Busan Korea

Back to work today and i really miss the autumn weather in Korea.

Imagine clear blue sky accompanied with a nice breeze and the air was very fresh especially at the mountains in the day.

The haze condition in SG is getting worst. It was bad before i left and even after 2 weeks , it got even worse. My nose itches and i kept on coughing whenever im outdoors.

This post is going to be lengthy one with my personal thoughts , 2 good news to share and also continued updates on my Korea trip.

A couple of my friends who have been following my blog and instagram asked me why haven’t i been updating my social media platforms as often and why have i not even started snapchat ?

To be honest , i really enjoyed my trip this time without considering so much about taking pictures just to update on my social media accounts. I don’t want to keep thinking about what pictures or visuals to update on my instagram page or other social media platforms. I don’t want to spend time arranging the food nicely on the table for visual purposes. I just snap a simple pic and enjoy eating the food while it is hot and nice. I want my blog to stay true where i jot down all my daily life and memories. I can be abit blunt sometimes but they were straight from my heart and mind..

I want to keep the pictures for memories and document my travels , food i ate , places i have been to and share genuine reviews and tips with people. Sometimes , i even flip back my past posts to refer to when i need to and read my old posts with my bf. Because i forgot how to get to that place or what brand , what address or how it looks like after awhile.

Now that i am turning 30 next year , i just want my life to be simple. Enjoy time with my love ones , document and share my travel experiences , beauty and make-up journeys. I enjoying sharing and exchanging tips and feedbacks with readers too. Just simple and sweet. It is also time for me to settle down.

I know i have some regular and long time readers of my blog who have read about the ups and downs that happened in my life. And i am also glad to have their support. It was really touching to receive their emails with words of encouragement during my down times. During my down times , i was in no mood or in any good condition to reply anyone even though i read their messages because i wish to be alone. But i do felt touched by their words even though i didn’t express it out. And also i made friends with my readers and even customers. Like i said , it is time for me to settle down , so i have 2 good news to share with you especially with people who were there for me and always encouraging me.

First good news is….

Oppa and i are already planning for our wedding in Sept 2016. We are looking for photo studios to shoot our pre-wedding photos in Seoul or Busan and also to look for wedding venue in Busan. Whereas in SG , we are looking for a venue for the ROM ( + event styling and catering ). The main wedding will be in Busan. Planning to do pre-wedding shoot in Spring 2016. It will be nice because of the cherry blossoms.

I will be tailoring my own hanbok for the wedding on my next Korea trip. I am thinking of pastel tones ( Ivory top with Peach/Pink bottom skirting).

It will be a Korean + SG wedding. The ROM in SG will be a small affair. We ever thought of holding it on a yacht with a few of our close knit relatives actually because he was a ship navigation 2nd officer, has license to operate a ship vessel and he loves the sea. We were also considering holding it at a nice cafe or somewhere with a touch of nature because i love gardens and flowers and the budget is more affordable.

Here is one of my shortlisted venue in Busan. Something garden-ish.

For 2 years , this man has never made me worried and he really takes good care of me. He supports me in whatever i do and he understands my fear and bad experiences with trust in relationships so he always assures me. He feels and thinks that it is the responsibility of the man to take care of his woman and his family.

After going through ups and downs in my life and in relationships , i know what i want in a marriage. I only hope for a happy and simple marriage life. Just need someone to be there for me and to be there for me for life and our family. It has been my dream marriage since young which is to have a happy family with my kids and a dog.

I will document down my planning process and hopefully to share and exchange tips with fellow readers who are in SG-KOR relationships or weddings. If you ever held a SG-KOR wedding , please drop me an email at peonykissblog@gmail.com.

Thank you !

Life and work have been exciting and challenging for me these few months. If you were wondering what am I studying for and what industry did I venture into ,

Well, Here comes the 2nd good news !

I am embarking in the Financial Planning career.

I have always been interested in the Finance industry since graduating from SIM with majors in Banking and Finance.

For 3 years, I worked for a Private Bank and I am happy to be back into the finance industry once again. To be back, it is something that I have always wanted to do. And this time, I will be at the front line happy at crossing lives and getting in touch with people at the same time.

So from now instead of just blogging about my make-up and skincare reviews and Korea travels , i will share some of my financial planning work experiences and financial matters too.

