs a handle or something and I look at their nail art and it's. I don't know, someone my auntie's age. My auntie is late 60s. And she'll have like a glitter. A glitter accent here and a bunny on the other.
- [44:20]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah. What about the volume building? Like I know for a while here in the States and also in Korea and Japan, like they were really plump looking like built up. So like it was high. The volume on the gel. Is volume building still big?
- [44:34]
Jenny Jin
I feel like it is starting to slowly die down just based on my subway observations.
- [44:39]
Jen Sullivan
No, that's why I'm asking. You're a beauty journalist like out there.
- [44:42]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, because I'm looking.
- [44:44]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah.
- [44:45]
Jenny Jin
I do see less drastically built up nails recently. Yeah.
- [44:50]
Jen Sullivan
You know how that was the thing. I was just like they looked like aquariums, like a terrarium. Sometimes with the clear gel was so thick, but there'd be something like bubble nails. Wasn't it called bubble nails for a while?
- [45:00]
Jenny Jin
Some people called it bubble nails. But Jen, it's like these names that we help come up with, you know. But yes, the the bubble nail trend. I think it's not that it's gone, it's just there was a moment I think I came last summer. I think it was last summer everyone had this nail. To your point, it was everywhere. And 5x5x5 also had a lot of bubble nails within their menu of designs. But I think this most recent time that I've been going to the nail salons, I'm seeing a little bit less of that offered. Interesting.
- [45:39]
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- [46:17]
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- [46:51]
Jen Sullivan
Are there any other trends as you're out and about looking like for example, Doyem blush was big for a while or Glass skin that you are just sort of zeitgeistian around in South Korea right now.
- [47:03]
Jenny Jin
I think the first thing that always pops out to me is just the different placement of Blush, which is something that I started to see even back when I was living in la, just because I'm even living in the States. I was keeping up with K Beauty to an extent, right? Because I'm interested in it and I'm a K Pop fan. So I look at what they're doing with their makeup. But yeah, the Blush placement is so different here.
- [47:23]
Jen Sullivan
How so?
- [47:24]
Jenny Jin
First of all, it's very much concentrated to like the center of Your face, you shouldn't go past your eyes.
- [47:32]
Jen Sullivan
So directly beneath your pupil if you were looking straight ahead.
- [47:35]
Jenny Jin
Correct. Yeah. So this area is where I see a lot of people put on their blush and then across their nose a little bit. Kind of like that sunburnt look that was going on for a while. So I see a lot. And I see it a lot around the eyes, too. Like up here.
- [47:47]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah.
- [47:48]
Jenny Jin
So it's very different.
- [47:49]
Jen Sullivan
Brow bone, very top of cheekbone, barely. And like it's. It's more concentrated and center facing. None of that blush. Draping and pulling backwards and contouring and foxing it out and all that.
- [48:00]
Jenny Jin
No, very concentrated. And the whole purpose is to make your face look. I think they. The term that I heard is shorter. It's almost like you want your face to look shorter in the sense that you want to make it look rounder and more youthful. So that's the thing. All roads. Is that right? All roads, all signs point to looking youthful. Like all the signs.
- [48:19]
Jen Sullivan
So cherubic, if you will.
- [48:20]
Jenny Jin
Cherubic is a great word. Yes.
- [48:22]
Jen Sullivan
Okay. And what color blush like, is it. Everybody's getting the same color blush. Are you picking based on your skin tone? What's hot?
- [48:29]
Jenny Jin
A little more.
- [48:30]
Jen Sullivan
What's hot right now, Jen? What's hot?
- [48:32]
Jenny Jin
A little more skin tone. But here's the other thing, too. At all of Young stores, when you go to the displays, if you go to blush or lip color, they say cool best, warm best. Like, there's a little sticker that indicates and that's telling you, like, for the cool tones, this is the bestseller. For the warm tones, this is the best seller. So people are very cognizant of their. Their tones, I guess.
- [48:54]
Jen Sullivan
Is it based on their undertone of their skin or just these are the cool pinky reds and colors like that. And these are the warm beigey bronzes and colors like that.
- [49:03]
Jenny Jin
More of the latter. And I think it kind of ties in with that whole color analysis thing that was going on. Still going on, but really reached a fever pitch.
- [49:12]
Jen Sullivan
Meaning, like, what are your seasons and what are your undertones?
- [49:15]
Jenny Jin
Yes. Which I was very much schooled on.
