1/22/13

Well, at least I tried

After minutes used up, my tears and blood and sweats (sounds gross but it is!)
I'm uploading my makeup video on youtube! 



Products Used:

Eyes
Revlon Custom Eyes Eyeshadow Palette in 010 Sweet Innocence
Kiss Me Smooth Liquid Eyeliner in Black
Elle Girl Soft Touch Brow Pencil in 01
Elle Girl Deep Eyes Mascara Volume Curling
PAC Make Up Pencil in Black
Nature Republic Lash Curler

Face
Aloha V-Line Slim Maker in #1
Nature Republic Shine Blossom Rose Blusher in #1 Baby Rose

Lips
Kiehl's Lip Balm
Aritaum World Glam Lip Gloss in #4 New York


HOWTO: Makeup shopping in Korea!

If you guys have read my blog posts before, you might have the idea that I do like Korean Products. In fact for me, korean make ups are easier to get in hand since I did live in Korean for average 9~10 months in a year. In my opinion, Korean Makeup do have a lot of variation, plus if you search throughly a lot of them are dupe for high end products and really economic!

But I do know a lot of you might not as easy as me getting your hand on Korean makeup brands. If someday in the future you get to go to Korea, and you really want to shops some makeups, here I am going to list you some tips and hoping these posts helps you in every kind of way.

First, I'm going to categorize the brands depend on the way you could get them, while you in Korea!

1. Individual Stores Brand



These brands might be the easiest one you could spot on, and they are almost EVERYWHERE in Korea. Individual stores means the brand had their on shop, whether it's a block in mall, street shops, or a huge-ass building as their store. And most of brands you knew or I bought the most is actually from these shops.

Reasons are: they're the cheapest, most known, had the biggest variety of products. Brand categorized here are : Etude House, The Faceshop, Skinfood, Nature Republic, Missha, Tony Moly, Innisfree, VDL, Lioele, It's Skin, Aritaum, Banila Co., Holika Holika, Baviphat, Apieu, Too Cool for School etc

Usually, weird enough, they're built next to each other. Which for me means : tiring and had to deal with staffs each time I went in to another shop, again and again. But actually every Korean product have their own stores, like somewhere across the country. Might not in the crowder places, but they existed. The brands I mentioned before are stores that mostly everywhere and easier to spot on, If you're in Seoul. Some brands like Banila Co. etc still not everywhere in Busan. (If you're in Busan, check out Seomyon Lotte Mall and Nampodong Lotte Mall for Banila Co. Store!)

Of course, stores like this if built to each other gives you more variety and ability to look at everything at once. Also, even though the price were affordable, it gives off fancier feeling for having an Individual stores. PLUS the way the attract Hallyu Wave customer.... they usually put on a famous idol to endorse their product and even for their souvenir and services.

Tips on buying in these stores :
  • Go to big streets like Myeong Dong, because almost every brands have their shops there. I know Myeong Dong is very crowded and blah and big and blah but I still like shopping in Myeong Dong because you could finish everything you need in one day! Then in the other, you don't need to worry about your make up shopping because you could done it once and for all! 
  • Again, big streets shops staffs are used to receive foreign costumer. So usually they have at least a staff that speaks English/Chinese/Japanese. If you're looking for a specific products or want to learn more informations but you can't speak Korean these staffs would totally helps you. But sometimes they're really aggressive so if you're weak hearted like me you could end up buying TONS of products lol.
  • Prepare your feet! Going from stores to stores means you need more strength to go store to store and if you are buying a lot, your shopping experience could go over to your sport and diet experience. If your hotel is nearby and you're going to buy a whole bunch, I recommend to take 2 trips back and forth to Myeong Dong because you wouldn't want to overtire yourself during your trip. 

2. Drugstore Brand



Meanwhile in Korea, where 'drugstore brand' does not means 'drugstore brand'. A lot of people in the internet usually called cheaper kind of brand with 'drugstore brand', even though you could buy them anywhere outside of drug stores. Brands like NYX, Maybelline, Revlon, L'oreal, Rimmel, NYC, ELF, etc which are ridiculously cheap in USA are the brands usually called by 'drugstore products' 

Now different with the actual definition of 'Drugstore brand', brands you could get in hand in Korea's drugstore might be much less in variation and higher in price. They do have brands like Maybelline, L'oreal, NYX, etc but the one that stands out is, Japanese Brands. Yes, Japanese brands are almost everywhere next to western and some Korean products. Not high end Japanese stuff like Shu Uemura, SK II, or stuff like that. The more price-friendly stuff I talk here.

