Fact: getting packages in the mail makes my entire day better, even if it is a weekday and I’ve been half awake at my office desk for hours. It’s always been better when it’s a kbeauty delivery – which is exactly what happened a few days ago! Here’s a haul of a package I was sent from online store My Korean Makeup. They are a Norway based business, meaning that their website is superbly navigable for a foreign audience (like you and I) but have employees shipping from South Korea, meaning that they also get new, fresh stock at great prices.
The default currency is set to NOK, but I will usually change it to USD as that is the currency that Paypal uses. This is one of my favourite functions of the website, as I often get confused trying to convert prices from KRW; the only thing that could make this better would be having AUD as an option but since we are still a fairly small market, I’m not too surprised.
The overall selection at the store is a little limited, but they carry most of the popular brands and products so would still be suitable! I’m also told that they are restocking (and bringing in new stock) pretty much weekly, so I’m keeping my hand on the refresh button. For those who are new to kbeauty, they also have curated box sets (note: not a subscription box) to get you started.
Aside from free international shipping to all countries (except South Korea), My Korean Makeup also have a great return policy – full refunds are available within 30 days and, if the fault is theirs, they will also pay the shipping cost. They’re very responsive to email and actually have a contact sheet online too, so there’s no need to go digging for email addresses.
All in all, their website was super easy to navigate with a very secure check out system, so I would definitely recommend checking them out!
Now, let’s get a kick right into the haul! The total here cost around USD$50 and also had free shipping. These products were sent to me for free for review purposes but, as everyone knows, I am always 100% honest about my thoughts and I’m pretty excited to try everything out! Let’s go!
TONYMOLY – BCDation Plus (01 Vanilla Beige) | Buy it here
According to the product description, this product combines BB Cream, CC Cream and Foundation, with ” light and natural covering (BB cream), moist and comfortable application (CC cream) and excellent covering for blemishes and trouble spot (foundation).” Honestly though, the reason I wanted to try this was because one of my favourite youtubers ever – SSINNIM – used this in her one brand make up tutorial and liked it. I took a long time tossing up between the bottle or the cushion compact but decided to go with the bottle for two very simple reasons:
- There is more product
- I have 157 cushions when I actually prefer using bottle formulas
Okay, perhaps the section point is an exaggeration but the general concept is that I actually like using liquid formula bottles where I can blend it in myself with a beauty blender. I’m pretty excited to try this out because Tonymoly is actually the first ever kbeauty brand I used, because it was the only one I had access to when I was fifteen or so, but it’s been a long time since I used something from them.
First impressions – I like the bottle. It has a sleek, contemporary design and is made of a sturdy glass bottle. The colour seems to be a good match for me though I’m going to need to do more testing before writing an actual review. I think I’m going to do a video review or use this in a tutorial as well so people can get a good sense of it!
HOLIKA HOLIKA – Heartful Moisture Lipstick | Buy it here
These! These! I just couldn’t say no to them because they’re so ridiculously pretty. I can’t say that I’ve used many Holika Holika products before; I find their customer service in Seoul rather appalling so I tend to avoid going into their stores. Online though, I have bought their Magic Pole mascara and fallen in utter love with it so I thought I should give their brand a few more chances… just very far away from the pushy sales people though.
This one is a super pretty heart shaped lipstick that is meant to be super high pigmented and also very moisturising on the lips. At the very least, they already make for a great photo and Instagram would love them. I’ll have to properly try them out for a couple of days to see how they wear though because I’m not sure whether this unique bullet shape would actually make the product harder to apply (I can imagine always getting the perfect cupid’s bow though!)
I got these in a bright red/pink colour (which is often my go to), as well as a lighter and slighter more neutral tone.
MISSHA – Magic Cushion Moisture | Buy it here
This one I definitely picked out on a whim, but it’s a super affordable cushion that I think will be great for people who are just looking for something simple. Before spending time in Korea (and being exposed to a bazillion other brands), Missha was another brand that I used and followed almost religiously. Their line is actually a lot more expensive in Australia where I’m used to paying upwards of AUD$50 for a bottle of BB cream, so I’ve always considered them pretty classy.
Either way, I’ve used quite a few Missha BB Creams and they have always given me a very flawless finish and a comfortably dewy finish, so I’m really looking forward to trying this. I know that their brand has been falling behind as of late, but I do have a nostalgic connection to Missha too and I want to keep seeing them bring forth really great product (though maybe not at the Australia price range).
Spoiler alert: First impressions were really great and this fits perfectly on to of the Clio Kill Cover concealer.
TOSOWOONG – Heating Gel Pore Brush | Buy it here
This one I was the most excited about and, as soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to try it out. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t seem to find any other reviews about this online so I guess I can be the first! Tosowoong is a brand that I’ve heard of but don’t know much about, so I’m keen to see what my first impressions on them is going to be. The pore brush/dispenser is a pretty unique concept, in my opinion, and I don’t remember coming across anything similar yet. I’m very interested in why this is called a heating gel though because it doesn’t seem like the dispenser is electric (and isn’t meant to be warmed up like wax).
Either way, clogged pores and blackheads are one of my main issues and I’ve tried a lot of products in the past to fix them up. Some of them have worked like a charm and, if I weren’t so keen on trying everything, I could probably keep using them and have better skin. However, I’m still on my pore-venture (I can’t believe I just made that joke) and I’m really hoping that this Tosowoong product works! I’ll be giving this a good one or two weeks of regular use before giving my verdict.
Speaking of verdict though, here’s mine of My Korean Makeup and their wonderful service! I hope you enjoyed today’s haul and are looking forward to my review of all these products. If you saw something you liked (or want to check out their website to make use of that free shipping) check out my comments below and click the banner to go to their store. They are a wonderful business and I hope to collaborate with them again soon!
PRICING + SHIPPING
They have free international shipping to all countries (aside from Korea)! Although their prices are a little bit higher to reflect that (naturally), this means that they’re the perfect service for people who just want to buy a couple of products to try out and not a massive haul. Their free shipping takes a few weeks, which is normal for standard shipping, but you also have the option of paying for express shipping. Their express shipping rates are pretty fair, so I think that’s good too for those who are in a rush (or buying last minute presents).
COMMUNICATION
Since their business is based in Norway, I was a little concerned about a possible language barrier (though how many of us international kbeauty fans have worked our way through those!) However, the person that I communicated with – Jan-Terje – was totally fluent in English and there was no difficulty at all.
Personal communication is quick and clear. Their website policies (such as return and refunds) is also written very clearly and prominently, so I will give them extra props for that too! I think that they run their business in a very professional manner, making it comfortable and reassuring to communicate with them.
WEBSITE LAYOUT
I actually really love the design of their website. It is clean and clear, very user friendly and doesn’t seem to have any bugs. The check out system (which I went through) is reminiscent of amazon and ebay, so it’s super secure to use. After you purchase your order, you also get a confirmation email with everything listed properly (product names, prices and totals, though all in NOK, not your chosen currency). Overall, it’s a wonderfully easy to navigate website and I had no difficulty at all!
I want to really thank My Korean Makeup for collaborating with me. I really love to see people outside of Asia embracing the kbeauty industry and I love that their business brings these amazing products out to a wider, international audience. I’m looking forward to them bringing in more products/brands, building even more of a customer base (as their deserve) and growing as a business too!
If you’re interested in checking out more from My Korean Makeup, just click on the below link to go to their store:
