Exclusive Interview with Korean Skincare Expert: Joo-Eun Kim of Shangpree Spa

Shangpree Spa is a world renowned spa in Seoul, frequented by celebrities and offering the latest and most innovative skincare treatments to achieve that chok chok glow that Korea is infamous for. If you read my review of their facial, you’ll know the kinda heavenly glow I’m talking about. I’ve never looked as radiant as the night I left Shangpree Cheongdam.

But I digress…a few weeks ago I was back at Shangpree, this time to get the professional scoop on Korean skincare from Ms Joo-Eun Kim, Shangpree Spa director and industry expert, and share her tips and news with you beautiful readers! 

Joo-Eun Kim

Joo-Eun Kim is the director of Shangpree Spa at Cheongdam, and with 18 years in the industry, she is a fountain of knowledge and experience in Korean skincare and spa therapy. 

Her credentials precede her: Master of  MLD (Manual Lymph Drainage), 1st Prize Winner at National Korea Beauty Therapy Competition, Professional Aromatherapist, magazine features in Elle, Styler, Cosmopolitan, Allure, and Beauty +( just to name a few!), as well as TV appearances on MNet, Olive TV, and SBS (popular Korean channels). She stands among the best at the center of Korean skincare.

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Interview

I had prepared a number of questions for Ms Kim, so let’s get right into what you’re here for! The answers were translated to English for me by the lovely Celia, so a huge thank you to her. 

1.What made you decide to go into the skincare industry?

I was able to enter the skincare industry by initially joining a cosmetic company. I’m still proud of being an esthetician because it feels rewarding to communicate with people to help them with their personal beauty, and to live a healthier life.

2.What makes you passionate about helping people achieve beautiful skin?

Thank you for calling me a “messenger of beauty” (note- ‘helping people achieve beautiful skin’ was translated into ‘messenger of beauty’ in Korean).

What we do is more than just help people “be beautiful”. The same treatment may bring different results according to the individual’s state of mind and body that day. Thus, what we do is provide customers with time to heal their mind and body as well as helping them with their appearance. I think this is a significant job to make their lives more enriched and happy, not just improve their looks.

3. Do you think skincare in Seoul/Korea is different compared to the rest of the world?

Yes, Korea is a dynamic, fast-moving country and people always challenge the industry by continually seeking new things.

There is so much interest in skin and body care, customers are not satisfied easily, and the trend moves so fast. These demands mean that estheticians must be skilled to meet the customers’ high standards, and always try to develop new techniques and treatments.

4. What makes Shangpree Spa “luxury”?

We do not invest much on advertising. Rather, we invest on developing the best products and improving estheticians’ skills.

We regard these things as important: acting according to our principles, being a trustworthy company and impressing customers and employees. We always keep in mind that we want to produce the world’s highest quality goods and services. Thus, we strictly test every single product when we develop new products. Also we have our own system of training estheticians with regular tests and continuous feedback. We have the philosophy that we never break the rules once we have set our principles, especially regarding price, product quality and system. I think our strong persistence to stick to our principles is what makes SHANGPREE a luxury brand.

5. What is your personal favourite treatment offered by Shangpree Spa?

S energy Treatment (note- this is what I had and it was aaaamazing) and The Dream Treatment. “The Dream” means in Korean “Providing/Giving More.” It is a facial treatment which was developed by Dr.Wol-hee, who is SHANGPREE’s R&D director and Ph.D in Cosmetology & Cell Biology. It helps strengthen skin barrier and improve skin volume from within.

My skin is very sensitive and gets easily irritated by environmental harassment, but my skin becomes immediately relieved and calm with these treatments.

6. What is Shangpree’s best selling product?

The Gold Modelling Mask. (Note- I love this modelling mask. It really makes my skin glow, and moisturizes like nothing else I’ve tried. I like to use them before an event).

