Korea Musings, Facebook Friend Requests, Forest Baths, and a Big Fat K-Grooming (ish) Giveaway

Konnichiwa, Blue Princes! We have landed in Okinawa to embark on 40 days of me learning to appreciate seafood. (Also, massages and onsen, both of which I already revere immensely.) After last week’s first-ever oyster slurp, I officially ate raw tuna today and didn’t hate it at all. Did I like it? No. But I didn’t dislike it either. The steak, though? A++++++.

Two things up top here:

1. Do you still have Facebook? LOL, seriously. I am asking. I deleted mine years ago but had to rejoin to launch the Blue Print FB page. It’s mostly the YouTube videos reuploaded. STILL… can you be a dear and like the Facebook page? You know, to help build up our baseline audience there. Please don’t add me as a friend; I’m not interested in using it for anything else. (And no, this has nothing to do with the TikTok ban. It just took me a minute to get around to activating Facebook. We’ll get on TikTok too if/when that hiccup blows over, too… I was holding out for this very reason!)

2. Thank you to all of the brands and individuals who helped out the LA fire victims, and as it pertains to this newsletter—to those who helped spearhead the collection (I see you, Kristen and Aika!!!) and who donated to the groomers, makeup artists, barbers, hair stylists etc who need the support in getting their livelihoods back in order. If you would still like to help out, I’ll point you again to a celebrity groomer friend of mine who lost everything. She is updating her Amazon wish list as things come to mind. Grooming Kit - Amazon Wish List // GoFundMe // Venmo

   
   And to those brands who got a direct ask from me on her behalf, and who leapt to help: THANK YOU so much for directly replacing what was lost.

Korea Post Script

After three fruitful weeks in Korea, I’ll have plenty of content to unleash throughout the year, but I did want to get a few big-picture thoughts down on pixels and video first. A “K-PS”, if you will.

I uploaded a “K-Grooming” vlog where I run through my favorite brands/products across skin and hair for men. I didn’t spotlight much in terms of luxury there (will save that for my Robb Report articles soon). It was also good practice for me just doing one take and trying my darnedest to minimize those UMS and UHS, a muscle I am excited to keep working. And since run-on vlogs aren’t everyone’s cuppa tea, I’ll eventually give a 10-SKU edit of my favorite 10 Korean skincare products for men, once we’re home in the spring and I am with all the products in one spot.

Some K-Musings:

The above video spotlights a lot of what I have loved from the visit, and the best facets of the industry in my opinion. And while my thoughts on the Korean industry are just one guy’s impressions, I did feel like South Korea’s products are as “held back” as they are progressed. Many top-selling brands produce products for the Korean consumer, not the global market. While things like face masks and chemical SPFs are fairly universal wear, Korea isn’t a market with much consumer diversity. So things like makeup shades, mineral SPF blends, color correction, and even hair styling are tailored to their thick hair, longer styles, and their fair skin (and the standard of pale/fair skin = the only way).

And they really don’t innovate in facial hair/shave at all—the sparse scruff there (and propensity to laser off any patchiness) left a little to be desired in that category. Considering just about every brand frontloads soothing cica grass/centella as a key ingredient, they really are primed for the shave/post-shave regimen. The legacy Korean razor brand DORCO populates shelves alongside Gillette and co, but the category really feels like a footnote to skin, hair, and hygiene.

A couple unisex brands we met with are launching new SKUs farther afield (namely, the US), and were curious about how to stick the landing across so many more ranges of skin tones. I was relieved that they were aware of that baseline necessity (shade diversity) for commercial success outside of their corner of the world. One brand even has a product called “Demelanizer” that definitely won’t translate well abroad, and they know it. Some products aggressively frontload glutathione too, which is common in skin-whitening products and pitched as a brightening treatment.

One of my favorite men’s brands in Korea, B.Ready, has a best-selling toning lotion that only comes in two fair shades; while it claims to blend into all skin tones, I doubt the testing has been that extensive on black and brown skin tones. Their cushioned concealer has just 5 shades (teetering into tannish tones—but nothing compared to the 40 from Korean makeup line TIRTIR). Look, these products are great for my pale ass but even André’s more olivey hues weren’t matching so well.

Innovation wise, B.Ready’s hair products are fantastic, but the assortment doesn’t feel tailored to anyone with short hair or curly hair, as it is limited to a spray, serum, and paste. (Japan will have more options for short, choppy hair stylers, which I am excited to explore. many of them retail prominently in Korea, too.) Every aspect of B.Ready seems like 80% ready to launch afar… the products they have are, again, really effective for the local market, but the range isn’t broad enough for me to endorse en masse. I hope they can make those minor tweaks/updates and can see success abroad. For what it’s worth, their blue-hued SPF is fab-u-lous. And since it’s blue, you know it’s for men. Heh.

Also, I love that their name reads as “BReady”… mmmm. Carbs are definitely masculine, not to mention universal.

