Dress tour hair and makeup with monolid lashes lasting 12 hours: Today

When you're heading to a dress tour, it's always a toss-up: get your hair and makeup done professionally, or just do it yourself? Since you're actually trying on dresses, I figured it was worth getting it done properly, so I looked around for dress tour makeup and ended up at Today Makeup, a makeup studio in Hongdae.

Today Makeup / 26-8 Wolldcupbuk-ro 1-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 2nd floor / Mon–Sat 8am–5pm, Sun 8am–3pm

Is it close to Hongik University Station, and is there parking?

Today Makeup is within walking distance of Hongik University Station, and parking is available too.

If you make a reservation, they'll explain the parking spot right away — you can park in the designated space in front of the shop, and

even if that's full, they'll direct you to nearby parking lots, which put my mind at ease.

The shop is on the 2nd floor, and once inside, everyone gets their makeup done privately, which I really liked. There's also a sofa in the middle where you can wait comfortably.

How much is dress tour hair and makeup?

You can get anything from natural makeup to idol-style makeup to wedding makeup, and if you only want makeup for a dress tour, it's ₩120,000.

Guest, photoshoot, dol (first birthday), interview hair & makeup ₩120,000 / Dress tour hair & makeup ₩150,000 / Wedding snap photoshoot ₩240,000 / Wedding day ₩380,000

For reference, shampoo and haircuts aren't available, so wash your hair before you go, and if you have lash perm or extensions already done, that might be tricky, so check with the shop beforehand.

Visiting with breakouts, starting with a skin patch

I'd suddenly broken out the day before my visit, so I was pretty worried — I went in having only done my basic skincare.

The first thing they do once you sit down is apply a skin patch and lip balm, plus add some volume to your hair.

They apply the skin patch carefully across both cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin, and it makes your skin instantly hydrated.

Private makeup room, 1 hour 30 minutes total

Next you move to the makeup room, and since you have this space entirely to yourself, it never feels awkward.

With cool air conditioning and a blanket over you, the makeup process feels comfortable, and it takes about 1 hour 30 minutes total.

The base steps are seriously thorough — toner, essence, cream, and even tone-up cream applied all the way down to the neck, which is great for a dress tour. After layering the base over and over, they build it up in several layers, so I didn't need to worry about my breakout marks showing at all.

Is it okay to go without a reference photo?

While doing my makeup, since I hadn't brought a reference photo, I just told her what I wanted and how I wanted to express it, and she picked up on the vibe I was going for as we talked — that was honestly the best part for me!! You really only find out what kind of makeup suits you and what you need once you've actually had it done, so I think it's worth getting it done a few times.

Partway through, she also talked to me about my skin type, since I had some concerns, and recommended products and how to apply them, so I walked away with some great tips too, haha.

Monolid eye makeup and lashes

Since I have monolids, eye makeup sometimes barely shows, but she did it in a way that looked natural, and with lashes added on top, it was perfect for a dress tour.

She used such a huge range of products throughout the process that I honestly felt like a princess...? Oh, and I really wanted good volume, and she nailed it starting from the part line, which I loved too. Even the staff at the shop said I looked pretty and asked if I'd just had my makeup done somewhere! Haha.

How did it hold up after 12 hours?

Twelve hours after my makeup was done, it was all still intact! The staying power is genuinely amazing.

Personally I wondered if the makeup was a little heavy, but it turned out the lighting at dress shops is really strong, so once I got there it actually read as more subtle under the lights and looked just right. That's when I realized why professionals are professionals!

Wedding prep costs keep piling up, and the price for dress tour hair and makeup here is reasonable too, so if you're deciding on where to get your dress tour hair and makeup done, why not consider Today Makeup?