Here's something unusual for a haul post coming from me; it is not beauty related! Instead of the typical skincare and makeup items, I saved my money this month to purchase these pricey hairpin legs instead. I read a few blogs and compared a bunch of prices but ultimately decided to go with DIY Hairpin Legs purely for their customer service, speedy delivery record, and available promotional code.
Putting together a simple DIY desk has been on my wishlist for over a year, and still counting. It looks more promising now that I have the table legs on hand. I am a home DIY newbie and my dad isn't a great with wood, so the desk needs to be simple and easy to put together. What could be easier than attaching pre-made ready to use table legs to some plywood?
Once I really sat down to think about how I would use this desk and where it would sit in my room, I had a long list of questions that needed answering: leg strength, table top strength, table top warping, raw steel or painted, 2-rod or 3-rod legs, 3/8" or 1/2", etc. This is where DIY Hairpin Legs' customer service came in. I love e-commerce sites with Live Chat functions. When the representative was available, I received responses immediately. My concerns were all addressed and I received a lot of advice in return. Plus, they didn't try to upsell me at all. They do sell pricier, powder coated (pre-painted) hairpin legs yet I was consulting them on the best practice for DIY painting via spray can.
Finding out that past customers received their orders quickly and discovering a 10% off blog referral code were just icing on the cake with a cherry on top for the quality service. Sure, I may have been able to get cheaper legs off eBay or Amazon but I wouldn't have anyone to consult my possible project with. Once my questions were well answered, I felt a slight obligation/commitment to buy from them.
After a few days of thinking, I finalized on the 3-Rod hairpin legs at 28" tall and 1/2" rod width 4 piece set in the raw steel (un)finish. It was the cheapest choice for the sturdiest option since I plan to use it for a slightly larger than an average desk. It cost me $89.95 + shipping + 10% discount for the set of 4 legs.
True to the reviews, the box of hairpin legs arrived before the week was over. It was only in transit for about 2 business days where it traveled from Florida to New York. I am not sure where it went wrong but my box came completely battered and corners ripped. The legs burst their way through the tape like it was non-existent after I placed the box down inside. The steel rods must have been too heavy for the flimsy cardboard to handle. Luckily the small box of screws, wax, and Scotch-Brite pad wasn't lost and it wasn't raining much on the East coast the days the package traveled. Otherwise, premature rust could have been a real issue.
I haven't gotten to building the desk yet, as of today. I got verbal confirmation from my uncle (the actual handyman in my family) saying he would help me or do most of the work when his schedule frees up. Hopefully, that is sometime soon. I will try to photograph as much of the process as possible but it might not be very interesting since I only plan to place the legs on a piece of plywood.
Oh, the constant battle between the frugal self and impatient mind.
Any Korean beauty lover outside of Korea would know the struggle of choosing between price and convenience. Do I want to have something immediately, support a local business, and pay a little more for it? Or do I want to pay as close to Korean retail as possible but wait a little longer?
When I find sites like RoseRoseShop, it certainly helps the thrifty side win out. Their prices are great and being forced to pay for shipping makes me reconsider everything I lust over. As long as I don't feel like I am in dire, immediate need of any product in my cart I can handle the long overseas mail time. Just please don't get lost!
I ended up ordering various foot peeling masks, Pyunkang Yul Cleansing Foam, make p:rem UV Defense ME Blue Ray Sun Fluid, make p:rem UV Defense ME Blue Ray Sun Gel, Clio Kill Cover Pro Artist Liquid Color Concealer in Mint, A'PIEU Aqua Peeling Cotton Swab in Intensive, and an Etude House eyebrow scissor.
The recent launch and raves for the make p:rem sunscreens instigated this haulage. RoseRoseShop's prices and discounts made it hard to resist when considering how much it sells for on Glow Recipe (make p:rem's only official USA seller).
Pyunkang Yul's oriental beauty line has been highly talked about on YouTube as well. I do want to try everything eventually but chose to get only the cleanser for now.
I couldn't believe how much cheaper all the foot peeling masks were on RRS, so naturally, I added one of each that they had out of curiosity. If it all works well, I will probably just stock up on whatever is the cheapest in the future.
The cotton swab exfoliator, eyebrow scissors, and color corrector were thrown in there either because I liked it, needed it, or just plain o' intrigued by it. Since those products are all light in weight, it didn't affect the total shipping price much.
Price & Stock
K-Beauty products offered on RoseRoseShop seem to be the lowest prices available online and in stores outside of Korea (even with additional shipping costs). Items are all listed with their Korean retail prices but most goods seem to be always on some kind of sale.
RRS offers a majority of the brands and products that are popular in Korea at the moment. Even if they don't have it, there is the option to try and request it via their "Request Form."
Something that makes RRS different is their wholesale option. If there is a product you absolutely love and they carry it, they usually list an "x10" option that is slightly discounted when compared to adding 10 of the "x1" version of the listing.
As if RRS couldn't be any more unique, they also sell sample sachets and mini-bottles. If you want to test smaller amounts first, you can. If you want a super travel-friendly version of your faves, you can get that too. Yes, those things are usually gratis in Korea but it is nice to have the option.
Requesting
For the hardcore K-Beauty fans, RoseRoseShop allows their customers to request items and brands. Requests could either become one of three things: regular listing, special request listing, or be rejected. The main difference between a regular and special listing is the latter includes an additional 8% commission fee and RRS purchases it after the order is placed versus having it in already stock in a warehouse somewhere. (Think personal buying.)
Judging from their Request Form section, it seems that those who ask for something from a brand that RRS already carries has better luck with the request becoming a regular listing.
It can be difficult to find the button to the actual form for making a request, but fear not it is there. Look for the small "Write" button at the bottom of the page next to the "Search" button. Having the "Search" and "Write" functions closer to the top of the site would have been more user-friendly, but I digress.