- [49:18]
Jen Sullivan
When you were in la.
- [49:19]
Jenny Jin
When I was in la, I thought I was a warm something. I thought I was a summer or spring or something, but apparently I'm a cool winter.
- [49:27]
Jen Sullivan
No, I would have said that in the winter, too. Yeah, I see a. Yeah, for sure. But okay, so you're at olive. I keep wanting to say olive and young. Is that right?
- [49:37]
Jenny Jin
Just olive young. No.
- [49:38]
Jen Sullivan
And so when you're at Olive Young shopping, you see the blush is hot. Tell us about some of the other brands, because they sell many brands, right? What are some of the brands that you've discovered?
- [49:50]
Jenny Jin
I think at Olive Young, the hot brand of this year, one of them would probably be Fui F W E E. Which is fun to say. They have this one product that was very popular. It's called like a lip pudding pot, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's a little pot and it has a really cool texture to it, really cool colors. I think that was one of the best sellers for sure. And then in the skincare department of Olive Young, oh, there's this brand called Torridin. And they make this great sheet mask that's very affordable and always goes on sale. And it's all based around hyaluronic acid.
- [50:27]
Jen Sullivan
What else have you. Now, I know you're not allowed to buy because we have that post it going on, but, like, what are some other treats that you've picked up since you've moved to Seoul?
- [50:35]
Jenny Jin
Beauty or non beauty?
- [50:37]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, tell me. Beauty first. How about that?
- [50:39]
Jenny Jin
Okay. Other treats that I've purchased here.
- [50:42]
Jen Sullivan
Oh.
- [50:45]
Jenny Jin
Perfume. I've been surprised. I don't know why I'm just picking up on this now. But there are so many local Korean perfume brands that I don't know why. I just never paid attention to it on my shorter visits before. But I'm seeing so many indie perfume brands and big, bigger perfume brands here that I've been picking up a lot of perfume, actually.
- [51:07]
Jen Sullivan
Is it possible that it's starting to be more of a trend than it used to or. I don't know. How is fragrance treated? Like, culturally? Is that as big as it is in the States?
- [51:16]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, I think it's pretty big. I know people definitely want to smell fresh and clean all the time, you know, and that I can see even just going to like a Daiso or a supermarket. You'll see like a section for room fresheners and clothing fresheners. I'm looking over there because I have one hanging off.
- [51:31]
Jen Sullivan
Wait, what's a clothing freshener that hangs up?
- [51:33]
Jenny Jin
It's like a little sachet that you put in your closet and it just radiates a lovely scent.
- [51:40]
Jen Sullivan
I want this. Is that a big thing? Like, I don't know.
- [51:43]
Jenny Jin
They sell it all over. I don't know what I'm picturing.
- [51:46]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, okay. But it hangs on the rod. Like clothing.
- [51:49]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, Just like a little sachet. Yeah.
- [51:51]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, that's smart. I have a bunch of terracotta things on strings. I literally went in my closet recently, and I was like, it's looking like a Christmas tree in here. Cause I just keep. Keep. Instead of, like, you know how you're supposed to spray them again and use the same one? I just, like, keep getting. They're just like trinkets around the closet. But hanging it on the rod as a hanger makes so much more sense.
- [52:10]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, there's so many of those things. And yes, I've just.
- [52:13]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, back to the perfumes. So tell me about the perfumes.
- [52:15]
Jenny Jin
What do you.
- [52:16]
Jen Sullivan
Have you picked up any?
- [52:17]
Jenny Jin
Yes, I have. I have this one. It's from a brand called Non Fiction, and the one I picked up is Neroli Dream. It reminds me a lot of Tom Ford's Neroli, to be honest.
- [52:28]
Jen Sullivan
Oh.
- [52:29]
Jenny Jin
But cheaper. So I picked up one of these. I picked up a perfume. Oh, a hair perfume. I picked up a hair perfume at my hair salon. I was getting my bangs trimmed and I was like, what is this scent? So I ended up buying one of their hair perfumes. And look at me doing this hand thing for you. Yeah, it smells delightful.
- [52:44]
Jen Sullivan
I have a rollerball, that hair perfume.
- [52:47]
Jenny Jin
Oh, it's from. There's a hair salon called Cha Hong C H A H O N G. And they're. They're a pretty famous hair salon brand here in Korea. And they have a line of products that include, of course, shampoo and all the hair stuff, but also hair perfume and, like, a rollerball for aromatherapy and hand creams. So, yes, they are very.