If you have any questions or need any suggestions or opinions regarding financial matters , beauty and skincare , you can email at peonykissblog@gmail.com

So what about AE ? I guess this will be what most people will be curious about. It is still running by my family as usual. There were a lot of shifting and moving to a new office for the past 2 months but you can expect a new collection this coming Sunday ( previews are up on facebook page ).

I celebrated Chu Seok ( Korea Thanksgiving Day ) on 27th Sept with Oppa and his family. And that was when i met some of his extended family members. I spent the day in the kitchen helping his mother with the food and to serve the guests. It was a tiring day because the cooking and preparing started as early as 5am. All ended after lunch time and all of us knocked out till evening.

Because Oppa’s dad passed away more than 10 years ago , his relatives will come over to pay respect to his father on Thanksgiving Day. It is the day where Koreans pay respect to their ancestors and family members who passed away. Only the men will be paying respect and the women in the kitchen. Men must be dressed formally in suits , pants and shirts. Managed to snap a pic secretly while preparing to serve lunch.

After the lunch , i helped his mother to clear up before i KOed.

Next day , Jinjae oppa took leave and drove us to a small own near Ulsan for the famous and popular beef BBQ. It is an hour drive from Busan. I just realized that the best food are located at the countryside. Cheap and good.

Supposedly to go to Gyeongju this Sept but Oppa has to renew his driving license because he has not driven for 10 years. So he has to attend a 2 day course and take the driving test again. So we shall bring the Gyeongju trip to next year.

Busan itself is so big. Went there 2 times and stayed there for 1 month in total but i have not been to every corner of Busan or even the outskirts of Busan.

It was a fun car ride chit chatting with each other and Ommoni is happy to have her 2 sons by her side and traveling with her. The BBQ place was so popular that we have to wait for 30 minutes. You can wait at the shelter near the pond.

Saw GDragon and other celebs wearing the Seoul Olympic 1988 cap before. So when i saw it while shopping at a fashion concept shop , i have to get it ! It is the last piece too. He also wore one in the latest Big Bang US world tours concert held few days ago.

I looked at what caps the celebs wear whenever i watch Running Man , Infinity Challenge , Returns of superman or any other variety shows because their caps are all so nice. The HALYANG cap which Kang Gary from Running Man is often seen in is a hot item too. Can see many places selling it when i was shopping in Busan.

Look who joined us that day ? The youngest in the family , Bomi !

We have to hide her in the bag when seated in the restaurant. But she managed to sneak out after smelling the BBQ beef.

While waiting , we went to buy the Hae Bbang ( custard bread ) which is quite a popular snack in this town.

My bf and his bro.

They are my 2 big pillars and bodyguards.

Jinjae oppa is such a good cook ! The pastas and food he cooked are so great.

First time trying Samjang soup and it tasted so nice ! I want to learn to cook this !

After our hearty meal , we drove to this big field which was just 5 minutes away from our lunch place. Popular hangout with the locals. Weather was perfect , grass were green and clean and you can see many families having picnic and chilling out on the field. Ulju is a town in the city of Ulsan located at the easternmost of South Korea.

The first place to see the first sunrise of the year in Ulsan (below)

2nd largest mailbox in the world and you can post your postcards and receive them a year later.

I don’t know is it the angle or my flat hair…why i looks so bah bah here ?

Back to Busan after our trip to Ulju in Ulsan.

We went to cafe street which is just opposite our house. This cafe street is Busan’s version of Dempsey hill + Holland Village + Haji Lane. Alot of concept cafes here and the prices are affordable and cheap.

You can find many interesting cafes with unique decors and concepts.

Fans of lobster rolls can enjoy lobster rolls at only KRW 15,000 with fries. Wanted to try this but it was full house. Saw the rolls from the window and they looked so delicious with generous servings of thick juicy lobsters.

We settled for pizzas.

This big pizza is only KRW 15,000. So huge and we struggle to finish it. Bread and side dishes are free flow. You can toast your own bread at the “SELF” corner. “SELF” in Korea means self-service.

After our pizzas , it is time for dessert. Saw a promotion and this strawberry ice cream bingsu cost only KRW 3,900.

So yummy with generous servings for strawberries and raspberries.