In my own experience, I received a comment on my request within a day or two, which said whether they could fulfill my request or not. (I asked for a specific make p:rem product and also asked if they could carry other make p:rem goods as well—in hopes that my item wouldn't be considered a special request and thus avoiding the commission fee.) After checking every few days, I finally saw my requested item about 2 weeks later along with a few of other products from the brand.
Communication
Email/Contact Form // Surprisingly quick (within a day or two). Perhaps the quickness would differ depending on the urgency of your inquiry, albeit they were responding to my non-urgent, mistakenly- sent product request.
Live Chat // Has set times on Monday-Thursday (10AM-5PM) and Friday (10AM-1PM). It is relatively fast as long as someone is available. If you see that the chat is live, I think it is more than likely to be first greeted by a "Customer Service" user who might say everyone is busy at the moment and to leave a message with an email address. I left the chat window bar opened for a bit and waited just in case someone freed up to chat. Within 5-7 minutes later a "roseroseshop" user answered my questions very promptly.
Website Design
The website's design has a very typical Korean e-commerce look. (i.e. Global Lotte, Gmarket, etc.) It isn't the most beautiful to look at but it works.
Certain categories are very general (ex: "Makeup - Eye" instead of Eyeshadows, Eyeliners, Eyebrow, etc.). There is basic filtering according to Price, Name, and Rating. However, there isn't a way to further filter pages results by skin type, concern, ingredient, etc. If their offerings weren't so plentiful, I wouldn't as bothered. But because RoseRoseShop has so many products available it takes ages to click through every page.
At least there is a search bar, right? Yes and no. When it works, it does its job. But it is very picky—if the name of the brand or product is slightly off, there won't be any results.
Ex 1: "make p:rem" works but "make prem" without the colon will give no results.
Ex 2: "eyeshadow", "eye shadow", "shadow" will give varying results (2 pages v. 3 pages v. 10 pages)
On the topic of search bars and filtering products, there is no way to find all the "Free Shipping" products RRS has at once. It isn't listed separately under their "Hot Sale" tab. It also isn't a searchable term in the search bar.
The listing information for each product is fairly bare-bones. On rare occasions, they will include a product's infographic made by the brands. One thing I wished they have is the ingredient information.
Account
An account is required in order to check out. I believe creating an account on RoseRoseShop will give new users ₩2,000 credit.
Sign-ins via Google, Yandex, and PayPal are also an option for those who don't want to create a separate account via RRS. I am not 100% sure if the ₩2,000 credit is available for 3rd party sign-ins.
They do not have a points/reward system.
Check Out Process
Quick and simple. No new windows or tabs to overwhelm your computer. All the basic info inputting occurs on the same page and is easily modifiable. A click of the "Continue" button takes you to their PayPal checkout page. Once the payment is complete the page will redirect right back to RoseRoseShop site and say "Your Order Has Been Processed!"
Payment
RoseRoseShop accepts payment via PayPal only—within PayPal you can choose to pay with your linked bank account or a credit card.
Even though the site has the option at the top right corner to view prices in Korean Won and USD, payments are done only in USD at their specified exchange rate. I contacted their customer service and they said it is because PayPal doesn't allow transactions in Korean Won. This seems a little weird since I have shopped on other international sites before where I have paid in a foreign currency via PayPal. So who knows?
As of now, I believe the only function of having the option to switch between the two currencies is so they can easily add new listings in their native Korean Won and then have their site's coding automatically convert the listing to USD for international customers to see.
RoseRoseShop's exchange rate isn't terrible. But it definitely isn't the most current rate at the time of purchase (ex: RRS's USD $1 to ₩1,120 versus actual ₩1,154). In reality, it will usually only be a few dollars' difference. Those few dollars could potentially add up for larger hauls with shipping in consideration.
Shipping
The most important aspect of RoseRoseShop that needs to be spelled out is, there is no "Free shipping with minimum purchase." Shipping prices are calculated by weight—the more you buy, the more you pay for shipping.
With that said, they offer a bunch of options: K-packet (has a weight limit), EMS, Air Parcel, DHL, etc. There are price tables for every mail courier.
It is a difficult system to "cheat" in the sense that it requires patience and a lot of adding and subtracting items from the cart. I found that this really helps curb my impulse purchases.
Sometimes RoseRoseShop offers "Free Shipping" for certain products or all products of a specific brand. This means that the shipping for each product is $0. If an order consists of only products that are labeled "Free Shipping" they will require the purchase of a tracking number for a few dollars.
Delivery
The estimated shipping time for K-packet (regular Korean Mail) packages to the USA is 2-5 weeks. This seems pretty normal for an affordable international shipment option.
7/7 Placed order.
7/9 Order processing. (Received no email, just saw the status on my account & order history)
7/12 Order shipped with tracking number. (Received email and on account)
7/17 Package arrived.
At first, I was a little worried that my package took a few days from being processed to being shipped. I had read on forums and blogs that some people have experienced items going out of stock after placing an order. RRS seems to only notify after the order has been shipping. While refunds for the OOS item is a no-brainer, shipping costs seem to be non-refundable.
Luckily for me, the reason for the delayed shipping wasn't due to stock. Perhaps they just had a lot of orders to deal with at the moment? I was surprised by how quickly my package arrived since I was expecting it to come in a month's time. It didn't even take a full week for the order to be transported from Korea to New York.
Packaging
Everything was very well protected. Products that came in boxes were all individually wrapped in a double layer of bubble wrap. Flatter items (masks, beauty accessories, samples, etc.) were bundled together in a plastic pouch. Even the box my order came in was thoroughly taped on all sides.
I don't know if customs made a cut to the box or an untaped edge couldn't withstand the thrashing of international travel, my box had a small tear on one of the corners. Luckily, it wasn't bige enough for any of my items to fall out of.
Returns
Within 7 days after the delivery date with some conditions and limitations. Costs are the customers' responsibility.
Other Comments
Despite their product prices being the lowest available, I feel the possible hidden costs are in the Payment (exchange rate) and Shipping departments. But since all their items are Korean retail price, I'll let it go.
