As a well-known mantra among beauty fanatics goes, no two shades under the sun are identical. True to her self-professed beauty fanatic status, WONHEE loves bboyong-bboyong colors but, as she explains, they’re all nonetheless unique. And rather than sticking to what’s dictated by her personal color analysis, the ILLIT member seeks out unique styles that tickle her fancy. Read on to hear more about her thoughts on makeup and nail art.

Precocious beauty beginnings
WONHEE: My best friend was really into makeup and was so passionate about it. I started watching all these beauty YouTube videos because of her, and they were so fun and everything looked so pretty. That’s what opened the door for me. When I was on the audition show R U Next?, and even when I debuted, I was so into makeup that I could identify the brand and shade of a product just by looking at the name of the line. So, when I got my makeup done on R U Next?, I tried to guess the names of the products on the makeup artists’ tables in my head. It was fun. It just came really naturally to me, I guess? I could even remember their prices. Especially the drugstore brands—I was really good at guessing those. I could tell which brand and which product line it was as soon as I saw it. I think it’s because, when you’re younger, you don’t have a lot of money for makeup. I spent so much time figuring out whether I could afford something or not that it just stuck in my head. Especially for things like lip or cheek products, I’d watch “I tried every shade” videos on YouTube, take screenshots of my favorites, and compare them over and over again. It was like an elimination round—top 16, then top eight, then top four—until I finally picked the one product I really, really wanted and bought it. (laughs)

💌 You’re invited to get your nails done at WONHEE’s!
WONHEE: One time in middle school, I invited my friends over to do their nails. Not one of my brightest moments. (laughs) I’m not good at doing makeup or nails for other people. At that point, I’d only just started doing nails, too, so I was awful. Ugh, why on earth did I do that? (laughs) I was like, “Come to my place and I’ll do your nails!” And then I gave my friend tip extensions. They were gel nails, but sometimes I get an allergic reaction from them now, which is sad. There’s a kind of gel nail that’s supposed to be allergy-free, so I tried using that for the base coat, and it wasn’t bad, but it still made my nails a bit itchy. That’s why I stick to regular nail polish or use press-on nails now. Oh! And I also started using nail strengthener about a month ago. My nails are naturally pretty weak, but now they don’t break, and they’re growing out longer.

WONHEE’s most wanted 💅
WONHEE: (Looking at an image explaining nail shapes) Whoa! Wow, this brings back so many memories! I remember I loved almond, ballerina, and square shapes because I thought they made my hands look the prettiest. I always hated my nails because they looked so small to me, but I loved nail tips because they made my nails longer and made my hands look prettier. Someday I’d like to try 3D embossed nails, too.

The beginner struggle is real
WONHEE: The first time I tried doing my own makeup was kind of hard. I started with gel eyeliner. Using a brush was fine, but when I tried switching to a liquid eyeliner, it felt so awkward, but I kept practicing until I got the hang of it. (laughs) I think I also spent a lot of time looking closely at the shape of my eyes. Everyone has a different preference—some love heavy makeup, some like that natural look. I’m more into the natural look, and over time, I found a way to draw my eyeliner in my own, natural style. If there’s any GLLIT out there just getting started with makeup, I’d say that when you’re using powders, you really should tap some off on the back of your hand first. And when you’re just starting out, you can never go wrong with a natural look! (laughs)

WONHEE’s makeup tips
WONHEE: I once did a makeup tutorial on Weverse LIVE, and then I found out later from my makeup artist that it got a really good response. I was honestly so surprised how much GLLIT loved it. I kept worrying if I was going to bore people by getting into little details like that, but I finally went for it and I was so happy to see that people loved it so much. Then I thought that I should brainstorm ideas for future content. The thing is, my face and lips actually get super dry, so they get pretty flaky, and that’s why I always apply a highly moisturizing cream or lotion and make sure to put on lip balm before doing my makeup. Then I use a hydrating sunscreen followed by foundation, which usually makes my makeup look good. When it comes to doing overlined lips, I think lip liner works fine, but honestly, I just go “mm-bah” and then it looks great. I go “mm-bah” then finish my lip makeup by following that line.

On eyelashes
WONHEE: For whatever reason, I actually find mascara harder to do than eyeliner. If you look closely at my “bboyong festival makeup” look, I didn’t even use mascara. (laughs) I never felt like I looked good when my lashes were pushed up, so I usually just skipped mascara, but one day, mascara just suddenly started looking so pretty to me. Since my lashes are on the thinner side, I bought a bunch of false lashes from a number of places all at once—I bought some on overseas shopping sites, bought some off that green site. But just two packs were a success. (laughs) I’ve also got a pair of tweezers. And I use black lash glue, too. Usually I fill the gaps between my waterline and false lashes very carefully. The black glue fills in the waterline while also giving the lash line a more polished look if you apply the lashes straight. Oh, but lower lashes? Those are so hard! For my lower lashes, I always use a clear glue. I tried black, but it was way too much, and I was like, Nope, this isn’t it. (laughs) So far I haven’t tried anything other than individual lashes, including long ones, and full strips. I want to try out some super dramatic lashes someday.

