![\"May](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_1509.png\")
Pre-Oscars panic is basically mandatory, unless you\u2019re May Hong<\/a>. When I called the Korean-American actor, best known for voicing Mira in the animated phenom KPop Demon Hunters, ahead of Sunday\u2019s Academy Awards, she was bare-faced and allegedly \u201cbreaking out.\u201d It\u2019s nightmare fuel for most, yet, to her own surprise, she was completely unfazed. \u201cUsually I\u2019d be agonizing,\u201d she explained. \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening, but I don\u2019t care.\u201d That laissez-faire attitude is hard-won. Hong has gone from maximalist product junkie to meticulous ingredient detective, copy-pasting INCI lists and vetting everything from moisturizers to exfoliants in her battle with fungal acne. The result is a routine that reads less like a vanity shelf and more like a lab protocol. As she gears up for the peculiar high-glam theater of awards season, we get into manicures, microcurrents, and why no-makeup makeup will always reign supreme.<\/p>\n\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
OLAMIDE OYENUSI: Hey. Where are you?<\/p>\n
MAY HONG: I\u2019m at home in Bed-Stuy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I\u2019m in Manhattan. This rain is gross. I guess to set the scene for the readers: is it a bare-faced or full-glam day for you?<\/p>\n
HONG: Very bare faced. I\u2019m breaking out right now.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I don\u2019t see a single pimple.<\/p>\n
HONG: Just over here, this activity.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: It\u2019s giving freckle.<\/p>\n
HONG: [Laughs] Yeah. Usually, I\u2019d be much more bummed out about it. Especially with the Oscars coming up, I feel like I\u2019d be agonizing over what to do like, \u201cShit, I have to fix this before this date.\u201d I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening, but I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Well, that\u2019s great. Walk me through your daily skincare routine. Do you have any non-negotiables for morning and night?<\/p>\n
HONG: It took me a really long time to figure out that I have fungal acne that gets activated with certain ingredients, so I\u2019ve had to really pare down. I actually did a beauty interview, I don\u2019t know, almost 10 years ago now, and I was using a thousand products. It was very maximal. But now, a non-negotiable is ketoconazole shampoo. It\u2019s basically for dandruff. It\u2019s either bright red or pink, and it\u2019s medicated. And in the U.S., of course you have to get a prescription, but everywhere else you can just get it at the drugstore. So I recently picked some more up in Thailand when I was there being part of Arden [Cho]\u2019s movie. I also used to over-exfoliate, for sure.<\/p>\n
![\"May](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_1507.png\")
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OYENUSI: Your face or body?<\/p>\n
HONG: My face. I was doing way too much. Anyway, I use Sofie Pavitt Mandelic [Clearing serum] every day, and I really notice when I don\u2019t use it.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Do you double cleanse?\u00a0<\/p>\n
HONG: I\u2019ll use Bioderma to wipe makeup off and then wash my face, but I\u2019ve moved away from oil cleansing because of the fungal acne stuff. A lot of oils will activate a breakout.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: What\u2019s your go-to moisturizer with that in mind?<\/p>\n
HONG: I\u2019m sad that I have to do this, but I have to go on this website called folliculitisscout.com, and I have to copy-paste every ingredient list to see if it has ingredients that cause malassezia, which is the bacteria. It\u2019s basically a yeast that grows, and then that makes you break out. They\u2019re not pimples either. It\u2019s just a reaction. It\u2019s tiny bumps. It seems like there\u2019s something in it, and then you pop it and there\u2019s not. It\u2019s really crazy.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Are they red? Is it more like a whitehead?<\/p>\n
HONG: It looks like a whitehead. It looks like multiple whiteheads. I\u2019ve ruined my skin trying to pop it and then realizing that it doesn\u2019t have a seed, and then that gets infected and then becomes an actual active pimple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Not popping pimples is really difficult. It\u2019s too satisfying.<\/p>\n
HONG: That\u2019s why it\u2019s Starface for the win.\u00a0 It\u2019s such a lifesaver, because you have to put the sticker on. Oh yeah, and my moisturizer is from a Korean brand. It\u2019s by S.Nature, and it\u2019s called Aqua Squalane [Moisturizing Cream]. I\u2019ve bought it so many times.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I\u2019m glad that you brought up Korean skincare. It has changed my life. What other products do you like?<\/p>\n