After which , we went for our favourite bubble tea – Bubble Pong.

It is located across the road from NC Shopping mall’s Lotteria.

My favourite bubble tea place and i have it almost everyday.

Served in a cute little bottle which you can bring home if you order the large size.

That’s how we ended our day 10 !

Just started using some of the new skincare products i bought from Korea. Loving it and shall review it soon.

Busan : My Family in Korea

Apr23

Spring in Busan.

Fortunately when i got well , weather turns slightly warmer and cherry blossoms were everywhere .
We went on a family trip to Jinhae which is an hour drive away. Jinjae oppa ( my bf’s brother ) took day off so that he can bring me there to see cherry blossoms. So kind of him and he is a really cool guy. He is tall , with a stable job at the top life insurance company in Korea , has a bachelor pad and is a really nice guy. Lol..any single ladies out there ?

Jinhae is an hour drive away from Busan. It is famous for its cherry blossoms at Romance Bridge and the railway station. I am really lucky to see full bloom cherry blossoms on that day because after that day , it rained EVERYDAY till the day i departed from Gimhae airport.

Of cos , you can see cherry blossoms in Busan too. The cherry blossoms lined up along the streets and the best place to see them in Busan is at Namcheon-dong. There is this particular street that looks really nice with the cherry blossoms.

Ok , back to Jinhae.

Jinhae is a small town so you can just spend few hours there. We spent like 3 hours there before we went for lunch and back to Busan.

Jinhae is very crowded during Cherry Blossom Festival in Spring . People and tourist flocked here to see the cherry blossoms , have picnic under the trees and take a stroll along the river canal.

There are both white and pinkish cherry blossoms. All so nice ! And just next to this place is a HUGE mountain.

The backdrop looks damn nice.

After spending 3 hours taking a stroll and pictures of the pretty cherry blossoms , Jinjae oppa drove us to a restaurant located near the base of a mountain and along the coast for the nicest and freshest live eel bbq !

At night , we drove up to Mount Hwangnyeong. It is the best place to see sunset in Busan. But we were at the premium outlets in the evening and can only go here at night. It was very cold.

Not only do you get to see beautiful Busan’s sunset here but you can get to see 360 degrees view of the entire Busan. It is located near Namcheon station so you can put your cherry blossoms sight seeing and sunset viewing on the same afternoon.
How to get here ?

Take MRT to Namcheon station (exit 4) and then take bus number 38 to Hwangnyeong mountain or you can cab there.

City night view of Busan .

Gwangan bridge is brightly lighted.

Jinjae oppa with his fleece blanket because he forgot to bring his coat.

We were all cold and hungry. It was 10pm and we went to the famous “Hae Mae Ddokbokki” at Namcheon for dinner. This place is famous for its noodle soup and Ddokbokki. It is cheap and nice. The soup is free flow too. It is a humble street stall located at a back alley.

All of us were dead tired and too tired and zonked out once we arrived home in Seomyeon !

Busan : My Family in Korea

Apr19

I fell very sick the night after i came back from Nampo-dong. I was resting at home and Oppa went to the bank to settle his accounts. I slept through the entire day till Jinjae oppa came back from work and drove us to Oppa’s mother’s motel in Gimhae because it was her birthday.

It was terrible. I was vomiting and having non-stop clear water diarrhea. Felt really terrible. My stomach was grumbling and growling sooooo loudly. I think it was stomach flu. I felt very sorry because it was Oppa’s mother’s birthday and instead joining them to celebrate , having Korean BBQ and cut the birthday cake , i have to sleep and rest in the room. Felt really bad because i vomited right infront of her..but luckily , i found a plastic bag and not messing up her motel floor.

The motel housekeeper helped to set up the heating pad on the bed for me , made our room and i just fell asleep after that.

Oppa sent me a picture of the yummy cake 😦 But i can’t eat it.

So the next day , Oppa’s mum drove me to the hospital just next door. Because i was too weak to walk , she drove there even though the hospital was just on the next street which is 2 mins walk away.

Put on IV dripped , consulted the door who spoke a little bit of English and collected my medication. The price was only KRW 68,000 . I thought i have to pay like hundreds of dollars and i was checking whether i can claim from my insurance. I was really surprised. No wonder Oppa would rather go back to Korea for medical check ups etc because he maybe able to claim from his insurance company and it is also cheaper even if it is non-claimable. I paid SGD 90 at my local GP just opposite my house when i had fever or SGD 60 for a normal flu.