I am not sure how often their USD to Korean Won rate is updated to reflect the real exchange rate but as of now, summer 2017, the difference isn't too large. It seems that the RRS rate is maybe around ₩30 less than the live rate. Since when I ordered, I have seen the site's rate go from ₩1,120 to ₩1,100 to ₩1,090.
Since shipping costs are calculated based on weight, the final cost per item may potentially end up not being the cheapest available when considering Amazon and eBay sellers into the mix. (Still within only a few dollars difference.) However, what customers get in exchange is potentially better communication with RoseRoseShop and ease of mind regarding the authenticity of products.
They don't give a ton of samples but it is better than not receiving any at all. It is free aferall.
Shopping tips to maximize on shipping
Mix heavy and light items // The price tables are tricky to navigate. To summarize, shipping prices are based on some kind of weight tier system. If an order only has heavy items then the shipping fees will only be spread out between that. A few lighter items (under 100g) can usually be added without causing the price of shipping to change—in effect spreading out the cost of shipping to other items or getting free shipping of sorts for the lightweights.
Final price compare // If there is another site that sells the same/most of the same things as RRS, add everything to the carts first and see if there is an estimate for shipping. Gauge what the total price would be to see which ultimately has a better deal.
The byproducts of a skin allergy and drugstore sales: two too many backups of skincare in my stash. I hadn't bought beauty goods from CVS, Walgreens, or RiteAid in over 3 years. I stocked up on so many skincare and makeup items from the time I studied abroad and on my big Asia trip that local shopping was quite unnecessary. As I depleted the basics like toner and moisturizer in my stash, I still found myself gravitating towards Asian brands just out of habit. Then that allergic reaction happened and I forced myself to go on a skincare diet of sorts with some non-fancy and inexpensive beauty potions.
The CeraVe brand and especially their PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion seemed to be highly recommended by dermatologists, at least according to a bunch of forum threads I came across when searching about treating the allergic reaction I had in April. Reviews were generally high praises for how gentle and moisturizing the lotion is—exactly what I was looking.
Then you know...drugstores and their BOGO 50% deals, CeraVe's Eye Repair Cream found it's way in my hands as well. It made the best use of the 50% off as it was closest in price to the lotion ($16.29 versus $16.49). I didn't want to commit to 2 bottles of the moisturizer without having tried it. Plus, CeraVe always has a $2 manufacturer's coupon on their website.
June came around and Bestie C kept me updated every week on the status of stock at our local CVS after I lamented about how impossible it was initially to track even one bottle of the PM lotion in our neighborhood. I wasn't too interested in the idea of having multiple back ups but another BOGO 50% sale on CeraVe, $2 manufacturer's coupon, $4 off $14 CeraVe brand at CVS, and $5 off $25 at CVS changed my mind immediately. My second haul came out to be as if it was BOGO Free, an impressively better deal when compared to my previous purchase!
Despite having a bunch of backups, I won't rule out the idea of buying non-drugstore brand moisturizers in the near future. It is just nice to have something on hand which works with my skin, isn't too expensive, and I can fall back to if sensitivities do happen.
The OG Asian beauty shopping temptation. Whether it is a physical store or their online site, Sasa is comparable to the Western beauty mecca, Sephora, in terms of variety and store numbers. What makes Sasa more dangerous than the other S brand is the prices. It takes much willpower to browse the store and leave empty-handed. Everything looks nice, sounds promising, and is cheaper than most other (e-)retailers.
My method to avoid temptation? Not visit period. If I don't look I won't be lured. But you know...when the opportunity comes to order with a friend to share the order total load...for free shipping purposes, it gets infinitely more difficult to resist. Oh, I'll just get an item or two. 1 hour, 4 items, and almost $50 later I finally stop myself from browsing anymore.
Let's just say, for comfort's sake, I limited myself well. Of the 4 items I got, half are to satisfy my curiosity and the other half are products I have used before—at least all of them were under USD $15. 23 Years Old's Black Paint Rubar's promise to tackle whiteheads and blackheads earned a place in my cart quickly. I enjoyed using a stick cleansing before and was excited to find another brand at a more affordable price. Papa Recipe's Bombee Honey Pudding Set was the pure impulse purchase. It also claims to help with congestion but I have yet to meet a peel off mask that I could handle. Biore's UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50+ PA+++ is a favorite for using on my neck and chest when the warmer humid weather kicks in. Crabtree & Evelyn's Hand Therapy lotions are the only ones I have tried that sink into my skin without leaving a residue behind.
Price & Stock
If you can find a particular Asian brand you want on Sasa, it is safe to assume it'll be the cheapest option available on the internet. The only catch is the product availability and price fluctuates a lot. Items go out of stock fairly quickly. If you don't purchase it immediately, the item could get cheaper but more likely than not pricier.
They seem to have a "Price Guarantee" option where customers could submit information to Sasa if a lower price for an item is found elsewhere online. I have never used this feature before nor know of anyone who has so I can't attest to how smoothly that process goes.
Account
Signing up is required to complete the checkout process. I believe shopping on the site will accrue "Bonus Points" which can be then redeemed for various freebies. These points also expire every year end of March.
If the purchase is big enough, USD $155 within 3 months, Sasa may send a "VIP member" invitation. Their site says VIP's get 5% off throughout the year, 2x Bonus Points, birthday surprises, and free gifts.
Shipping Options
Shipping options to the USA and Canada are simple—it is either Free Shipping for orders $70+ or Standard Shipping is $15 for orders below $70. The requirements for other countries are slightly different. Do remember to double check before buying. Since the minimum requirement for free shipping is quite high, I recommend ordering with friends.
Payment
The site accepts a bunch of different payments: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal Diners Club International, JCB, Unionpay, Tenpay and Alipay.
It seems pain-free enough and practically every popular option is offered. Bestie did have troubles before when using credit cards in particular. Her issuing bank blocked her payment to Sasa once and on another occasion Sasa declined her payment. We're not really sure what the reasons were. Sometimes Sasa will e-mail to request for credit card confirmation information and other times trying a different credit card fixed the issue.