- [53:08]
Jen Sullivan
Is it all the same scent or like, you can pick your scent?
- [53:11]
Jenny Jin
I think there's limited scents for this brand, but. And this hair perfume only came in this one scent, and it's called Snug Calming Hair Perfume.
- [53:20]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, and the name's in English. Snug Calming.
- [53:23]
Jenny Jin
Snug Calming Hair Perfume. Green Rest. Oh, I'm sorry. In small font underneath that, it says Green Rest.
- [53:30]
Jen Sullivan
Snug, calming, Green Rest. I mean, literally just throw adjectives at me that I like. I want all of it.
- [53:36]
Jenny Jin
So, yes, that's how I ended up with this.
- [53:38]
Jen Sullivan
What does that smell like to you?
- [53:41]
Jenny Jin
Like green rust.
- [53:43]
Jen Sullivan
That's a cheater.
- [53:45]
Jenny Jin
It really does smell very green, though. It does. It smells very fresh. Yeah, it's fresh. It's very fresh.
- [53:52]
Jen Sullivan
And so do you use it? Just like, I didn't wash my hair today, but I'm just like. Just give it a little light refreshing. It doesn't have, like, hold or anything. It's just scent.
- [54:00]
Jenny Jin
Correct. It's just scent. And that is probably the most American thing about my beauty routine that I don't think I'll ever give up. And it's that I don't wash my hair every day.
- [54:09]
Jen Sullivan
Do you find that most people do in Korea?
- [54:13]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, they really do. I almost. I. I hesitate to tell my aunt, you know, she's like, oh, did you wash your hair yesterday? I'm like, yes.
- [54:23]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, does it? Because she was like, you should be.
- [54:26]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, there's kind of like an ick, you know, like, you don't wash your hair every day. How I have dry, puffy hair. I don't like washing every day. Takes forever to dry, huh? Yeah.
- [54:37]
Jen Sullivan
I feel like that memoir is pretty well entrenched in the States that the more you wash your hair, the drier it can be, depending on the texture. And that's not true for everyone.
- [54:48]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, I guess so. But that's the other thing. At Olive Young, the one product category that I don't see a lot of is dry shampoo, actually.
- [54:56]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, do you miss it?
- [54:58]
Jenny Jin
Yes. But thankfully I brought some, and then my friend who came from the States brought me in a little extra one because I need them.
- [55:05]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, I don't know anybody with bangs that doesn't have dry shampoo on hand.
- [55:09]
Jenny Jin
Exactly.
- [55:10]
Jen Sullivan
What brand from the States did she bring you?
- [55:12]
Jenny Jin
I like the one from the Rudist, the one that's, like, in the little packaging. Oh, yeah, I have it, actually. I have everything here. I'm in a small room. Everything's everywhere. But it's the brush on one because it's just easy to carry.
- [55:26]
Jen Sullivan
That feels like it would be good for bangs too, because you could just touch up almost like you're powdering your nose.
- [55:31]
Jenny Jin
That's exactly what I do.
- [55:32]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah. What else have you been loving and picking up? Even if it's not beauty related? I've now I need, like, a sachet for my closet hanger. What are they? Just. What are they? What are they called? What is the product category I need to look for?
- [55:44]
Jenny Jin
Oh, my goodness. Clothing freshener. Yeah, I'm not. I'll go and look at it too, when I go to the. The next Olive Young. I'm gonna see if it's. There's a sign above it that says what it is, like, the category. I'm very much into that, honestly. Okay. The thing here, another big trend here right now. You've heard of bag charms, right?
- [56:04]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah, I think, like, you know, people.
- [56:06]
Jenny Jin
Are decorating their bags with all sorts of cute little tchotchkes, but here they're little plush animals, basically, and they're so cute. And you see everyone from, like, an elementary school kid to a grandma with a charm on their backpack or their purse. They'll be carrying a nice leather purse, and then they'll have, like, a starfish.
- [56:26]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, she's holding up her plush starfish who. Who only has one. Oh, he has two eyes. Okay.
- [56:33]
Jenny Jin
Oh, my God.
- [56:33]
Jen Sullivan
That's the cutest.
- [56:34]
Jenny Jin
He's wearing.
- [56:35]
Jen Sullivan
The starfish is wearing a backpack. Guys, it's meta.
