"We decided to do something we usually didn't do for male idols": BTS' former makeup artist dishes about the members' styles battled gender norms

On Sunday, August 6, KOREA NOW sat down for an interview with Han Hyun-jae, BTS' former makeup artist who worked with the group during their debut days. It's no secret that the seven-piece group was one of the first, at least in Korea, to steer away from the male-associated style and norms with the help of bold and daring makeup styles.

The interview with the makeup artist not only revealed the ways in which the members were explorative with their styles but also each member's unique and most suitable makeup style. Han Hyun-jae, during his interview, expressed that his favorite look on the members was for the pictorial that was done during their overseas tour, where the concept was to reach outside the box.

“So we decided to do something that we didn’t usually do for male idols.”

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Han Hyun-jae, BTS' former makeup artist, talks about the members' individual makeup styles, their gender norm-breaking interests, and more in a recent interview with KOREA NOW

BTS and Han Hyun-jae first joined hands when 2 AM Entertainment, under which the makeup artist was housed, collaborated with BigHit Entertainment. When asked about how his experience with other artists might have been different while working with the BTS, Hyun-jae dished out how their styles were vastly different from that of typical K-pop male idols.

BTS' Dark and Wild photoshoot (Image via Twitter/@btsthroughyears)

"At that time, strong smokey makeup for performance on stage was popular. So putting parts on faces was something we did for female idols at that time, but we put a lot of parts and applied blushes that were not usually applied on men and used color eyeliners to given some extra atmosphere."

He, then, continued,

"Well, we talked with their agency a lot. There were many options that point out "there is always strength and energy in their music, so why don't we remove that in the photobook this time". This was usually for foreign models, definetly we did not try this frequently with Korean idols."

Han Hyun-jae then moved on to talk about the BTS members' individual facial characteristics and what kind of makeup style best suited them.

BTS in Brazil (Image via Twitter/@jmbusanboy)

While talking about the members, he started off with V, explaining how he doesn't require much sharp or loud makeup looks and simply highlighting his feature would work greatly to give off different kinds of looks. Jimin, as he explained, seems to have a mysterious face and much of his makeup look concentrates on improving the s*xy mood that he naturally radiates.

He also revealed that since the idol doesn't have double eyelids, more line around his eyes works best to highlight the same. He explained Jungkook's and Jin's faces and how differently they can be worked on.

"Jungkook also has a very beautiful face. Colors and parts look good on him. Jin has the pure and clean look both on and off stage. I think putting less on his face highlights is beauty. When we worked on smokey makeup or something manly, it was best to put less on his face."

Han Hyun-jae also shared that RM's face was the most perfect canvas for him to experiment and play with several looks.

"RM was willing to try new things. For example, the ice-cream parts or heavy smokey makeup, he looks strangely very good with everything we try. He is the one who fits perfectly whatever we try."

Love Yourself Album (Image via Twitter/@jmbusanboy)

He then concluded by talking about the last two BTS members, SUGA and j-hope. Han Hyun-jae said that despite SUGA's manly body language and actions, his face carries a pretty smile, that helped Hyun-jae explore new looks. He further explained that although J-hope has a bubbly and enthusiastic personality, smokey and dark looks suit him best.

"Lastly, j-hope. He looks good with whatever we try but I specifically loved this image of him (smokey heavy eye makeup). His chin line is slightly curved which made him look good with those styles."

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While Han Hyun-jae no longer works with BTS, many fans can agree that the unique and eye-catching explorations that he did with the members garnered a lot of positive attention and recognition for the group right from their rookie days.