Blush love and nose contouring
WONHEE: I love blush. Even though I’ve tried to cut back, I still carry seven different blushes with me. (laughs) Like they say, no two shades under the sun are truly identical. It’s a real dilemma. Lately, I’ve been completely obsessed with pink. It’s definitely my favorite right now. I love pink blushes that aren’t too bold, with a slight white undertone and slightly muted saturation. And blush on the tip of the nose? Ah, it’s a must! I feel like it instantly brightens my whole face up when I put blush on my nose. I think it really brings out that pop of color, and I’m totally in love with how it looks—even though it’s the first thing to fade after I do some highlighting and contouring. (laughs) Still, when I finish off with a perfect dab of blush to my nose and take a look in the mirror, it just looks so good. I’ll never stop doing it. Never ever! I’m also a huge fan of creams for nose contouring. For a while, I was so obsessed that I bought four of the same one, and even then I ran out pretty fast. These days, though, I’m really into powder for contouring, so that’s what I’m using now.

Makeup your mind!
WONHEE: You know how once you get hooked on a certain color, you just keep buying the same one? I like to take a step back and check if I’ve been buying way too much of the same thing. (laughs) If I’ve already bought too many blushes and see one that I probably already have a similar shade for, I do my best not to buy it. But with highlighters, there’s so many different kinds now. I really want to buy those really unique colors—like pinks or blues I’ve never seen before. If I see something and think, I’ve never seen this before, I’ll buy it.

Ride-or-die product
WONHEE: For me, it’s lip tint. I feel like deep shades that give off sort of a cool winter undertone are good. Sometimes I do full face makeup using nothing but lip tint. Like for blush, eyelids, lips—I’ll just go (making dabbing and brushing motions) pat-pat-pat with the same tint all over my face sometimes. (laughs)

Personal color analysis
WONHEE: I actually really want to try a personal color analysis, but I feel like, if I do, I’ll end up losing all my confidence. (laughs) I mean, what if I want to put on brown lipstick, but then I end up thinking, “Oh, this doesn’t really suit my personal color”? I feel like it’d gradually make me want to stop experimenting and really restrict the selection of makeup I use. I know me, so I figured I better not get an analysis done. I’m worried it’d give me sort of a makeup bias? (laughs) I’ve been drawn to cool summer tone makeup lately. And I feel like beige shades are really pretty, so I keep getting pulled in by the kind of makeup I used to wear. Like, if I had eight blushes before, only one would’ve been beige, but now two or three of them are. (laughs)

WONHEE’s makeup bucket list
WONHEE: I really want to try doing bluecore makeup myself. There’s a bluecore look I’m going for. I want to put blue and pink together, with blue highlights on the inner and outer corners of my eyes, and then a light pink blend in between to connect them. That’s a look I definitely have to try out. And you know, with makeup, once you start putting some on, you want to keep going with more. So just once I’d love to try going for a clear look that’s still got a vibe to it—tone down most of the makeup, skip putting on lashes, and just get my brows looking nice and my skin glowing. And so I’ve been experimenting with ways to enhance my eyebrows lately, but my eyebrow hairs are so thin, nothing’s really working. (laughs)

Bedtime routine
WONHEE: There was a time when I didn’t really understand the importance of makeup removal, so I’d just use micellar cleansing water to remove my makeup and not bother with the second step of washing my face. (laughs) But once I found out how important it is, I went looking for something that’s quick, easy, and gentle, and then I found cleansing balm. With oils, there’s just too many steps. You have to use them with emulsion. And since I have dry skin, foam cleansers made my skin feel way too dry, so for me, cleansing balms are just the easiest option. You just apply it on your face dry, massage it in, and wash it right off. It’s easy, gentle, and comes right off. It’s great. Then I either put on toner pads, do a toner wipe, or use serum, and then put on lotion. For me, I only ever do two steps, max. I stick to the products that work for me. I’ve lost count of how many times I bought the same toner pads. I’m pretty sure it’s been more than 10 times. I don’t know if it’s because they have this heartleaf extract in them, but they seriously work to make my skin feel cooler right away and calm things down. I totally recommend them. They’re amazing!

Doing the other ILLIT members’ makeup?
WONHEE: I’ve never done the other members’ makeup, mainly because the nature of our work means there’s always professional makeup artists doing ours. And since I’m not a pro, it feels a little intimidating. But at the same time, they’re all so pretty that I feel like no matter what I do, they’ll still look amazing. (laughs) If I ever got the chance to do their makeup, I’d want to give YUNAH some false bottom lashes. For MINJU, since her eyes are so big, I think individual lashes would suit her perfectly. For MOKA, I’d love to try some bold false lashes on her. I think they’d suit her perfectly, too. And same for Roha [IROHA]. She saw me wearing them once and said she wanted to give them a try, so I’d like to try doing them for her.

Bboyong-bboyong
WONHEE: Ah, it’s really hard to define “bboyong-bboyong.” I think everyone has a slightly different idea of what gives off that bboyong-bboyong vibe. For me, with bboyong-bboyong, it’s sort of like, as soon as I see it, there’s just, ha, there’s just … I mean, as soon as you see it, there’s this, this … (laughs) there’s usually this sort of small amount of milky-snowiness to it that needs to be there—or, well, maybe not always. Ugh, it’s so hard to explain. I still have a lot of room for improvement. (laughs)

Dear GLLIT
WONHEE: Every time I’ve opened a mystery toy on my own, I’ve always gotten something bad. But then, I opened some random Sylvanian Families while livestreaming, and I got a secret item! It was from a discontinued line, and even then, it was a super-rare, unlisted Sylvanian figurine. I was so, so, ridiculously happy. When I do it alone, I never get what I want, but even last time I did it again on stream with GLLIT, I got something I absolutely loved. Even they were like, “Aww, that one’s so cute.” I also want to try more new things this year. From now on, I want to make lots of fun, new memories with GLLIT, showing them more and more of what there is to me.