Korean Skincare with Lamise Beauty founder Kate Wooyeon Park
After a move to Dubai, Lamise founder Kate Wooyeon Park suffered a plethora of skin problems. Finding solace in products she bought back from her home country, South Korea, Kate decided to bridge the gap between the two countries and founded Lamise beauty. Meaning ‘soft touch’ in Arabic, the concept of Lamise was to touch its client’s beauty softly. That means understanding that skincare doesn’t have to be harsh to be effective. Her brick and mortar store is unusually housed at the back of 1004 Gourmet, an Asian multi-shop which also features an Asian supermarket and specialty coffee shop.
Here she talks to Tru & Beyond founder Miriam Abadi about the benefits of Korean beauty.
Tell us about the story of how Lamise Beauty was founded.
When I moved to Dubai, my skin needed to adjust to the dry climate as it became dehydrated and irritated frequently. I started experimenting with new products and bringing my favorite beauty products back from Korea. When I started to share the cosmetics with my friends, they always asked me to bring more. That is when I realised that a lot of people appreciated the quality of Korean cosmetic products. After spending a lot of time researching the industry, I decided to launch Lamise Beauty to help raise awareness about taking care of your skin and to provide a platform for the people in the region to try Korean beauty products.
How did you get inspired to name the brand Lamise?
“Lamise”, which means 'soft touch’ in Arabic, echoes our ethos which is to help those who live in the hot desert achieve healthier skin with a soft touch through our Korean beauty products.
What sets K-beauty apart from other products?
Having worked in the advertising industry for 7 years, I have worked with many beauty brands and had the opportunity to test many trendy products from both Korean and non-Korean companies. There are many great cosmetic products produced outside of Korea but in my experience, Korean brands offer very high quality products which are backed by decades of innovation in technology, formulas and ingredients. K-beauty has garnered a loyal following over the last decade thanks to the continuous research and popularity of products such as BB creams, cushion compacts and sheet masks.
What makes Lamise Beauty different from other Korean brands?
Lamise Beauty offers the most popular brands and trendy products straight from Korea such as Mediheal, VT, Cosrx and Abib etc. All the products are lab tested and then tested again by my in-house team. Make-up colors such as I’m Meme and Rom&nd are also tested to determine the right hues for Middle Eastern skin. These curated products are explained and suggested to customers based on their skin type or skin concern. Lamise also offers many clean beauty products from Sioris, Beautiqlo and The Lab by Blanc Deux, that are beloved by customers with highly sensitive skin.
What are the different steps of a Korean skincare routine?
Deep cleansing is an essential procedure in the morning and at the end of the day. In the evening, it is very important to clean your makeup with cleansing water, oil or balm and to wash
your face using a foam cleanser. This cleans impurities, dirt and clogged pores and prepares the skin for moisturizers. Regardless of your skin type, you should continuously hydrate your skin using essences and cream to avoid irritation and inflammation. In the mornings you should protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Using sunscreen helps tighten the look of your skin and reduces fine and coarse lines. If you want are looking to improve your skin texture you can add an exfoliator once or twice a week and mask packs for intensive hydration.
What are some K-beauty products you cannot live without?
I always emphasize to my customers the importance of three things in terms of skin care; cleansing, moisturizing and protecting. I cannot live without cleansing oil and foam cleanser for removing makeup, dirt and sebum. For moisturizing I always keep nice mask pack collection in my drawer. Last but not least, using sun screen frequently is very important to protect our skin from the strong sun in this region.
What Korean beauty products do you recommend for people who are still new to k-beauty?
If you are new to K-beauty I would recommend a cleanser, toner pads and mask pack first. I recommend Cosrx Good Morning Cleanser. This is a pH balanced cleanser so it is very gentle on your skin and effective for acne. Round shaped toner pads, which are soaked in toner, are very popular in Korea. They have embossed sides which exfoliates and hydrates your skin at the same time. Many of our customers love VT toner pads and The Lab By Blanc Deux toner pads. For more nourishment and hydration for your skin I recommend mask packs which are an easy and effective way for treating targeted skin concerns. I love the Mediheal sheet mask packs containing active ingredients such as collagen, N.M.F, tea tree and super foods.
Many of these K-beauty products are also available at Watsonsgcc