[Early Christmas] KoreanBuddy haul!

I have another KoreanBuddy haul to share with you guys today. I have used them before and was very pleased with the service and experience I had, so I was happy to use them again for another purchase.

• If you want more details on KoreanBuddy and how it works, you can check out my initial review of them here.
• And if you want to make a purchase of your own you can use my discount code ‘WANTASTIC’ for 50% off your Koreanbuddy fee. (Please note this code is only valid for Korean beauty & skincare products).

For a quick overview, KoreanBuddy is a personal shopping service based in South Korea that acts as an intermediary by purchasing your goods for you from Korea and then shipping them out to you wherever you are in the world. The benefits of this is that they can help you navigate and order from various websites that are in Korean and find the cheapest prices, you can take advantage of flash sales and deals there, buy products/brands that are hard to find internationally or are limited edition, and cuts down on paying exorbitant costs from getting companies to ship items directly overseas.

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My KoreanBuddy experience:

So I submitted my list to them on 8th November by uploading a word document on their site. I really appreciate how easy and fuss free the process is by not having to conform to a specific order form layout. I was sent the first invoice with the total value of the products on my list and by the 18th, KoreanBuddy had received all my products, uploaded a photo for me to see and a 2nd invoice that included domestic shipping, the service fee and my EMS shipping cost. My package was sent out on the 21st and I received it 2 days later on the 23rd November.

I was really impressed by how quick the whole process was. Domestic Korean shipping always surprises me because of how speedy they are, (especially compared to the UK where its average 3-5 days). Not to mention their standard shipping cost is normally KRW2,500 (£1.70), (compared to about £3.50/£4 in London), but its still easy to hit the low target for free shipping.

Considering that I also had multiple exchanges with KoreanBuddy over an item I wanted being sold out, (which they then helped me source from the next cheapest sites), and adding extra items to my order midway, I was very pleased it only took just over 2 weeks to receive my parcel.

From personal experience, I really can’t recommend them enough because they are flexible, responsive and so helpful.

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My haul:

I shopped from 5 different sites as seen below:

1. TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL

http://www.toocoolforschool.com/shop/main/index.php

• 1 Egg cream mask – firming
• 1 Egg cream mask – hydration
• Artclass by Rodin Art Palette (Limited Edition)

One of the main reasons for my haul – TCFS released a special edition palette of their best-selling Artclass by Rodin range consisting of their contour, highlighter and blusher that are usually sold separately. I was so excited to see this because their highlighter and contour are my favourite makeup products that I use on a regular basis. To have them all combined in one palette is amazing and so convenient for when I travel. This was only available for a week and is now sold out so I’m kinda regretting not picking up another extra one.

Had a good amount of samples from TCFS too. I got their tint balm in shade #03 Happy Orange and the full size Perfect Day makeup fixer as free gifts with my Artclass purchase but unfortunately the post office removed the makeup fixer as it is a spray can/mist which can’t be sent by airmail. I can’t complain though, because they left everything else in perfect condition.

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2. LANEIGE

http://www.laneige.com/kr/ko/shop/adsk/excl/excl_main.do

• Milkyway Fantasy BB Cushion – Whitening No.21 (Holiday Edition)
• Milkyway Fantasy Lip Sleeping Mask – Apple lime (Holiday Edition)

OMG just how stunning is the new 2016 Laneige Holiday Collection! This is the other reason I made a haul. This is a limited edition release until Christmas only and is the most beautiful collection I’ve ever seen. There are a mix of other skincare and makeup items in the collection, most of which are already popular Laneige products repackaged in the  new Milkway packaging but the lip sleeping mask came out with 3 new flavours so I went for apple lime which sounds delicious. Of course, I have a cushion addiction too so this BB cushion was simply irresistible; just look at it. Plus, I’ve been wanting to try the whitening version and this was the perfect opportunity to get a pretty case at the same time.

As for the samples! Woah. Laneige are really so generous considering I only purchased two items. I received so many deluxe size samples which includes the sleeping care kit, cleansing/makeup remover kit and their moisture skincare line. They even threw in a bag of cotton buds which amused me but I’m always in need of them.

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3. OLIVE YOUNG

http://www.oliveyoungshop.com/

This shop is basically like a huge drugstore which carries multiple brands.

• Neogen White Truffle Laycure Oil Stick
• Neogen Real Fresh Foam Cranberry
• Clio Pro Artist Liquid Highlighter
• 2x Dreamworks masks
• 2x Neogen masks

I love the brand Neogen. They’re really innovative and everything I’ve tried from them has been great so I have high hopes for their sheet masks too. I also picked up two types of Drreamworks masks because they’re just so cute and fun. I’ve bought their Shrek and Kung Fu Panda ones previously, but they weren’t selling on their website anymore so I picked up these two types which supposedly provide more intense moisture for the colder weather.

