#personal essence

We know youthfulness and girlishness is very important in kpop aesthetics. Irene, Tzuyu, Suzy, Wonyoung, most kpop beauties have strong Ingenue essence. But not all female idols look their best with this sort of styling.

Most of these idols have very much distanced themselves from the concepts of 'purity' and innocence in k-pop as they've grown up. You can see in the above examples that this styling would suit an idol with an ingenue image, but these girls emphatically don't have that image!

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CL: theatrical romantic | kitchener essence dramatic-romantic

CL has her own aesthetic that makes her very unique. Her makeup and hairstyles emphasize her fierce, cat-like looks. Given her presence and style as an idol, it simply wouldn't make sense for her to be ingenue.

Sunmi: soft dramatic | kitchener essence romantic-ethereal

Sunmi does the knockout/bombshell look very well. She has soft - looking facial features, but she looks best with a slightly sultry aesthetic, and a red lip... a more 'womanly' deep lipstick and blowout is a good indicator of whether one suits ingenue or not.

Luna: flamboyant gamine | kitchener essence gamine-ethereal

Luna perfectly shows how gamine and ingenue are not the same. She has a very unique look but seems both mature and youthful- looking. She does chic gender-bending looks well, but she's not suited to 'girly' ingenue styles in the same way.

Krystal: dramatic classic | kitchener essence classic-dramatic

Krystal has a very specific vibe that makes her a great DC inspiration. She has a rather regal 'ice princess' look to her, closer to a high fashion model than your stereotypical idea of a kpop idol. She has a longer midface, which is something you might see in the other examples here. A lengthened face tends to read as older and stronger.

Yuri: likely dramatic classic | kitchener essence romantic-classic

SNSD concepts were pretty ingenue from the get-go, but in my opinion Yuri shines more in ladylike concepts or in sleek, badass, girl-crush looks. She seems glamorous, yet classic, kind of similar to both Sunmi and Krystal.

Chaeyoung: likely soft natural | kitchener essence gamine-natural

Chaeyoung is short and she has some cute facial features, but like CL, she just seems more cat-like and sort of edgy, she really suits carefree tomboyish looks. She has a prominent jaw and shoulders, with sleek eyes, which makes her a little less neotenous.

Hwasa: likely soft natural | kitchener essence romantic-dramatic-natural

Hwasa has broken a lot of norms when it comes to being an idol. Her style is usually offbeat, with statement pieces or patterns, and she does a more relaxed look equally well. She definitely has a smoky, sultry vibe when performing, and again, her signature look is a bold red lip.

Hyeju: soft natural | kitchener essence dramatic-natural

Hyeju has a characteristic 'pouty' look to her that sets her apart. She is relatively young-looking, but she doesn't look at home in ingenue style. She looks great in bold looks that are more mature and a bit edgy.

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“When you start to really know someone, all his physical characteristics start to disappear. You begin to dwell in his energy, recognize the scent of his skin. You see only the essence of the person, not the shell. That's why you can't fall in love with beauty. You can lust after it, be infatuated by it, want to own it. You can love it with your eyes and body but not your heart. And that's why, when you really connect with a person's inner self, any physical imperfections disappear, become irrelevant.”

'Essence' is not as defined or technically-based as kibbe body typing. It is about the energy one displays through their gestures, facial features, hair, personal style, voice, and such. In many ways it is like a first impression and can be subject to change over the course of your life. If kibbe decides the structure of your garments then essence decides the particular style and sense of creativity to what you would wear. This system is actually not connected to David Kibbe's work and has its own set of rules.

There are seven essences that are most agreed on, and five correspond to kibbe types. As we're all slightly different from each other, pretty much everyone has two-to-three essences. The strongest, main essence will be first, followed by the second strongest, etc. It's truly rare to project one particular energy to where you have one agreed on essence.

It's a bit harder to argue over essence typing because you can have a subjective opinion on which is more beneficial. +it's very hard to type yourself. Anyways, let's jump in!

Romantic essence

Think: dreamy, soft, floaty, ornamental, lusciousness, bouncy hair, ruffles, flowers, soft blush, theatricality, lipstick, femininity

Romantic-dominant essences: Eugene of S.E.S, Yuri of SNSD, Sunmi, Gain, Joy of Red Velvet, Jiwon of fromis_9, Wonyoung of IVE, Belle of Kiss of Life

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Gamine essence

Think: quirky, offbeat, dual-energy, youthful, energetic, breaking barriers, androgynous, punk-like, mismatched, patterned, chaos, excitement

Gamine-dominant essences: Sunny of SNSD, Minzy of 2ne1, Hyelin of EXID, Seulgi of Red Velvet, Chaeyoung of TWICE, Soyeon of (G)-Idle, Dosie of Purple Kiss, Bibi

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Classic essence

Think: button-up shirts, symmetrically, pared-back makeup, good tailoring, evenness, harmony, elegance, timelessness

Classic-dominant essences: Seohyun of SNSD, Krystal of f(x), Irene of Red Velvet, Seolhyun of AOA, Mina of TWICE, Sowon of Gfriend, Suzy of Miss A, Kazuha of Lesserafim

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Natural essence

Think: tousled hair, freckles, sun-kissed skin, textured clothes, leather, boots, outdoors, nature symbolism, energy, vitality, serenity, sense of grounding, sustainability, approachability

Natural-dominant essences: Lee Hyori, Eunji of Apink, Wheein of Mamamoo, Jihyo of TWICE, Ryujin of ITZY, Jiwoo of KARD, Lily of NMIXX, Yunjin of Lesserafim

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Dramatic essence

Think: sharp eyeliner, slicked hair, parallel lines, piercing gaze, drama, luxury, class, monochromatic, heavy contrast

Dramatic-dominant essences: Fei of Miss A, Lisa of Blackpink, Yeeun of CLC, Doyeon of Weki Meki, HyeJu of LOONA/Loossemble, Yujin of IVE, Xiaoting of Kep1er, Bae of NMIXX

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Ingenue essence

Think: girlish, wide-eyed, doe, bows, clouds and imagination, pastels, lip gloss, sweetness, prettiness, doll-like, petals, fruit, cuteness

Ingenue-dominant essences: IU, Nayeon of TWICE, Jennie of Blackpink, Chuu, Winter of aespa, Liz of IVE, Tsuki of Billlie, Hitomi of SMN

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Ethereal essence

Think: draping gowns, timelessness or from another era, prim posture, magnetic eyes, striking look, unique sense of contrast, alien-esque

Ethereal-dominant essences: Hani of EXID, Handong of Dreamcatcher, Bora of Cherry Bullet, Yeoreum of WJSN, Yiren of Everglow, Isa of StayC, Karina of aespa, Danielle of NewJeans

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To explain their system and chosen essences, the creator of this system imagines three of the above types as being more feminine (ingenue, ethereal, romantic) and three as being more masculine (gamine, natural, dramatic) with classic in the middle.