I don’t know why but suddenly after i came back from Korea , i felt like everything in SG is so expensive.

And it really is.

So for 5 days , i was bedridden , vomiting and having diarrhea the whole day and was too weak to even walk. I can’t eat anything. Whatever i ate just came out. I ate nothing but still i have so much vomit and diarrhea to excrete out. And what’s worst was that it was all clear water. So dehydrated that i only peed once a day.

But thanks to Oppa and his mother , i got well pretty fast . She prepared honey drink and porridge for me. I wanted to cook myself but she insisted i should rest and she reminded me daily to not to eat oily food via kakaotalk messages.

On the 3rd day after i fell sick , i managed to drag my feet to Haeundae beach with Oppa to meet his friend for lunch at his restaurant and a walk to Dongbaekseom (Dongbaek Island) .

How to get to Haeundae Beach ?

Take the MRT line and stop at Haeundae station. The beach front is just 5 minutes walk away.

Oppa’s friend’s restaurant specializes in Duae-Ji-Kuk-Bab (Pork soup with rice ) .

I had no mood for the food and just drank the soup. It is really nice. You can find alot of such restaurants selling Pork Soup with rice in Busan. It is just like our Bak Kut Teh but just that there is no peppery taste.

After that , we went to starbucks for hot coffee. I wasn’t feeling well and the weather was cold and rainy so i didn’t want to walk along the beach. Too windy. Thereafter , we walked to Dongbaek Island ( Dongbaekseom ) .

Dongbaekseom Island is a very small island with many Dongbaek trees. At the top of the island, there is a statue and a monument of a scholar and writer during the Silla Dynasty. It is an island linked to the mainland Busan . So you can walk from Haeundae beach. If you are going to Haeundae Beach , you can put Dongbaek Island together on the same day. It is at the right side of Haeundae beach ( you will see The Westin Chosun Hotel ) and further up , there is a bridge/road that links to Dongbaek Island. If weather was good , you can see Oryukdo Island ( “Or” means 5 , “Yuk” means 6 , “Do” means island ). The reason for its name is because depending on the tide and condition of the day , sometimes it looks like 5 island and sometimes looks like 6 islands. It is a rock island that was made purely out of stones. You need to take a ferry tour around the islands from Haeundae.

I didn’t manage to take pictures at Dongbaek Island because it was raining and windy and i wasn’t feeling well. So i totally have no mood to take picture and just want to go somewhere warm. We took at cab later to Centum City Shinsaegae. The world’s largest shopping mall. It was sooo huge ! Don’t even have the mood to shop because i kept going to the toilet to vomit.

We ended the day early and went back to Seomyeon to rest.

Next day , Oppa’s brother cooked yummy spaghetti for our breakfast before we head to Sajik baseball stadium. Before that , we went to the nearest Lotte Mart to buy beer , coke , water , pizza and fried chicken. My condition was 60% and the smell of any oily food makes me nausea and feel like want to vomit very badly.

By then i already lost alot of weight lol. My arms were like stick. I was 51.5 kg before and after fell sick , my weight dropped to 47kg. Wearing the old Lotte jersey and ready to cheer for the team at Sajik Stadium. Sajik stadium is home ground for Lotte Giants which represents the Busan team. You have to buy the ticket inorder to watch a baseball match. You can buy and book your seats online or at the stadium main entrance.

Full house. First game of Spring. Baseball matches were stopped in Winter and only resume in Spring to Autumn.

Chants of Lotte Giants cheer everywhere. I posted a video on my instagram.

My 3 bodyguards who took care of me when i was sick. My bf , his brother and Soobin his best friend.

After the baseball game , we went to Haeundae beach for dinner and met all of Oppa’s high school friend.

We had 2 rounds of dinner. BBQ live eels with soju and beer and 2nd round was Kimchi jiggae and other food. Whole thing ended at 3am and we were dead tired.

Soobin Oppa booked a sea view room at Novotel Haeundae Beach for me to show his appreciation and thanks when he came to SG last year. I accompanied him everyday to all tourist destinations in SG for 4 days. And we attended a baby shower. This is the first time i attended a Korean baby shower. Things were abit different compared to Singapore style baby shower.

