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A S T R O P H O R I A

A S T R O P H O R I A: May 2013

This page has moved to a new address.

A S T R O P H O R I A

A S T R O P H O R I A: May 2013

Sunday 26 May 2013

Online shops that sell Japanese & Korean cosmetics

{ U P D A T E S }

January 5th, 2015 - Added some stores
October 12th, 2014 - Edited some information
July 3rd, 2014 - Added a few ebay sellers
July 4th, 2014 - Separated Korean cosmetic/skincare ebay stores from other online retailers

Here's a list of Asian cosmetic & skincare (primarily Japanese and Korean) sellers that I've compiled over time. I have not ordered from most of these places, but other people (bloggers, youtubers, forum posters, etc.) have used them before, so they can vouch for the legitimacy of these websites.

☆ T H I N G S   T O   N O T E 

Some sellers mark-up the prices of their products to accommodate for free shipping.
+ Prices vary from store to store, some are much more inflated than others (even with the free shipping).
+ Most sellers will include samples with your order :D.
+ Free shipping means economy mail, which does not come with tracking. Tracking & EMS are generally extra ($2.50 for tracking, some stores offer it for free if you buy more than a certain amount). Sasa will always include tracking with your order.
+ The places that have just 'free shipping' listed, ship for free worldwide.
+ I've only listed shipping to US & Canada for some places because that's the deal they have, other international destinations are charged based on weight/location.
+ Sellers (not ebay sellers) will ship based on weight/location if you do not make the requirement for free shipping.
+ Make sure you purchase items through an e-bay seller's store on ebay.com (not .ca, or whatever), if you want to purchase multiple items from them. Only the American ebay website has the cart option. Use the 'add to cart' button, rather than committing with the 'buy it now' button on a product listing. You can edit your cart as much as you want before paying, but you cannot cancel if you commit. 

☆ K O R E A N   C O S M E T I C S / S K I N C A R E ☆

( = popular choice)
E B A Y   S E L L E R S
f2plus1 / beautynetkorea (free shipping)
rubyruby76 (free shipping)
cosmeticmarket2012 / eopenmarket (free shipping on ebay / shipping based on weight on their website) 
iamlove-shop / jolse  (free shipping) 
cosmetic love (ebay store) / cosmetic love (free shipping)  
sing-sing-girl (free shipping)
rinishop (free shipping)
zinopark ($3 shipping worldwide... I think, you can combine your order)
bellogirl (free shipping)
etude house (free shipping, it's their ebay store)
makozzang (free shipping - carries more uncommon/high-end brands)

O N L I N E   S T O R E S
w2beauty (free shipping)
g-market (shipping is based on weight/location)
prettyandcute (free shipping on orders > $50 to the US, and > $100 to Canada)
keautystore (free economy shipping > $60, free standard shipping (with tracking) > $90, free EMS > $120)
twofacemall (free shipping)
testerkorea (shipping is based on weight/location) 
wishtrend (free shipping on orders > $70) - a lot of bloggers are affiliated with this one
kpoptown (shipping is based on weight/location)
ibuybeauti (shipping based on weight)
momomango (free shipping for purchases > $75 (US & Canada))
roseroseshop (shipping is based on weight/location)
kollectionk (shipping is based on weight/location)
koreadepart (shipping is based on weight/location)
yesstyle (free express shipping > $150)
cnccanada (free shipping > $120 to Canada, free shipping > $180 to the US)
missha US (free shipping > $40)
lioele US (free shipping > $50)
skin79 NA (free shipping > $79, Canada & US)
peach and lily (free shipping > $50, US only)
honestskin (shipping based on amount of items)
memebox (shipping based on items/weight, ships worldwide)
beautemart (free shipping > $59, Canada only)
beauteque (free shipping > $35, US only)
shopatkorea (shipping based on weight/destination)

☆ J A PA N E S E   C O S M E T I C S / S K I N C A R E 

ichibankao (free shipping) 
alphabeautystore (shipping price varies, free shipping > $199) 
yoicho29 (shipping is $2.40)
strawberrynet (free shipping)
ShopJBP (free shipping > ~$200, mid to high-end brands)
japan gifts & cosmetics/sonomama (free shipping)
gooddealer (shipping based on weight)

☆ A   L I T T L E   B I T   O F   E V E R Y T H I N G 

sasa (free shipping > $75, sometimes you can upgrade to EMS for $8) 
imomoko (free shipping to the US for orders > $99, free shipping to Canada for orders > $199, shipping under that & elsewhere is expensive)
cosme-de (free shipping)
eyecandys (free shipping)
urbanoutfitters (free shipping > $50)

That's all the shops I've seen mentioned, or found while searching for them on google. 

If anyone has other recommendations, please feel free to comment and I'll add it to the list ^u^! 

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Friday 24 May 2013

Haul ★ Korean cosmetics & Brandy Melville

WARNING: PICTURE INTENSIVE.

I keep forgetting to update, even though I have drafts posts = u=;;.

A few weeks ago, I ordered a bunch of Korean cosmetics from e-bay, and they have finally arrived! I find e-bay the cheapest method of obtaining Korean cosmetic/skincare products, although some people might deem it shadier than an actual website. I purchased the Mizon all-in-one snail repair cream from bestbuy77, and the rest of the items from f2plus1.


