Sunday 8 June 2014

Gmarket Haul #11 - Mostly Innisfree & some shopping tips

Hi all!

I'm back with another Gmarket Korea haul. The delivery this time was also really fast! I ordered on 17 May (Saturday). By Monday, most of the items have reached the Gmarket warehouse. It was shipped out on 21 May, flight on 22 May, and reached my doorstep on 23 May! 6 days (including weekend!) from order to doorstep is pretty impressive (as usual)! Then again, I only ordered from 3 sellers so I didn't have to wait for many different sellers to send out my parcels.

Some items were cancelled and so my order ended up being 2 fashion items and a bunch of Innisfree stuff. Yes, yes! I WILL use more of other korean beauty brands! It is just that Innisfree always happen to have some sale when I am considering making a Gmarket order. I told you Innisfree likes me back. #delusional

*gasps* No mandatory box photo this time.


Here are all the Innisfree items I ordered this time! I mainly bought items that aren't available in Innisfree Singapore yet, namely the Smart Foundation, Mineral Jelly Pact, the new shade #12 of the Color Glow Lipstick and 2 eco Nail colours.



1) Innisfree Color Glow Lipstick #12


Color Glow Lipstick is available in Singapore, but this shade #12 is fairly new and not yet available in Singapore. Manufacturing date of this is April 2014! Very new!


2) Innisfree Eco Beauty Tool - Lip Brush


When I ordered this, I didn't expect it to be retractable! I didn't have high expectations for this, since it is just a lip brush but it really quite well made.


3) Innisfree Eco Nail Colour Pro - #70 & #57


These 2 colors are also new and not available in Singapore yet.
#70 is from their latest Festival Nails collection! I love all the colours in it but I decided to go with pink because.... I'm always not wearing pink. I have to get some girly colours right? I will post swatches of my Innisfree Eco Nail colours soon! This is really pretty and great on its own or for accent nails.

#57 is from their Syrup Nail collection! Or what most of us will know as sheer nail polishes. OPI also recently had their Sheer Tints Collection but this is only a fraction of the price! This will be great for making gradient nail art or for making glitter/jelly sandwich nail art!

I do like Innisfree nail polishes, like I've said before. Their brush is really wide and that makes application really easy & fast. Some have average wear, but I notice that some can last ~5 days with just minimal tip wear! I think it is just a hit & miss thing. But for the price, they are definitely worth buying!


4) Innisfree It's Real Bija Mask


I love their sheet masks. But I only get them during promo price because $2 for a mask is a bit too much for me, since I use them about 2-3 times a week, rather than just for special occasions. This time I got the Bija mask which is meant to soothe troubled skin.


5) Innisfree Mineral Jelly Pact



If i'm not wrong, this is the new version. From what I see online, the pad that comes with it is different and it also now comes in 3 shades. I got shade #23, and I'm about NC25-ish.

To be honest, I only got this because of the "Jelly" word. Holika Holika's Aqua Petit Jelly BB cream is one of my favourite as it gives a very natural & flawless finish. Even Michelle Phan raved about it. The texture of the HH bb cream was really interesting and so I was intrigued when I saw the "jelly" word again on this. Probably not the same thing though?

I've used this twice already and I LOVE IT! omg. why aren't they promoting it more. It gives a really flawless finish and I think the (new & upgraded) pad it comes with makes a difference. It minimises the appearance of your pores, like when you've applied primer! I just got goosebumps typing that out!! I wore it out for 5 hours and it still had the same semi-matte finish (can I remind you that I live in hot, humid Singapore. Since it is a meant to be a powder pact, the coverage isn't much, but I love the finish it gives! I only wish that the SPF was higher.


Close up! Very interesting texture
It is a very interesting texture and it isn't a conventional hard, solid powder pact. I currently can't think of a word to describe it. It is soft and... bouncy-ish.. I tried..


6) Innisfree Smart Make Up Blender


This is also a fairly new Innisfree product. Pony from Pony's Beauty Diary talked about it (even though it is a collaboration) but I liked her demo. Basically the concept is that with the changes in seasons, our skin condition change with it and need different foundation to suit it. So this Smart Foundation range comes in tiny tubes of 15g, and you can mix them to blend a foundation that suits you best.

This Smart Make Up Blender is meant for brightening & highlighting. I don't own much highlighting products & this was inexpensive so I thought I'll get one to try!