After which , Soobin Oppa brought me to Busan Premium Outlet. But i wasn’t in the mood to shop because i wasn’t feeling good. So the next day , my bf’s bro brought us back to Lotte Premium Outlet in Gimhae to shop after i felt better and my condition was 90%. These 2 outlets are 2 different locations.

How to get to Busan Premium Outlet ?

1133 Jeonggwan-ro, Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan

Take MRT to Jangjeon station and then take bus No 1008. Bus ride takes about 1 hour.

Take bus No 37 from Busan Bus Terminal . Journey is about 1 hour.

Im not sure if there were any changes made in the bus route so it will be better for you to check and confirm at the MRT or bus terminal.

This place is REALLY ulu..like in the middle of nowhere suddenly pop up a HUGE premium outlet. Apparently the one in Busan is Asia’s largest outlet.

It is a shopping heaven for men because you can buy alot of sports related stuff at outlet price ! Nike , Adidas , New Balance , Reebok , Taylor Adidas etc etc. And if you are traveling to somewhere cold , you can buy North Face jackets at really cheap price at less than SGD 300. A North Face jacket usually cost more $500. For the ladies , you can shop at Roxy , Quiksilver , Michael Kors , Coach , Burberry and any other luxury brands or Lotte Mall for cosmetics and branded stuff like Burberry , Jill Stuart etc etc. The one at Busan has a Lotte Mall and Lotte Mart.

The Nike and New balance shoes are dirt cheap ! I was tempted to get them but i resisted the temptation. I got a pair of Nike sneakers ( white colour with magenta colour Nike ✓ logo ) for only $40. Oppa’s bro bought it for me. Don’t worry , sure have your size. Take your time to shop. Look at the number of boxes of stocks.

I got this pair of New Balance shoes below 1.5 years ago at KRW 99,000 and it is only KRW 39,000 at the outlet.

Sian.

Coach, Ermenegildo Zegna , Polo Ralph Lauren,,
Michael Kors, Burberry , DKNY , Salvatore Ferragamo and many more

There are alot of selections. Not only shoes , but you can find sports wear , equipments or whatever.

We went to the one at Busan and another one in Gimhae. The one in Gimhae is cheaper and has more selections for brands like Nike , Adidas , New balance and Reebook as compared to the one in Busan actually. The one at Gimhae is very near Oppa’s mother’s motel. No wonder she said she goes there often.

Tourist Tax Refunds are available and you have to tell the cashier you want tax refund. Then they will give you the envelope and tax refund slip.

I bought 2 pairs of Havaianas at Busan Premium Outlet’s Lotte Mall.

2 Pairs for only KRW 48,300 after 30% discount. It was cheap even before the discount. One pair in SG is already SGD 59.90 for one with design and the basic one is already $39.90. I got a hot pink basic one with thick straps for KRW 21,000 and $27,300 which is about SGD 60. A good time for me to buy because my dog bite and snapped my havis and im currently wearing a slippery $5 cotton-on slippers.

Samsonite luggages there are 30% cheaper too. A handcarry pull luggage is less than KRW 300,000 .

Guess who bought the most things ? Not me but Oppa’s brother.

It was night time . Look at the cherry blossoms glowing at night under the street lights.

Walking to Oppa’s car. The weather was really good and we had alot of fun probably because my condition was better after i stopped vomiting and having diarrhea.

We had a long day and were so tired. Totally knocked out after that.

Busan : Shop Eat Sleep

Apr5

So im back from my 2 weeks stay in Korea.

This trip was an important trip because im meeting my bf’s mother.

Lotsa things happened during this trip . The major one was that i fell sick and was hospitalized and on IV drip. I was bedridden for 5 days because i vomited and had diarrhea non-stop. Anything i ate were excreted or vomited out. I haven’t had anything and i don’t want i still can vomit and had diarrhea non stop. And the scary thing was that only clear water came out. Yes i vomited water and had clear watery diarrhea. Felt so dehydrated that i only go to the toilet to pee once a day. The feeling was terrible. And the weather was cold during the first week because it was the end of winter and that was when temperature suddenly dipped and got very windy. So i was feeling really bad and spend most of the time on the heated bed and resting. Because i couldn’t eat anything , i lost alot of weight . I couldn’t blog for 2 weeks because i was traveling and working at the same time. Holidays are meant to be relaxing but not for me because even though im away , i still have to allocate at least 6 hours for work and i usually do that at night or early in the morning from 6am to lunch time. Also when i was bedridden , i can only surf the net through my phone and update my instagram account.

