Korea Haul! 2014

Back from Korea (2 weeks ago lol)! Feeling really energized and recharged. I think I really needed a vacation. I actually fell sick a couple of days before the trip and I was so worried that I won't be able to make it.

Anyway, this is just a short haul post! I'll try to put in the prices if I can remember. Might give you an idea of what to look out for in Korea:)

First up, FOOD.

Top row: 

1. Ddeokbokki snack. Not very spicy, but quite yummy to munch on.

2. Black Shin Ramyun (approx 5500krw). Apparently its really difficult find it in Singapore and it's supposed to be super good. Have yet to try it though.

3. Two packets of Samyang Foods Buldalk Bokkeummyeon aka tear-inducing killer spicy dry noodles (approx 5000krw).  Probably the spiciest dry noodles I've ever had in my life. *heard you can find this at West mall! Yay! Don't need to beg friends to buy back from Korea.

Middle row:

1. Jeju chocolates (3 for 10000krw). It's everywhere in Jeju and I love chocolate orange.

2. Starbucks coffee bean chocolate. For my mum cos it's so hard to find chocolate coated coffee bean in Singapore.

3. Cookies & Cream Peperro (960krw)

4. Random packet of normal Shin Ramyun

5. Lindt Chocolate. There was a huge discount at one of the shopping mall! The whole box costs 10000KRW only!

Bottom row:

1. Sour Ice Breakers. I love this thing. Regret not buying more:(

2. Grape gummie. 

3. Lotte Choco Pie. Recommended by quite alot of people. It's choco pie with marshmallow inside.

First row: 
1. Etude House Lip Lacquer for Pris (6300krw after 30% discount!)
2. Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack for Joa (12000krw)
3. Hera UV Mist Cushion in C23 (45000krw). The colour range is so ridiculous! They only have 2 colours-C21 & C23. C23 is supposed to be the darker shade and it's still too light for me!
4. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate (67000krw). This thing is a miracle worker. I'll talk more about this in a review after I finish blogging about the trip!
5. Random nail polishes from The Face Shop and Etude House.
Second row:
1. Etude house Cute Eyes Maker 
2. The Face Shop Brow Pencil
3. The Face Shop Concealor
4. Rose gold and silver kitty necklace! I can't remember the exact price, but I think it's around 5000krw each! Definitely one of my favourite purchases!

Love them so much, I decided to give them a close up shot.

Forgot to add in my 3CE Lip Lacquer in xx orange. Gorgeous colour, but I'm not too fond of the formula! A little overhyped and overpriced in my opinion. 

Products together with all the samples!

You can't go to Korea without buying a ton of things from Laneige. About half the things here are for friends! 

From left to right: 

1. BB Cushion refill (19000krw) for Pris

2. White Plus Renew Emulsion (33000krw) for CYL

3. 2 sets of Original Essence White Plus Renew (50krw). 1 for CYL and 1 for myself. I didn't plan to buy this, but I heard it's Laneige's best selling item in Korea, and they had a promo set which includes a travel size of the essence and the refiner at the same price!

4. Water Sleeping Pack_EX (25000krw). Yes, both for myself. I tried the sample before and I really liked it!

5. Serum Intense Lipstick in Solar Orange and Melting Me Orange (25000krw). Can't get enough of the orange lips trend. I highly recommend the serum intense lipstick (will do a review soon)! They are super moisturizing and highly pigmented. 

With the samples! 2 travel size water sleeping pack and 2 trial kits, which i will distribute accordingly.

Lastly, I also bought some stationary and polaroid photo frame thingy from Artbox!

1. Pretty pens (1000krw each). Found out that Taobao is selling similar pens at like ridiculously low price. Oh well...bought it to give away to friends/colleagues so its okay!

2. Mint notebook

3. Polaroid photo frame set

Now here's what I've learnt during my 2 weeks in Korea.
For beauty products:
1. Skip Lotte Duty Free. The beauty stores in Korea offer tax rebates (for purchases above 35000krw I think), so if you you can hit that amount, which is like 42sgd, you're better off buying the products at the normal stores where the BAs are more likely to give you alot more samples, and you don't have to squeeze with the crowd at Lotte Duty Free. You can claim the rebates at the airport when you're leaving Korea.
2. The cheaper brands like TFS, Missha and Etude House hold sales quite frequently. If you don't need an item urgently, it may be worth it to wait a few days to see if they will be holding any sales.
For food:
1. Lotte Mart at Seoul Station. Enough said.

I think I did pretty okay! Didn't go too crazy with the shopping. I'll try to do up my travelogue soon!

Japan Haul + Cheap Shopping places

Japan is an expensive city to live in. However, you could still get some affordable/bargain products if you know where to look! I'm not trying to 'show off' here. I just thought since I love kay-pohing and looking at what other people bought on their holidays, might as well share with people some items I got!

I only have 2 criteria in mind when I shop overseas:

1. Cheaper than the prices in Singapore

2. Something unique to the country and not easily accessible in Singapore

Prior to the trip, I will research and make a list of 'Items to buy' so I know what to look out for.