7) Innisfree Smart Foundation in Super Moisture, #23


The Smart Foundation comes in 4 formulas, each with 3 shades. The 4 are namely, Super Moisture, Perfect Cover, Water Balancing, and Long Lasting. I went with Super Moisture because the main ingredient is Green Tea Seed oil, which I know is one ingredient I really like since I use a lot of their Green Tea line.

I've tried this twice too and... I can't wear it on its own! It makes me look like a shiny disco ball. Both times I wore it, I applied the Mineral Jelly Pact over to get a semi-matte finish I like! I like the combi, but I definitely can't wear this on its own. I may consider getting either the Long Lasting or Perfect Cover one to mix with this. The good thing is that it is very moisturising.. but wayyy too shiny on my normal skin to be worn on its own. The coverage is also just average on its own.


8) Innisfree Pink Beam Mineral Pact


This is my sister's. It is also a pact but meant to give a nice pinkish glow.


9) Tops!

Stock pics taken from seller! I'm not the girls in the pics btw...


Not the exact one I got, but similar


I love this grey cardi! It is about $25 (?), but it is SO me. I was happy to receive this because the quality is really good and quite thick! Also quite comfortable. I have quite a few cheap cardigans from Gmarket (mostly less than $10) but they tend to snag quite easily and aren't as thick as this one.


Shopping tips

Clothing items are probably harder to browse for on Gmarket if you are not familiar with the site. It can be very confusing and messy. You have to keep scrolling and scrolling and the pay-off isn't that high because you scroll through so many but probably only see one or two that you fancy. My tip is to use the bookmarks (a purple icon) on the right side of the pics to "mark" the photo so you can return easily. I usually scroll through, bookmark, then go back again to click the item so see more previews & the measurements. It definitely helps if you know basic Hangul. Second tip is to use the blue bar below to select the option so you can easily match the name of the item to the options on the drop-down menu, rather than have to scroll up and down or to jot down the names.

The price is quite a good indicator of the quality. Cheaper products aren't terrible, but the fabric is probably thinner and some blouses or tops may be more sheer. I'll be more careful about buying shorts/pants because the sizing is harder to gauge & the cutting may be weird. You must also take note of the small details. Are the models wearing a cami below? If they are, it may because the top/dress is slightly sheer. If you take time to scroll through, you can actually find a lot of good deals & fashionable clothing items. I also recommend the SOHO section. It may be more pricey but the designs are nicer and quality may be better.

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That's all!

Saturday 7 June 2014

Innisfree Singapore Haul: New Store at Bugis Junction!





Wow. Hardly a month after their 2nd store in Singapore opened, Innisfree has opened their 3rd store at Bugis Junction!

Of course, keeping up with tradition, I visited their store on the opening day. #loyalfan

I thought I'll get this post up quickly so you can check out their opening promotions before it ends!

This time, I brought my mom along and this was the damage done.... 

O.O"
As usual, they have their special launch promotions. We actually purchased enough to get 2 of $100 goodie bag! (Mom bought just as much as me! everyone in my family own & use at least one Innisfree product.) This time, the launching goodies came in eco bags instead of the cute Inni-rang box! Thank goodness, because I actually kept both of the previous boxes because they were too cute to dispose. I don't have space to keep a third one. I also like eco-bags because I do use them! Most of my big eco-bags have been kope-d by my mom, so I'm gonna keep these two!

"Innisfree. Natural Benefit from JEJU Island"
That's pretty much the branding of Innisfree. They emphasize a lot on using natural ingredients grown from Jeju Island. If you ever go to Korea, I definitely recommend a trip to Jeju Island! Especially during springtime. Innisfree also have a Innisfree Jeju House there and I hope I can visit someday!!

As usual, I will show you the contents of the launching promo bags! I like the goodies this time because there are more Innisfree sample kits! If you are interested, you can check out the launching bags of the first store opening here and the second store opening here. I love the eco-cup and Inni-rang pouch but the travel/trial kits are also quite generous and good for people like me who always have a long to-try list of Innisfree products.

