Korean Buying Service Haul: Jung Saem Mool, Make P:rem, & Pretty Bottles

As much as I love how accessible K-Beauty has become, there's nothing quite like getting an order of hard-to-find products straight from Korea.  This haul had a rocky journey getting to me, especially when I thought I spotted a car speeding away after thieving one of the boxes off my porch, but everything arrived safely at last, and I've accepted that good light for photos is something I won't see again until the season changes, so here we are.

Korean beauty products purchased with a buying service
'Tis the season for the Haul-idays?  Also, check out that adorable panda note! :3
This package arrived in two boxes, one of which came more than a week after the first one, which itself was a few weeks delayed, leaving me sweating over their whereabouts.  As usual, I ordered my goodies through Amy of Boyah Shop, who remains both the best and the cutest buying service I've ever worked with.

I also made my first purchase through AliExpress, because my thirst for gorgeous Hanbang-themed packaging for my decants overrode my nervousness about ordering from the site.

In this post:

  • Jung Saem Mool Beauty: Colour correcting palette, blushes, & sample swag
  • Make P:rem: Cleansing water, cleansing foam, & cleansing ... pack??
  • About Me: Ginseng mask pack & disaster
  • AliExpress: Hanbangin' mist bottles
  • Sulwhasoo: Perfecting Brightening #11 & Evenfair Perfecting #11 cushions, & sample service galore

If you aren't familiar with how a buying service works, here's a quick recap: 1. you tell your buyer what you want, 2. they invoice you for what it will cost them to buy your goods + a small fee for their service, 3. they receive the goods and prepare them for shipment, and invoice you for the actual shipping cost, 4. you receive your package and squee.

If you're looking for more details on how to find what you want, check out this post: Guide to using a Korean buying service when you don't know Korean, ft blogger Kahime , which covers everything from copypaste-able keywords and brands in Korean, shopping sites, search engines, and an automated calculator to estimate the KRW currency conversion and your final costs.

The perks of using a buying service is that you can get products that aren't readily available through regular K-Beauty vendors, and/or skip huge retail markups.  I've mostly done the former in this haul, but I've had posts where I've detailed the crazy savings you can pull off depending on what you purchase.  Let's get to it!

Jung Saem Mool Beauty: Colour correcting palette, blushes, & sample swag

I've mentioned it before, but I've been a huge fan of Korean makeup artist and beauty pioneer Jung Saem Mool for years.  I've spent countless hours watching her youtube video tutorials, which taught me eye makeup techniques that worked on my heavily hooded eyes and how one's skin is a feature, not just a blank canvas.  So naturally, when she started producing her own cosmetic line, my body (if not my wallet) was ready.

Jung Saem Mool products
Look at that swag!  I ordered 3 full-size products and got all this and a box of cotton squares I forgot to photograph.
I already own a lipstick from JSM, as well as an essence, and absolutely love the lipstick.  I'm still on the fence about the essence, but the lipstick is amaaaaazing.  When I saw that she had released a colour-correcting palette, my waffling days on getting one were over.  She also posted a shot of this blush on Instagram and I had to have it.  I don't really own any blush, other than one that came in my Lorac eye & cheek palette, as most blushes are just way too strong on my skin tone.   This looked like it would be perfect for a subtle, natural look without overwhelming my colouring.

I can't believe I got so much free stuff just for purchasing one palette and two blushes.  Next level gift with purchase game, JSM beauty.

Make P:rem: Cleansing water, cleansing foam, & cleansing ... pack??

I actually saw this brand on Bisou Beauty Bar's Instagram, and was intrigued by the black cleansing water; when Amy of Boyah Shop mentioned that they were on sale in a local brick-and-mortar shop, I caved like wet cardboard.

Make P:rem cleansers
Eeep, this was a lot more cleansing water than anticipated!
Neither Amy nor I were exactly sure what the "cleansing pack" was, so naturally, I had to purchase it and find out.  I'm currently using the cleansing water and like it just fine, so I'm looking forward to testing the rest.

About Me: Ginseng mask pack & disaster

So this product is supposed to be similar to a modelling or rubber mask, where you add water to a powder, mix it into a paste, and then apply it to your face.  I don't think this is meant to peel off like a modelling mask, just wash-off, and instead of plain water, you mix it with the included packet of ginseng essence.  More ginseng = more yes, so I gleefully added them to my order.

About Me Ginseng pack
One of the many packs littering my office.
Unfortunately, when I cracked open the first one, I was puzzled to find that there was no powder, just a congealed lump stuck to one side of the capsule.  It seemed that moisture had gotten into the sealed capsule pod somehow, and activated the powder.  I tried the next, and the next, and the next.  Every one had what appeared to be a perfect seal, yet the powder was powder no more.  I sent a photo to Amy to check that I wasn't just missing something, and she contacted the company to raise hell on my behalf.  Score!  The next time I make an order, I should have a fresh batch, so it's only a matter of tiiiiiime.

AliExpress: Hanbangin' mist bottles

If you're a regular reader, you're probably familiar with Snowbang, the Hanbangin' first essence type product that fellow Snailcaster and skincare formulation wiz Holy Snails designed specifically to slake my thirst for herbal extracts without being too rich and heavy for my skin, as are most Hanbang products.  It's a featherweight first essence, so it's the perfect texture for a mist, and it also ensures I can apply it when I'm half-awake without spilling it everywhere.  I've repurchased quite a few bottles of it and had yet to actually decant it as planned--  I just didn't have any nice mist bottles to decant it into, and I set out to fix that.