Well , at least i got to eat fresh and live sashimi , street food and BBQ before i fell sick.

We have 2 home bases. One in Gimhae (oppa’s mother’s motel) which is located at the north west of the Busan MRT line and a studio apartment ( also known as officetel in Korea and it was oppa’s brother’s bachelor pad ) at Seomyeon which is located at the center of Busan. Jinjae oppa’s bachelor pad is just right in the middle of Seomyeon. It is very convenient because the shopping district is just right opposite his house where i can find my favourite brands like Aritaum , Etude house , The Face Shop , Innisfree etc etc and an underground shopping area which is swamped with make up and skin care brands , fashion shops etc etc. And also , Seomyeon has a medical street where the entire street was filled with plastic surgery clinics and hair salons. I just have to cross the traffic light to get to all these places.

We arrived on Sat night and sleep over at oppa’s mum’s motel. She allocated the biggest room for us with jacuzzi.

On the first Sunday morning , oppa’s brother Jinjae brought me to Yongwon fish market to buy fresh sashimi. It was very cheap and fresh. 3 live fish sashimi for only KRW 35,000. If you were to have this in SG’s Korean restaurant , you can expect to pay up to $400 but in Korea , it was just KRW 35,000 which is approx SGD 40. That’s 10 times difference. So if you are heading to Busan or any cities/towns at the southern part of South Korea, you really have to try their seafood especially the sashimi (lobsters , prawns , octopus etc etc). Instead of going to Jalgalchi , Jinjae oppa said the one at Yongwon is nicer. Yongwon is 20 mins drive away from Gimhae. The fishes were live and sliced live right in front of me. I felt very sad and guilty looking at the Ahjumma cutting away it’s head and slicing its body while it is still moving. 30 minutes ago , it was in the tank and next it was on our dining table. And i was carrying the live octopus in the plastic bag to bring back home to get it chopped and eat it.

Looks cruel but it was really yummy.

Sashimi was really fresh. Soooo fresh and chewy.

Live raw octopus. Soo yummy

So that was my first day in Korea. Sunday was spent having lunch with oppa’s mother and then we head to Seomyeon which is the central of Busan. And that was when my shopping for skincare and make up started.

I bought some new skincare products which i think is pretty good. I will blog about them one by one because im just starting to use them. I didn’t buy alot this time and only bought the ones i wanted and that are good. Also , many were asking about my Busan itinerary which i will blog about too and the place where i want to have my C curls done and where i had my eyelash permed and extensions done for only KRW 30,000 !

I shall start from the next post onwards. Because im going for work trip this coming week with a friend and i have alot of work to do after i came back from Busan as well as to prepare for my work trip. They are my priority right now before i start blogging about my Busan trip , the skincare and make up products i bought and where i had my hair and eyelashes done. Some of the new products i bought were from AHC , Iope , Leaders , Cel Derma masks , Hair steam masks , Hera and other aesthetic and clinic brands etc etc.

If you are going to Korea soon and want to ask me about some stuff , you can email at peonykissblog@gmail.com . Sorry , i know many of you are waiting for me to blog about my trip , products and services i went for in Korea so that you can also plan yours . But if it is urgent , you can email me first because i guess im gonna start blogging only after Monday night.

Oct23

There are many people i know heading to Korea to see the beautiful and colourful autumn maple leaves.

Well , decided to blog about a list of things you should buy if you are going to Korea.

Below was a picture of me and my other 3 girlfriends’ luggages when we went to Korea for the first time back in 2012.

We went with one and came back SG with additional luggages , boxes and more and more hand carry bags.

