in Seoul

Ten days in Seoul. My first time, somehow. Late June — cool mornings, warm afternoons, rain that came and went without much warning. No plan. Just a list of places I'd saved over the years and time to actually go to them.

Mornings were slow. Coffee, then the city.

Camel Coffee in Seochon. One visit, iced latte. We sat outside, the palace right across the road, and had the kind of long conversation that only happens when nothing else is asking for your attention.

Afternoons were for walking. Seongsu, Hannam, Garosu-gil, Sinsa. Cafés between ateliers between concept stores.

I shopped more than I planned. Nothing written stayed with me — the cutting, the fabric choices, and a showroom that's worth the trip on its own.

I wore pieces from the next Hertape chapter through most of these walks. A new Airylex direction, still in development. They moved easily through the city, which is the test.

Two things shaped this trip more than the shopping.

A self-makeup lesson at OuiOui Atelier with Yujeong ssaem. An hour and a half of base, eyes, and the kind of glow that doesn't read as makeup. Patient with every question. By the end, I had a technique and a shopping list.

The color analysis at Color Place with Ji Eun ssaem — the studio where Lisa and Jisoo had theirs done, which I only learned after. Best colors, worst colors, makeup, fashion, eyewear, accessories, perfume. An hour and a half that changes how you stand in front of a mirror.

By the second week the trip had a rhythm. Slow mornings, long walks, dinners that ran later than expected.

One evening I rented a bike at Ttuksseom and rode along the Han River as the sun was going down. Water turned gold. Apartment lights came on across the bridge. I sat for a while after, played For Lovers Who Hesitate by Jannabi, watched the rest of it go down.

The day before I flew home, a full day at Derna Clinic in Cheongdam. My skin had been a long-running thing — years of trying to address it, never quite landing on what worked. If you're in Korea, it feels almost impossible to skip the chance.

A few small concerns I'd been sitting with. Hollowing under the eyes. Smile lines starting to settle. Skin losing a bit of lift. Larger pores. Acne scars from years ago. Lips that had thinned more than I'd noticed.

The plan didn't try to erase anything. More restoration than reinvention.

If you asked me where to start in Seoul, here's what I'd actually say.

Ten days in Seoul, and I'm still going through what it gave back.

I've wanted to go for so long. Everything I'd saved over the years — places, restaurants, stores — sat under "someday" for so long that I started to forget why I'd saved them. Now they all have a photo in my gallery.

Slow, curious, full. All ten days of it.