Americans Need More Cleansing Foams

As a K-PPS: Can US brands please start making cleansing foams/whips? I’m not talking about the ones that you pump from liquid into bubbles. Rather, I want the ones that squirt out dense pre-whipped balm. You lather them with warm water in palm, or with a loofah, or even on your chest hair for a nice whipped foamy refresh. I love these. Senka Perfect Whip (from Japan) and Skin1004 Centella Ampoule Foam (from Korea) are two great examples. (US Amazon links provided for both of those dirt-cheap products.)

If I’m overlooking any US brands who have this… please shout.

New and Notable Launches

1. Atwater’s new Skin Armor Mineral Facial Sunscreen SPF50+ widens their lead as one of the best and most expansive men’s-angled skincare lines. (They’re very unisex but certainly positioned towards men.) I have yet to possess the finished packaging of this one, but got to test drive a sample in November and will definitely be calling in a full size ahead of spring and summer. It has also cleared the strict testing for water resistance (up to 80 minutes), so athletes, swimmers, and profuse sweaters, take note.

2. I’m a month late on this one, BUT: Jimmy Choo Man Extreme EDP is a peppery fresh take on winter-wearable scents. Its spicy opening and green-y geranium heart give it a nice contrast of biting and inviting. I just wish they would have a more interesting name. Sometimes these designer-house flanker-extensions read like “House Name Homme (2)_v3 Intense (2).edp”. (I think Givenchy Gentleman is the worst offender here.)

3. D&G Devotion Pour Homme just dropped and was the last scent I sampled before packing up the flat for three months. I seem to like it better than the average reviewers… it’s got two of my favorite notes (coffee and patchouli) and to make a coffee pun, it felt grounding. But also familiar in a good sense—and safer than most gourmand alternatives, in terms of its universal wear. A nice September-April pickup for your wardrobe.

Cardon Newsletter Giveaway: 3 Prizes, $221 Value Each

On the topic of Korean skincare and hair care, I am so very thrilled to share this week’s newsletter giveaway partner: Cardon! I fricken loooove this brand!

Yes, they’re born in the USA, but co-founder Narae Chung is Korean and worked in her country’s beauty industry prior to enrolling in business school stateside. So this cost-friendly, high-performance regimen has all the trappings of K-Beauty/K-Grooming. 

Chung and Jacqueline Oak started the label at UPenn’s Wharton School of Business, and the name is indicative of Cardon’s hero ingredient: cactus extract. (Cardon is a type of cactus.) This soothing and hydrating ingredient is an anchor across a majority of their SKUs, which cover everything from daily SPF to acne patches to hair care and body wash.

The SPF 30 moisturizer is one of the best made in the US in terms of elegant application (and to me is the surest sign of its Korean inspiration), and their clay cleanser is undeniably my favorite ever (no hyperbole—even more than the aforementioned whipped foam cleansers). It even got an inaugural Blue Ribbon from Blue Print because of its mashmallowy texture, plus its hydrating and deep-cleaning superpowers.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

Answer the prompt by Jan 31 to enter. 1 entry per subscriber. Must be 18+ in lower 48 US / DC. Full terms.

3 people will each win the following from Cardon ($221 retail value—their entire current assortment).

• Daily SPF 30 Moisturizer $22

• Purifying Clay Cleanser $20

• Hydro Boost Gel Moisturizer $29

• Dark Circle Eye Rescue $27

• Bamboo Charcoal Sheet Mask + Beard Oil (4) $24

• Cactus Soothing Face Mask (4) $24

• Prickly Pimple Patch (9) $19

• Strengthening Shampoo $18

• Strengthening Conditioner $18

• Vital Body Wash $15

• Matte Lip Balm Duo $5

Okeedokee, fare thee well until next week. As for us, we go from Okinawa to Nara, then Osaka, where I’ll be drafting next week’s letter. A couple quick highlights from the past week: Here is what Park Hyatt Busan used to lube up and then pancake every muscle in our body (the stones were hot/cold too). Easily the best and most memorable massage of this trip so far, for both of us. Just glad I didn’t see that bamboo roller until after the flattening.

And then in Jeju, the JW Marriott was basically a fine art museum overlooking the ocean, and we got to do forest bathing in the island’s Seogwipo Forest of Healing with the most charismatic and charming guide, Jeyon. (There’s a lil IG video linked below.)

I believe (and know) that one’s appearance—your radiance, your complexion, your hair’s health, all of it—are so tied to reducing stress, eliminating factors that give your mind and body grief. Longevity is linked to wellness, and we wear it on our face and across our bodies.

So, as much as I go on about skincare and treatments and hair transplants etc… remember, just take care of yourself. Jeyon was the spryest 60-something ever, and she walks in the forest every day of the year, with a beaming smile to appreciate it all. I don’t know if much of our Okinawa itinerary will dive into Blue Zone diets/longevity, but it’s all one in the same: Simplify. Be well, holistically—but also, be fun! Don’t say no to everything.

Just get outside and go for a walk. Also: make like the Koreans, and always wear sunscreen.