Hongdae makeup studio for slicked-back hair, pink tones: Today Makeup

I went on my dress tour today 🤍 I went back and forth on whether to get makeup done beforehand, but I'm so glad I did!

My dress tour was scheduled for 11am that day, so I booked an 8am appointment to give myself some breathing room. The place I visited was Today Makeup, near Hongik University Station.

Where is Today Makeup in Hongdae, and what is on the menu?

Today Makeup is on the 2nd floor of 26-8 Wolgeukbuk-ro 1-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, near Hongik University Station. You can get dress-tour makeup, wedding makeup, daily makeup and more — booking is required, and you can reserve through Naver Reservation!

I was looking around for wedding and dress-tour makeup places when I found this one, and the moment I walked in, the vibe was way hipper than I expected. So from the start I was like, oh, this place is probably really good at makeup? haha

Inside the Today Makeup studio

Once inside, the space was pretty spacious with several seats for getting your makeup done. The interior, built around modular furniture, had a stylish, hip feel throughout, so I had fun just looking around the shop. These days I feel like makeup salons with this kind of atmosphere — rather than just plain and clean — photograph better too.

Booking time and how long hair and makeup took before the dress tour

I booked my appointment at Today Makeup for 8am that day. Since my dress tour was at 11:30, I deliberately gave myself extra time in case things ran late, but the whole thing — makeup and hair — took about 2 hours.

Before the wedding hair and makeup

Very haggard-looking before shot since it was morning, haha! They put on a mask first, then did a hair consultation and pinned my hair up loosely before I moved over for makeup. The hair stylist and makeup artist were separate people, each working professionally on their own part, which I liked. The hair stylist in particular had apparently worked in broadcasting, and you could tell she'd styled a huge amount of hair. What I asked for that day was a slicked-back style!

Pink-tone dress-tour makeup at Today Makeup

What I requested for makeup that day at Today Makeup was pink tones. And now, on to the makeup!

I told them I wanted to try pink-tone makeup that day. Honestly, I was a little worried pink would suit me — I don't usually do pink makeup, and I was afraid my face would look washed out. But once it was on, the pink turned out brighter and prettier than I expected, and it really suited me!

After the dress-tour wedding makeup

After getting this makeup done, I thought this look would work for the actual wedding day too!! I also realized dress tours aren't just about trying on dresses — getting hair and makeup done at the salon beforehand lets you preview what hair and makeup actually suit you.

The stylist kept checking in throughout, asking me to speak up if anything bothered me so she could fix it, but honestly there was nothing I wanted to change. That's how well she nailed the look I wanted from the start, haha

Detailed makeup plus fixer: how long did it last?

The makeup was done very meticulously, with fixer sprayed on throughout and again at the end. Since I had to hop between several dress shops that day, I was worried the makeup might break down, but it held up beautifully all the way into the evening.

So I think this place would work not just for dress tours but for snap photoshoots too. Especially on days when makeup longevity really matters — like wedding snap shoots at Haneul Park, Noeul Park, or studios around Yeonhui-dong — the location of Today Makeup in Hongdae is pretty ideal too. Recommended..!

Trying slicked-back hair for the first time on a dress tour

Honestly, a slicked-back bun isn't exactly a style that suits everyone. I've seen a million reference photos, but the effect really changes depending on your face shape and features, so it was a style I'd always been a bit hesitant about ㅠㅠ

But a dress tour is a day when you can try out styles you wouldn't normally attempt, so this time I asked for a completely clean slicked-back look with zero flyaways. What I'd originally pictured was a softer, loosely swept-back style with a few strands left out, but I decided to go bolder and try a fully slicked, flyaway-free version instead!

Turns out this style takes way more work than I expected. I thought you just swept the hair back, but she had to build volume in just the right way while keeping everything smooth and clean, working strand by strand. It genuinely felt like watching someone shape pottery, lol.

She told me that getting it completely flyaway-free like this is actually a much harder style than it looks.

When I saw the finished look, I was like, oh… this is so much better than I expected! I loved it myself, and it got a great reaction at the dress shop too. The staff and even my wedding planner asked where I got my hair done and said it looked great — I felt weirdly proud, lol.

Once I actually tried on dresses during the tour, I understood why people go for this kind of clean slicked-back look. It shows off the neckline and shoulder line better, which made it easier to focus on the dress itself.

Was dress-tour makeup at Today Makeup worth it?

After getting my hair and makeup done, I headed to Ray & Co in Cheongdam for my dress tour. It was clearly so much better than going in bare-faced — I could actually see how I'd look once I had the dress on. Especially with the slicked-back hair, dresses I wouldn't normally have considered suddenly suited me, which really helped when choosing.

By the end of the dress tour, I got it — this is why people get makeup done before a dress tour!! These days dress-tour makeup is basically considered a must-do. I used to wonder if it was really necessary, but after trying it myself, the difference was obvious. What I liked most was being able to test out what hair and makeup suit my face before the actual wedding day.

And above all, the slicked-back bun and pink-tone makeup combo I tried that day turned out so much better than I imagined, that I'm now thinking of doing exactly this for the wedding day itself! Glad I treated it like a demo makeup run. If you're deciding where to get your makeup done before a dress tour, I'd say try something you don't normally do, like I did with the hair and makeup here. I was super satisfied with the dress-tour makeup I got at Today Makeup that day 🤍