- [56:37]
Jenny Jin
He's wearing a backpack. I think all. I have this alien heart. He also is wearing a backpack, and he's carrying an acorn.
- [56:45]
Jen Sullivan
Wait, there is no practical purpose. This. It's a stuffed animal hanging off your backpack.
- [56:49]
Jenny Jin
No practical purpose.
- [56:50]
Jen Sullivan
Wait, what's in the alien's backpack?
- [56:53]
Jenny Jin
An acorn that has his face imprinted on it. What?
- [56:58]
Jen Sullivan
You're blowing my mind right now. So you're carrying your bag. You're hanging. There's, like, a heart alien that's wearing a backpack, and inside the backpack is an acorn. What do you do with the acorn? He just hangs out in there.
- [57:09]
Jenny Jin
He just hangs out there. I actually have to find out a way to strap this guy's backpack on permanently, because I almost lost it once.
- [57:17]
Jen Sullivan
And so are people doing more than one? Because, like, here on the zipper pull, sometimes there'd be a couple. But, like, is it collectible like that, or you change it up depending on your mood?
- [57:24]
Jenny Jin
I think it depends on the person, but I've seen some girls with 10 of them. I'm like. I'm like. That looks a little cluttered, but, you know, it just. So many of them. But, yeah, most people will carry one or two.
- [57:37]
Jen Sullivan
Says the woman who's got a bag with a heart with a backpack with an acorn in it.
- [57:42]
Jenny Jin
Point taken. Wow. Yeah.
- [57:46]
Jen Sullivan
So it's like a fun, just, like, accessory to your accessory.
- [57:50]
Jenny Jin
It's an accessory to your accessory. And you find these hanging everywhere. You could be in the poshest neighborhood or, like, the college town. You will see people selling these keychains everywhere, and they're just so fun. I don't know. It just brings a little, like, dose of happy to my commutes to spot them. Yeah.
- [58:08]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, so the charm accessories on the bags. Anything else that you want to share with us?
- [58:13]
Jenny Jin
Okay, back to beauty. I think, like, a practical. I have, like, a little show and tell here. These I love. They sell these at Olive Young. And what it is is it's an antimicrobial sticker that you put on the inside of your cushion pack. So the cushion compact, where you place the sponge, you just switch out the sticker so that it keeps it more hygienic. I don't know. I love things like this. So think about your normal cushion compact. Right. It has that little plastic sponge holder, I guess is what you call it. Do you have a cushion pie? Do I have one on me? Yes.
- [58:45]
Jen Sullivan
Ok. Here's one that's sort of like it.
- [58:48]
Jenny Jin
Yes. So the place where you would put the sponge, normally where it lives, they sell these little stickers. They're like these very thin stickers. Oh, I just wanted to show it to you. That are reusable. And you can buy them at Olive Young. They sell two of them in each pack for like, less than a dollar.
- [59:07]
Jen Sullivan
Okay.
- [59:07]
Jenny Jin
And you just. It's a sticker. You peel it off, you place it to where your sponge would be sitting.
- [59:13]
Jen Sullivan
Right.
- [59:14]
Jenny Jin
To keep it hygienic. Because, you know.
- [59:16]
Jen Sullivan
So the sponge sits on that and it has just some sort of antimicrobial agent in it.
- [59:21]
Jenny Jin
Correct. And so I've seen. I. I found out about this because of a makeup artist. She. She's like, I just switch mine out all the time because, I mean, you.
- [59:28]
Jen Sullivan
Still have to wash the sponge at some point, but in between the washings, this is keeping it clean.
- [59:34]
Jenny Jin
And this is the other thing too. They sell the refill sponges at Olive Young too, for very cheap and at Daiso as well. So I'm in conflict. You know, on one hand, I break out easily, so I want to keep things clean and fresh. And it's so tempting to just get a new sponge. Right. And then there's the part of me that's like I'm adding waste, you know, so it's. Yeah, it's a little bit of this.
- [59:55]
Jen Sullivan
But the antimicrobial does seem smart. And now I kind of like, like want to just add that into the compact. Like, it's already a spot in the compact. Like, it's automatically in there.
- [60:04]
Jenny Jin
That's how I felt.
- [60:05]
Jen Sullivan
But yeah, you have to. You have to change it. Like how often? Like every week, you think?