Brand that I recognized in these Drugstores are Maybelline, L'oreal, NYX, Elle Girl, Art Deco, Dr. Jart +, Bed Head, Burts Bee, Kiss Me, Canmake, IPKN NY, DHC, Neutrogena, Majollica Majorca, and much more skin / hair care line such as syoss and hadalabo (which both are whooping expensive!), Korea products such as Skin 79, Clio, VOV, Peripera, Cathy Cat etc. Of course the imported brands doesn't have product as much, for example Maybelline, it took them months until they actually released their new mascara. And compare to Indonesia, have a whooping super expensive prices + less products. 

Japanese brands are also expensive. I was super super shocked to found that Hadalabo foam cleanser that I really liked cost like 10 times more expensive than in Indonesian!!! :o shocked!!!! Syoss products too!

Watch out rugstores in Korea such as Olive Young or Watsons sells more cosmetics, perfumes (& snacks) and toiletries than medicines. Go to 약국 (Yag gug) for more medicine variations! Don't be fooled!


3. High End Brand

taken from visitkorea website

I don't have to talk long about these because it's pratically similar la in any country. You might think Korean wouldn't consider foreign brand because the huge variation of brands on their own, but nope you are wrong. If we have to think like the locals, those 'individual stores brands' are equivalent to drugstores products. High end is still considered the upper quality products.

Amazingly you can get almost every high end brand in Korea, though I haven't see Urban Decay stands around. You can get these brands in department store such as Shinsegye or Lotte or Hyundai Dept store, Sephora is not yet established in Korea. I honestly think high end products priced more in Korea, but thinking about the shipping costs and stuff, still it seems to be a little more. It's debatable though because some of my friends did found high-end / branded stuffs, not only makeup, is cheaper in Korea comparing to other Asian country.



I assumed if you're going to Korea you'll not going to look for high-end makeup brands, unless you're already planned to buy some specific brands not yet available in your country / you want to buy in store, I say go on and look for the brands because high end products in Korea received so much love and attention they are always in update!

Korean brands on the high-end line : Hera, Sulhwasoo, The History of Whoo, and more and more other stuffs

4. Other brands (online brands)


The other brands suchs as Hanskin etc (I've discovered some other, but I'm not sure whether it's a Korean brand or not, so I just leave it only Hanskin as its the only brand I had experience before (note : I found in a Chinese blog that stated Olive Young did sell Hanskin, but I don't remember seeing those), basically other brands I don't mention up above, might be in this category. They may not as big and popular as the individual store brands, but definitely have their own fans.

Their price range might not as cheap as the individual store brands, it ranges from middle priced to high-end and even more. Then why others? Because I never found the brand's stores but I knew the brand is definitely exist. Either they were sold in dermatologists or on their own online store, or on other stores, just as a small display shop. Which in my case, I found Hanskin online and in a clothes shop in Hongdae. Not as a individual store, and even if they have one it's not as big and gaudy as brands I mentioned before.

You reached the end of this blog post! Even though I blogged about these, doesn't mean I'm pro or something in this field. It just based on my experience living in Korea for these past months. So! I hope you found this blog post useful, if you have any plans to Korea soon I hope you have a enjoyable trip and memorable travel experience!




<3

1/20/13

Mouse Rabbit!




You all K-popers Super Junior's ELFs must be familiar with the title I present you with.
It's a cafe that Super Junior's Yesung built, together with his brother. Or so that I've heard.

It's located in Seoul, near Konkuk Univ. station and out of Super Junior's cafe I've heard about this one might be easiest to find, and the tastiest!



The cafe itself it's quite big. It located on the hook of a cross roads. Not on the main road, but I swear to you it's big and white and it spots itself!
First Impression : Pretty! The cafe is really pretty, you can see the exterior is somewhat a mix of modern and victorian taste. Considering it's not a franchise but a self managed store, the design is good!



Mouse Rabbit coffee have 3 stories, first is for ordering and I forgot but I don't think you could sit near the order bar but the patio is for smoking area and I hate that because the patio is really pretty! Non-smoker could sit on the second and under ground floor. 



We decided to sit in the basement area. Different from the other stories, the under ground is more to a warm homey feeling with an electronic fire place and little artificial sakura tree garden in the middle. Wew saying all of these terms (electronic, artificial) does not describes the cafe as a decent place, but believe me it was! The basement is no-shoes area, so remember to put your shoes in the locker! 

Me and my friends actually come there with a mission to accomplish, to deliver love-filled-package from Yesung's fancafe! We deliver those safely to his mom, which she were really really nice!! I was trying to take commemoration pictures but she politely refuses. After seeing the presents she responded that the stuffs were Yesung's favorite things and said thankyou. 





We ordered Vanilla Latte (for me, duh), two hot teas. I completely forgot what's what. We also ordered a 'Honey Ball' which actually was Yesung's mom recommendation. Think of it as a variation of honey toast bread.

Let me raved about something about celebrity-made-business. Food business started by a celebrity is either overprice, famous only because of the celebrity's name not because of the food in other word tasted horrible, and the place itself is not really good. 

