5 Male K-Pop Idols’ Makeup Looks That Are Serious Inspo…

By Colette Fitzpatrick

I recently saw someone posit the question, “Why are so many former emo kids into K-pop?” on social media. A reply given was simply, “Boys with eyeliner,” and it was so ridiculous (but also somewhat true) that I laughed and the thought rattled around in my head. The more I thought about it, the more I noticed it in music videos and performances and, suddenly, I was spending as much time admiring smokey eyes as I was bops and hotties. Female idols also have great makeup looks but, as a general rule, there is less variation as the natural, pretty look is more popular for women in South Korea and male idols get fiercer, more dramatic looks to exaggerate their features.

And, look, I know what you’re thinking and I swear I’m not trying to make Bean a K-pop website but dang, if male K-pop idols don’t have some of the best eye makeup looks you ever did see. Plus, Emma, our Beauty Editor, totally encouraged me to put this piece together and if it’s got her approval, it can’t be a bad idea. Really though, these are some hot looks to copy so, for your makeup-inspo pleasure, here are some of the best male idol makeup looks I’ve seen in a while.

1. Kim Donghan in his music video for Sunset

The pale blue contacts, lined eyes and golden eyeshadow across the bottom and top lids, the bitten-gradient lip, the wet-look hair….all of this is such a Look. The music video itself is also beautiful and the outfits, with their frills, lace and softness add up to one very confident exploration of gender expectations. And I’m into it.

2. VIXX’s N in the special remix performance of Shangri-La

VIXX’s leader and main dancer, N, (my favourite of all) rocks a look here that he has done variations on before: red eyeshadow. I love red eyeshadow looks and this one is really cool and easy to wear; simply take a red shadow, create a winged shape on the top lid, getting darker and more heavy-handed on the outer edge.

3. Dean in his Instagram music video

Look, nothing about this should work – the fuckboy shaved brows, the plaster on the face, the beginnings of his mullet – and, yet, it does. It might simply be because Dean’s so damn good looking. It might be because he’s so damn cool. Who knows? But I’m obsessed with this look. I probably won’t be shaving my brows but I might rock a plaster on my face as an accessory, who knows?

4. Monsta X’s Minhyuk in the photoshoot for The Clan Pt. 2.5 [Beautiful] Album

I’m totally on board with the fact that glitter is a little micro-plastic devil. It’s evil. I know. But it’s also so pretty and, over a year on, I’m still obsessed with Minhyuk’s concept for this album (actually, the whole group was serving serious looks for this album); bathing his impossibly beautiful face in glitter, sprinkling in on his hair and coating his torso in it. I really want to reproduce this some day but I guess I’ll have to wait until they invent eco-friendly glitter.

5. Shinee’s Key during performance of Odd Eye

Okay, so this one is actually a bit of a throwback but for a good reason: this look was iconic and I’m still shook from it. Can I rock an eye patch for fashion? I don’t know but I sure as hell want to because of this. The disdainful look in his eye, the blue contact, the strong liner…it’s just so good. What a hot era for the whole group too.

Right, well, I’m off to get an eye patch, some plasters and a bucket of glitter…

If you’re looking for more great makeup inspo, check out Elle’s tutorial for a Goosebumps-inspired look and Emma’s guide to Glossier…