![\"May](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_1506.png\")
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HONG: I like the MEDIHEAL pads.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Toning pads?<\/p>\n
HONG: It\u2019s the Phyto-Enzyme Clear Peeling Pad, and they\u2019re single-use pads that are pre-soaked. And that\u2019s my physical and chemical exfoliation. I think I used to do too much, and all of Korean skincare is about consistent, gentle exfoliating. What else did I recently buy? I just put it in an Olive Young order.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Ooo, I\u2019m tapped into Olive Young. When you feel a breakout coming, do you have an emergency protocol?<\/p>\n
HONG: I\u2019ve never been through what I am going through right now, obviously, with K-Pop [Demon Hunters] and the schedule and flying so much and all of this stuff. I can handle it, but in October it came to a head where I just was so fucking stressed out, and I had really unexplainable, intense amounts of just breaking out. You know when you have an \u201cI don\u2019t recognize myself\u201d skin moment?<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I either need to get my hair done or go to therapy.<\/p>\n
HONG: Yeah, it was just fucking stress. So honestly, I think that it\u2019s about staying consistent. Of course there are topical answers to problems. I emergency-called Sofie, because she\u2019s a personal friend of mine. I was just like, \u201cHelp me.\u201d It was this panicked text like, \u201cCan you get me in? Can I get something, anything?\u201d Of course, an emergency mandelic peel will do something, but it\u2019s also mental health. It feels like you\u2019re doing something for the problem, but that\u2019s as much of the process as the topical solution. It\u2019s not like, \u201cYeah, okay, now I\u2019m saved,\u201d or whatever.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Maybe for the next two days.<\/p>\n
HONG: [Laughs] Yeah. I think more than anything, it\u2019s about trying to be less stressed. And I\u2019d say normally I\u2019m not a super stressed-out person.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: What\u2019s your sign?<\/p>\n
HONG: I\u2019m a Scorpio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I had to ask, partially because I just wanted to, and also because you were like, \u201cI don\u2019t get that stressed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
HONG: [Laughs] I\u2019m the first day of Scorpio. I\u2019m a Libra-Scorpio cusp\u2014October 24th.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Spooky. Do you wear sunscreen every day? Is it in your moisturizer?<\/p>\n
HONG: I\u2019ve been bad lately and not using it. I don\u2019t know why. Maybe that\u2019s my little rebellion.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Do you use tools like a gua sha, LED mask, anything like that?<\/p>\n
HONG: You know what I use? I use a ZIIP.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: What\u2019s that?<\/p>\n
HONG: It\u2019s a microcurrent and nanocurrent device. And you just put a conductive gel on your face, and there are multiple programs that you can select from an app on your phone, and you just follow that. I really, really notice it. But mine broke, and then Sofie recommended this other brand that FaceGym uses. Basically, it just snatches your face. I\u2019ve taken before-and-after photos multiple times. I consistently use it when I have events and stuff, and your eyebrows are just so much higher. But I try to lead up to it.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I know you have an art school background. I\u2019ve noticed artists are always really good at makeup, and doing a full glam. But you\u2019re also a model, and that\u2019s typically more bare-faced. If you could only choose one for the rest of your life, which would it be?<\/p>\n
HONG: Bare face, for sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"may](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_1508.png\")
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OYENUSI: Are you good at doing full glam? I just assumed.<\/p>\n
HONG: I am.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Of course.<\/p>\n
HONG: I actually feel really confident about doing my own makeup, and I do think that it has to do with being an artist. Even when I work with makeup artists, I always insist on at least doing my own lashes and my brows. It\u2019s really hard for me not to want a little bit of control over things, or I\u2019ll always tweak. This is going piss to makeup artists off. Fuck.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: [Laughs] I actually have a question that says: \u201cDo you ever tweak what the MUA is doing on set?\u201d<\/p>\n