& fans of Lee Minho will also be happy to know that they are giving out Lee Minho postcards & posters! I received 2 posters so I guess you get one for every $100 spent. It is the same poster as the one I received during the first store opening. I will link my previous posts again at the end of this post. The post cards are shown below! They are also the same ones I received during the second store opening. So if you've missed out on those two previously, you can get them again this time! :)



Green Tea Travel Kit consists of:

  1. It's Real Green Tea sheet mask
  2. Green Tea Pure Body Cleanser 30ml
  3. Green Tea Pure Body Lotion 30ml
  4. Green Tea Pure Cleansing Oil 25ml
  5. Green Tea Pure Cleansing Foam 30ml

I like this kit! I am a fan of their Green Tea line and these are all products I've yet to try from the GT line (except for the mask). They come in a handy travel pouch!


Jeju Volcanic Pore Trial Kit consists of:

  • Jeju Volcanic Pore Cleansing Foam 15ml
  • Jeju Volcanic Pore Scrub Foam 15ml
  • Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask 15ml
  • Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask 15ml
  • Jeju Volcanic Pore Toner 13ml




Second Skin Mask Kit consists of:

  • Second Skin Mask (Moisture) 20g
  • Second Skin Mask (Brightening) 20g
Quite excited to try these as I love sheet masks! I don't think I've noticed this mask before but doesn't it look quite interesting? 




They are also giving out Eco Hankies for purchases above $20. There's also another design which is designed by Lee Minho.. so another heads up to Minho fans!
From what I see on instagram, Korea is also giving out these Eco Hankies now, but in different designs.



& now onto the haul!


These are items my mom got! She also bought (or actually I bought, since I paid for it) a Red Ginseng Mask but she also already kope-d that before I could take photos! lol. I came home and she was like "I tried the mask!!" and made me touch her face to show me how smooth it was. LOL. This is from someone who uses SK-II products, so I guess the mask is pretty good!

She also bought the Mint Green Tea Shampoo because I told her how good it is.





& these are what I got!



  • Eco Brush Eye Liner $13
  • Mineral Moisture Foundation $30
  • Serum CC Cream (Cover) $30

I actually planned on just getting one of the two base makeup products but my mom said I'll need both and before I knew it, both items are in my basket. I bought the Serum CC Cream (Brightening) for my mom previously and she liked it a lot. I've only tried a couple of sample sized CC Creams and always wanted to try one. I tried this earlier and I quite like it! Great for faking good skin and to even out the skin tone.


Both the foundation & CC Cream comes with a pump dispenser! More hygienic IMO. The concern with
pumps is probably whether you can easily dispense the right amount of product you need.


I tested out the eyeliner on my hand and it seemed quite good. Can't wait to try this either!





  • Apple Juicy Lip & Eye Remover $11
I've been using my current lip & eye makeup remover for an obscenely long time and I know I need to get a new one. I own the Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil too. It smells like the Hi-chew Apple candy! 





  • Mint Green Tea Rinse $12
I also own the Mint Green Tea Shampoo. I mentioned previously that I bought it for the smell but I ended up liking it more than my old shampoo! (Which is a popular Japanese brand which many raved about and costs more than this) It leaves my hair and scalp feeling really clean, and for a long time! I may do a review soon. Anyway, so I bought this conditioner to use with the shampoo! Can't wait to try this.




  • Eco Tool - Nail Clipper $4
What a random purchase. I actually put a reminder on my phone to buy a new nail clipper and it has been there for MONTHS. I prefer a nail clipper to a nail file and my old one has served me for a very long time and it is starting to look a bit gross.

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That's all! 

Here's a brochure you can refer to for the promotions they are currently having for the new store. You may click for a bigger version.




You may also want to check out the 2 posts I have for the previous store opening promotions!
First store at Ngee Ann City: http://rebelheartx.blogspot.sg/2013/11/innisfree-opens-in-singapore.html
2nd store at Plaza Singapura: http://rebelheartx.blogspot.sg/2014/05/innisfree-singapore-haul-new-store-at.html

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Do you have a Innisfree store in your country? Let me know what launching promotions they had :)


Disclaimer: I don't even know if I need to give a disclaimer because clearly I'm not sponsored. I'm also not affliated to Innisfree in any way. All items are purchased with my own debit card, which is now close to the limit I set. I probably can't buy much more in June. All opinions are my own. I secretly don't want to share the promos with you so that no one with snatch with me next time #truth lol. But I guess sharing = more people buying = more Innisfree stores! #thinkpositively