The success of this order has only encouraged me to get up to more shopping mischief.
If you're not familiar with it, AliExpress is a wholesale site where suppliers offer goods in bulk, which means that unless you have a bunch of friends who are interested in taking a few extra red mist bottles off your hands, you're going to be stuck paying for, well, products in bulk.  Perfect for group buys, bad for individual needs.  I spotted these bottles in a lot of 100 (hahahahahahaNOPE) from one supplier, and then in a lot of 10 in a different colour from another vendor.  I messaged the second vendor in the hopes that they also had the red colour, and they promptly replied within a day that yes, they did, and to order the current listing and then note the colour that I wanted.  Success!


Sulwhasoo: Perfecting Brightening #11 & Evenfair Perfecting #11 cushions, & sample service galore

When I heard that Sulwhasoo was expanding their shade range to 7 shades (compared the usual 2 from most brands) I immediately set out to get my hands on the new #11 shade, as the #13 and #17 still left me with a neck and chest noticeably lighter than my face.  I quite like Sulwhasoo's cushions, both the Evenfair Perfecting and Perfecting Brightening lines, and they both are available in #11-#33.  You can read my review here: Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion #13 Review & Swatches

I already have a beautiful Sulwhasoo peony case, so I only needed the refills rather than a full cushion, but they eluded my search efforts.  Amy came to my rescue and found them both.  Considering that I only purchased two refills, the amount of gift with purchase goodies I received is pure madness:
I will never pass up an excuse to snap photos of this case.
Not only did I get deluxe samples, I also got a travel-size Sulwhasoo Cleansing Foam Ex, and 4 additional deluxe sample vials which I didn't photograph as I had ran out of patience for the careful rearranging of things on my porch under the misgiving stares of my neighbours.

I'm currently using the Perfecting Brightening #11, and although it's named "Pale Pink", it's definitely more yellow-toned than pink-toned, so if you're very cool-toned, I'd give this one a pass.  Since my undertone leans yellow (and possibly olive, according to some? Undertones are confusing) I'm pleased that it's not pink despite the name.  It's still not a perfect match, but it's better than the others I've tried; I'll be posting swatches when I do a full review and possibly a comparison between the two.

Phew, so glad that I've finally gotten this done; between the lack of good light and my computer dying, this haul post was long overdue.

Have you tried any of these products?  Hit me up on Facebook or Twitter and let me know!

Have something you'd like to share with me in general? Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram at @snowwhiteandtheasianpear because I'd love to see it!

All the best,
-Cat

**Disclaimer: Although I've included no affiliate links in this post, this blog contains both affiliate and non-affiliate links in general, and clicking the former before you shop means that this blog may receive a small commission to assist in this blog supporting itself.  Please see my Contact Info & Disclaimer policy for more information.

16 comments

  1. Wow! I rarely use KBeauty products so this was really cool to read about. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  2. Those are some hardcore freebies! Man, I love Asian-beauty customer service. I get a catalogue from DHC every month and it always has at least two samples, it's the best. <3

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  3. I'm dying about the amount of samples for each order T_T. Already did an order to a friend of a friend of mine who's in Korea, so I'll have to wait to order again. The JSM products, specially the correcting palette, looks good.
    regards!

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    1. Right? There were SO many samples! And the Jung Saem Mool gifts with purchase were insane!

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  4. I was wondering how much cheaper it was to get the make pre:m cleansing water from abroad. Glow Recipe has a 2 for 1 deal right now, so I'm looking for a baseline!

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    1. Between $10-$16 USD, but that of course doesn't factor in shipping costs. I hope that helps!

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  5. Here is a link to a website that ties back to Xai Cosmetics, http://www.xai.co.kr/index.html. Enjoy! ;-)

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  6. About how much did you pay for the JSM color correcting palette? I need something like this and it looks really nice. How is the texture? Did it help your dark circles? I bought a yellow concealer stick from Physicians Formula, but since my circles are purple I feel like yellow might not always do it. I also have some acne scars I'm battling with tret scrip from Curology so the green might be helpful to cover some of that too.

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  7. I'm dying to hear about the textures/pigmentation of the Jung Saem Mool cosmetics. I'm totally addicted to her videos -- the level of detail she puts into skincare really inspired me to up my game, and I'm dying to try out the Lip Shadow. I bought a NYX black lipstick "topper) to mix with reds to make burgundy (as she shows in a few of her videos), but it smells like old stock (like a bad crayon), so I'm thinking I'd rather just go ahead and get the one I want, rather than trying to mix in regular black lipsticks. I think Pony Effect just came out with a black lipstick intended to be used as a mixer, so that may be an option if the JSM lipsticks don't measure up. p.s. your sister in mugwort love p.p.s. I apologize in advance if the term "mugwort love" brought to mind a certain icky Captain & Tennille song. now I have that going through my head. yikes!

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  8. Thanks for sharing! Which service did you use to use to order the JSM products? Dyinnggg to get my hands on them too.

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  9. Hi Cat,

    I've been trying to find any reviews on Make P:rem Cleansing foam, which was apparently very hard. Have you tried it? How about the pH? Is it a low-pH cleanser? I hope it is since I have been trying to find a good low-pH cleanser. Tried the Blosso, Jeju and Cosrx one and my skin didn't like it :(. Thanks again

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  10. Wow! That's a lot of JSM products! I did their makeover in Seoul and got the primer and foundation, which I love but will def check out their lipstick based on your recommendation :) http://hapinesswherever.com/2016/06/jung-saem-mool-essential-skin-nuder-cc-spf-50-pa/

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  11. Oh no!! Boyah Shop closed down?? I was about to make my first buying service purchase, rather than trying to hunt items down in a hundred places. That's too bad :-(

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    1. She's not doing the buying service anymore, but she did open a shop with a few others called Kultfinds. But sadly, I think Avecko is the only buying service left I'd be willing to use. :(

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