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While most Western women spend ridiculous amounts of money to conceal or get rid of the puffy bags under their eyes, Korean women consider them a sign of beauty and resort to a variety of cosmetic procedures in order to get them.

Aegyo Sal, as the bizarre baggy-eyes trend is known in Korea, should not be confused with the saggy or dark purplish eyebags caused by lack of sleep and aging, those are considered unattractive pretty much everywhere. The trendy feature refers strictly to the slight puffiness of the lower eye-socket which has to match the color tone of the skin. Contrary to general beliefs and perceptions, Korean women find these little pockets of fat under the eyes cute and believe they give them a more youthful look by brightening the eyes. Ever noticed how a person’s eyes become puffy when they smile? The Koreans have, and they’ve come up with way of creating that illusion of a bright joyful facial expression without actually smiling – the aegyo sal.

There are a number of ways women can get the coveted aegyo sal look either permanently or temporarily. Aegyo plastic surgery is one of the most popular options, but they can also opt for different dermal fillers and even small rubber bands taped tightly under the eyes. Also, a simple search on YouTube yeield nearly 1,000 aegyo sal makeup tutorials for women who want something less drastic. These artificial eye bags can be seen on some of South Korea’s most popular actresses and singers, to the average women on the streets, and it doesn’t look like the trend is slowing down anytime soon. “Traveling to Asia, I saw so many girls with puffy eyes. I remember one morning; I barely had any sleep so when I went onto a shoot for work, the girls commented on my puffy eyes. I felt so embarrassed, but then I realized that they were complimenting them,” Michelle Phan, a popular Internet beauty and makeup guru writes on her site.

Eye bags happen to the best of us, so the next time you’re looking in the mirror and feel bad about your puffy eyes, just imagine you live in Korea.

Photo: XO Vain