For a K-pop enthusiast like myself, 2022 has become a turning point of sorts, with travel restrictions lifting and artists seemingly coming over in droves to — finally — perform for their fans in the flesh. (Virtual concerts just don’t hit the same, speaking from personal experience.) Few K-pop groups are buzzier than LOONA, a 12-member group who embarked on their first-ever world tour this past August and tore up stages across 14 cities in North America with hits like “So What,” “Butterfly,” “PTT (Paint the Town),” and “Flip That.”
I’ve always been fascinated with LOONA’s styling because their music is filled with such color that their looks have to fit the bill. While LOONA has mastered the art of the “girl crush” concept (darker, mature themes and sounds associated with female “baddassery,” if you will) with powerful anthems like “PTT (Paint the Town),” even they aren’t insusceptible to the wave of bright concepts that washes over the K-pop industry come every summer. And, because it’s LOONA, the ladies (and their makeup teams) went all out.
Their most recent single, “Flip That,” is an explosion of sunshine and good vibes, and even the name itself is a wink to the switch-up in concept and styling. This comeback is a bit reminiscent of the innocence we saw in LOONA’s debut song, “Hi High,” but it’s been dialed up several notches — showcasing elevated, more experimental looks that highlight the ladies’ confidence.
In the music video, everyone is wearing what I associate with classic Korean eye makeup. All of the members (who look incredibly angelic, by the way) don halo-like eye makeup in pastel colors — mostly corals and pinks — and delicate black flicks. As accents, some have dabbles of sparkles around their eyes, colorful gems scatted across the cheekbones, and even hearts in place of blush.
Beauty-wise, there was so much to soak in that I found myself rewatching the music video just so I could focus on individual members and their looks across the different sets. I would never play favorites, but YeoJin’s look is arguably the most striking as she dons two orange outlined hearts on both sides of her face,. (I need to copy this look, stat.)
