From Beginner to Expert Mode: Where I Buy K-Beauty & Asian Cosmetics

One of the most common requests I receive (blog comments, Instagram, Facebook, email, you name it) is where I buy my beauty products.  I do have several guides which I will link in this post, but it seems that a lot of people just want a straightforward list of shops that they can start with.  So, that's what we're going to do today!

Image from: A Haul Before the Storm: Eye candy, Details, First Impressions, & some Mini Reviews

I will be loosely categorizing the shops, but please keep in mind that anyone can buy from anywhere for any reason, these are just how I'd quantify the different shops that I have purchased from, or have plans to purchase from, or would happily recommend to someone looking for something they carry.

In this post:

• Domestic Retailers

Good for: Beginners, Lazy and/or efficient people, Instant gratification seekers, People concerned about counterfeits, Patrons of small business owners

• Domestic e-Markets

Good for: Small haulers, Pinpoint purchases, Deal-seekers with finite patience, People who are annoyed by shifting shipping costs.

• International Retailers

Good for: Deal-seekers, Moderate yolo-ists, People who don't know Korean, Large haulers, Comparison shoppers, Devotees of spreadsheets & min/maxing items vs shipping costs

• Buying Services & Korean Sites

Good for: Advanced users, Thrill-seekers, Hardcore yolo-ists, Spreadsheet nerds, Self-aware K-Beauty hipsters, People who know Korean, Masters of Google Translate,  Deal-seekers with infinite patience

All of the sites listed are places which I have either purchased, or would happily purchase from based off feedback from people I trust.

Weekday Randomness: 11st Mini Haul ft. Books, Sheetmasks, & Massive Savings

Earlier this week I posted one of the items that I had recently gotten from 11st onto my Instagram; I don't normally post hauls on my blog these days (I prefer to post about philosophies on mindful purchasing, rather than, y'know, stuff) but since the coupon I had used was so dang good, I was down for a mini-post about it if people were interested.   They were, because 11st can be very very tempting.

Listening to the final cut of tonight's @thesnailcast podcast episode 🎧 while indulging in some #adultcoloringbook stress relief. I love this Korean trend, even if it's not a #kbeauty trend. I'm considering doing a mini post on the small haul I just received from @11st.official, of which this is a part, if people are interested? 🐌🐌Also the topic of this week's podcast, along with direct-from-KR buying sites, buying services, and resources on how to use all of the above🐌🐌 11st is one of the sites we discuss, and also where I got this; @fanserviced PSA'd a great 20,000 krw off EMS shipping with a 50,000 krw purchase ($40 USD) that works for existing users so I took advantage and picked up a few unusual things. If you'd like to see a quick post about it, please shoot me a comment below! #koreanfolkart #11st #11street #haul #hanbang #sheetmasks #koreanskincare #kbeauty #koreanbeauty #coloringbook #watercolorpencils #thesnailcast #snailunit #🐌🐌🐌🐌 #rasianbeauty

A photo posted by Snow White and the Asian Pear (@snowwhiteandtheasianpear) on Feb 24, 2016 at 8:11pm PST

As it turns out, people were quite interested, so here's a quick (as in, I've only worked on it for a few hours) mini-post, as requested!

Fellow Snailcaster Tracy of Fanserviced-b posted the current 11st shipping coupon on her Instagram last week, and since the minimum purchase (around $41 USD) was so low, I snagged a few unusual items that I'd been eyeing for a while.  The coupon is for 20,000 krw off EMS shipping (expensive but fast) with minimum purchase of 50,000 krw, which is super low for 11st, so I hightailed it to their English site version to take advantage of this deal.

11st does have a bit of a learning curve to it, but it can be so worth it if you are willing to put in the effort to score good deals.  In fact, the most recent Snailcast episode is on this very topic, namely "Hardcore K-Beauty Shopping" including sites like 11st, and alternatives such as buying services; you can listen to the podcast here if you are interested in levelling up your shopping game, or just hear our take on it.

In this post:

• What I purchased
• How much I saved (it was a lot)
• How to use 11st & the coupon

There's going to be a lot of photos in this post, as well, it's a haul post.  It's all about the eyecandy ... and spreadsheets.  And sheetmasks.  And Hanbang.  Well, at least I'm consistent?

Review: Illi Total Aging Care Body Lotion, I Kinda Hate You But It's Not Your Fault

I've been putting off this review for ... months.  I actually purchased this product in the fall, yet we're heading into the final months of winter and I've yet to review it.  I knew when I purchased it that it was probably a bad idea, but I persisted anyway because this was going to be my First Real Winter In Eight Years, and I had to be prepared. #enablinglogic

I kept procrastinating, hoping as the weather worsened, I'd suddenly find myself in love with a product I didn't really like.  Worse, it's not even a problem with this specific lotion, which is actually quite nice, nice enough that I've managed to use it once or twice a month since I got it.

I was so pleased when I managed to find the empty box, as I'd stashed it somewhere 'safe'.

No, the problem is not with this specific lotion, the problem is that it's a lotion.  A body lotion.  I hate body lotions.  I actually hate lotions in general- hand, foot, or body lotions.  I'm actually sort of twitching a little just writing that sentence.  Why do I have an aversion to slathering cold, slimy, oily, thick, greasy lotion all over my skin? Ah, wait, that might be it.

In this post:

• Product details
• Ingredients list
• What I like about it
• What I don't like about it

I admit that the primary motivator of doing this review now, aside from the fact that it's good to have a mix of positive and negative reviews, is once I've reviewed this I can finally destash it to a friend who loves this stuff and goes through it quickly.

I know, intellectually, that it's a good product for body lotion fans- I even suggested it as a full-size hanbang option in my post Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide II: Full Sized & Wallet Friendly because I knew other people love it.  But I've come to the conclusion that it just doesn't suit me, so it's time for me to review this and send it off to its new home.

