Graduation half-up hair and makeup at Comma Hair, a Hongdae salon

Special days deserve pretty makeup, right? 🙂 I looked around for a well-known hair and makeup salon close to home and ended up going to 'Comma Hair & Makeup'!💖 This is the same salon Kim Ji-young from Heart Signal visited!! I had such a satisfying hair and makeup experience that I wanted to share it with you all 🙂

Where is Comma Hair & Makeup, and what are the hours?

Comma Hair & Makeup is located at 5 Donggyo-ro 25-gil, 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul. There's no parking, but the restroom and WiFi are inside the salon, and walk-ins, outcall service, and pets are all welcome.

• Address: 5 Donggyo-ro 25-gil, 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Parking: X
• Restroom: O
• Walk-in/outcall: O
• WiFi: O
• Pets allowed: O

If you're booking wedding hair and makeup, note that reservations are possible even before or after regular opening hours!

First time at a Korean hair and makeup salon? Bring reference photos

Let me give you one tip! I really recommend finding a reference photo or the exact look you want and showing it to your stylist. If you just assume they'll figure it out and the result doesn't match what you wanted, it's so disappointing 🥹 Especially at a salon you're visiting for the first time — bring your references!!!!!!!

Parking at the building itself is difficult! The staff kindly point you to nearby parking lots, so keep that in mind!

Inside and outside the Hongdae salon

The exterior of 'Comma Hair & Makeup.' You can enter 10 minutes before your reservation time!

They also do nails, so it seems like a great system for handling wedding hair, makeup, and nails all in one place!

The interior of 'Comma Hair & Makeup.' Here's what the overall space looks like!

Keep in mind you get ₩5,000 off if you participate in the receipt review event 💛

Now, time to put my things in a locker and head off for makeup!💖💖

Restroom and cleansing foam inside the salon

Having the restroom inside the salon was so convenient! They also have cleansing foam available for anyone who wants to remove sunscreen or light makeup beforehand.

Daily makeup vs. idol makeup: what's the difference?

On the left is the nail price list, on the right is the hair and makeup price list. I was curious about the difference between daily makeup and idol makeup, so I asked — apparently it comes down to how heavy the makeup is, the products used (longevity, variety), the type of blush, and the level of detail! If you want a more detailed makeup look, idol makeup seems like the way to go!

The makeup room and how long each step takes

Here's what the makeup room looks like!

They even prepared depuffing tea / iced tea / coffee plus snacks — such a thoughtful touch!

I just came in with simple moisturizer on, and they took care of everything — eyebrow grooming, skin texture prep, basic skincare — so you really don't need to worry! Plan on about 1 hour for makeup plus 30 minutes for hair. They were genuinely so thorough with the hair and makeup. My makeup session filled the entire hour!😮💛

Asking to tone down the eyeshadow and lip color

Honestly, at first the eyeshadow color felt really intense (since it's not a look I usually do), and it felt a bit unfamiliar, so I was a little worried. At the very end, they asked if there was anything I wanted adjusted, so I said I wanted the eyeshadow toned down a bit and the lip color made lighter — and after the touch-up, it came out so naturally pretty 💛💛 If there's anything you want changed, just say so. They'll reflect it perfectly, no matter what!

To show you a realistic review with no retouching, I recorded a short video! I had to rush to school after getting my makeup done, and this was taken quickly on the subway on the way there, but I loved it so much~!😆 If I'd done my own makeup at home, there's no way I would have gotten a result like this — I'm so glad I got it done by a professional 🫶🏻

They also gave me a touch-up kit, which made it easy to fix small things on the go!

Does half-up hair work for a graduation ceremony?

I had both my hair and makeup done by manager Jiyeon! She's amazing at hair too 🫶🏻 I really wanted half-up hair, but honestly almost nobody does half-up hair for graduation hair and makeup, so I went back and forth about it right up until the end! Since I did a plain, safe style for my grad photos, I figured this time I'd just leave it up to the expert and get the style I actually wanted — so I showed her the reference and asked for exactly that!

There are so many types of half-up hair — Jang Wonyoung half-up, IU half-up, Jennie half-up, you name it. I don't know what style I ended up with, but I really did agonize over whether to just do a plain tie-up or curl it and then tie it up...😅

Doesn't it look like a proper announcer, ha~? My mom couldn't come to graduation because of work, so I sent her a selfie, and she said the makeup looked really pretty 😎

Since I usually wear light makeup, seeing myself like this felt so novel and I really loved it, so I took a lot of photos for once 💛💛

I got to school around 3:30, and by 4 pm the rain suddenly stopped 😮 So I rushed to take photos. Lucky Vicky! 🍀

Honestly it was so humid and hot that day... but thank you so much for coming to my graduation despite being busy! 🥹💖 I'll do my best 🙂

I loved the half-up hair so much I wanted to show you the side view too~! My beloved Kyunghee looks so pretty, honestly 😭 A day full of complicated emotions — happy to have graduated grad school, but also a little scared to head out into the working world!

Final thoughts on Comma Hair & Makeup

For a special day, leave your hair and makeup to the professionals 😉 Huge thanks to manager Jiyeon for making my makeup so pretty! 🫶🏻🫶🏻