First Haul from Cosmetic-Love

11:45:00 PM mandy 16 Comments

Does anyone else hate it when they see such good reviews of any product but cannot get it because it's not available locally in their country?

I find myself in this situation quite often. Especially since I have an interest in Asian beauty products. But it is even harder for me since I cannot order for myself online whenever I want. (I'm still at the stage where I need to get permission...*sigh*) When it comes to web shopping, the most I can usually do is stare & admire then close the window. However, there are times when the deals/prices are so tempting that it makes me go out of my way to order. This usually means asking bestie to help me order. I am forever in debt to her for always helping me, sometimes more literally than metaphorically...X:

After browsing through some sites and reading reviews for a certain product that I really wanted to try, I came across cosmetic-love.com. I haven't heard too many reviews or seen too many hauls from fellow bloggers from this site but there were a couple here and there. The site seemed reliable and the prices were almost too good to be true!

Most sites that sell Korean products tend to have much higher prices when compared to how much it would actually cost in the home country. Whether it be for their profit, shipping, etc. it doesn't feel good for me as a buyer to see a raised price, especially if it is by a lot...a little is forgivable! If I wasn't as overly excited as I was, I probably would have price compared to the brand's official Korean websites. From a glance, most of the prices seemed comparable so I decided to take the plunge. I think I browsed the site for a couple of hours after I found it and had a massive wishlist. But I limited myself to mostly skincare and within my $20 or less per item budget.

Bestie C placed the order for me on June 14. Cosmetic-Love sent the package on June 15. About 8 business days later (I include Saturdays and exclude Sundays) I received the package on June 25. This was amazingly fast, especially for just normal postal service! One thing to note, cosmetic-love offers free shipping. For $2 extra you can opt for a tracking number (which I did). For $22 there is also the express option as well.

The one little problem I had with the site was with where the shipping options were placed. I am used to choosing a shipping option at the end, in the shopping cart/before placing the order, but at cosmetic-love, you choose the shipping option for each item you place on the cart. Maybe it is just me, but at the time I was a little confused whether choosing Tracking for one item would give me tracking for the entire order or did I have to choose Tracking for all the items I wanted to purchase. After I emailed them I thought the former choice does make sense...silly me...and their response reaffirmed my belated thoughts.

I was surprised when I got the package from bestie. It was a lot lighter and smaller than what I
expected.


What surprised me more was how perfectly everything in my order fit the box. There was barely any room left. Either I was lucky or they really know how to package their orders!


My haul in all its glory!
Left side is all the extra samples and right is the actual order.


Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer in No. 3
The real reason I found cosmetic-love! I have been lusting over this product since No.1 and No.2 came out (I think earlier this year or late last year?). But prices on eBay were unbelievable and there is always the doubt with whether the sellers are promoting real or imitation products. I love the wet/dewy/fresh natural look that Korean celebs have, especially Sandara's look for this particular product's promo photos. I cannot wait to try it! Although this item might have to wait a while until the colder weather comes around again because I am very oily in the summertime.

Etude House Black Head Ghassoul Clay Heating Deep Clean Gel
Catalina from cl2425 mentioned she liked this product a while back. I almost forgot about it until I saw it on the site. Then I just couldn't bring myself to not get it. My blackhead problem is ridiculous in the summer months and I really hope this will give me some good results.

Etude House Baking Powder BB Deep Cleansing Foam
The impulse buy of the order. I was originally going to wait out, use samples, and then buy the Naruko Tea Tree Oil Cut Acne Clay Cleanser due to Bestie A's recommendation. But cosmetic-love was having a promo BOGO free. This is probably the hardest deal to walk...click...away from! I've heard some good reviews for this cleanser so hopefully will work similarly for me. I may give the second tube away, but I should try the product first, right? Don't want to share a bad product now...

Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask
I don't quite remember where I heard about this product but for some reason, I link this to good? I read some reviews before deciding to purchase this and those were positive as well. It seems similar to the Mint Julep mask. I'll definitely share how it goes.


Samplesss!! More to add to my stash that I must try to use up soon!

I haven't been this excited and had this high of hopes for any product(s) in a very long time.

Has anyone used any of these products before? Did they work well for you?

16 comments:

  1. Awesome haul :D When I first got interested in beauty products I lusted after SO MANY asian cosmetics. But over time I lost interest because I don't like ordering online too often and I'm super paranoid about losing packages and getting scammed. This site looks really good based on your experience so thank you for sharing with us :) The products look fantastic. I can't wait to see what you think about the Etude House Volumer (I've always wanted to try something from Etude House)!

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  2. baking powder is REALLY nice! happy u got it! :D -Loving Sunshine

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  3. oh and with regards to liking stuff not available locally, or wanting to try stuff not available locally, i get lucky to have friends to swap with :D i super love beauty swapping :D -Loving Sunshine

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  4. Niiice stash! I'm curious about that pore clay mask. Will be looking forward to your thoughts on it. I haven't heard of Cosmetic-Love until now so thanks for the rec. :D I'm off to check it out!

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  5. What a fun haul! I've also made a wish list at Cosmetic Love too, hehe. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of your new goodies!

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  6. That's an amazing haul! It bites that Asian beauty products are rather hard to find in NY but at least there are resources like Cosmetic Love. Looking forward to reading your reviews and thanks for the tip. I love that dewy/natural look as well :)

    Rowena @ rolala loves

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  7. Kay Yi L: I use to keep a massive wishlist too. But it got so out of hand xD Oh the dangers of the internet yet it makes getting foreign things so much easier. I hate this dilemma the most :X I'll definitely try to use the volumer soon and share my opinions!

    Kumiko Mae: Now that you mention it, I think I read that somewhere before. Must go research it again! & Swapping seems so fun! Both party benefits :D

    Shop N' Chomp: NP! I get so many recommendations through blogger too, just doing the same back :P I can't wait to use the clay mask...hope it wont be too messy >__<

    Diana PaperDoll: How did their prices compared when you went to the actual stores? They seemed reasonable compared to most ebay sellers..

    rolala: I know! If they're not hard to find, they are very overpriced >__<

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  8. amazing haul!! i love love looking at asian beauty products because the packing is always so cute!!!!

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    1. Me too! Sometimes it's so hard to throw the pretty packaging away :X

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  9. Never heard of Cosmetic-Love until now, thanks for the heads up!
    The prices don't look so bad but I don't *need* anything yet... Boo :P

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    1. Haha! I didn't 'need' anything of these either :P

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  10. yay haul! =D it's funny the nymph aura thing was on my shopping list too when I went to Korea =D but I had my eye on No.2. what's No.3 like??? I don't remember seeing No.3 in store... weird O_O I didn't end up purchasing it bcuz I thought it was way too shiny for me lol sad sad. I did get a chance to try out the baking powder face wash. I think it was decent. not overly impressive but not bad either =P Review on the deep clean gel please~~~~

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    1. No.3 is suppose to be similar to No.1 but less sticky? I already have many shimmery bases so I ruled out No.2 altogether xD
      I'll definitely try to review the deep clean gel soon!

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  11. Love this haul..I´ll check the website and see if the send to Colombia..

    http://www.kathygamez.com.co

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  12. Waahhh~ Love this haul!! <3 I can't wait to try Cosmetic-Love now :3

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  13. Watch out! this company is not honest, if your purchase will nor arrive, they will ignore your complaints and you will never get your money back

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