Hongdae makeup salon for natural bob hair and makeup: Today Makeup

Why I booked a makeup salon in Hongdae

Like I've always said on my blog, I'm a DIY hair and makeup person, but deep down it always bugged me that I never quite reached the look I wanted. I'd think 'okay, this is good enough' and then a few hours later I'd catch my face falling apart and just sigh, ugh. But concept photos get retouched by photographers, right??? So when mine flopped, it was all on me alone, haha.

Lately with everything going on, when I'm feeling down, at least liking my own face makes the day a little more bearable, right?? Haha, yes, that's mental gymnastics, I know. So I figured, let's have a proper refresh day, get all dolled up, and I got my hair and makeup done before hanging out with a friend, haha.

Honestly you might think, do I really need to get hair and makeup done just because I'm feeling off......haha. But no, I told myself this isn't a splurge, it's self-care!! And with that mindset I went ahead and booked a salon.

Happiness isn't that complicated, is it? Just needs a little money, haha.

So the place I found was a Hongdae makeup salon called Today Makeup!!!

How to walk from Hongik University Station to Today Makeup

Today Makeup's address is 26-8 Worldcup-buk-ro 1-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul! Here's how to get there.

It only took about 5 minutes from Exit 1 of Hongik University Station! But traffic was bad so I ended up 8 minutes late,,, I quickly messaged saying sorry, I'd be about 5 minutes late and hurrying over, but they told me to take my time instead, which I really appreciated.

Anyway, once you arrive at the salon, this is what the exterior looks like.

I loved how quiet it was!!! And the day before your appointment they message you to shampoo (but no treatment!!) and only wear light skin toner, nothing more, on your face. I go around Seoul bare-faced all the time anyway haha, so I showed up confidently, haha, totally giving off first-timer-at-a-makeup-salon energy the whole time, ugh.

Inside Today Makeup and its waiting space for companions

Here's a look at the interior. Spacious and clean.

There also seemed to be a separate waiting space inside for anyone who comes along with you, haha.

Today Makeup price list: hair and makeup from ₩120,000

Let me explain the price list a bit..!!! The basic option starts from around ₩120,000! What I chose was the natural and clean hair & makeup option!

• Natural and clean H&M (hair & makeup) — for guests, photoshoots, first birthday parties, interviews: ₩120,000

There's also a wedding section for hair and makeup! Writing this down for anyone planning a wedding to reference too.

• Dress tour, mother of the bride/groom — ₩170,000
• Wedding snap photoshoot, bride only — ₩170,000 (half-up, updo, or hair extensions +₩30,000)
• Wedding snap photoshoot, both bride and groom — ₩240,000
• Wedding day ceremony — ₩380,000

There's also a separate early-start fee.

• 7am start — +₩20,000
• 6am start — +₩50,000
• Before 6am start — +₩100,000

I'm not exactly a huge beauty product nerd, but seeing this made me go whoa. This is what a real salon looks like, everyone....

So wild..... haha, okay, time to show you the ugly stuff (?). . . ha...

Starting bare-faced: the first 5 minutes on eyebrows

This is my raw, bare face. And my eyebrows are seriously thick, haha, not bragging.. it's genuinely too much of a hassle to manage. That's why I always hide them behind bangs and never trim them. I really wanted to show you my truly unmanaged, raw eyebrows, but the moment the artist sat me down (?), my eyebrows must've looked pretty serious because she quickly (?) trimmed them for me, haha. Such an obvious giveaway that I have zero interest in makeup... she spent a good 5 minutes just on my eyebrows I think. So sorry about that....

Warning: unflattering bare face ahead . . .

We're moving down from eyebrows to eyes in order, haha. My skin tone runs yellow and I have a lot of scattered blemishes around my cheeks, so I was curious how she'd cover it all — she built it up layer by layer with a brush. So that's the trick, keep the face thin and layered.. learning something new here haha.

Why bob-length reference photos speed up the session

Now onto the hair. I had reference photos of the look I wanted, saved a month in advance haha.

My hair is about this bob length, so these were images I found searching for bob styling ideas — since my eyebrows were finally neatly groomed for once, I wanted to try pushing my bangs back... so I showed these photos, haha. The very first photo, of actress Chae Soo-bin? That was my main reference.

My little tip from this: if you have a specific look in mind for hair and makeup, find reference photos before you go and show them to the artists — it's fast, accurate, and you'll end up loving the result yourself! That's the golden rule. I just showed the photo without saying much, and she still added little touches here and there to match what she felt would suit my face.

Dense lashes, shimmery eyeshadow, haha... this is what a professional artist looks like.

The finished look: bob hair with bangs swept back

Pushing my bangs back, really?..... I love it. My groomed eyebrows look so pretty, I swear!!!!!!!

Here are the ramen place and the bingsu (shaved ice) place I went to afterward, haha. I'm a shy introvert who's not great with small talk, so I was really nervous going to a salon for the first time, but the hair and makeup and the service were so much to my liking.

How to book Today Makeup in Hongdae

You can book Hongdae's Today Makeup through Naver Reservations! You can also book via KakaoTalk open chat. If you want to check out the artists' hair and makeup style, their Instagram is a good place to look.

That's my Today Makeup review! If you're looking around for a Hongdae makeup salon that's both good value and genuinely skilled, I highly recommend this place!!