‘Jamsu’ first stepped into the limelight in 2016 in the beauty world’s endless quest to find a foolproof shortcut to flawless makeup, and the hype surrounding the technique suggests it will be even bigger over the next few months, with an Instagram ‘#jamsu‘ search turning up over 500 publications. The concept is reported to have actually originated in Japan, but was quickly adopted by K-beauty fans.

The process involves moisturizing the skin and applying base products such as concealer and foundation, before covering the face with a layer of talcum powder or translucent powder. The next step is not for the faint hearted — it requires submerging the head in cold water for up to 30 seconds, before patting the face down gently with a towel, to reveal a smooth-looking finish.

If it sounds too crazy to be true, then look to YouTube, where beauty vloggers such as Denise LimFavful and Beauty Vixxen have been testing out the trend on camera, with varied results. The vloggers warn against using too much powder in order to avoid a chalky finish.

Jamsu is not the first method to rely on loose powder for a flawless matte makeup finish — in 2015 ‘baking’, which involves wetting the skin after foundation and concealer have been applied by using a damp sponge to dust powder over dark shadows or areas of the face that you want to highlight, enjoyed a revival. As well as highlighting, the technique was used by many as a way of ‘setting’ their makeup for the day.

Text: AFP