In this day and age, arts and dramatics have blurred the lines and they serve the purpose of cultural exchange between the countries. In order to understand and learn about the culture and societal norms of any country, the easiest way is to watch the entertainment content produced by it. Films and dramas not only provide entertainment to the local viewers, but it also helps the foreign viewers to build a connection with the country. In this global era and with everything readily and easily available on the internet, the content produced by any country is shared all over the world.
One such country that is producing award-winning content is South Korea. Korean dramas, its music industry is popularly known as K-pop as well as its movies have a massive viewership all over the world. In recent years, the viewership of Korean content has also increased in Pakistan. Although the societal structure and culture of South Korea is unique and very different, the dramas and films make sure to base the plot of the stories and the characters in such a way where one may find them relatable to some extent. The exchange of arts and dramatics also influence the fashion and cosmetic industries in every country. It is because one gets to learn new things every day and tries to incorporate what impresses them the most.
The makeup in Pakistani dramas was always on the heavier side, however in recent years, after experimenting and a lot of trial and errors, Pakistani actresses have come to a conclusion that in order to make their characters seem realistic, they should cut down on makeup and wear such looks that are minimal, fresh and not too cakey. Although some of the actresses have not really given up on the typical Pakistani makeup looks in the dramas, others have veered towards more natural and minimal makeup, which is quite inspired by the Korean makeup that their actresses wear in their dramas.
This by no means is to state that Pakistani actresses are copying Korean actresses, rather just to draw a comparison that too in a positive manner because the influence has been good and it is quite refreshing to see Pakistani actresses wearing lesser amounts of makeup in dramas. The face structures of both Korean and Pakistani actresses are different, their features are unique as well, however, the makeup techniques are pretty much the same and it shows how simple makeup can make one look beautiful too because it helps accentuate the natural beauty.
Korean Makeup Trends
Korean makeup is all about accentuating one’s natural beauty and features. South Korean society is image and beauty conscious, this is why they pay a lot of attention to their skin and do everything possible to maintain their youthful look. Although cosmetic procedures and surgeries have become quite popular in South Korea, it is a fact that those who tend to stay away from such procedures also pay a lot of attention to how they look and their well-being in general.
Korean makeup is mostly about the super pale and glowy face, they tend to wear foundation a couple of shades lighter than their skin tone. They prep their skin and wear luminous foundations with a lot of added shimmery highlighters to achieve that glowy and glass-like skin. Korean eye makeup is mostly about the diffused eyeshades and a very thin eyeliner, which is rarely worn in order to accentuate the natural eye-shape and make it appear elongated and bigger. They keep the eyebrows natural because they have fine eyebrow hair, therefore they don’t really add a lot of product on top of it to make it look sharp.
Another staple in Korean makeup trends is the natural hint of color on cheeks, which is usually achieved by wearing cheek tints. Korean makeup products are not very pigmented, therefore it takes a lot of building up for the color pay off. This is because they like to keep the makeup looking absolutely minimal and natural. Korean actresses mostly wear glossy lip products and they tend to focus it in the center of their lips, once again for the diffused look. They don’t really line their lips and wear pink and red-colored tints for the natural flush of color. In certain cases where they tend to make the eye makeup darker, they make sure to keep it diffused too, this way everything is beautifully blended and not really sharp enough to look unnatural.
Pakistani Makeup Trends
In Pakistani dramas, for the longest period of time, the makeup was heavy and cakey. It was because the makeup artists as well as the producers felt it was the demand of the camera, therefore the makeup artist used to get the briefing of putting extra layers of makeup which would withstand the harsh studio lights and the heat generated by them. Pakistani makeup in dramas was about the heavy foundation, a lot of contours, blush, precisely drawn eyebrows, and also a pair of false eyelashes.
The actresses wore a full face of makeup which included heavy eye-looks and kajal as well. A lot of actresses wore so much makeup that the viewers found it hard to relate to their characters. The Pakistani drama makeup also included different shades of lipsticks. However, after experimenting and understanding the demand of the characters, a lot of actresses have started wearing less makeup, which not only does justice to the dynamic of the character but also to the essence of it and the situations they are faced with.
Here is the list of those Pakistani actresses who are following Korean makeup trends:
Kinza Hashmi
Kinza Hashmi is a young and beautiful Pakistani actress. She has worked for a lot of brands and has worn different kinds of makeup looks in all of her photoshoots. However, when it comes to her personal preference in makeup, as seen in her personal pictures that she posts on Instagram, it is obvious that she is veering towards simpler and fresher makeup looks.
Kinza Hashmi mostly picks pinkier toned shades for her entire face makeup, such as her eyeshades, the blush as well as her lips. She is more into the glowy and natural foundation and likes to wear tints on her cheeks as well as her lips. Her eye looks to keep on changing but she tries to keep them to an absolute minimum too so that her naturally beautiful features are accentuated and she doesn’t look like a completely different makeup. The lesser amount of makeup is definitely looking good on Kinza Hashmi.
