Flawless

I’m entering a reading slump — I can feel it, but there were a couple good books that I read in the past and I thought i’d at least document it here (apart from my Goodreads). And though I’m quite new to the skincare routine, I’ve always been fascinated by how the KBeauty inudstry has taken over.

Flawless by Elise Hu has been a pleasant surprise. I didn’t realise how far back the K-Beauty industry goes and how it’s evolved over the years with the backing of the Korean government. Anything K, Pop, Dramas and Beauty are the biggest export of the country and it was fascinating to see how it’s gone on this journey.

I really liked how Elise showed how her life transformed too, from getting stationed in Korea with a newborn to having more children and how she experimented and dipped her toe into the Kbeauty industry because it really is an industry.

As the rest of the modern world develops into what Seoul already has been for years—an image-laden, social-media-driven landscape, where digital representations of us can be automatically filtered to have longer lashes or poreless skin, and digital makeup can be instantly applied before we show up on our video meetings—it makes clear Korea’s looks-obsessed culture, where appearance norms inch further and further out of reach, isn’t some anomaly

I’m glad that I haven’t been drawn in to the procedures but I also understand why anyone would want to go through this. Of course, there’s always the downside of getting obsessed, but everything in moderation right? I have friends that have gone to Korea for multiple things and it’s always interesting to see how cutting edge the beauty industry has gotten.

After reading Flowers of Fire — also on Korea’s womens rights fight — a lot heavier topic, this was a nice companion book to see how everything else kind of feeds into each other and how it’s difficult to be a woman no matter where you are.

I haven’t been to Seoul since 2015 with my sisters and I remember us just entering every beauty store we could find in Meongdong — considering none of us sisters are actually make-up buffs. The cuteness really draws you in. I don’t know when I’ll be back in Seoul but this book made me want to go back sooner just to see how the beauty streets have evolved. A really entertaining and easy to read book.