7. Can you share any information on plans for Shangpree in 2017? I know your masks were launched in Harrods last year, any further international plans?

Yes, we’ve just recently launched at Barneys department store, 2 locations in New York. We will be participating in Cosmoprof Bologna 2017 next month and Iran Beauty & Clean 2017 in April. We are going to enter the European market and the Middle East market much more aggressively this year. SHANGPREE is also going to release many new items.

8. What skincare/spa trends do you think we will see in 2017?

• The keyword will be “Defense” (people want to make healthy skin by strengthening skin barrier and boosting skin immunity.)
• These days, many people tend to have combination skin types, so the demand for skincare products that can handle these complex skin types is always increasing. SHANGPREE is currently developing such products.
• There’s also more of a trend for at home pampering, and so there are more and more at-home-spa concept products being introduced in the market. These products are very popular. SHANGPREE’s products are developed based upon the actual spa operation of 27 years, which no other brands can catch up with.
• In Korea, the trends seem to be moving on to natural skin care rather than stimulating skin in a harsh way for immediate and visible results (such as cosmetic surgery, botox and lasers usually provided in clinics). This is a change for Korea. 

9. Can you tell me about your own daily skincare routine?

I have been doing this job for 18 years and now I am 39 years old. Since I have the most sensitive skin, I still do many tests on my skin before committing to products. After cleansing, I look closely into the mirror to check my skin in detail, thinking hard, ‘Which products to apply?’

The most essential aspects of my routine are hydrating skin and using a mask. These are the steps I never skip, even for a day. I use many thin moisturizing products, which is better than just applying lots of cream. I also make sure to use different consistencies of essences after one another, not necessarily just one. I usually do essence, followed by a mask, and then more essence. I take a lot of time over my skincare.  

10. What are your skincare tips?

• One of my know-hows is applying toner several times by layering it on your skin―I didn’t know people use this method, calling it ‘toner layering’ or ‘7 step method’. This is my own know-how that I’ve been doing for many years (note- I mentioned that this has been widely circling in the AB community recently, and Ms Kim was surprised as she’s been doing it for as long as she can remember!). This way, you can soothe and hydrate your skin very quickly.
• When your skin is too sensitive, even your hands can be irritating. So I apply products in different ways, even the same toner, according to my skin state. Sometimes I apply toner using a mist and sometimes with hands.
• I also do different kinds of masks (according to my skin state) every single day, from sheet masks to modeling masks. Using masks regularly helps achieve glowing skin.
• An extra tip for masks: when I use SHANGPREE Gold Premium Modeling Mask, I apply additional essence before the mask and after the mask for optimal results.

Thank you so much for meeting with me today, it’s been a wonderful experience and opportunity to speak with you and learn more about your own skincare tips as well as Shangpree spa and products. I know my readers will really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and share your knowledge with us!

Thank you for coming, it’s been great to meet you. I hope we can work together again in the future.

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I hope you found Ms Kim’s answers as interesting as I did. It was great to have the opportunity to pick her beauty brains! Huge thank you to Ms Kim, Celia, and the welcoming staff at Shangpree for having me! I’m currently working my way through a fabulous box of Shangpree goodies I received, so check out my Instagram for updates on those.

What are my favourite Shangpree products I’ve tried to date? The Black Pearl Eye Masks, the Gold Modelling Mask, the S Energy Cleansing Gel, and their Crystal BB Cream. I have high hopes for their new air cushion which I plan to test out in the next couple of days (although it’s so pristine and beautiful I kinda don’t want to open it ha), as well as the full S Energy line.  I also fully intend returning for an S Energy facial, because as I said at the beginning, the glow it gave me was incredible.

If you’re interested in arranging an appointment at Shangpree, their contact details can be found at the bottom of this page. You can see which stores stock Shangpree products in Korea and worldwide on the same page. Online, I’m aware that Peach and Lily stock a wide range of Shangpree products too.

Do you have any further questions? Comment below!