1. Skin Care

I bought a basket full of skin care products. My daily skin care routine consists of mainly Japanese products. These products are typically priced at the higher end at drugstores like Watsons/Guardian. So of course I had to stock up when I was in Japan! Most of the things were bought at Don Quijote, which is a massive discount chain store with everything you'll ever need.

Shisedo Perfect Whip Cleaner-Bought it because it was on sale for less than 4sgd.

Hada Labo-I use the entire Hada Labo range. That is cleaner, toner, moisturizers and sunscreen. Also picked up the moisturizing mist to try out. The prices in Japan was around 50% cheaper than Singapore, half-price!!! I didn't go crazy and buy 2-3 duplicates. Just bought 1 each due to baggage limits. According to experience, I usually go through the entire range within 6 months (day and night usage), so although it seems like a lot of stuff, it's actually quite alright since i do use them daily.

Schick Shaver-It was on sale (and it was limited edition) and it had My Melody on it. 

Cure-Another staple in my bathroom. Use it 1-2 times per week for exfoliation. You can buy it at Watsons at 49sgd, or you can buy it at Japan for like half the price.

Mythic Oil-I have one at home, and it's one of the best hair serum I've used. Bought it at Don Quijote at a bargain price.

Embryolisse lait creme concentre-I've heard many good things about it. Again, cheaper than the price in Singapore, so I bought it to try. 

Lychee eye drops-I have to admit, it was a lame purchase. LOL. Have yet to try it out.

Lush-Been wanting to try out Lush's products, but they are simply too expensive in Singapore. The Lush products in Japan are SO MUCH cheaper. And they have the Jap words on their containers! I forgot to take photo of the Ocean Salt, so I photoshopped it in. The other 2 are the Dream Cream and Big Shampoo.

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil-One of my favorite make-up removers. Bought it at duty-free for like half the price Singapore's selling.

2. Make-Up

A smaller basket of products. Since they are all Japanese products, the prices are again, 40-60% cheaper than in Singapore

Heroine Make Mascara and Remover-I don't use mascaras because I'm always paranoid that they will kill my lashes. But since 2 of my best friends told me to get it for them, I thought it must be really good. I picked one up for myself.. you know, just in case I ever need an extra boost for my lashes. 

Shiseido eye lash curler-Was on sale. 

Canmake-Been wanting to try out their blushes for ages, but I put them on hold because I knew I was going to Japan. Bought their top and base coats to try too.

Dolly Wink Eyeliners-HOLY GRAIL eyeliners. It's quite expensive in Singapore and it's always OOS at Watsons. The only eyeliner that doesn't migrate under my eyes and stay on the entire day. Nuff said.

Brushes-Super soft brushes! 

Kate eyebrow/contour powder-Heard people raving about it for the longest time. And it was on sale at Harajuku. BUY!

3. Food

When I took this picture, I was worried that I might have gone a little crazy shopping for food. But it's only been a week since I came home, and I think we've cleared quite a decent amount. 

Bought some miscellaneous food items, and of course the MUST BUYS like Green tea, Tokyo banana, Kit Kats, Mochi, Hokkaido Bai Se Lian Ren, Royce Chocolate and Calbee Chips.

4. Random bargain finds!
The little things that made me feel super satisfied. By bargain, I mean really LOWWW prices (except for the instax heh).

1. Accessories holders- 2-tiered basket, bird cage and box. All 4sgd each!!! Freaking cheap. Found it at a shop called 3 Coins at Odaiba. They have outlets elsewhere in Tokyo as well.

2. and 3. are bought separately, but from the same vintage-themed shop called Salut! at Osaka. They have outlets all over Japan I think. Most of the things in the shop are less than/equal to 12sgd. If I live in Japan, I'll buy all their stuff to decorate my house.

4. This purchase was triggered by WM! She told me to help her get some instax films from Japan, and I got curious. So i did some research on the different cameras and prices in Singapore. As expected, it was cheaper in Japan (it was around $100-$110SGD cannot really remember the exact cost), so i bought it. 

Must go shopping places:

Don Quijote- For everything~ Skin care, make up, food, socks, random items, you name it!

Salut!-For affordable vintage themed furniture and household items, mostly less than 12sgd.

3 Coins-For cheap cheap household items at 315yen (about 4sgd). 

Tokyu hands-Electronics and interesting knick knacks.

If you're into Japanese drugstore makeup and skin care products, chances are, you can find it at 40%-60% cheaper in Japan. Prices of make-up and skin care items are pretty much fixed, so unless the store is having some sale going on, I find that there is no point comparing prices before buying.
I personally find that prices for departmental store brands like Shiseido and RMK are quite similar to Singapore. If fact, there was this foundation from Shiseido that was more expensive in Japan than in Singapore!

There are some bits and pieces that are too random to include in this post. But I took pictures of my loots every night, so they will appear when I blog about my Japan travels. Will update more about where to visit, where to shop and where to eat in Japan in subsequent posts! Good things must share!

3 Coins - http://www.3coins.jp/

Salut! - http://www.salut-web.jp/