Shopping & beauty slang

The cost of purchasing small items impulsively out of stress.

Short for "eojjeoradago" ("so what am I supposed to do about it") plus "TV" — a dismissive way of telling someone to go watch TV instead of bothering you.

It refers to a student who buys bread at the school store, in other words, an errand boy.

Proving something personal actually happened — e.g. posting a photo of a new purchase on social media as proof. A photo taken for this is called an "authentication shot."

He is popular, but he is already married or planning to get married.

The "god of impulse buying" — invoked as "the buying-god has descended" when the urge to shop hits hard. The verb form is "jireuda" (to impulse-buy); the itch to buy is called "ppomppu."

Short for "neomuna" (so very/really) — a phrasing that started on Twitter's character limit and spread across beauty content and the wider internet.

"Made up, but looks like you're not" — a makeup look styled to appear effortless.

"Temu human" — someone who looks impressive on the surface but turns out to be flimsy inside, like a cheap Temu product.

"Working hard" (shortened) — praise for a celebrity's looks or a brand's product performing impressively, e.g. "her beauty is working overtime" or "this Etude product is really working hard for me."

"Makeup is completed by the face" (shortened) — used when the same hairstyle and makeup as a celebrity just doesn't look the same on you. The missing ingredient was always their face.

An onomatopoeia, popular with beauty YouTubers, for the sound of a base product or foundation blending smoothly into skin — "pat-pat."

"Bare face," shortened — a face with no makeup on.

The next evolution of "jon-ye" (damn pretty) — an exclamation for something seriously pretty. "My heart just skipped! So jjonye, I have to buy it."

A "haul" video — a creator showing off and reviewing things they just bought. A staple format among beauty YouTubers worldwide.

"The omniscient makeup-addict's point of view" — the uncanny ability of a serious cosmetics enthusiast to spot subtle differences ordinary people would miss.

"An appropriate amount of impulse buying" — wanting to buy something while feeling a slight, manageable worry about the spending.

"Item of a lifetime" — a product so good you'd want to keep using it forever; someone's "holy grail" product, seen as a trusted, proven pick. Often used as "holy-grail foundation," "holy-grail lip color," etc.

He is a man whose wild, beast-like beauty stands out.

Spending real money to buy in-game currency or items, shortened from "real-money conversion."

"There are no two identical shades under the sun" — used to insist on a color distinction only the speaker can really see. E.g., "This eyeshadow is chocolate with a drop of milk in it — totally different from plain brown. No two shades are ever really the same."

"Returned man" — the opposite of "sold-out man/woman," referring to someone who married and then divorced.

"Skirt-leggings," shortened — a garment combining leggings with a skirt for easy, casual wear.

Either "personal information," or "new product," both shortened to the same word — context decides which.

"Little princess of pores" — a beauty term for someone with small, barely visible pores, originally coined by a cosmetics brand marketing a pore-minimizing serum.

A product you've used down to the very last drop, empty bottle and all. People share photos of their empty containers ("empty-bottle shots") along with whether they'd buy it again — an empty bottle is basically a green light to legitimately buy more makeup.

Someone who loves and collects lipsticks in particular — buying every new one that comes out, and often finding more joy in collecting them than actually wearing them.

An item so popular it sells out instantly.

Getting your desire "pumped up" until you're persuaded to buy something — usually triggered by someone else raving about a product they already bought. Once the urge (ppomppu) hits, an empty bank account is only a matter of time.

"Group purchase," shortened — a bulk/joint buy.

"If I'm satisfied, I'll open my wallet" — buying based on personal satisfaction rather than price/performance value.

A product so popular it keeps selling out, yet demand for it never lets up.

A video showing off a batch of things you just bought.

"Meaning" + "coming out" — showing your values through what you buy and support.

"Money" + "a scolding" — ironically "punishing" a good-deed business by flooding it with purchases to support it.

A polished, minimal, effortless-looking beauty aesthetic.

Short for "bought with my own money" — a tag on reviews to show the product wasn't sponsored.

"Tone" + "a total mess": when your makeup (usually the wrong foundation shade) ruins your skin tone.

Short for "scraping together even your soul" — pooling every last won, loans included, to buy a home or invest.

"Ditto consumption" — buying whatever a favorite influencer, celebrity, or show uses, simply copying their choices.

Literally "mindless" — doing something on impulse without thinking it through, as in "mindless buying"; popularized by the mindless titans of Attack on Titan.

From "You Only Need One" — a frugal mindset of buying only what you truly need; the opposite of YOLO spending.

Short for "cheaper on KREAM" — a product whose resale price on the KREAM marketplace is lower than its retail price.

"Backrooms-core" — an aesthetic of empty, eerily familiar spaces like deserted malls and hallways that feel both creepy and nostalgic.

"Stupidity cost" — money you had to spend only because of your own mistake, like buying another umbrella after forgetting yours.

From English "dupe" — an affordable lookalike of a luxury or pricey product (not a counterfeit), as in "dupe shopping."

Short for "a kid crazy about their mom" — a young adult whose favorite hangout buddy is their mother; usually a proud, affectionate self-label rather than an insult.

Short for "duplicate" — a cheaper product that closely copies a pricey one — "This $8 lip oil is a perfect dupe."

A yaminjeongeum (look-alike letter swap) spelling of the instant noodle brand "Paldo Bibimmyeon"; it became so popular it was used as the name of a real limited-edition product in 2019.

To glam something up over the top, especially by piling beauty filters onto a photo — "Someone yassified the Mona Lisa."

A blend of "modify" and "consumer" — someone who customizes a product to their own taste instead of following the maker's directions, like mixing two instant noodles to make jjapaguri.

Going all out to optimize your sleep with routines, gadgets, and supplements — "I'm sleepmaxxing: blackout curtains and no phone after nine." A TikTok wellness trend built on the -maxxing suffix.