Chriselle Lim's self-care guide will have you googling flights to Seoul
She jets around the world for her high-profile beauty career, but her heart is in Seoul. Here are her top K-beauty experiences in town, from face lasers to body scrubs.
For Chriselle Lim – style guru, digital creator and creative director of PHLUR fragrances – self-care is a way of life. Especially when she visits South Korea, the birthplace of the viral "K-beauty"– beloved for its multi-layer "glass skin" skincare regimens and high-tech sun creams.
"Beauty and self-care in Korea is a daily thing," says the fresh-faced and flawlessly stylish Lim, who spent her formative years in the glamorous South Korean capital and returns with her daughters each year. "It's not about hitting a certain age and then taking care of your skin. You just do it since you're a very young girl. As we're trying to reverse [sun damage] here in the States, in Korea, the women have been taught to protect themselves early on. We were always embarrassed about our moms taking us around in their crazy massive sun hats and their gloves. But now I get it. I've become that lady."
While innovative Korean products like collagen sheet masks continue to dominate the international market, Korea is also seeing an uptick in beauty tourism. Consumers can visit "skin clinics" for medical aesthetic treatments powered by ultra-modern Korean technologies; often not yet approved by the FDA. Adding to the appeal, patients can get several treatments – from Botox to Titanium skin lifting to liquid laser sun spot removal – in one sitting with jaw-dropping transformations and little downtime – compared to Western protocols, which require patients wait 28 days between treatments.
"I have a lot of followers that ask me for tips and where to go," says Lim. "It makes a lot of sense. One, the technology is there. And two, it's so much cheaper [than the US], at least by five times. The flight there, renting an Airbnb or a hotel; it actually makes a lot of sense because you are saving money in the long run."
Not that Lim ever needs a reason to visit Seoul. "It's a fast-paced city that is extremely clean, chic, sophisticated," she says. "Just imagine fashion and art and beauty all combined in one. It's one of those places I go whenever I'm feeling like I need inspiration."
Here is Lim's go-to plan for a self-care holiday in Seoul.
1. Best skin clinic: Eun Skin Clinic
Gangnam, the stylish district made world-famous by a certain 2012 K-pop song, is considered Seoul's K-beauty and medical tourism hot spot – and it's where Lim's self-care holidays start. First stop: Eun Skin Clinic in the affluent Cheongdam neighbourhood, south of the Han River.
"They do incredible lasers, the best I've experienced," says Lim. "They speak really good English there, which is a big make or break for me because I'm not fluent in Korean. And because [the doctor] deals with a lot of English-speaking people, I think she realises that a lot of them are here to explore and have fun, so she doesn't want to be so aggressive with their face. They do a very customised approach."
Korean skin lasers, notes Lim, are so gentle they can even be layered on top of each other to compound their transformative effects.
"It's very, very gentle," says Lim of her most recent visit. "I did something called Ruby toning; helps with even skin tone and brightening. And there's another laser that I did called MeDioStar®, which is brightening and tightening. And then on top of that, I did PRP [platelet-rich plasma treatment]. And then I also did microneedling and then salmon DNA. It takes maybe an hour and a half to do."
She cautions: "The next day, if you get five to eight treatments, your skin will be slightly bruised, but it goes away within, I would say, 48 hours. [These lasers are] effective on the deeper surface level, but on the topical level, you can't really tell that you've gotten anything done… But then after I went home, and people were like, 'Wait, did you, did you do something to your face? ' And you're like, 'Okay, I think it's kicking in'."
Lim recommends visitors hit skin clinics at the beginning of their trip – "first thing when they land… because these clinics like to check up on you after three-to-five days. During that downtime, you could do coffee and check out some incredible museums and do some shopping."
Website: www.eunskin.co.kr/Address: 88-37 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, SeoulPhone: +82 2 546 3322Instagram: @eunskinclinic/
2. Best relaxing body treatment: Gogyeol
As part of her downtime from skin procedures, Lim also likes to indulge in relaxing body treatments.
"There's this spa called Gogyeol," says Lim. "I love this place to reset my body. They do a traditional Korean massage and scrub."
Like Eun Skin Clinic, Spa Gogyeol is found in Cheongdam; a two-minute walk from the Gangnam-Gu Office metro station. Lim notes that Spa Gogyeol is a not a jjimjilbang (a public Korean bathhouse). "A lot of people love Korean bathhouses [because] they do this intensive scrub where they literally scrub off all the dead cells off your skin and it just comes purging off your body. It's pretty disgusting. But [Spa Gogyeol does] that treatment in a private setting, so you can get the body scrub, the upgrade massage and a detox wrap. They literally scrub off every dead skin cell on your body, and it just feels so soft. You feel like you're floating."
Spa Gogyeol also offers a rich menu of holistic medical treatments, working with the body's five Tae energies. "In Korean health, a lot of it is about balance," says Lim. "So they'll really analyse your body to see what they need to focus on, and they'll customise it for you.
"I think a lot of people that are on holiday just want to relax," she adds. "A lot of tired mamas. It's a very calming space."
Website: https://spa-gogyeol.com/Address: 3F&4F, 13, Seolleung-ro 132-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea Phone: +82 10-7682-1297Instagram: @spa_gogyeol
3. Best overall spa: The Trinity Spa
Where Eun Skin Clinic is expressly high tech and Spa Gogyeol takes a holistic approach, Lim's next spa pick – Trinity Spa in Seoul's Yongsan District – is all about pampering and beautification.