Alizeh Shah
When Alizeh Shah joined the drama industry, she was called out for wearing a lot of makeup. Her makeup looks used to be a bit too elaborate for the age of the characters she used to play. Alizeh Shah now gets to play the lead roles but at the beginning of her career, she was always the younger sister who had a love interest of her own. Alizeh Shah slowly understood that she didn’t need so much makeup, therefore she started giving up on the heavy and cakey looks and adapted to the Korean makeup trends which were more about letting her natural beauty shine.
She is into glowy face makeup as well. She also wears a lot of blush which gives her face a youthful look. Alizeh Shah also wears a lot of highlighters to give her that glow-from-within look. In order to make her eyes appear bigger, she wears flesh-toned liner in the waterline – this is also something that some of the Korean actresses do to make their eyes look more open and wide. Alizeh Shah has also veered towards glossier lips, this is why she rarely wears a properly defined lip liner and lipstick. She definitely is carrying this natural and Korean-looking makeup perfectly.
Saniya Shamshad
Although Saniya Shamshad has been out of touch and was last seen in Rishte Biktay Hain, where she wore elaborate makeup looks in almost every scene, in real life Saniya Shamshad has totally changed her makeup preferences and looks cute following the Korean makeup trends. Saniya Shamshad goes heavy-handed with the lip and cheek tints, she also wears a lot of mascara and a foundation which is a couple of shades lighter than her skin-tone. The haircut that Saniya Shamshad is seen carrying in her pictures goes to show that she was definitely and heavily inspired by the Korean style and she carried it beautifully.
Yumna Zaidi
Yumna Zaidi is one of those few actresses who never shied away from wearing absolutely no makeup on camera because she understood it was the demand of her character. However, it also took her a long time to realize that she looked beautiful in lesser makeup, in the beginning when she used to be at the mercy of her makeup artists, she was seen wearing overly heavy makeup which added a lot of age to her.
However, in recent times, Yumna Zaidi has also changed her makeup preferences and is following the Korean makeup look, which is all about extra glowy skin, natural eye makeup look, a blush on the cheek and glossy lips. In her currently on-air drama Raaz e Ulfat, Yumna Zaidi has sported a similar look and in those pictures that she posts on her Instagram, it shows that she enjoys wearing such looks which are all about glowy skin and a natural flush of color on the cheeks and lips.
Saba Qamar
Saba Qamar has gone through a drastic change when it comes to her makeup looks. In her early dramas, Saba Qamar never gave up on Kajal and a heavy foundation. However as the years passed by and she realized how important it was for her to make the characters appear realistic and relatable, she gave up on makeup.
Saba Qamar made sure to mention it in one of her interviews that she now tries to only wear the makeup which looks decent on the camera and any female viewer looking at her can relate to her natural and realistic look. Saba Qamar is mostly about natural and feathered eyebrows, extremely glowy face, and natural touch of blush on her cheeks. She also wears nude lipsticks which almost are similar to her natural lip color. This look is definitely one of the best that Saba Qamar has sported over the years in her dramas.
Sanam Chauhdry
Sanam Chauhdry is known for carrying elaborate makeup looks, it is also because she herself is good at doing her makeup, therefore she makes sure to give herself a different look in each of her dramas. However, it is a fact that none of her looks can be termed as natural. However, in some of her recent Instagram pictures, Sanam Chauhdry carried the Korean look and did justice to it. It is because she likes to play with makeup, it was obvious that she came up with this look and tried the Korean makeup techniques. She even wore her hair in such a fashion that completed her Korean look perfectly.
Iqra Aziz
Iqra Aziz has also come a long way when it comes to her overall hair and makeup looks in dramas. Iqra Aziz has the kind of face that can carry any sort of makeup, be it on the heavier side or a bit on the natural side because she has perfect features as well as beautiful and healthy skin. One thing that’s a signature of her makeup look is the precisely drawn eyebrows because she herself has stated that she has naturally sparse eyebrows. Other than that Iqra Aziz tends to wear a thin layer of foundation, which is enough to make her complexion one toned. Apart from that the rest of her face makeup is on the natural side with a hint of color on both cheeks and lips. She also likes to wear thin eyeliner to accentuate her eye-shape.
Aiman Khan
Aiman Khan also struggled a lot in order to truly figure out what kind of makeup suited her the best. However, she has now understood that she can perfectly carry the natural makeup looks and that has evolved into her signature style. Aiman Khan is also all about the Korean makeup look; which is all about a glowy face. She tends to go heavy-handed on the bronzing to bring more depth to her face but apart from that, her eye looks are natural and diffused, she also wears lip and cheek tint and keeps her lips glossy.
What are your thoughts about the minimal makeup look that Pakistani actresses have now started to carry in recent years? Do you also feel they are inspired by Korean makeup trends? Do you think it is important for Pakistani actresses to wear a minimum amount of makeup, especially in dramas to make their characters seem realistic? Feel free to share your opinion.