Maybe next time PayPal is the way to go?
Check Out Process
Other than possible payment hiccups, the rest of the check out process is simple. Shipping and payment information are input into in-screen pop-up windows. Then you accept the Terms and Conditions and press the "Confirm Payment" button to acknowledge the order.
I find the side "Notice" panels really intimidating. It looks like it has so much information even though most of it aren't pertinent to my order. Some "Notices" date back to 2013!
Delivery
Sasa estimates a delivery time of 8-12 business days. In reality, it took a little over 3 weeks for our purchase. The both of us weren't all too surprised. We don't order from Sasa often but every time we have the delivery time typically takes around 1 month.
We placed the order 4/3. Bestie said they sent a packing notification on 4/5 and dispatched it for delivery on 4/6. Even though she received a tracking number, it was a non-working one. The package arrived 4/26, and on the same day, Sasa sent an email to Bestie saying the order was canceled. What's up with that?
This was also our second attempt at ordering from Sasa. We had tried a month earlier and had similar communication mishaps. Sasa requested credit card confirmation information 2 weeks after placing our initial order. After waiting another 2 weeks for our package to arrive, Sasa sent an email one day saying the order had been cancelled altogether. Bestie suspected it was because one of the items on our list was out of stock. It would have been nice if they could have sent the other items and refunded the unavailable one, waited until everything was in stock again, or at the very least notified us of the cancellation earlier.
Returns
Sasa will accept returns within 30 days after receiving the package, but the items have to be completely unopened. This basically means you can have a change of heart on the actual act of purchasing but not because you didn't like the item after trying it.
Jung Saem Mool and her namesake beauty products were probably one of the first K-Beauty items I lusted over and could not get my hands on. I loved how natural her makeup style was, good skin and base rank supreme. But the trouble was her first beauty line MULE and her current line JSM are both relatively small indie brands and specific to her salon.
(I believe) Her current beauty range is only available at her physical shops in Gangnam and Myeongdong, via jsmbeauty.com (for those in Korea), and a select few official global e-commerce sites (Lotte, Hyundai, and Galleria). Of course, there are eBay sellers and other unofficial e-sellers scattered across the web; I still don't fully trust those since they aren't verified and their prices are usually quite hiked.
There were two big assumptions I had which kept me from purchasing JUNGSAEMMOOL products via the interwebs. 1) Buying anything from Korea directly would equal pricey, pricey shipping and usually not worth. 2) The promotions shared on Jung Saem Mool's Instagram were for her Korean-based customers only.
It never occurred to me to check Lotte, Hyundai, and Galleria. Curiosity crept up on me last month and I was surprised to find decent deals—they weren't the same deals, but good enough to catch my attention. Not only were all her products sold at their Korean retail value, but there were also 1+1 sets for many of her best sellers.
Despite wanting to order everything available, I narrowed down my choices and picked the one item I did not have anything similar to in my current collection: JUNGSAEMMOOL Artist Concealer Palette in Blend (a.k.a her color correcting palette). It retails for ₩40,000, which equates to around USD $38-40. Considering the price of even a single-shade color corrector at Sephora can be USD $20, JSM's version is pretty affordable. I liked that the colors in this palette looked more muted and creamier in JSM's photos and videos, versus the typical vibrant and drier formulations found in Western brands. It seems easier for color correcting newbies, like myself, to use.
I only purchased from 1 of the 3 sites but I gave a thorough enough browse through all of them to be able to make a good recommendation for fellow international Jung Saem Mool followers.
Hmall - Hyundai has the best selection of products. They offer most of her makeup line and skincare line. A majority, if not all, are global shipping approved. Some of her products have a "Benefit Price" that is slightly lower than the retail "Item Price." Hyundai also seems to offer a service called EMS Onepack where multiple items in orders could be bundled up into one. Hmall has their own form of coupons. Generally speaking, it seems like it would be more cost effective, shipping-wise, to purchase from Hmart if ordering multiple items.
Lotte holds the middle ground in terms of product selection. The makeup products available are limited to mainly her bestsellers and only a few items from her skincare line are listed. The only things unique to Lotte are her makeup brushes, which are sold individually and in a set. The prices on Lotte also seem to be consistently full priced, but it seemed like there are more 1+1 and multi-product sets to choose from to balance. The site charges shipping per item's weight. I think Lotte had more potential coupons to use when compared to the other 2 at the time I was browsing. For a single-item order with coupons or those wanting just the JSM brushes, Lotte has an advantage.
Galleria has the weakest selection of products. If Lotte has makeup bestsellers + some skincare + brushes, Galleria offers only the first two. There are also more items excluded from International Shipping at Galleria than what Hyundai and Lotte had. I didn't browse around the site long enough to figure out whether they offered digital coupons. This site calculates shipping via total order's shipping weight. Of the 3, I would gravitate towards and recommend this site the least for JSM Beauty.
*I saw that Peach & Lily made an announcement recently saying they will carry JUNGSAEMMOOL products soon. I am both excited and uncertain. Hopefully, the price difference isn't too drastic.
Account & Coupons
A big reason why I chose Lotte, in the end, was because registered users had access to "downloadable" coupons. These are Lotte-issued coupons which go straight to member's account and applicable during the checkout process. As with any other coupons, these have a digital expiration of 1-month and are only good for 1 item in the shopping cart.
I wasn't 100% sure if the coupons I downloaded would be usable towards my order but I tried anyways. Luckily enough both coupons I had worked; I was able to stack a 10% and a 7% discount towards my single item purchase.
Shipping Options
Global Lotte offers a few different choices: EMS, DHL, and sometimes Lotte Express. All are express and expensive, EMS is typically the cheapest.
Since I limited myself to only buying one item, the Order Total estimate at Lotte ended up winning out between the 3 official e-commerce sites. The particular product I wanted had 50% off international shipping and it came with a +1 (freebie) concealer brush from her line.
