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.
Allergic reactions happen so infrequently that I sometimes forget there are risks to using, new or old, skincare and makeup potions. It is always advised to patch test new products before committing to slathering it on and it is best to keep to the expiration date or the quality of the product could be compromised.
If I am to be completely honest, 10 times out of 10 I forego patch-tests in hopes that I would be lucky—and luck has been with me so far. While I generally abide by the printed guidelines for older items in my stash, there are certain products where I tend to be a little more forgiving: if it is individually packaged, if I haven't opened it and exposed it to air yet, or if I am able to disinfect it with a rubbing alcohol spray.
I cannot say for sure what the exact cause for this particular reaction was, but I have my suspicions. Allergies could happen immediately or slowly, for some it could occur only if it so happened to meet the wrong combination of ingredients. For me, I think, it could have been either a new face oil sample sachet I tried in the morning or a past-due sheet mask I applied at night. I am not going to name any names because if it is the latter then it would have been completely avoidable had I not been too stingy to toss it. I wanted to share this post to mainly remind my future self in case of other mishaps.
Was that a little too overdramatic of a "warning"? Thought I'd give a heads up in case anyone gets queasy easily.
The reaction I had wasn't the worst possible case scenario but it sure gave me a good scare.
Day 1
If it was the expired mask, then I felt immediate itchiness and saw a few red patches on my face. I had used that particular mask when it wasn't expired before and had similar reactions, those never lasted long, which is why I brushed off the feeling and went straight to bed.
The following day proved to be completely abnormal. The itchiness and redness were still there but I applied my skincare and makeup as per usual anyway, hoping it would go away. It didn't... I say hope a lot because I didn't have any prior experience to guide me nor did I think it would be that severe.
Day 2
I woke up to a swollen face from a night of scratching in my sleep. Every inch of my face felt uncomfortably itchy, even on the eyelids and under my eyes. The reaction had spread down my neck and onto my earlobes (I had not applied any of the products there). I didn't notice just how inflamed the pustules on my chin were until after I looked in a mirror. It did feel painful but I had no idea it looked equally as bad.
To me, it looked like a pimple minefield. My chin is the most prone to acne, nowadays, but never to this degree. I also didn't know an allergic reaction could result in acne-like puss-filled bumps. It only grew in numbers as the day went on and each spot felt more and more inflamed and itchy.
At this point, I skipped all beauty products to let my skin breath and because I could not stand anything touching my skin. Even hair brushing against it made me feel itchy. I went to the doctor and oh the surprised and sympathetic looks the nurses and doctor gave! I left with 2 strong antihistamines (prednisone and hydroxyzine) and a steroid cream (mometasone). One med was supposed to help with the allergic reaction and bumps, the other pill and steroid cream were for the itchiness.
Day 3
The meds for the allergic reaction felt very effective. The inflamed bumps were mostly subsiding. The itching was still there but not as fiery as the day before. I don't know if I should attribute it to the pills or if it was the natural recovery process, the puss-filled bumps that were on my face were mostly dried out. I could easily flake it off like dead skin without being left with a chin full of puss and blood.
I decided to only use the steroid cream as a last resort. Luckily, I didn't need it.
Day 4 onwards
After all the bumps deflated, the aftermath I was left to deal with was dry, super dry, rough, and flaky skin. Think course sandpaper meets sunburnt skin. Even though my skin needed moisturizing and exfoliating the most, I couldn't deliver at first because the itchiness was still there. All I could do was ignore it for the time being or subconsciously scratch and pick at my face throughout the day. Mostly it was the latter.
My skin probably felt comfortable enough for light moisturizing and cleansing around the 5th day after the skin allergy. I couldn't have been happier to have a watery-type essence product in my stash—it absorbed quickly and most importantly didn't feel like there was a layer sitting on my skin. I needed something that was like water but had more benefits. The essence alone was definitely not enough moisture, but I mainly wanted to relieve some of the tightness my skin felt from being so parched. Rather than being itchy from the allergic reaction, my face felt itchy from being too dry.
The flakes and roughness went away after another day or two of moisturizing. A gentle physical exfoliator helped a tiny bit, but I think it was mainly because the moisturizing helped soften the patches enough beforehand.
Prior to getting prescription strength medicine, I tried both Zyrtec (seasonal allergy meds) and Benadryl (stronger OTC allergy meds). Neither helped with calming the reaction.
Those who are the low-maintenance type will probably wonder if all this is worth it. Skin conditions might be bad but if you don't do anything extra to it, idealistically it shouldn't get any worst. For those who are of the higher-maintenance crowd, like me, this is more of a painful learning experience. It isn't so much about it not getting any worst and more about how it could get better.