- [60:08]
Jenny Jin
I think that depends on how. How comfortable you are. I have like a germaphone cousin who always changes hers out, but she also carries her own toilet seat covers, so.
- [60:18]
Jen Sullivan
Wait, what?
- [60:19]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, so toilet seat covers aren't really a big thing here. Actually. I don't know if I've ever been to a public restroom with toilet seat covers in Korea.
- [60:27]
Jen Sullivan
Okay. So she brings her own.
- [60:29]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, they sell individually packaged toilet seat covers. And she carries them in her purse.
- [60:36]
Jen Sullivan
Not to be crass, but girl just hover.
- [60:38]
Jenny Jin
I. I don't know. They also have a spray attached to the wall of a stall in some bathrooms that's antibacterial, that you can, like, spray onto your toilet paper and wipe down your seat if you want to.
- [60:50]
Jen Sullivan
Well, that's very kind of you.
- [60:51]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, yeah.
- [60:52]
Jen Sullivan
What a nice service to provide for the person after you. I can't believe this is how I'm ending this. Toilet seat covers. You shared some of your favorite products, though. But before I let you go, I have to do the FM5, if you don't mind.
- [61:04]
Jenny Jin
Of course.
- [61:04]
Jen Sullivan
Of course. So it's our little speed round, and the first question is, what's the first beauty product you remember really loving?
- [61:12]
Jenny Jin
Clinique Happy. I loved that perfume so much. It was my first big girl perfume. And I always felt so sophisticated when I put it on before my eighth grade dance, you know? Yeah, it just like.
- [61:25]
Jen Sullivan
That's a good one.
- [61:25]
Jenny Jin
Brings back memories as anytime I sniff it anywhere, I'm transported back to a sweaty gymnasium.
- [61:33]
Jen Sullivan
Totally. Okay. Is there a treatment you would never do, either when you were in the States or now that you've seen it in South Korea? What's a beauty treatment you would never do?
- [61:44]
Jenny Jin
I'm gonna say anything with, like, jawline contouring, which is not uncommon here. It just sounds so painful, and there's so much risk involved with it, with the healing.
- [61:55]
Jen Sullivan
So probably you mean like a buccal fat removal or a tightening of the jaw or those kind of, like, surgical things.
- [62:01]
Jenny Jin
Even more than that. Like, even. There's, like, they shave down some of the bones sometimes or they. They reposition things so that you have a slimmer jawline and smaller face in general. Like, to get that.
- [62:14]
Jen Sullivan
So like an orthopedic surgery, a plastic orthopedic surgery to slim the jawline.
- [62:19]
Jenny Jin
Corre.
- [62:20]
Jen Sullivan
I'm not doing that either.
- [62:21]
Jenny Jin
Oh, yeah, I heard the recovery. Everything about it is painful. And the recovery. There's often a lot of side effects, so probably not gonna do that one. Jen.
- [62:30]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, let's keep that off the socket. Yes. Jenny, what's currently your favorite snack?
- [62:34]
Jenny Jin
My current favorite snack. Well, I always love popcorn. I love corn chips. It's a Korean snack. If you go to an H Mart and you see corn chips, please pick them up. And corn chips has. I'm going to call it its cousin. It's called turtle chips, which is basically corn chips, but layered. It's like this crispy, light, light, crispy snack. It's delicious. Jen, you have to try it.
- [62:58]
Jen Sullivan
Corn flavored.
- [62:59]
Jenny Jin
Corn flavored.
- [63:00]
Jen Sullivan
How is the flavor compared to, like a Frito?
- [63:03]
Jenny Jin
Less corny? It's a subtler, subtler cord.
- [63:06]
Jen Sullivan
How's the salt level compared to a Frito?
- [63:09]
Jenny Jin
Less salty and also a very subtle hint of sweetness.
- [63:13]
Jen Sullivan
So almost like Corn Pops, the cereal, but in a chippy shape.
- [63:18]
Jenny Jin
Yes. And the turtle chips in particular. They're named that because they're supposed to look like a turtle shell.
- [63:23]
Jen Sullivan
I'm getting this next time I'm at egg.
- [63:25]
Jenny Jin
It's so crispy.
- [63:25]
Jen Sullivan
If they have it there.
- [63:26]
Jenny Jin
The crunch is amazing. Like the asmr. The crunch. It's, you know, it's wonderful. You have to try it.
- [63:32]
Jen Sullivan
I want turtles right now. That sounds good. Okay, this is the no cheating portion. This is a new FM5. Go into your phone, if you don't mind, please, and open up your notes app.