It seems like each brand that sells on Global Lotte could choose to have their own combination of promotions for products, domestic shipping, and international shipping. Sometimes certain items may have a "Domestic Shipping Fee," which is for the transport of the goods from warehouse to the distribution center or to the airport in Korea.
I also noticed that the shipping price at Lotte is calculated per item versus the overall order weight. Example: Item 1 is 390g. Item 2 is 340g. The shipping price will be ₩40,848 for the 2 items (₩20,424 per item under 500g) instead of ₩24,124 for both items being under 750g.
Tip: Be careful when shopping on the site! Shipping costs could add up quickly, especially if purchasing multiple items or from different brands. It is very possible for shipping to cost more than the actual item itself. Otherwise, I think Global Lotte does a pretty good job at breaking down the fees in the Shopping Cart table.
Payment
The site accepts a bunch of different payments: credit card, Alipay, PayPal, Tenpay, UnionPay, and WeChatPay.
At first, I chose to pay through credit card and had some trouble. Global Lotte or Eximbay wouldn't process because they detected I had Adblocker enabled on Safari. Even after I paused Adblocker, the site still registered it as on.
Even after I moved to Chrome, which does not have Adblocker in Incognito mode, the website showed the same message. This time, though, I could see the option to press "Allow pop-ups specifically for Eximbay" and was able to finally proceed.
Despite all the fuss, my credit card ended up being declined for an unspecified reason. Global Lotte and Eximbay told me to contact Eximbay's customer service, but who knows how long that could have taken.
Eventually, I ended up using Paypal. It was quick, easy, and headache free.
Check Out Process
It was a little confusing at the end. The checkout process involved a lot of pop-up windows; American e-commerce sites typically have no pop-ups unless it involves 3rd party payment i.e. PayPal.
Even though the end message on the pop-up payment window said "Payment Processing/Order Successful", the main shopping cart page was still on the "Payment" page instead of a new "Complete Order" page.
I eventually decided to check my "Order History" before panicking. Luckily the order did indeed go through. If I panicked, I could have ended up ordering the same thing twice.
Delivery
The entire order went through surprisingly quick for an international order: 4 business days! I chose EMS and therefore wasn't expecting it to take very long to get from the Korean airport to Stateside; it isn't called Express Mail Service for nothing, those are typically very efficient and expedited.
I was just shocked by how quickly Global Lotte processed my order and how short a time their domestic distribution took. My order was placed on 4/11 EST. The website showed my order was in the domestic shipping stage on 4/12 (maybe even 4/11 since I ordered during Korea's morning time). I received an email saying it was shipped (internationally) on 4/14. The package arrived at my door 4/17. It probably could have arrived even earlier if 4/15-16 wasn't a weekend and a major holiday.
Packaging
The box I received was humongous for the palette and brush I bought. It was much appreciated, after the fact, because the roominess does allow for more padding. Everything came wrapped in an excessively large sheet of bubble wrap, in addition to a bundle of kraft paper. I don't think any amount of smashing would get to the goodies with the amount of stuffing it had.
Returns
"Within 7 days after the arrival of the product" is what Global Lotte says. Return shipping fee is waived if the product is damaged; the fee is non-refundable if the buyer has a change of heart.
I must be one of the few remaining self-proclaimed beauty junkies to have only recently found out about the Canadian beauty brand Deciem's The Ordinary line. My Instagram and YouTube feed has been filled with posts dedicated to the brand lately. It is touted as a no-frills, targeted, and super affordable skincare line for those who know exactly what skin troubles need fixing and what ingredient is best at fixing it.
A skincare expert, I am definitely not. But the prices of their serums and oils had me researching niacinamides, AHA & BHA's, azelaic acids, and tons of other highly scientific names their products are made of. Even though I felt like everything The Ordinary offers could target something on my face, I chose to tread carefully and not be too impulsive with my first purchase.
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, Lactic Acid 5% + HA 2%, and 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil were the final 3 that made my list. I mainly wanted to target acne, acne scarring, exfoliation, flakes, and dry skin. The best part was each bottle of 30ml fluid cost under USD $10!
Shopping Cart
My order only consisted of The Ordinary's products but Deciem more than welcomes "cherry picking" from all their brands. It makes shopping for multiple skin concerns and across price points extremely easy. It would have been more helpful to see the Free Shipping minimum requirement on the Shopping Cart page first rather than on following Check Out page, but it is neither here nor there—a quick Googling can usually give the same information.
Check Out Process
Everything is very straightforward. Like their products, the site and check out procedure is fairly barebone yet effective at doing what it needs to do. There aren't any unnecessary distracting texts or photos. Each text box has a purpose and the areas that need attention are appropriately called out. Design-love! Although, I do wish the text was a tad larger by default.
Shipping Options
There isn't much of an option, it is either Free after spending $25 or Standard shipping for an extra $4.99. Considering how affordable everything by The Ordinary is, filling the cart shouldn't be difficult at all.
I assumed they would choose USPS since their free shipping minimum is so low and the specific carrier is never mentioned. It was a nice surprise to see UPS as their delivery choice.
I believe Deciem ships to most cities internationally. But don't quote me on that.
Payment
The US site accepts only Credit Cards issued by Visa and Mastercard and PayPal. This is standard enough, but I could see it might be problematic for other credit card holders.
Account
Orders could be placed via accounts or anonymously. I chose to create an account for orderly sake and in case I end up repurchasing from Deciem in the future. I love how detailed their Order History page is; there is information breakdown for everything! The company also sends e-mails with the same information as the order progresses.
Delivery
Scaringly fast. I placed my order on 4/3 and received the package in my hands 4/6. The website had a note which said they were supposedly experiencing a high volume of orders so the speedy delivery was 100% a surprising. I guess since their USA, or at least East coast, distribution center is in New Jersey, it makes sense for the transport time to be relatively fast. I just didn't expect the whole process to be so quick.