K-Beauty & Portion Control: Why Sometimes Good Value Can Be a Bad Idea

I know, it sounds a bit crazy.  Good value is good value, right?  Who doesn't love value?  As it turns out, me-- at least some of the time.  This is an idea that has been floating around in my head for a few months, peeking out in posts here and there, and finally I decided I was going to push aside a lackluster review that was too boring to write and explore this idea in earnest.

Many tiny things; full-size sheet mask, cushion, toner, and lip balm for scale.

This is not a traditional or "authentic" Korean beauty concept (after all, I'm not Korean; I do believe that K-Beauty is accessible to everyone), it's just something that's been percolating around my head for a while, with roots in both Korean beauty and the international K-Beauty community.  The evolution of ideas that take root and then flourish into countless branches of inspiration and personal discovery is pretty fascinating, after all!

I've been really captivated by the concepts that have evolved naturally from the international K-Beauty community in the last year.  For better or ill, the international K-Beauty scene is as much of a force as the trends that are coming out of Korea itself, in no small part due to deliberate and official incentive from the Korean government for brands and shops to market only overseas instead of within Korea.  But back to the point, which is that the international K-Beauty community generates some very interesting ideas and concepts, as well as endless variations in approach and personal skincare philosophy.

I think it's important to give oneself room to evolve; ideas can stagnate and then become be perceived as the only "right" way to do something; skincare is so complex and there's just so many factors involved that there's no truism more apt than YMMV aka "your mileage my vary" and there's so much room for figuring out what works for your unique skin.

A lot of these concepts also work synergistically; for example, one can be a proponent of both the Skincare Wardrobe concept and also the Hauling Responsibly concept, by practicing mindfulness when making purchases.  The one I'm going to talk about today works well with both, even if it's going to sound a little crazy at first.

In this post:

• The seed: Go Hyun Jung's skincare tips
• Seasonal Skincare: not just capitalism at work
• Portion control: in your hauls and on your face
• Putting it together: Good value is not necessarily a good thing

So what's today's concept?  The idea that getting a great value on your purchases may not actually be a good idea, or sustainable.  I know, nuts, but hear me out.

Speak Your Truth: On Receipts, Podcasts, & How Lifting Up One Another Benefits Everyone

I'm not sure if today's post is going to be short or long, because I'm currently curled up in my chair covered in a blanket, with only my hands peeking out as I slowly type between sips of tea and fits of coughing.  I'm not even sure when this post will go up, because I have to take frequent nap breaks as my nurse friends yell at me that I need to be resting, not blogging, before I end up with pneumonia or in the hospital.

I usually push through being sick and continue blogging into the wee hours of the morning, but seeing as my husband has to escort me to and from the washroom because attempts to walk on my own have me weaving back and forth like I'm failing a sobriety test, even I have to admit that I'm pretty sick and probably shouldn't be straining myself.  Husband is nagging me while still bringing me a constant supply of tea and soup broth; I've been living off a diet of hot liquids, the occasional poached egg, and saltine crackers.  Actually, this is pretty much me over the weekend, just with a saltine instead of a carrot:

Gif made from video here: Dito Lobito on youtube

Thankfully, not only does my husband support me by being my tea-and-soup dealer, he also doesn't complain when he trips over yet another unpacked box of Korean cosmetics, nor does he ask me judgey questions about how much I spend on my hobby (i.e. blogging) because he knows I respect my budget, nor does he side-eye me when he stumbles out for a washroom trip at 4 am on a Sunday morning and I'm still up blogging.  OK, maybe he glares at me forgoing sleep yet again, but at least he doesn't say anything?

He also made an effort to help me place and take a photo of my 'sick day routine' because I can't really stand up, let alone lean over, right now.  So this photo is courtesy of Mr. Snow, given with full credits:

Photo credit: Mr. Snow, who also patiently endured me "steadying myself" by holding his butt while he bent over to arrange these on the table and then snapped the photo.  I'm sick, not dead.

Thank goodness for cleansing water and decanting things into mist bottles, because this is as close to a 'routine' as this flu-riddled version of myself is going to get this weekend.  Did you know that sheet masks can be a way to pleasantly cool a fevered face?  Just saying.

I'm also exhausted from unnecessary drama that has been popping up lately over the last few months, but hit particularly hard this weekend- terrible timing, but is there ever good timing for people to make wild blanket accusations about the ethics of bloggers?  I'm going with no, but seeing as I was already in a haze of dizziness and flu symptoms, I was out of the resources needed to calmly ignore it and keep on living right.  Instead, I just decided to throw out some #receipts on the table so that people could stop speculating and realize that they're actively sabotaging the people who are living right, driving away people who are in it for love, not for money.

It's times like these that make me question blogging, because when the currency in which you pay yourself for your time, effort, and personal $$, is not money but love, how do you keep going when you get a facefull of misplaced anger and hate?

There's so much negativity in the beauty blogging world; so much jealousy and suspicion and shade even from within the blogging community itself.  So how do you offset that?  In my experience, it's by reaching out to one's peers as a hand in the darkness, and looking for ways to lift one another up instead of tearing one another down.

I don't think this gets talked about nearly enough, so I'm going to talk about it today.

In this post:

• Blogging #receipts: what my blog pays me
• The Snailcast podcast, Episode 6: The Truth about Asian Beauty Blogs and $$$
• Countering the beauty blogging culture of jealousy, speculation, and suspicion
• An open letter of appreciation to my readers

There's probably going to be a lot of rambling in my post.  Oh wait, there's also this:

• What's in my "sick day" routine

Ok, grab a lysol wipe and let's do this.  I have a fresh mug of tea in which to dip gingersnap cookies, so I'm going to give it my best shot.