I Tried Dunking My Face in Cold Water to Set My Makeup—Here’s What Happened
There's a new Korean beauty trend that's taking social media by storm: jamsu.
Translated into English, jamsu means "submerging" or "diving." So, what does diving do for your makeup? According to Japanese beauty vlogger YoonCharm, who started the trend that quickly took off in South Korea, applying a thick coat of baby powder and then dunking your face in cold water for 30 seconds will set your makeup and make it last all day.
Not quite convinced? I wasn't either. How could slathering your face with powder and then putting your head in water make you look anything besides… wet? So, I decided to get some answers by trying out this bizarre trend to see if it actually works. Below is the rundown of what happened.
Apply Normal Face Makeup
Sounds easy enough! I started with my Smashbox primer, followed by Tarte concealer and then covered my face with a healthy coat of Tarte foundation. FYI: This is much more makeup than I usually wear.
Pack On Baby Powder
Well, this escalated quickly. I really don't like wearing powder, so the thought of packing a ton of baby powder on my face made me cringe. I wanted something as pure as possible, so I used the Honest Company's organic baby powder. I poured the powder into a small dish and then used a powder brush to apply as much baby powder as possible to my face. Ugh, gross.
Also, my face felt really tight and dry after covering it in baby powder. I don't use powder makeup ever and my skin felt really uncomfortable.
Dunk Your Face in Cold Water For 30 Seconds
UGH. More ughs. I really didn't want to dunk my face in cold water, but I did it just for you guys. I used a large mixing bowl from my kitchen and filled it with cold water, and added some ice cubes for extra coolness. Not going to lie, it took me a few minutes to muster the strength to submerge my face in the Arctic cold water, and it was every bit as bad as I expected.
Also, holding your breath for 30 seconds is NOT easy. I'm not a swimmer, and I could only really get to 25 seconds…hopefully those final five seconds weren't a deal breaker.
BTW–
Gently Pat Excess Water From Your Face With Towel
Easy enough.
Voila
Ok guys–I'll be honest, I was not impressed with the results of this! My face barely had any makeup left on after dunking my face in the water and my skin still felt really tight and dry. Also, if you have on any leftover mascara, it will run down your face when you take your face out of the water, so make sure your eyes are completely clean.
I will say, what was left of my face makeup did stay on all day long… but I looked and felt icky, so I definitely won't be trying out jamsuing again. P.s. my concealer is totally gone, no? Thumbs down on this one.
Want to test out another crazy trend? We tried zig-zag hair and you can read about it HERE!