Packaging
The padding inside the packaging is very minimal. Don't let the simplicity fool anyone. Even though the boxes of serums are placed in a single layer bubble pouch, the cardboard box which encases everything is extremely sturdy. It, of course, won't be able to handle all my body weight if I really pushed down; thrashes and throws won't stand a chance though. Deciem and The Ordinary definitely does the whole minimalism thing well.
Returns
I probably won't be making any returns. But...I thought it would be interesting to share since Bestie pointed out to me recently that Deciem offers returns up to 1 year after purchase. They definitely keep true to their abnormalness.
I thought I had a good streak going...2 whole months of beauty no-buys since the new year started! Then a stop to Sephora and a walk through Chinatown, you know just to do some window-shopping, had my hands itching to try some new skincare. Maybe the impulsiveness came from my skin being flaky of late, partially due to the bi-polar weather and partially because of the acne healing process.
All things considered, exfoliating and hydrating have been all I could think about all month long. I do have products that tailor to both concerns already, I couldn't help but look for other approaches. The current routine is doing an okay job. But I feel like I need something slightly more intensive.
The Face Shop's Smile Foot Peeling is still my go-to item for foot care. It works well enough for me to not want to stray to anything else. Even still, my HG can get expensive fast when considering the cost per kit and the number of times my feet need the peeling. Wishtrend's Jungle Botanics Natural Body Glow Nutshell Scrub seemed to get stellar reviews on the interwebs for its body exfoliating capabilities and the company's in-house gurus claimed that it could tackle tough heels in one of their recent videos, I was sold! Now I can only hope it will work against my stubborn soles between feet peeling sessions.
It seems like AHAs and BHAs are making the beauty trend rounds in terms of exfoliators recently. While physical exfoliation used to be the standard for sloughing away dead skin and impurities, chemical exfoliants are supposedly more efficient, deeper penetrating, and most effective, like what the professionals use. I was intrigued by the ingredients because of their promise to make skin smoother and brighter while not being abrasive. I first bought Primary Raw DoYou 2-Step Milk Peeling Kit from Sephora for $6. Since exfoliating is something that should be done on a routine basis and these cotton swab things are one-time use, I searched for a more affordable alternative and found the A'Pieu Aqua Peeling Cotton Swab - Intensive Type from oo35mm for $2.99. Two exfoliations might not be enough to see drastic results with the swabs but maybe it'll show even a little more promising result than if I only had one.
Not to say the AHA and BHA products I bought would leave my skin peeling, but just in case it does, I found myself adding the 23 Years Old C-Tragel Modeling Mask to my basket and heading for the cashier. I definitely am in no shortage of facial masks; the idea of rubber masks is just really intriguing.
Banila Co's Clean It Zero - Purity is the only "necessary" skincare buy of the month. My current cleansing oil is running low and I have been meaning to give the ever so popular Clean It cleansing balms a go. I picked the Purity over the Classic version because it is Mineral Oil and Fragrance-Free. I don't think I have a big sensitivity to either ingredient but it doesn't hurt to play it on the safe side when I am prone to breakouts.
What can I say? After splurging on the tria Hair Removal Laser 4X, I told myself that I would hold off on buying any beauty related goodies until I finished that particular type of product. But gosh is it hard to resist those darn end-of-the-year holiday sales!
All the beauty shops, whether online or in-store, had multiple promotions running in December. I tried desperately to not check my sales e-mail and hoped to avoid overspending. Sephora was ultimately the instigator. When I found out that VIB members would have a $20 off $50 gift card to spend, my interest was piqued and my brain couldn't stop lusting over "necessary" skincare products.
I felt I absolutely needed some products in my arsenal to battle the dry winter season. May Coop Raw Sauce came under my radar via Sephora's K-Beauty page. The promise of "hydrating softener" sounded very fitting for any impending parched skin. Heres to hoping the special maple tree sap will work some wonders as NYC gets colder.
Since an essence would definitely not have been enough to be the standalone barrier between my skin and the natural elements, I wound up getting May Coop Raw Moisturizer from Peach & Lily as well. It was inconvenient to not find the rest of May Coop's lineup at Sephora. Luckily, Peach & Lily had a 12 days of Christmas promo and one of the days they offered 35% off popular hydrating products, which included the Raw Moisturizer.
The Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover was a bag filler of sorts. The May Coop Raw Sauce was $43 which meant I was short $7 from getting Free Shipping. It never hurts to have a little travel bottle of makeup remover at home, right? The Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Blemish-less was a freebie via a promo code. I have heard good things about Laura Mercier's other foundation primers but this Blemish-less version was completely new to me. I wonder if it would really help with breakouts while also keeping foundation in-tact...
Side review: This was my first time ordering from Peach & Lily. They are a brand that I have followed recently and have heard fellow beauty blogs say good things about. I love their selection of indie Korean beauty brands and how tailored the website is towards different skin conditions. I was drawn by their introductory Peach Points offer, which essential gives new online customers $10 gift card to use towards the first purchase. However, I was a tad disappointed to find that I couldn't used both a promotion code (ex: % off) and the gift card for the same purchase. I do understand that it is probably to protect against coupon/promo abuse. But that just means if anyone buy a lot and accumulate many points, it wouldn't be usable during sales. Maybe I was being too greedy in thinking I could get a super good deal?
Thousands upon thousands of dollars. Per session. For many, many sessions. That is just not the kind of money I think I would be able 1) not only have but 2) have the willingness to spend on something as arbitrary as my excess hair. When the tria and other similar products first started to get really popular amongst bloggers and YouTubers a few years back, I was also very much intrigued. At-home laser hair removal would be perfect if it worked. The main reason I held back was the price tag. A few hundred dollars is pretty hefty for something that may or may not work.
