If you know anything about Korean beauty, you must know that perfect skin is the epitome of attractiveness here. One of the biggest beauty standards might lay on the skin; beautiful, flawless and preferably snow-white skin is often desired. Of course, not everyone is blessed with beautiful skin, but for those who are not, a flawless foundation application can be key to reach this engraved beauty standard.
Trends keep on changing, but skin that represents purity and innocence never seems to get out of style here, making perfect porcelain skin the ultimate beauty goal to achieve. Great news for those lucky ones blessed with a naturally flawless complexion, but putting a lot of pressure on skincare and makeup for the rest of the population, who will try, by all means, to get rid of or at least cover any possible flaws, to fit the standard.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BASE MAKEUP
Base makeup becomes then the pillar for beauty on the whole face, which can be quite a challenging quest with Korea´s extreme weather conditions. The extreme temperatures and strong wind have no mercy, demanding us to take extra good care of our skin, protecting it as much as we can. But, How can we prevent makeup from not holding well? The dry patches, the separation, makeup going streaky, settling into our pores or simply disappearing?
If you are coming across these problems, let me introduce you to a very helpful tip; "잠수 Jamsu". A word that directly translates into diving and consists of exactly that; "dipping" your face into water to help set your makeup.
You could think this sounds like the latest absurd trend that someone invented just for the sake of it, but Jamsu and similar techniques are not as new as you think. The use of rice water or cold water for skin toning and makeup purposes is very ancient. Methods passed along from mothers to daughters, not only in Korea but also in other parts of the world.
WHAT IS JAMSU?
Jamsu is a technique in which you will proceed to dive your face into cold water after your base application is finished. The reasons behind why it works, is that cold water tightens the skin making pores less visible, the skin brighter, more firm and flawless looking. And when submerging the face with a full set of makeup, the products will go from sitting on top of your skin to adhering onto it into a perfect blend.
Just as not all products are the same, not all "Jamsu" techniques are either. Your result will mainly depend on the way you perform it and therefore my biggest suggestion is, as always, to consider your skin type. This is vital to make any technique work accordingly to your needs.
HOW TO DO JAMSU? TIPS FOR THE PERFECT BASE MAKEUP
The Jamsu technique consists in creating a good blend of the products that adheres well to the skin. For that, you should apply your make up the way you usually would. For the perfect looking skin you can do primer, color correction, base, and powder. In that order, being the minimum base and powder for it to work. I wrote base and not foundation because you could use CC creams, BB creams, cushions as well as any type of foundation, depending on your preferences and desired coverage.
Jamsu is not baking, so you should apply only an adequate amount of powder. The more moist and natural you want to go, the least amount of powder and amount of time underwater you should go for. More powder or time performing Jamsu, equal a matter and drier finish, which can end up looking "cakey" if not careful.
For the powder, it is best to use a setting powder, applying it thinly and evenly. I highly recommend you to stay away from baby powder for a couple of reasons, not only would it be very drying for the skin, but it can also make the makeup look more pasty and thick.
To get the tightening and toning effect, you will need cold water, but extremely cold water could damage and weaken your skin barrier. So water should be cold, but not too cold. As for time, it should lay in between 15 to 30 seconds, I personally prefer to dunk my face 2 to 3 times, since it is more comfortable and less messy, without losing its efficacy. I also do not pat my face dry with a towel, but remove the excess water with some tissue and pat the rest into my face with my hands, adding a light layer of dewy mist on top for hydration and glow.
FINAL TIPS
The importance of Jamsu lies on an even application. In both, the before and after the diving process. Together, of course, with proper blending. If any extra product needs to be applied for the final touches, also keep that into consideration
As for the rest, this technique is completely adjustable to your taste and preferences. Extremely helpful at keeping your makeup looking good and on for a long time when you might need it most. So next time you are going out on cold weather, humid weather or for a night out, you might want to give it a try.
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