Sandara Park’s Beauty Tips Have Nothing to Do With Skincare

The secret to K-pop star and actress Sandara Park’s youthful glow is literally priceless. Here's how you too can get the 32-year-old's "she's-how-old?!?" look. (And it won't cost you a dime.)

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Of all the best toners, sheet masks, and cleansing oils that money can buy, the ultimate secret to blemish-free and glowing skin might not be for sale. As cliché as it may sound, radiant skin is achieved by more than a mere 10-step routine; it’s through an intentional lifestyle.

Think of those late nights studying for your biology exam, or enjoying one (or three) too many cocktails during that weekly happy hour. No matter what you might slather onto your face, your skin may still suffer from blemishes and breakouts due to an imbalance on the inside. 2NE1 member Sandara Park and her flawless skin can attest to this, and she’s shared in the past that the secret to maintaining her perfect skin goes beyond skincare. Follow her two simple yet often overlooked tips to a healthier lifestyle, and in turn, glowing skin.

Tip #1: Get Your Beauty Sleep

When she isn’t working around the clock, Sandara (better known simply as Dara) makes an effort to get plenty of rest. She tries to hit the hay for at least 10 hours on a good night to give her mind and body ample time to restore and rejuvenate.

And it isn’t called beauty sleep for nothing. A lack of sleep can have serious consequences, one of which is an increase in inflammatory activity within the body that ultimately manifests on our skin. Caused by elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, inflammation can lead to more breakouts and heightened skin sensitivity, weaken the immune system, and contribute to weight gain. During the recommended eight hours of sleep, your body’s hydration levels rebalance, but the lack of zzz’s equate to unwanted guests like puffy under-eyes, dry skin, and wrinkles.

Bonus tip: Maximize your beauty sleep by intensely nourishing your skin with a sleeping mask. An international favorite is the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, an overnight gel-like mask infused with mineral water and ceramides (lipid molecules that hold skin cells together for plumper skin), plus a blend of sandalwood oil, rose, and flower extracts for a relaxing scent.

Tip #2: Don’t Be a Fish Out of Water

As soon as she wakes up, Dara kickstarts her morning with a replenishing glass of water, and she drinks plenty of H20 throughout the day, including before her beauty rest. Her average total intake of water? One-and-a-half liters, or a little over six cups.

Six to seven cups of water seems like no extraordinary feat, but you might be surprised at how easy it is to neglect hydration during the day — especially when it’s substituted with coffee, tea, juices, or alcoholic beverages. Your body depends on water (it is the essence of life, after all), and it’s constantly using up your storage of H20 throughout the day to flush out toxins and circulate nutrients for healthy and supple skin. In turn, a lack of water can lead to dehydrated, dull, and dry features.

Bonus tip: Drinking water is important, but you can also harness the power of water in your skincare. Innisfree Jeju Lava Seawater Deep Essence contains mineral-rich Jeju lava seawater and ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier and deeply hydrate skin.

Needless to say, hydration and sleep aren’t the only golden rules behind Dara’s impeccable skin. As the face of popular Korean beauty brand Moonshot, the K-pop star is constantly in the limelight, so it’s a given that the celeb has her skincare routine perfected to a tee. But as they say, beauty is only skin deep — so treat yourself to some well-deserved beauty rest, plenty of hydration, and invest in your lifestyle so your skin can reap the benefits.

What do you think of Sandara Park's beauty tips? Yay or nay?