#WovenTogether: Beauty and tae kwon do at the Korea pavilion at Folklorama

TITLE With Folklorama officially ending tomorrow night I knew one of the last pavilions I just needed to go to was the Korean one.

I went to the Korean pavilion last year and although we just went to it because it was convenient (the venue, JB Mitchell School, was near a bunch of other ones we were checking out), this one ended up being a highlight for me.  They did the most incredible martial arts that had everyone on the edge of their seats, and they had a big selection of Korean beauty products.

South Korea is known for a lot of things. K Pop, tae kwon do, and a huge beauty market. In fact, they take beauty there so seriously that they are the plastic surgery capital of the world. Koreans seem to idealize western norms, making eyelid surgery the number-one form of surgery they get. They also like the look of white skin, so their beauty market offers tons of skin brightening and whitening products (there were even whitening masks for sale at the pavilion).

Beauty products Masks

Ironically, Korean skincare and makeup trends have been slowly making their way over to the western world here.  You know the whole BB cream craze a few years back. That was based on a Korean makeup trend. Face sheet masks are also super popular, and you know the store The Face Shop? They opened a location here at CF Polo Park last year I believe and it’s a Korean brand. Sephora even carries some Korean brands like Laneige and Boscia and even has a whole landing page on their website dedicated to Korean skincare. The Korean beauty industry is huge and us North Americans are just loving it.

Although there was a table of Korean beauty products to indulge in (I bought five sheet masks for $10 and two lip masks for $5), the actual show was just as good as the products they were selling. From the glow-in-the-dark fan dancers to the drummers to the amazing nail-biting tae kwon do presentation that finished off the show, this pavilion is worth making a stop at before the week is out.

Look Ziggy

Since I was so inspired by Korean beauty trends, I went with a flawless face via the Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Foundation with a hint of blush to round out the skin. Korean makeup is more about looking porcelain, almost like dolls, rather than sculpted cheeks and the extreme contouring we often see here in North America. For the eyes, I went with a champagne pink colour on the lids and a little bit of black in the crease to darken it up. I finished it off with a small winged liner and a pink ombre lip (also a Korean beauty trend that we’ve been seeing over here.. Maybelline Color Blur Matte Lip Pencils, anyone?). I paired my look with this black and white cat dress from H&M via a few years ago and my kitty moccasins from Charlotte Olympia.

With only two days left (if you count tonight), I would seriously consider making a stop at this one. Come for the beauty, the show, and the cute, albeit comical, emcees that will have you captivated by this amazing pavilion. Plus, they also teach you basic Korean… sa lang hae! <3.

Tae kwon do With dancers

What final pavilions are you going to see?

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