In colors and application techniques, the two countries go their separate ways when it comes to cosmetics.

Korea may be Japan’s closest neighbor, but there are plenty of cultural differences between the two countries. That goes not just for such traditional areas as language and cuisine, but for modern pop culture as well, including makeup trends.

Japan and Korea can both boast highly developed cosmetics industries, but local tastes have caused their respective “in” looks to evolve along different lines. To highlight the differences, Korean YouTuber Daiya has put together a video providing a literal side-by-side comparison, as she does up the left half of her face using Korean styles and techniques, and the right half using Japanese ones.

▼ The video’s English subtitles can be turned on by clicking the caption button.

A major difference Daiya points out are the popular hues of each country, citing orange, red, pink, gold, and brown as the in-fashion choices in Korea, with beige, pink coral, and coral orange filling those roles in Japan.

Daiya starts the makeup process at her eyes, noting that Korean trends favor heavier makeup to accentuate the desired lines, while Japan goes for a simpler, cleaner look. The Japanese-style eyebrow is also thinner than its Korean counterpart.

Foundation techniques also differ, with Daiya saying the Korean style producing a matte effect, while the Japanese technique is meant to give the skin a shine, particularly on the cheekbone.

Lip cosmetic preferences are another point of diversion. The Korean style uses bright, layered reds for a bold, mature allure, while the Japanese style’s pinks work more towards reserved girlish femininity.

For a touch of added authenticity, Daiya even uses different brands of cosmetics for each side of her face, incorporating a number of Japanese-produced products into the Japanese half. It’d be interesting to see her take the cross-cultural-cosmetics-display to an even higher level by seeing how well the Japanese products would apply to the Korean trends, and vice versa, but for now, she’s given her fans two distinct looks to try out for themselves.

Source, images: YouTube/다이야 黛雅 Daiya
[ Read in Japanese ]