Both of those e-bay stores offer free shipping without tracking. They offer tracking for a small fee, as well as EMS. Like other sellers, they also include free samples with your order :3.


Top 4 from the left are from Bestbuy77, and the rest are from f2plus1.

I will be posting reviews of some of the items over time, since I don't want to make this post overly picture intensive.

Etude House Sweet Recipe Cupcake All Over Colour (lip balm + blush) in PK002 Strawberry Chiffon Cake & OR202 Peach Sugar Cake.


They smell so good ; u;
Etude House Sweet Recipe Baby Choux Base SPF25/PA++ in #3 Peach Choux & #1 Mint Choux. The packaging is pretty legit since the container isn't light, and doesn't feel like cheap plastic.

The Peach one smells like peach, but the mint one kind of smells like sunscreen in my opinion o_o.

Etude House Juicy Cocktail Gradation Nails in #1 Screw Driver. The purple one is really pretty, but it was sold out :<.

It's Skin Babyface Blusher in #4 Sweet Peach & #3 Romantic Rose. Isn't the face so adorable? ; A;

Even the puff is cute~

It's Skin Macaron Lip Balm in #1 Strawberry. I'll probably go back for the apple one too.

The Face Shop Aura CC Cream SPF30, PA++.

It comes with a sponge applicator that I won't use. The CC cream comes out from a small hole (that is covered by the applicator), when you push the plastic button-looking thing.

The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Design My Eyebrow in #1 Gray Brown.

It comes with a spoolie (is that how you spell it?) too.

Lioele L'Cret Magic Lip Stick SPF14 in #2 Elegant Purple, #3 Lush Green, #5 Fresh Orange.

Tony Moly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream SPF30, PA++. Bought this one in case I don't like The Face Shop one.

Mizon All-in-One Snail Repair Cream. I've read tons of reviews on this product that praised it as if it was a godsend made of unicorn blood or something magical like that. So I decided to get over the snail part, and try it out e ue;;. I bought the bigger one because it's a better price than the smaller one.

The thing I love most about Japanese and Korean cosmetics is that their packaging is so adorable. Like seriously, I'm a total sucker for cute packaging.

Lastly, I bought some clothes from Brandy Melville (tank top, cardigan, dress).

That's how I coordinated the outfit. 

That's it for my haul :D. I'll probably buy more stuff from e-bay next month to spoil myself for my birthday LOL, since I never hold parties and whatnot. 

I'll probably make a post on Japanese & Korean cosmetic/skincare sellers in the near future for my own records, and possibly your interests if you want to know where to buy something, and not get totally ripped off by marked up prices 8D.

Please let me know in the comments if you want a review of something in particular!


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Tuesday 7 May 2013

Review ★ Koji, Shiseido, and Shu Uemura eyelash curlers

I didn't really start curling my lashes and wearing mascara until late last year, because curling my lashes always seemed kind of painful u__u, since the curlers I've used tended to pinch me. Lash curlers virtually look the same, however some curlers have a slight difference in curvature to cater to different eye shapes. Anyways, here's some thoughts on the curlers I've used~

The difference in curvature is pretty small, but you can slightly tell the difference between them all. 

1) Shiseido eyelash curler (★★★★) $12.60
I bought this from Sasa (link) while it was on sale (regular $15). It is quite popular, and well-received ^^. It has an flatter curvature than the other two curlers. I would recommend it for people with 'flatter' eyes (ie. close set or monolid) to avoid pinching. It curls all my lashes in one go, without crimping them. It's around $20 at department stores/make-up counters, as well as Shoppers Drug Mart. However, that one is metallic grey, so I'm not sure if there's a difference between the two. You can buy a replacement pad for $8.


2) Shu Uemura eyelash curler (★★★✩) $24
This is definitely one of the most popular, cult-favourite curlers out there. It does the job, and it curls wells. However, I can't say I'm a fan because it tends to pinch my eyelid. It doesn't curl the lashes on the outer part of my eye properly, so I have to use it multiple times to curl my lashes evenly. The curve is flat until it reaches the edges. Also, if you run out of pads for it, you'll have to re-purchase the curler (or put a different brand's pad into it). This curler has the widest handle, so it's more comfortable to use.

3) Koji eyelash curler (no. 73, 34mm) (★★★★) $5.10
This one definitely gives the biggest bang for your buck. This one is also from Sasa (link). I rated it better than the Shu Uemura because of the price LOL, since it's only a fraction of the price; but it still works well. If it was $12+, I would probably give it the same rating. It has many reviews that rate it favourably, as do the rest of the curlers under this brand. They come in different widths, for smaller eyes to wider eyes (some of them have different handles too). The rubber pad is thicker than most curlers, which supposedly results in a nicer curl. It takes a couple tries to curl my lashes though, but the results are still good. The handle is tear drop shaped, and may not be comfortable to use if you have bigger hands.

The Shiseido and Shu Uemura ones are the most popular ones out there, but they are also a splurge. All three of the curlers come with one extra pad. On the more affordable end, there's also drugstore eyelash curlers by brands such as Revlon, Quo, or Cover Girl. Although the quality may/may not be as good. The ones on Sasa are by far the cheapest, and they even have pocket eyelash curlers. I think Sephora might have a pocket curler too.

So readers, which curler (if any) do you use ^ u ^?

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