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Skin, K-beauty, Korea trips and the beauty industry — ask and share
Dejavu vs Heroine Make: which mascara actually holds a curl on straight lashes?
A head-to-head in r/AsianBeauty. After seeing glowing results from Dejavu's Lash Knockout, the poster picked one up in Japan to challenge their long-time Heroine Make Long & Curl. Within minutes the curl started dropping
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Straight lashes: which mascara holds your curl?
Pick one to see the results
0 1In an Olive Young haul, the item everyone argued about was a setting spray
On Taiwan's PTT forum (MakeUp board), someone shared an April haul from Olive Young in Korea: Espoir's glow foundation, Clio's snowflake highlighter, So Natural's setting spray, a Too Cool For School aegyo-sal pencil, Ba
0 0What skincare gift set works best for an older parent?
On Clien, someone asked their mother what she wanted for Chuseok, and she said a skincare set. Searching online turned up far too many options and reviews written only by younger people, so they asked for set recommendat
0 1China fell from 19.6% to 14.4% of K-beauty exports. Time to pull back?
If there's one number export teams stared at in the H1 data, it's this: China's share dropped from 19.6% to 14.4%. Exports there fell 6.6% to $1.01B. China once took close to half of Korea's cosmetics exports, so opinion
0 02.01 million foreign patients came to Korea last year; 6 in 10 saw a dermatologist
There's now an official number for how big Korean medical tourism has become. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2.01 million foreign patients visited Korea in 2025, the first time the total passed 2 millio
0 0Biblioteca Musical de Hyundai Card en Hannam-dong: cómo se entra realmente
Along Itaewon-ro, between Hannam-dong and Itaewon, Hyundai Card runs one of its themed "libraries": the Music Library, entirely devoted to vinyl. It's not a shop or a record bar, but a curated space run by the credit-car
0 0How to check if a Korean clinic is registered to treat foreign patients
When picking a dermatology clinic in Korea, it's easy to go by social media reviews or an agency's say-so. There's one official check you can add: whether the clinic is registered to attract foreign patients. What is it?
0 0Korea passed 2 million foreign patients in 2025 — over 60% for dermatology
Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare says about 2.01 million foreign patients came to Korea in 2025, the first time the figure topped 2 million since records began in 2009. Key points: Dermatology: about 1.313 million,
0 0Using a booking agency or interpreter for a Korean skin clinic: what to check
Many foreign travellers book Korean dermatology clinics through agencies or interpreting services. It lowers the language barrier, but travel forums also have stories like "the price changed along the way" or "I didn't k
0 0Tiny white bumps that will not budge: how do people deal with milia?
A Mumsnet user asked about getting milia removed. Clinics near her were quoting £85 and up, and she wondered whether salons still deal with them during a facial, as they did twenty years ago. There were 18 replies, with
0 1Foreign spending in Seongsu doubled in a year: the numbers
Just how hot is Seongsu with international visitors? This year's numbers are pretty clear. According to Korean press, foreign tourists spent about 208.2 billion won in the Seongsu area from January to May 2026, more than
0 0Planning skin treatments in Seoul? The 10% VAT refund for foreigners has ended
If you are budgeting a derm trip to Korea from old blog posts, one line needs updating. The special VAT refund for foreign patients on cosmetic procedures expired on December 31, 2025. What it was: Introduced in 2016, it
0 0Before you put "clinically tested" on a product page, check these
Plenty of brands put a "clinically tested" badge at the top of their product pages. The shared view in the industry is that how you say it matters more than whether you say it. Checklist before using it What was tested:
0 0Perimenopause dryness plus fragrance allergies: which face creams are left?
On Mumsnet's menopause board, a woman in perimenopause asked for help with a face that had become severely dry. She also has eczema and several contact allergies, fragrance and linalool among them, and said the usual ecz
0 0Is flying to Seoul just for a cosmetic treatment actually worth it?
On Taiwan's PTT forum (the facelift board), someone asked what many travellers wonder: Korean clinic prices look far lower than at home, but once you add flights and a hotel, is it still a good deal if you only get one o
0 1Korea's VAT refund on cosmetic procedures for tourists has lapsed — a bill to revive it is under review
Foreign tourists used to get back the VAT paid on cosmetic surgery and skin treatments in Korea. The special rule began in 2016 and was extended several times, but it ended at the close of 2025. Where things stand: In Ap
0 0Glass skin with visible pores: can skincare do it, or is it laser territory?
On Pantip, someone with fairly clear skin that rarely breaks out asked how to get a smooth "glass skin" look. Their issues: pores that look large, skin that feels very dry after washing, small rash-like bumps after a lot
0 1Hongdae's photo booth street: how to work a strip of Life4cuts, Photoism and the rest
Hongdae stopped being just a shopping-and-clubbing neighbourhood a while ago. Around the alleys near Exit 9 of Hongik University Station, the last couple of years have packed in a dense run of self-photo studios — Life4c
0 0The VAT refund on cosmetic procedures for tourists has ended (for now)
If you're planning a skin treatment in Korea, here's a change to know. The special rule that refunded VAT to foreign tourists on cosmetic and dermatology procedures has ended, and a bill to bring it back until 31 Decembe
0 0UAE cosmetics exports up 67%, but Hormuz risk is the wild card
The Middle East is one of the markets K-beauty export teams mention most. Korean cosmetics exports to the UAE jumped 67.2% to $286.5M. What the article says The Middle East cosmetics market is projected to grow from $19.
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