Tiffany Young’s beauty secrets, which include electrolytes, caffeinated skincare, and pep talks

A surging throng of fans camped outside the Mandarin Gallery in Singapore just two weeks ago on 24 August 2022, hastily awaiting the arrival of K-pop Girls Generation’s ever-bright-eyed star: Tiffany Young. Tiffany was there to celebrate the launch of Lancôme’s first beauty tech flagship in Southeast Asia, as none other than the brand’s ambassador.

Seeing her in the flesh for the first time, many SONEs and Young Ones (the name of Young’s fans) screamed with glee, sneaked selfies, snapped videos of the star up-close. Of course, even with the flashing camera lights and from every shakey angle, Tiffany Young looked just about impeccable: flawless skin, shimmer-swept shadow, and the teasing eye smile that she’s so adored for.

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While we’d love to get the scoop on everything ‘Tiffany’, we’re most curious about how the K-pop star looks this good all the time as well as the tricks she has up her sleeve when it comes to beauty and self-care.

Read on, because we’ve gone ahead and compiled Tiffany Young’s precious beauty tips, from the ones she most recently disclosed when she was in Singapore in August, as well as other (lesser known) hacks that she’s shared during interviews in the past!

Never skip cleansing before going to bed

The not-so-secret rule when it comes to makeup is always to wash it off before going to bed. No cheat days allowed.

Still, we imagined that with all the events, photoshoots, and performances that Tiffany Young attends, she might skip cleansing off her makeup every once in a while.

Wrong – because, in an interview with CNA Lifestyle, the K-pop artiste vouched that she “could never” sleep with her makeup on. The rare exception, she sheepishly admitted, was during the hectic past five days of work when she hardly slept, only getting to take short naps with her makeup still on.

“But, originally, [when it comes to my] bedtime routine, I cannot sleep until I erase my makeup,” she emphasised.

So, the next time you’re tempted to slip in between your sheets with crusty, day-old makeup still on your face, bring to mind Tiffany Young’s radiant complexion and her strict “no makeup to sleep” rule. If that doesn’t motivate you, what will?

Drink lots of water and electrolytes

Tiffany Young isn’t the only Korean celebrity to drink lots of water for a lively complexion; Song Ji-Eun from the K-pop girl group Secret drinks up to four litres of water a day not just to hydrate her vocal cords, but also to achieve skin that’s really radiant.

What’s different for Tiffany is that a water bottle isn’t the only thing she has on standby, she also makes sure that she gets a healthy dose of electrolytes – sweetened, unsweetened – any type, it doesn’t matter.

“People just think water, but recently I have made sure I drink a lot of electrolytes after a rehearsal,” she voiced with confidence. “I think that’s the secret, water and electrolytes.”

Substitute with a face mask

For Tiffany Young, a 12-step Korean skincare regimen isn’t always necessary for taking good care of her skin.

“If I’m really tired, after cleansing, I will put on a face mask because it gets everything done. And then I just leave it on,” Tiffany Young shared in a feature on CNA Lifestyle.

She was referring to ditching all the steps after cleansing – from applying toner, serum, to moisturiser – and using a sheet mask instead.

“It depends on the mask,” she elaborated. “There’s the gel type, a satin type and a silk type. Don’t leave the silk type on because it dries everything up. A gel mask, you can leave on.”

What we’re hearing is, better a sheet mask as substitute than abandoning your skincare routine entirely.

Make room for rest

At the end of the day, it still boils down to having enough rest.

In her video interview with Vogue, the K-pop artiste declared her best beauty tip to be: “Lots of sleep and having your own time to yourself.”

Surprisingly, a day to herself looks like what it might for anyone else.

“A typical self-care day for me is eight full hours of sleep, two litres of water,” she detailed slowly in another interview with Elle. “An hour of reading, and maybe four hours of anything on Netflix, and then maybe a Disney movie.”

“But also just like, relaxing at home, taking a walk just because, taking out the trash and the recyclables – being home is everything to me.”

Keep positive thoughts

Tiffany Young’s beauty advice focuses a lot on what’s within. Fitting, since she’s the embodiment of beauty from the inside out.

