My hair and makeup experience at ROLLING JAY 💄
RIHO HAYASHI
Affiliate
12 hours ago
This time, on a solo trip in February, I visited a salon in the Gangnam area【ROLLING JAY】and I’m reporting back✍️
ROLLING JAY is a popular salon in Korea, handling hair & makeup for many models and celebrities.
There are lots of reference images on the Instagram account too, so if you can't picture the look you want, be sure to check it out!
Instagram @rollingjay_official
This time, I reserved the most popular Pure Hair & Makeup through Creatrip 5 days in advance. It was during the Lunar New Year period, but the reservation was confirmed the next day, so that was great.
*Even if you request a reservation, the salon may not be able to accommodate your preferred time due to their circumstances, so we recommend booking early!
I'll share the membership perks that made the experience a great deal at the end💰
Schedule Before Hair & Makeup
I had a skincare treatment at the clinic I always go to the day before my hair & makeup!
Avoid treatments that have downtime, and stick to basic skin care (regeneration, calming), peelings, LDM, and the like. That said, I did get a salmon injection, but the needle marks were easily covered with makeup so it was fine, haha
Also, avoid using oil-heavy masks on the day, since they can make makeup slip more easily. It's best to stick to basic skincare only 🙆♀️
I had a 10:30 AM appointment that day, so I woke up slowly, took a morning shower (if you’re getting your hair done, you need to wash it that morning), and checked out!
I had breakfast at a gimbap shop right near the hotel.
At BossulBossul, I went healthy with kimbap loaded with eggs and vegetables instead of a regular meal 🙌
I’ll grab a quick bite and take the train to the salon!
ROLLING JAY access 📍
I was staying at a hotel in the Gangnam area, so Gangnam-gu Office Station was nearby, and the salon was only a 2–3 minute walk from the station, which was very convenient!
Exit Gangnam-gu Office Station at Exit 4, then immediately turn left, the salon is inside the building just ahead.
Navermap is here ↓
[NAVER Map]
Rolling Jay
Seoul Special City, Gangnam-gu, Cheongdam-dong 39-14
https://naver.me/GO6csjnQ
The reception is on the first floor, so it was very easy to find!
hair & makeup experience💄
Give them your name, then wait in the waiting area.
After checking out of the hotel I headed there with my suitcase, but I felt reassured because they can store large luggage and coats for you.
The salon was very spacious and had an open, airy feel.
The first floor is for makeup and the second floor is for hair, and it was bustling with Korean customers!
They also seem to do hair & makeup for weddings and flight attendants, and there are lots of reference photos, so it’s really helpful for inspiration!
Soon after, I was first shown to the second floor for hair styling 💇♀️
First, they asked if I had shampooed my hair! As the pre-visit notes say, you need to wash your hair the morning of your hair styling appointment, so be sure to do that ⚠️
They asked what look I wanted, so this time I showed them a photo and asked for hair & makeup in the style of Cha Mu-hee, the protagonist of the Netflix drama 'Can This Love Be Interpreted?', and they gave me natural wavy hair!
I don't have any photos, but they carefully blew out my hair while sectioning it at the start…!
After that, two staff worked together to curl my hair, it was so moving!
I had soft waves created with a curling iron, and they backcombed the roots so the style would match my face shape and make my face look smaller 🤍
They said they would finish up by doing just the bangs, so we went straight to the first floor. We were shown into a private room with a single wall lined with makeup items 🪞🪄
First, they carefully did my skincare, then applied cream and primer. They also shaped my eyebrows, which was a big help!
After that, the director came in, I showed a photo of the image I wanted, and they skillfully did my makeup.
Imae, base makeup, shading, highlight, blush, and lips, all done efficiently but very carefully, resulting in the pink makeup I had imagined ♥
Korean makeup really is all about the base! After carefully creating the overall primer, they build up foundation in layers, changing tones for different areas to create depth and a dewy glow, so the result looks beautiful!
During eye makeup, they’ll do basic directions like “look up” and “look down,” and discuss facial features in Japanese, so I think it’s okay even if you don’t speak Korean!
This time I chose Pure Hair & Makeup, so there were no false eyelashes or flashy glitter, but using the usual Korean makeup trick with a toothpick and lighter they lifted my lashes really well, giving me a gloriously glamorous look that I was completely satisfied with 🪄︎︎
Finally, they also applied a brightening cream around my neck to match my face tone, so it didn’t look unnatural, which was great!
After the rest of my makeup was finished, I was taken back up to the second floor and they finished styling my bangs!
I still had slightly short bangs left, so the staff suggested tucking and fixing them in, shaping them to sweep like longer bangs.
They made sure it stayed in place so it wouldn’t fall apart, so I felt reassured. It turned out exactly like the image and I was made so cute, perfect score 💯
It depends on how busy they are, but I went in at 10:30 and left around 12:00, so it took about 90 minutes ⏰
When planning your next outing, it’s best to leave yourself plenty of time!
When you’re done, they also give you a touch-up set with the lip product used in the makeup and a cotton swab, so it’s really convenient for reapplying if you go out afterward 💄
How to spend time after hair & makeup
After the hair & makeup, I had also booked a passport photo session called Photocyan near Gangnam-gu Office Station through Creatrip, so I headed there right away!
The area around Gangnam-gu Office has lots of photo studios, so after hair & makeup it's also a great idea to go get ID photos or profile pictures taken!
By the way, Pure Hair & Makeup didn’t use glitter or sparkly glitter, so if you want a shimmery look you can add glitter to your under-eye area or eyelids yourself, or tweak the look as you like.
Of course there’s a full idol-makeup plan too, so if you want false lashes applied properly it’s best to book that plan 🙆♀️
After that, since I was looking forward to the Apink 15th anniversary concert, I checked into the next hotel and then headed to the venue.
There was a Photism at the venue where you could take photos framed with the members, so I took some pictures 🤍
Thanks to getting hair & makeup done, unlike retouched ID photos, you can naturally and noticeably boost your look even in Photism purikura, so I was happy!
The makeup stays flawless all day and looks great in photos, so it’s highly recommended for mornings when you want lots of pictures during a trip to Korea, like when renting hanbok or school uniforms, or on days with events like fan activities✨
About Creatrip membership
This time, I paid only the reservation fee in advance through Creatrip, so I'll pay the remaining balance on the day.
When I visited, same-day payment was 79,000 won, so including the deposit it was about 10,000 yen.
Surprisingly, it was 25% off with a Creatrip membership, so it was a great deal and I was really surprised!!
(At the time I checked, it was cheaper than the official Korean Naver reservation price 👀)
Booking a hair & makeup salon on your own can be a hassle since many places require a deposit by bank transfer, so I recommend using Creatrip to make a reservation from Japan in advance, plus the membership prices are much cheaper than normal!
For your Korea trip plans, be sure to use your Creatrip membership and visit ROLLING JAY 🪞