I am not sure when it happened. At some point in the past year, after an armpit hair tweezing and mustache shaving session, I just felt like splurging investing in one of those at-home systems. This is what all those recent Sephora hauls were leading up to. The tria Hair Removal Laser 4X seemed like a good choice given that it is FDA-cleared and is similar tech-wise to what the professionals use. Being able to earn points at Sephora, use their 20% discount, and earn eBates on the order inched me that much closer to the decision. The dealbreaker was being reassured by a Sephora associate, in-store, that if I didn't like it or didn't see results I could return the tria within a year with the receipt. I don't know if this is true for all stores or even all associates. But I chose to believe the one response and go for it anyways.
Ultimately I bought this for $376.71. ($499 - 20% VIB discount + $31.88 NYC tax - $14.37 eBates Cash Back.)
Right now, 12.01.2016, Sephora is selling this same set for $399 and tria's own website has it for $387.
So viola! My Sephora VIB 2016 Holiday Haul in all its glory. My one, very big, item purchase. Even the box it came in seemed luxurious and secure. I can't say I have been this excited for an electronic in a while. The days I had to wait for this felt especially agonizing because I hyped myself so much and anticipations were very high.
I chose to get the duo set because from experience I tend to have a very low pain tolerance. Any hair removal method that requires the plucking of the follicles is usually too much for me to bear. The only exception I have grown immune to is in the armpit area. I thought the tria SmoothStart Calming Gel would come in handy in that respect. Plus, the price at the time for the duo and for the laser by itself were the same for this particular Turquoise color.
tria claims that the gel has anti-inflammatory and cooling properties to help make it more comfortable with the hairs are being zapped. It is a bit opaque and cloudy in color straight out of the tube. Once it is spread out, the gel is translucent. I chose not to use the Calming Gel the first time I tested the machine. However, from the little amount I placed and rubbed onto my hand for the photo, I can tell that it did give a cooling sensation to wherever I applied it.
The at-home laser is simple enough to use. The pamphlet recommends charging it for at least 2 hours after it is taken out of the box and before it can be used. After it is fully charged and the gray button on the top is pressed, I believe the screen will say something along the lines of "the device needs to be registered". If it doesn't it, it still most definitely needs to be done anyway before the laser can be used. Each tria Hair Removal Laser 4X has its own Serial # that has to be registered with the company. It is a simple procedure that just requires setting up an account on tria.com.
The next time the On/Off button is pressed, the Locked screen will pop up to prevent any accidental zaps. Pressing the bottom of the laser device to the skin will promptly Unlock the machine. Well, this step should unlock it if the skin that was sensored is in the correct color range, a.k.a. light to tan but not pale or dark. Each press of the gray On/Off button whilst on the Unlocked screen thereafter would be to select 1 of the 5 energy levels. The screen itself shows the energy levels, battery life, and the number of zaps it has made.
Tria recommends using the maximum level 5 in order to see the best results. Each body area also has a corresponding recommended number of pulses. Every following zapping should overlap the last by at least half a circle. Which to be completely honest is very difficult to keep track of. The company also states that results do not usually show for at least 3 months with bi-weekly treatment.
- Upper lip: 25 pulses, 2-3 minutes
- Underarms: 100 pulses per side, 4-5 minutes per side
- Bikini: 200 pulses per side, 8-10 minutes per side
- Upper leg: 600 pulses per side, 25-30 minutes per side
- Lower leg: 600 pulses per side, 25-30 minutes per side
Like mentioned before, I chose to go gel-free in order to see how painful the laser would be and to know what level of laser I could handle on my own. It was a very strange experience. I stuck to Level 3 throughout my entire first round of treatment. The overall feeling was just warmth. No matter if you hit a hair follicle or not, the laser will leave the spot a little warm. When a follicle is hit by the laser though, it can range from a tiny pricking feeling to something akin to having a rubber band hit that direct spot very suddenly. It definitely caught me by surprise every time the latter happened because I felt the lighter sensations more. There was an urge to immediately pull the laser away but I had to stop myself since tria mentions it is most successful to keep the laser on there until the end of the zap.
**WARNING: Photos below might make some people uneasy.**
Since I knew the Sephora VIB sale would happen sometime in November, I stopped plucking any of the hairs I wanted to treat for one month. It isn't a long enough time to have all the hairs grow back but at least there was enough for me to be able to properly test out the device. Before I got too pulse happy, I had to make sure I shaved off the surface hairs first to make it easier for the laser to reach the roots.
Facial hair and body hair has always been an issue for me. Once puberty hit me, I noticed how my body changed. Not just that I was starting to go through monthly menstrual cycles but also that my underarms began to smell funny whenever it got warm outside. I also saw how little tiny hairs, thick and thin, would sprout from my pits and legs and many other places throughout my body. While most follicles could be hidden with clothes almost everywhere else, my face was the one place I could not hide and was the most self-conscious about.
What is it exactly is the person focusing on when they look at me right in the face? My pimples? My big mole? Or all those mustache-esque wisps sticking out near my lips? Maybe all these insecurities added to the reason I tend to be so introverted.
I remember distinctly how my teenage self would always try to rip out those pesky hairs with my bare fingertips whenever I caught myself thinking about them. I remember how I would blame my bad genetics because once I noticed it on my own face, I started to notice it on my mom's as well. Then fast forward a bunch of years and two medical conditions later, I might have found a partial answer to why I had seemingly so much hair: PCOS. I thought, and my parents probably thought, I was a freak when we first found out. All that the doctors told us then was just "your testosterone levels are high". As a teenage girl, who wouldn't freak out about that? Forget about having fewer periods and having too many cysts in my ovaries...what do you mean my male hormone level was abnormal?! Am I going to grow more facial hair? Could I get an Adam's apple? Would my voice deepen?
Okay, maybe I was over-exaggerating to myself. Most of my worries didn't happen, no Adam's apple or "manlier voice". Hairiness is still a situation for me but not nearly as extreme as I have heard it can be for other people with PCOS. I still suffer from other symptoms. But of course, my hairy insecurities still remain.