That’s why, her next tip, to keep positive thoughts, is one that makes us smile.

“I’m really somebody who can’t hide my feelings,” she quipped with a laugh. “I think the past couple of months, I’m very happy to say that I’ve been very happy. And it’s been coming out on my face and my skin.”

It’s like what children’s storyteller Roald Dahl authored in The Twits: “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. […] if you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

She also takes the chance to give herself a pep talk whilst she washes away her makeup at the end of the day.

“I’m learning to be present during my cleansing routine,” she piped. “That’s when you’re really connecting with yourself. That’s when you’re like ‘Wow, you had a long day. You did great, sweetie.’”

So, a dose of good thoughts each day – that’s what will give your skin an undeniable glow!

Cue caffeine to reduce puffiness

The Korean star isn’t talking about a morning cup of coffee here, she’s referring to the caffeine ingredient in Lancôme’s Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl Eye & Lash Concentrate.

Lancôme’s brightening eye serum depuffs the under-eyes and lightens dark eye circles, giving the eyes a naturally bright-eyed gaze. It also comes with an applicator that Tiffany dishes is “made of surgical steel” (“I got the full tea from the experts yesterday”, she explained).

“I’m looking out for products with caffeine in it because it gets rid of puffiness fast.”

Shop Lancôme’s Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl Eye & Lash Concentrate for RM335 on Sephora. 

Think: glazed and glowy

Tiffany’s larger-than-life beauty and charm would allow her to effortlessly pull off any type of makeup, but the one she favours is a glazed and glowy look.

“[The] must-have makeup product for me would have to be something for the lips,” Tiffany enthused. “I love a glowy, moisturised, glazed lip.” She often wears a glossy Korean-style gradient lip, with a darker shade in the centre and soft, hazy hues filling up the rest of her pout.

For her, “glowy, dewy skin” is a timeless look that she thinks will “never go out of style” either.

So, couple a glass-skin glow with glazed gradient lips, and you’ll exude at least some of Tiffany’s everlasting radiance!

Apply product in lifted motions

In the Beauty Secrets video for Vogue, 29-year-old Tiffany Young spilt the tea on her 18-step beauty routine, with one of the big tips we picked up being to apply products only in light and lifted motions.

“What’s important when putting product on your face is that you’re never aggressively pulling your face down,” she emphasised. “It’s always soaked in and lifted up.”

She demonstrated by brushing primer onto her skin in light, upward strokes with her fingers.

Use the right tools to keep your base lightweight

It’s all about keeping it lightweight with the right tools in Tiffany Young’s everyday makeup routine.

In the same video interview, she used a brush to pick up her favourite foundation at that time, sweeping the product across her skin in a satisfyingly thin and even layer. “I make sure it’s not caked on [but] very, very evenly sprawled out,” she confided.

Then, she picked up a damp beauty blender to blend out her base.“I use it wet because I feel like it gets it (the foundation) in more evenly and well-seeped into your skin, versus [it] just kind of laying on your face.”

So, take a leaf out of Tiffany’s book and use a beauty tool like a brush or spatula the next time you’re applying your foundation. Don’t forget to also use a damp beauty blender to melt it into your skin for a lightweight, non-cakey flawless finish.

Understand what suits you best

Instead of riding on makeup trends, the Korean singer-songwriter prefers to wear makeup that uniquely complements her face shape and features.

In the beauty routine she shared with Vogue, she ditched straight brows, which are popular in Korea, and high-arched eyebrows, which are an ever-green Western brow style. Tiffany Young, instead, took it into her own category of makeup.

“I’m into what fits and frames [my] face,” she contended, as she filled in the gaps in her natural eyebrows and rounded out her arches with a brow pencil. The result? Brows that looked just right on her.

The same goes for her go-to blush style. To ‘shorten’ her longer and narrower face, she would “create a gradient around her cheeks and let the colour pop more in the centre”. This helps to draw the eyes towards the middle and balance her face shape.

Related read: I’ve been using a sheet mask every day for years – here’s what really happens