- [63:43]
Jenny Jin
Okay.
- [63:44]
Jen Sullivan
And maybe you do or don't use it frequently. Will you tell me what's last thing you wrote in your notes app?
- [63:51]
Jenny Jin
Dang it. It is a list of all of the Tour stops that 17, which is a K pop boy group, has coming up in Q1 of 2025.
- [64:05]
Jen Sullivan
I love this note. And now. Why did you put that down? Because. Are you going to be going to all of them?
- [64:10]
Jenny Jin
Not all of them, but I have a friend who's going to a couple of them and she wants me to join for as many as I can. So I'm trying to go for at least one.
- [64:17]
Jen Sullivan
Because is seventeen your band? Are you super into it or she's super into it?
- [64:22]
Jenny Jin
We're Both super into BTS with 17 coming in. I don't wanna say second. That sounds so. We love both BTS and 17.
- [64:31]
Jen Sullivan
Okay.
- [64:32]
Jenny Jin
All right.
- [64:33]
Jen Sullivan
That's such a good note app. Okay, last question. If it's like 11am on your day off, I realize you're on your sabbatical, so a lot of your days are not. Not as steady as they used to be, but, like, just a day where you're not going to do any work or anything like that. What would you be doing?
- [64:46]
Jenny Jin
Reading something in the morning. I have a book of meditations that I like to read in the morning. Like a slow start with lots of coffee.
- [64:54]
Jen Sullivan
What's this book of meditations?
- [64:56]
Jenny Jin
It's called. Well, actually, the title sounds a little. I don't know, people get confused by it sometimes, but it's called the Language of Letting Go Daily Meditations on Codependency. Which, yes, it covers a lot of themes around Codependency but also there's just, like, a lot of applicable messages in it throughout because there's a new one for each day of the year.
- [65:17]
Jen Sullivan
So you'll read your message.
- [65:19]
Jenny Jin
Yeah.
- [65:19]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, wow, you guys. It's footnoted and bookmarked and.
- [65:23]
Jenny Jin
Yeah.
- [65:24]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, it's quite thick. These aren't just, like, your little affirmations. These are, like, deeper, it looks like.
- [65:30]
Jenny Jin
Yeah. And I found out about it through a writer that I liked. She recommended it during, like, the peak of pandemic lockdowns. And so I've been reading it every day since, for the past couple of years.
- [65:40]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, I'm gonna look that up and link to it. That sounds like something at least I'd be into, but our listeners might be into as well. So you'd read your affirmation or your meditation for the day.
- [65:49]
Jenny Jin
Yeah.
- [65:49]
Jen Sullivan
And then.
- [65:50]
Jenny Jin
And then in an ideal world, I would write something. Well, even if it's just like a little note, you know, just something.
- [65:57]
Jen Sullivan
Yeah.
- [65:58]
Jenny Jin
And then what else would I do? I'd go on what someone recently told me. She calls it a snack tour, which is exactly what it sounds like. You just walk around and eat snacks everywhere. Brilliant.
- [66:09]
Jen Sullivan
Yes.
- [66:09]
Jenny Jin
I would go on a snack tour, and then I'd be super full and happy about that. So then I would go to a dance class and shake it off.
- [66:16]
Jen Sullivan
Oh, this is like, oh, wait, I like how you took this. I egged you on. But it went from what are you doing at 11am to like, tell a perfect day. Oh, yeah, this day sounds very fun.
- [66:25]
Jenny Jin
Yeah, that would be an ideal day for me.
- [66:27]
Jen Sullivan
Okay, well, I wish that for you tomorrow, since it's like midnight and bedtime in Seoul now. Thank you so much for coming and sharing just a little bit of your experience during your South Korean sabbatical. It's been great.
- [66:40]
Jenny Jin
Thank you so much for having me.
- [66:44]
Jen Sullivan
We hope you enjoyed the show. It's your reviews and feedback that help us make the podcast even better. Head over to itunes to rate and review us, or email your thoughts to infoatmascara.com we also want to answer your beauty question questions and hear what products you love to share. A raise, a wand product review, or to ask a beauty question. Email us at infoatmascara. If you send it as a voice memo file, we can even share your voice on the podcast. You can also do that by leaving us a voice message. Our phone number in the United States is 646-481-8182. Thanks so much for listening.
- [67:21]
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