Nowadays I just try my hardest not to think about it, the hair. When I do, I tend to immediately try to get rid of it. This usually means I reach for my eyebrow razors a lot to do the quick job of shaving the 'stache hairs off. I have tried a couple other ways to remove my facial hairs too. Tweezing never sat well because my lip area is so sensitive and the same reasonings goes for self-threading. But as the photos show, there is evidence of plucked upper lip hairs from the random hairless spots near the corners of my mouth. Treating this area was one of the main reasons I decided to take the plunge with the tria laser.
My underarms were the other big reason why I considered going the laser route. I began my hair removal journey with shaving. But I found that I was still left with a dark shadow from all the stubbles and it would not last very long. Shaved pit hairs would usually start to grow back the very next day. The absolute worst part of regrowth was the dreaded itchiness.
Somehow a friend brought up the topic of underarm hair removal a few years back and the idea of tweezing was thrown around. Since I was bored and procrastinating from typical college stuff then, I spend a good 30+ minutes going to town pull each hair out of my armpits. It was definitely uncomfortable at first but I found it surprisingly easy to handle plucking these hairs than any other ones. The positives were, of course, the slower regrowth and finer hairs.
Despite winning an epilator before tweezing became a part of my routine, I was always too scared of the potential pain. It is supposed to be like a bunch of tweezers working all at one time. Once I realized my pits were tougher than expected, an epilator was a life and time saver. Until...I became increasingly annoyed by how difficult it was to clean all the hairs out of the teeny crevices. Talk about unhygienic!
So that's how the story goes and I found myself going through the tedious task of tweezing each hair one by one again. Maybe it is because I went through so many methods yet still came back to this particular one. I found it even more strenuous on my eyes this time around while trying to pluck those underarm hairs. Even though I could stare into the right corner for a long time, no problem, staring to the other side caused me to lose focus and become rather lightheaded and dizzy easily. To say I am hoping the Hair Removal Laser works well at least in this main department would be a major understatement.
Now knuckle hairs never really bothered me at all. They can be there or not, no big deal. I only included it in this series because I first used it as a test area to see how tolerant I am of the different energy levels and because why the heck not? I have the device anyway so let's see how well it works on as many body parts as I can.
I always thought I would go for professional laser hair removal if I ever had the money to. But maybe now I won't have to. We'll see. A major reason why I wanted to push this post out so soon and interrupt the travel series was so I could hold myself accountable and keep up with treatments. If not, how else would I see if this potential miraculous device actually works? Wish me luck!
To say I am excited for the beauty and non-beauty products I got last month in October is probably a very big understatement. Another Sephora order was made, surprise surprise. But there is an explanation for the madness! My Aunt also came home from an almost month long trip to China and Hong Kong which meant souvenirs galore!!
Sephora is making it's regular appearance in my monthly haul posts. Here is my explanation justification for the recent buying frenzy from them. I had set my mind on making a very big purchase from them but in order to get the best deal possible I needed to reach that VIB status for the annual holiday 20% off in November. I know...I am playing into their tactics. But it will be the best price then and I tried my best to only buy the stuff I needed from Sephora in order to reached VIB. Anyways the wait is almost over since the 20% VIB code starts in about a week from Nov. 11-14 this year. I can't wait!
Anyways...back to the haulage. The thing I needed from Sephora this month was the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray Duo that recently came back into stock online. Their setting spray has been a part of my morning routine for years! I love how it makes my face look less powdery after spraying and how well my makeup holds up throughout the day. When it came time to repurchase the duo a few months back, I was surprised to not see it sold at Sephora anymore. Who knew it was one of those "Limited Edition" Sephora things that has really been offered a long time...until recently. I held off on buying it again since 1 spray sells for $30 and I remembered paying ~$30 something for the duo in the past. It also gave me the chance to retry the MAC Fix+ setting spray.
The non-necessary purchase of the haul was the Captain Blankenship Mermaid Dry Shampoo. Since I was trying to buy as little as possible but still $11 shy from Free Shipping, I decided to give the travel sized dry shampoo a try. The Glamglow Supermud Clearing Treatment, Guerlain Kiss Kiss Creamy Satin Finish Lipstick in 325, and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer were all either promo code items or deluxe samples I finally used my Beauty Insider Points for.
Before my Aunt left the country, I requested a few things that could either 1) be bought for a better price than what I could get online and 2) be only found in Hong Kong and/or China. She came back with a ton of other stuff and offered some to me so who am I to say no?
With the major acne breakout issues I had this year, I was majorly regretting the small amount of Nexcare Acne Dressing Patches I got myself whilst in Korea. My Aunt finalized her tickets to Hong Kong a few months ago and the patches were the first thing I requested. I used to be very indifferent towards these kind of acne treating methods. Apparently I had just been using them on the wrong kind of pimples. FYI The little buggers need to be the kind that are ready to pop and full of puss in order for the patches to work it's full magic.
The second item I was really excited for was Taikoo Red Sugar. I am not 100% sure if it is the same thing but it seems like it may be. I had some really good Doufuhua or Tofu Pudding when I was in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. But the one thing I noticed they did differently from what I was used to was the sugar component options they offered me. In New York City, doufuhua is usually served with a simple syrup. In Hong Kong and Guangzhou, it was served with my choice either bright red-orange sugar crystals or simple syrup. I gravitated for the sugar crystals as it was a completely new concept to me. Sweetener is sweetener is sweetener but the redness made the doufuhua look so nice! I tried to find anything similar in the Chinese supermarkets near me in NYC. But red sugar here translated to something akin to molasses-y brown sugar. If this is what I had in Hong Kong, then I may ask my Aunt to help me get more the next time she goes back.
A trip to Hong Kong, or anywhere in Asia, for the matter isn't complete for beauty junkies without buying tons of masks. My mom isn't into beauty products but my Aunts are. I just wasn't expecting her to come back with a suitcase full of goodies since she always claimed to be a "buy as little as possible" kind of gal. I opted to take a couple of each to try since I still have a rather large stash of sheet masks of my own to use up.