"It's a little tricky with Trinity spa because their English isn't the best," says Lim. "But I think they're working on it. They're more of a general spa; that's why I feel okay recommending it. They do everything from amazing facials, really focussing on lifting the face and focussing on your lines, and brightening and tightening to body contouring, massages. They cover it all."
Trinity Spa's array of facial and body treatments toe the line between technology and relief – like the Real Jade Stone V-line jaw contour treatment or the lymphatic drainage leg massages – all administered in private guest rooms with cushy spa beds designed for ultimate relaxation.
"It's just a very relaxing experience for someone that wants a general spa experience," says Lim.
Website: www.trinityspa.co.kr/Address: 3rd floor, Taeseok Building 116 Dokseodang-ro, Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, SeoulPhone: +82-2-420-0797Instagram: @the_trinityspa_official/
4. Best beauty shopping: Amorepacific Headquarters, Sulwhasoo flagship and Olive Young
The Korean skincare craze began in the early 2010s; global cosmetic purveyor Sephora's website now features a K-beauty section and Lim herself often provides K-beauty product recommendations on social media.
So when in Korea, shop as the Koreans do.
"Everyone needs to go to Amorepacific World Headquarters," declares Lim. Known as the inventor of the cushion foundation, Amorepacific now also owns many popular Korean skincare companies including Sulwhasoo, Innisfree, Cosrx and Laneige. "It's open to the public, which a lot of people don't know," says Lim. "In their lobby, you can get your face scanned; a lot of people go there to get their cushion foundation customised… they have a beauty store in their lobby, so you can experience all of their brands at once. [There's also] an interactive Amorepacific store called AMORE Seongsu. It's in this warehouse-y cement building; it's like you're walking through a store, but with a bathroom installation in front of you while you try things. Everything is technology-driven; you can get customised lip treatments, customised foundation. I could spend hours there."
Lim adds: "There's also the Sulwhasoo flagship store, which is just beautiful in itself."
Sulwhasoo, a luxury skin line, is headquartered in Seoul's upscale shopping district Sinsa-dong, in a modular structure channelling a golden lantern. "The shopping is great, and it looks like you're entering an installation," says Lim. "It has two spas. You could have, like, a foot scrub [or] a therapist with the singing bowl around your abdomen."
Lim also enjoys shopping for her favourite Korean brands at Olive Young. "It's the Sephora of Korea," she says. "They're on every corner. But the key thing is to know which one to go to. There's one in Myeongdong, which is the largest. Then the newest one is in Seongsu and it's a lot more tech-driven." Apart from beauty shopping, the five-storey Olive Young in Seongsu houses a cafe and a skin and scalp clinic as well as professional makeup services and a "trend pod" showroom. "Olive Young can be slightly outdated depending which one you go to," says Lim. "But this one feels like the future of what Olive Young will be."
Website: https://www.apgroup.com/int/en/our-culture/amorepacific-space/amorepacific-headquarters/amorepacific-headquarters.html (Amorepacific World Headquarters)Address: 100 Hangang-daero, Yongsan District, SeoulPhone: +82-2-604-05114Instagram: @amorepacificgroup.official/
Website: https://www.amoremall.com/kr/ko/store/display?storeCode=001 (Amorepacific Seongsu)Address: 7 Achasan-ro 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, SeoulPhone: +82-2-469-8600
Website: https://www.sulwhasoo.com/int/en/flagship/dosan/index.html (Sulwhasoo flagship)Address: 18 Dosan-daero 45-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam District, SeoulPhone: +82 2-541-9270Instagram: @sulwhasoo.official/
Website: https://global.oliveyoung.com/ (Olive Young Seongsu)Address: 300-65 Seongsu-dong 2(i)-ga, Seongdong-gu, SeoulPhone: +82 2-461-5290Instagram: @oliveyoung_global/
5. Best after a day of beauty: ABYBOM in Gangnam and Nudake Café
To cap off a day of beauty, Lim heads straight for the hair salon. "This is actually quite common in Korea," she says. "After you get all your skin treatments, you go get your hair done."
Lim favours ABYBOM, a massive, three-storey salon on Seolleung-ro that boasts a client roster of Korean celebs like Sandara Park. "A lot of people that go to events get the full service of hair and makeup done," says Lim. "They do amazing cuts. They style, they detoxify your scalp, if needed. They're incredible."
Afterwards, Lim always likes to visit a café. "Café life in Korea is so major," she says. "Between cafés and skin, you will never see the end of day." One of her favourite stops is inside the Dosan Park Gentle Monster branch; 35 minutes outside of Seoul proper. "Gentle Monster is a sunglass brand; they have the coolest shops ever," says Lim. "It's like an art installation. Then downstairs, there is a cafe called Nudake; they have conceptual coffees and baked goods."
Nudake Café proffers its coffees and whimsical pastries on stark countertops, like modern art displays. "It sounds so ridiculous, but they have these tiny, tiny, tiny, miniature croissants," says Lim. "They're literally the size of your pinky nail bed, but it's so good, and it's just so fun to take a photo with. [And] they have incredible coffee. It's actually quite hard to find non-dairy milks, but they have non-dairy milk there. So that's personally the reason why I like to go to that café, to just get my lattes without dairy milk."
"There's a lot of things that we have been doing in Korea that I feel like the world is finally noticing," adds Lim. "It's something that I'm very proud of."
Website: www.abybom.com/Address: 3층, 40 Seolleung-ro 152-gil, Gangnam District, SeoulPhone: + 82-2-516-8765Instagram: @abybom__official/reels/
Website: https://nudake.com/enAddress: 26 Seongsui-ro 7-gil, Seongdong-gu, SeoulPhone: +82-7-041-284408Instagram: @nu_dake/
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