BUT this Mouse Rabbit broke all of that! It's not only delicious, the place was really nice and the price is not in anyway over!! nor overly promoting self





Why Mouse Rabbit?

I know right??? I don't know why but after I heard the name it's just something I heard a lot. Then it got me, it's Yesung's and his brother Chinese zodiac, which is also my parent's! Yesung is born in 1984 and his brother is in 1987 thus together it's Mouse and Rabbit! :D Mystery solved! 


I also heard from my friend that Yesung is currently into interior designing and stuffs that's one of his reason building a cafe on his own. The fan also helps with the interior (totally). They send in some traditional or their country interior stuff to him. That's actually explain all the gendangs in the basement



How to get there?

Easy beasy! Get in to the subway and go to Konkuk Univ. Station (건대역) in Line 2. Exit through exit number 2. Go straight away until you see Samsung Mobile store, it should take you around 5-6 minutes walk. Just go straight until you see Samsung Mobile and turn left into a small road before the Samsung store. After a few steps you should see the white building. 

Definitely one of prettiest and cutest cafe around and even without package to deliver, I'll be glad to be there again! 




<3

1/8/13

Hello Kitty Cafe!

It's been 2 weeks from my arrival in Indonesia. And a friggin' week after New Year, and I must say none of my New Year resolutions are accomplished. Yay for procrastination? Honestly though, I kinda hate myself now...

After 2 weeks cursing on my broken HD (I'm just kidding, please go back to me my love) all my plan on watching all these drama I've downloaded and kept literally will only be a dream. Meh. You could say it's also procrastinating if I only watch drama and did nothing. But BAM I'm watching it without a friggin' subtitle It's also learning I suppose.

But once again It's all a dream now.... unless my HD decided to come back alive anytime soon.

Anywho, today I'm gonna blog about cafes!! Which I think I haven't been blogged about for ages!! Re-thinking about my blog name which I actually first dedicated to my coffee addiction. Now It's just make up and 'kalap'-an all over #bigsigh

Anywho 2
The cafe I'm going to talk about now is HELLO KITTY CAFE! Oh yeah. You Jelly huh?
If you're a evid fan of Chessie or Xiaxue You'll recognize that they are sponsored to go visit Taiwan's Hello Kitty cafe, by Hello Kitty airplane and stuffs like that. I followed them on Instagram and how they raged about how disgustingly bad tasted the foods are. They're cute though!




Luckily this Korean Hello Kitty cafe is so far delicious!! Not only shaped really really cute until you rather freeze it over and use it a statue or something than eating it, they actually tasted great!

Actually this was my second visit to the cafe, and the big difference they made is of course Christmas Decorations!! I was going to combine everything (my first and second visit) But my HD drive shuts down before I could move all my pictures....... TT_TT

Cutest sticker ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello Kitty & Dear Daniel 

 a Christmas Special cake or someting.. 'Snow falls on Hello Kitty's House'

Don't be fooled by the pictures. They'll served you with paper cups.  



I must say they have a lot of beverages and food choices even Hello Kitty merchandises. But the prices......... for a cup of coffee, in a paper cup.....ckck I wish they served the coffee in a proper mug. I suspected a lot of people stole away their mugs and spoons and other stuffs they stopped using those instead. But really, bringing up the coffee (you have to pick up your coffee in the first floor) in a paper cup it's just too much. It will always spill around

I believe people are only coming here because they are just want to try and see the cafe. As I said before the prices might be more expensive, but it's worth the price. If only they cleaned up more.. The place is rather filthy, my first visit was worse than my second.






Nao I present you all the #foodporn #foodgasm pictures!!

So cute ornot!!! Hello Kitty Rare Cheese Sponge Cake with a holly berry! You have to make sure you come around Christmas or not it will just the kitty

The whole order. Seriously though I fell bad to those who got the ribbons. wth 

Hereby I present you this picture titled 'Kitty Mutilation'. It happened so fast........

I got the Kitty Lady profile! This one is the prettiest <3 

Things that should not forgotten, pictures!

Remember how I said a lot of Korean cafe have post its / scribble all over their wall? In Hello Kitty, you definitely no scribbling allowed but! you can scribble on their white stones. The old ones are kept in cute hello kitty jar 




This Hello Kitty ins located in Hongdae street. I can't tell you exactly where is it because if it's in Seoul I'm also a foreign tourist you know. It's kinda tricky because it located not on the main streets and Hongdae is kinda big soooo... But I'm sure a lot of people could tell you if you ask for direction!







Closing up with pictures of signs celebrities that have been there, There's T-ara and Dalshabet for ya!
After this I'm either gonna post about makeup shopping (again) or Suju Yesung's MouseRabbit Cafe!



<3

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