So how did we went with only 1 but came back with erm… so many ? Well , we spent more than sgd800 per pax at Laneige in Myeondong and they gave us a free luggage each ( The ones with polka dogs , mine is the pink one in the picture ). That was for my 1.5 years of supply of facial care and it came with generous supply of samples which in fact tempted me to get more of their newly launch products. Only you can buy 3 items in Korea and get alot of samples. Hera was more generous when i bought my first set of facial care. They gave me like 4 sheets of the white program masks and REALLY ALOT of samples. Not that i am a cheapo for the samples but these samples are convenient for my travels and it actually tempted me to get the full bottle of product instead and now i am a big fan. My friend’s sister used to send me new samples that last me 1 month and i love the results and ended up buying the full bottles and stock up on a year’s supply.

I don’t like how some counter ladies in SG were abit stingy with it when you ask for few more sachets and they look at you like as if you are some cheapo who want freebies. Maybe they have their reasons for doing so because there are really cheapos doing that but not all are so cheapo okay. There are genuine buyers like me.

It doesn’t make sense you see , your products claimed that with continuous use for 14 days , you will achieve radiant skin. But how can you expect your customers to see the results by giving one pathetic sachet ? Tell me how can you convince your customers the product is good with just one sad sachet and expect people to spend money on the full bottle ? To be reasonable , you should give samples that last at least for 3 days to be able to convince consumers how good your product is.

Ok back to the list of things you should buy in Korea !

1) Korean beauty make up

Nature Republic, The Face Shop, Etude House, Innisfree, Tony Moly, Holika Holika and Missha.

Reason why you should buy the make up products is because they are cheap and good. Korean ladies are very good with “natural make up look” so most of their products are not very pigment heavy. The colours are light and refreshing. They like to play around with lip colours so you can see a range of colours for the lipsticks.

Because they are cheap , you can buy many colours and have different looks. I usually shop off the city area because there are some outlets with 1+1 deal meaning buy 1 get 1 free ( usually for masks and lipsticks ) and some have up to 50% discount for make up products. I got my masks , make up and some accessories from the boutiques off city centre and i get to enjoy 30-50% discount or 1+1 deal. But this depends on your luck because sometimes they don’t have such promotions. Usually there are such deals at theend of each season . But the thing is that you don’t get to enjoy tax refund. But i think i saved more with those deals than the tax refund if im getting hell lot of them.

Can’t decide to get a lipstick in Pink , Coral or Red ?
Just get all 3. They will probably cost less than sgd20 for 3. If there is any 1+1 or discounts , you save more.

2) Amore Pacific Brands.

Beauty is important in Korea and girls there do take extra time and care to maintain their looks and skin.

Brands such as IOPE , Laneige , Sulwhasoo and Hera are under Amore Pacfiic. They do have a house brand too.

You can buy Laneige , Sulwhasoo and Hera at any Lotte Department store or Shinsaegae Department store in town. They are available at the airport as well.

Iope is available at Emart , Lotte mart and Aritaum.

If you a big fan of these brands , there are few reasons why you should buy in Korea ..

1) Cheaper than SG and there is tax refund.

2) Brands like IOPE and Hera are not available in SG.

3) Generous samples

4) These products works on my skin very well.

Below were my buys from Laneige back in 2012 when i was still using their products before switching to HERA. I was given a free luggage and hell lot of samples for purchase of SGD 800 and above. It filled up that entire luggage.

I bought home 1.5 years of supply of facial product.

I have since switched to HERA and because it is not available in SG and i have to really stock up .

3) Aritaum

You can find brands like IOPE , Laneige and Mamonde in Aritaum. I love Aritaum make up produts because they are cheap , nice colour and pretty good.

See the crayon lip tints and crayon eye shadows ? They were going at 1+1 for KRW 6,900. It is cheap and can’t decide which colour to buy ?
Just get all lah !

You can find whole range of IOPE products in Arituam. I have been to Korea 4 times but i have not seen any Iope boutique before.

Even blushers come in the form of cushions.

4) BB Cushions and CC creams

Korea is the mother of all BB and CC Creams.

And now the BB Cushion and CC cushion for easy application !

My favourite goes to Hera UV Mist Cushion and Hera CC cream. Iope is another popular choice among the locals.

They come in various shades which suits Asian skin tones. It costs about KRW 40,000-KRW45,000 and it comes with a refill pack.

5) Facial masks

Again not only being cheap is the reason but they have lots of selections for different skin types. It also work very well in hydrating the skin.