Neogen was on sale in Olive Young so I picked up another of their cleansing foams because I love the green tea one. Its so soft and gentle on your skin and makes face washing more enjoyable because of it. Also, this has real cranberries at the bottom of it! Can’t wait to try this out after I finish up my old one.

Neogen came out with a few products containing white truffle which is meant to provide great anti-ageing and nourishing benefits to the skin. I was really curious to try the oil stick especially. This seems to be very popular in Korea as it was sold out in the first two places I tried. My initial impression so far is good because it has a nice consistency that doesn’t feel too heavy or oily like it would clog my skin. I typically use this for swiping under my eyes and areas that are more dry.

I swatched this new Clio liquid highlighter back in Seoul in August and really loved how it looked but decided not to get it since I didn’t really need it. However, it’s been bugging me since then since I don’t actually have a liquid highlighter. I think this will go really well with cushion foundations since powder highlighter can sometimes sink into the skin and look too cakey. My only gripe is that Clio really need to stop with the wasteful packaging. A box that big for a tiny little tube and sponge? Really?

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4. 11st

11st is a great site to use to source many different products. Similar to Ebay, you can search for what you want and compare the prices of different sellers. It is usually much cheaper than purchasing direct from the company brand itself.

http://www.11st.co.kr/html/main.html

I’m so looking forward to trying this! It looks like a regular cushion but underneath the mesh is foundation contained in little coloured balls. When mixed together, this will help colour correct your skin tone and also provide coverage.

I really like Primera for their skincare products which are very organic and natural so I was eager to try their CC cushion especially as it contains the same great ingredients in their skincare. I’ve not seen or heard many reviews on this but the baby blue packaging drew me in, and when I swatched this back in Seoul I liked how it looked and felt. I had some regret I didn’t buy it so I’m glad I have now. They were also very generous in providing so many deluxe samples too, even though I only purchased one product. This is why I love buying Korean beauty products.

This has been on my to-buy list since it was released and extra enticing for being created by one of my favourite Korean actresses Ha Ji Won. Not only that, but this cream looks fascinating and such a fun way to apply moisturiser by crushing and squishing little capsule balls. I’m all about fun skincare but if its effective, moisturising and provides anti-wrinkle effects as it claims, then that’s even better.

Ryeo ginseng anti-hair loss essence – gift for my mum as I bought the shampoo and essence for her before and she finds it really effective.

Etude House Bebe foot mask – bought 3 boxes for my dad because he loves this. When I got him one to try previously, he was skeptical it would work because he has really thick, hard and dry skin on the soles of his feet and nothing really solves the problem. A couple days after using this however, literally ALL the built up, dry dead skin on his soles came off and he was left with softer, smoother feet than he’s had in years.

5. Lotte Home Shopping

This site is great for finding brands that are only sold online or on home shopping channels like Lirikos for example.

http://www.lotteimall.com/main/viewMain.lotte?dpml_no=1

• DLA Dermadation #23 Cover Beige
• DLA Protein Rich Cream
• DLA Mekkun Berry Essence
• DLA Moisture Wrapping Lipstick #1 Scarlet Red

DLA by Delacroix – I don’t know much about this brand as I had never heard of it until I saw Korean actress Eugene demo the Dermadation cushion on ‘Get it Beauty’ and I was intrigued. She already has flawless skin but after applying it still looked very natural and not cakey and she had me sold. I also liked the application as it’s not your typical cushion but has a hard mesh net that you push down to eject the formula.

You can see DLA featured from the 8:55 minute mark

So I searched for it online and found a great offer to get the whole collection of DLA products that I couldn’t pass up on. I originally only wanted to get the cushion  which costs KRW45,000 including refill. However for KRW78, 900, I was able to get 2 boxes of cushion plus 1 refill, giving me 5 cushion refills in total. That is such a bargain! But that’s not all. It even threw in the DLA cream, essence and their lipstick. (You couldn’t pick your shade of lipstick but luckily I got the one I wanted).

The savings on all of that is incredible. The total original price of purchasing it all separately amounts to KRW221, 000.

I received some Lirikos skincare samples with the DLA order, and very happy I got a sheet mask too. They also included samples of the newest Lirikos veil cover cushion which I was debating about getting so I’m really pleased I can now try it out first.

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There we have it. My KoreanBuddy haul which is my early Christmas gift to myself. If you’d like to try out this shopping service for the festive period, don’t forget you can use my referral discount code WANTASTIC to get 50% off the KoreanBuddy service fee.

What’s on your Christmas wishlist? Let me know in the comments below. 🙂