HONG: Yes, yes, yes. I recently was on set and I asked some other actresses, \u201cDo you go in after people?\u201d\u00a0 And all these actresses were like, \u201cOf course I fix it a little bit in the way that I like.\u201d So it\u2019s not just me. I\u2019m not the monster fucking with other people\u2019s work.\u201d It\u2019s a weird boundary because it\u2019s their work, but it\u2019s my face.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Do you have a concealer or foundation that you trust not to betray you in harsh lighting? Do you even use foundation?<\/p>\n
HONG: I don\u2019t like to use full-face foundation. I have multiple colors of the Cl\u00e9 de Peau stick concealer. I just take a little brush and dab a little bit onto it, and I mix colors to color-match. I\u2019ll just put little dots and just tap, tap, tap. Imagine Photoshopping, clone-stamping your face. You know what I mean?<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I do. Sometimes foundation can make you look older in a way that\u2019s not always the most appealing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
HONG: I do not like it. When I have too much makeup on\u2014especially when I have too much contour-type of stuff on\u2014it makes me feel dysphoric. It ages me, I think.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: So bronzer or blush\u2014which do you prefer?<\/p>\n
HONG: Blush. Always.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Do you have a go-to lip combo?<\/p>\n
HONG: No. If I\u2019m going out, I don\u2019t really love carrying a bag. I\u2019m a jeans-and-pockets guy, so I\u2019ll just have a lip balm in my pocket. It\u2019s like lighter, lip balm, and some lip color that I\u2019ll also use on my cheeks.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: What does your body-care routine look like?<\/p>\n
HONG: I will go to King Spa in New Jersey. [Laughs] Oh, god. Do I have to start think about being naked in a different way? I don\u2019t know. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve been thinking about where I\u2019m like \u2026 no one recognizes me. I\u2019m a voice actor.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Do you like that?<\/p>\n
HONG: Yes. It\u2019s amazing. I love that I\u2019m not recognized.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: A bit undercover. Is there a specific manicure that you like?<\/p>\n
HONG: Simple. I love a fresh set, because I\u2019m too tactile of a person and I need to be able to do stuff. I end up wrecking them or clipping them, or even ripping them off. It\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n
![\"May](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_1510.png\")
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OYENUSI: What\u2019s your current nail color?<\/p>\n
HONG: Like a wine red. It\u2019s so old. Look how much it\u2019s grown out.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: That\u2019s up close. If someone were to clock you for that they\u2019re doing too much. Ok, speed round: a current beauty trend that you want to try?<\/p>\n
HONG: I really love watching crazy K-beauty makeup where it\u2019s just tiny, detailed highlight-and-contour stuff. Because Korean beauty contouring is so different from Western contouring. They use a lot of cool gray, where you just want to contour an entire plane of your face to make it look narrower rather than defining certain areas or trying to make your nose look more sculpted. I like watching it in an ASMR way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: I understand that.<\/p>\n
HONG: My mom just taught me from such a young age that wearing makeup where it almost looks like you\u2019re not wearing makeup is the best. It shouldn\u2019t be obvious. But now, being photographed more for award season and all this stuff, I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, you have to do a little bit too much because a flash will wash you out.\u201d So if I were to do my own makeup, it just looks like I\u2019m not wearing any makeup. But I realize you have to go overboard for photos at events. I feel like I\u2019m in drag when I do all this award stuff. I\u2019m so butch on a regular basis, so then when I get dressed for awards stuff or whatever, I feel like I\u2019m in full high-femme costume\u2014and that\u2019s the makeup too.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Well, have fun at the Oscars. I\u2019m excited to see your look.<\/p>\n
HONG: I\u2019m still trying to figure out what I\u2019m going to wear. You\u2019re lovely. Thank you.<\/p>\n
OYENUSI: Of course. Bye.<\/p>\n
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