I bought like 300 over packs to last me 1.5 years. Instead of keeping them at room temperature , i kept them in the fridge so that the sheets remains moist and preserve the essence on the sheets.

My favourite brands are from Missha and Sulwhasoo. I bought 300 packets of Missha masks at 1+1 and each was KRW 1000-KRW3500 depending on the type of mask. The hydrogel ones are more than KRW3,000.

You can buy from the boutiques at Myengdong ( for tax refund ) or Supermarket such as Lotte mart and Emart. Usually the ones at Myeongdong does not have discount or 1+1 promotions. I realized it on one of my trips. I was helping friends to buy Missha masks and got some from the boutique at Myengdong and i swept up all the green tea stocks available at their boutique ( about few hundred pieces ) and i have to go to else where to get the remaining. So i went somewhere and i saw a Missha at subway underpass and saw that there was 1+1 promotion ( no tax refund ) . So you have to work on your maths to see which one is cheaper and you save more.

6) Seaweeds and snacks.

You can buy Korean snacks from Emart or Lotte Mart which can be found at departmental store. You can find your favourite and delicious and cheap Korean snacks there. I always buy a trolley full and bring it back to SG. They don’t give you plastic bags so bring your own HUGE bag or you can use the boxes found near the cashier to wrap up your shopping.

However , if you prefer a bag , you can pay for a paper bag. I dont recommend that if you have TOO many things because it breaks quite easily.

7) Kimchi and side dishes

Seriously , you can never get them so tasty in SG.

I never buy Kimchi in those aluminum packages and instead i bought those homemade ones because they are much tastier.
You can buy them from Emart or Lotte Mart. Be sure to wrap them up properly and suggest to send it back to SG in a box or else the Kimchi juice might leak and stained your clothes and the smell may linger on your clothes for a while.

8) Made in Korea apparels

Myeongdong , Dongdaemun , Namdaemun , Hongdae , Ehwa , Garusil Gil etc

Just to name afew , there are the popular places among tourists.

I skip on Dongdaemun and Namdaemun because some are china made and very platinum mall Bangkok like pieces. And are very overpriced. The ahjumma there are not very friendly. I deal with a supplier from Namdaemun before and they are really rude.

I only shop in 2 local boutiques at Myeong dong because they sell their own labels and design their own means there is quality control. And the apparels are priced tagged.

Try to bargain when you are buying. Some shops don’t indicate any price tags and i usually avoid those unless i really like the item and find the price reasonable. I was quoted KRW 32,000 for a skirt and a friend was quoted KRW 18,000. The salesman must have thought i am a tourist and don’t understand Korean and when my Korean friend asked for the price again , she was quoted cheaper ( almost half the price ). The salesman must have thought we were not friends . But i understand what the price he quoted to other person in Korean.

So for those shops that does not have any price tags on their apparels , do try to bargain.

9) Cute and little accessories such as stockings , socks and samsung mobile covers.

I get all my winter, spring and autumn stockings from there because they are very cheap and good. You can get a winter stockings/leggings with fleece for KRW5,000. That is why i can still wear skirt with the stockings in such cold weather.

They have tonnes of cute little stocks with ribbons and prints at KRW 1,000 each ! Some were going at KRW 800. Samsung mobile covers are cheaper there. I got one for my cousin from Korea for her Note 3 at like SGD 20 cheaper ?

I got my stockings and leggings from Ah jummas at the road side stalls. Or you can get from shops that sells those cute little socks and hair accessories.

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Happy shopping in Korea and worry about overweight luggage ?

One tip is to send all your shopping buys back via EMS Korea to SG.
It takes 3 working days. Meaning if you send it out on Monday , you will receive it on Wednesday.

I sent 500 pieces of Missha masks to my friend from Korea ( helped her to buy..you see im such a good friend haha , carrying 100 pieces each time x 4 trips is really not easy and super heavy ) and it costs about KRW 34,000. It is cheaper than paying for extra baggage weight.

And i buy my Hera skin care products from the airport duty free. There is one counter which carries the full range. Hera bottles are made of glass and very heavy. Definitely going to add weight onto your luggage. So i will buy at the airport and hand carry up to the plane instead to save on overweight baggage fees.

Well , have a good time and happy shopping !