화잘먹: the beauty word you'll see on every Daiso shelf right now

If you shop for base makeup in Korea you'll run into 화잘먹 constantly, so here's the word. 화잘먹 is short for 화장이 잘 먹는, literally 'makeup eats well'. In Korean, makeup that 'eats' into your skin is makeup that sits flat, grips and lasts. Skin or a product that's 화잘먹 is the opposite of makeup that 뜬다 (floats/lifts off) or 밀린다 (pills and slides around), which are the two words people use when foundation goes wrong. Where you'll see it right now: Wikitree called the 1,000 won Zoom by Jung Saem Mool prep pads at Daiso a 화잘먹 치트키 (a 'cheat key' for makeup that sits well) when they came back in stock this week, and Harper's Bazaar Korea ran a whole list of Daiso 화잘먹 sunscreens under 5,000 won earlier this year. YouTube is full of it too, like this one, which promises a 화잘먹 hydrating base with no oil and no cracking.

How people use it: 'this toner makes my skin 화잘먹', 'is that sunscreen 화잘먹 or does it pill?', '오늘 화잘먹이다' when your makeup just works that day. It comes from the normal phrase 화장이 먹다, which Korean has used for makeup absorbing well for a long time. The shortened version is newer and very much internet beauty language, the same way 꾸안꾸 (looks effortless but isn't) and 물광 (water-glow skin) took over product titles. My honest take as someone who does base every morning: 화잘먹 is ninety percent skincare and timing, and ten percent product. Moisturise, wait, then go in thin. No pad fixes a rushed morning.