I love working with models because they sometimes put me on to beauty trends I’ve never heard of. After working on a 
Converse campaign with a gorgeous Asian American model named Xinyi Dong, I discovered an interesting trend in Asian beauty. Some Asian women accentuate the fatty deposits beneath their eyes called the aegyo sal. The term aegyo sal translates to “eyes smiles “or “cute skin. ” The young model explained that the beauty trend began in Korea but has gained popularity amongst beauty lovers across the continent.
After speaking with Xinyi, I learned that defining and adding dimension to this area of the undereye is done to create the illusion of more intense, rounder eyes. Accentuating the “aegyo sal” gives the appearance of a hollowed-out eye socket, a look very popular with East Asian women. For years, women worldwide have been using correctors and concealers to hide our fatty under eyes, and this feature has been revered in Asia all along. Who knew?! K-beauty sees the puffiness under the eyes as innocent and childlike. This trend has been quite popular for several years but has not been fully embraced in the USA. I don’t know about you, but I’m here for any trend where my bags are seen as pretty – sign me up!
According to Girl Style, achieving the perfect aegyo sal is very easy. Start with a contour shade to draw a thin curved line just slightly under the eyes and blend out the edges; next, apply a brighter highlight shade on top of the line and blend that as well. Make sure not to use shimmers or glitters for the highlight to keep it looking natural. As for the contour, using cool-toned, matte powders are the best way to make this look believable.
If the directions above seem difficult or intimidating, there is a much simpler option. There are aegyo sal tapes that are invisible adhesives to apply to the lower eyelid area. The tape will temporarily give you the coveted enhanced aegyo sal look.
Is this something that you’d be willing to give a try? Let me know in the comments.
