Haul: Innisfree Christmas Collection 2014

Hi all!

Oops I have a bit too many Innisfree posts these days. But this is a post that I must put up. It is Innisfree's Christmas Collection 2014! I thought I'll show you all what they have this time.

Innisfree Singapore launched this christmas collection on 1 November, and of course I quickly went on the first day to get them. oops. I also returned a few times to get some things that weren't on sale on the first day.
The shop was quite quiet when I went on the first day, but the next week, there was a long line to pay!! Forgot how popular the brand is sometimes.

First off, I LOVE the packaging this year!! It is so festive and I think they make great gifts too, if you have a friend who likes skincare products, nail polishes, or room scents.

NOTE! This post is on the products and promotions I got at the Innisfree Singapore store. Some promotions or free gifts mentioned are ONLY to the Singapore store and were ongoing at the point I purchased them. They may be over, so please check before assuming you will get them too.

Innisfree 2014 Green Christmas DIY Kit

This is the DIY kit featured on their website/youtube/facebook. They have a CF video of Yoona (of SNSD) and Lee Minh featuring this DIY kit.

It is retailing for $2 each if you purchase any item from the Christmas collection. Otherwise, you can buy one for $10. If I'm not wrong, they are donating $2 for every purchase of this DIY kit to help needy children. I like that a lot. I bought a few of these. The kit has all you need to make the ornaments. There are 8 designs in total.

For every purchase of the Christmas kits (kits only! NOT all christmas products), they also gave out a cute pouch.

They also gave out this mask kit since it was their first anniversary! :) They opened on 22 November 2013. You can check out my post on their Grand Opening here: http://rebelheartx.blogspot.sg/2013/11/innisfree-opens-in-singapore.html 

They have monthly promotions and give out kits for purchases above $50 or $100. I bought above $100 and got this awesome capsule recipe pack kit. I LOVE IT.


On to the products.

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask X-mas Limited Set

The price of this kit is the cost of the Jeju Volcanic Pore Toner and the Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask. You can consider the deluxe sample size of the cleansing foam to be free. In a way, you can think of it as you pay for the toner and mask, and get a cleansing foam (not full sized) free.

I wasn't going to buy this, but my mom insisted that I would need these sooner or later and I might as well buy them now. LOL.

Innisfree The Green Tea Seed Serum X-mas Limited Set

I highly recommend this set. I love Innisfree's Green Tea line. I love the serum and it isn't very expensive. One bottle can last a long time. This set also comes with the GT sleeping pack, which is also a product I love from Innisfree.


Besides this 2 sets, they also have one with a body cleanser and lotion. These 3 sets are the ones that will come with a free pouch (not sure if it is still available NOW, I got them more than a month ago)

On to some products for my hands: 

Innisfree Perfumed Handcream Gift Set & Christmas Nail set

 The X-mas Hand Cream set comes with 3 hand creams. This set costs $17. I have briefly described the 3 scents here: http://rebelheartx.blogspot.sg/2014/11/i-recently-bought-few-items-from.html

Last year's set only came with 2 hand creams. I am still using one of them and I'm sad to finish it.

Innisfree Christmas Nail Set

 I love this nail set a lot. I rarely go for glitters, but this is so christmas-sy!

The set also comes with these cute nail stickers!!! Which you can't see from the outside because it is packed inside!! So cute. I can't bear to use them.

Close up photos of the nail polishes

 My photo isn't very clear, but the white one has SNOWFLAKES. Can you spot 2 of them?
I also love the red glitter polish. So festive and also good for Chinese New Year, no? lol. The last glitter is like christmas in a bottle. I will post a swatch of them, if I remember...


Next, I got some room scents! If you've seen my previous post, I got one of the candles from Innisfreeworld.com. Here, I got 2 of the diffusers. I bought one last year and it is STILL on my table. LOL. There is just a bit left but sometimes I still smell it, so I haven't gotten rid of it. Finally I can replace it with this two.

 I didn't buy the Mint Chocolate scent at all because I don't really like food scents in my room (unless it is REAL food, of course). That one smells just like a mint chocolate, so I highly recommend that if you like that.

Love the packaging!!

The diffusers last longer than the candles. You can control how strong you want the scent to be by putting more/less of the sticks. Put more = stronger scent/throw = finish faster. My room is pretty small and I put it right next to me, so I only put about 3/4 sticks.

IT COMES WITH A KNITTED SLEEVE! SO CUTE and so festive. 

Lastly, I got their Green Tea Seed Cream Christmas edition. This is TWICE the size of the usual. It is 100ml. This is replacing my last year's GT seed cream xmas edition! I used that for almost 10 months and I just finished it just when this came out. Great timing.

This comes in 3 colors, red, white or blue, with different "logos". The packaging is different, but the product is the same:

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That's all!

Hope this post helps those who are looking to buy these items online if your country does not have an Innisfree store. Feel free to ask me any questions!

If you have bought any item from the xmas collection, do share with me too!



P.s. oh yes, sorry for the ugly big watermarks. Someone stole my photo to join a contest and I'm slightly miffed about it. If you're gonna benefit from someone's photo, then it is wrong to steal it.


Disclaimer: As usual, all products are bought with my own money. Not compensated in any way. Not affiliated to the brand.

Review & Haul: Innisfreeworld.com

Hi all!

Today I've got a Innisfreeworld haul/review. They are Innisfree's new online global store.

They launched on Sept 18, 2014. They had a lot of attractive "events" or promotions. Lots of freebies for purchases above $xx amount.

Short rant:
(Please finish reading if you're gonna read it, and don't misunderstand.)
I was very interested in the launching promotions (very attractive freebies to me) and I logged in to make an order on their first day. They had this online chat functoin where you can ask questions and get immediate replies (during their opening hours) and I decided to clarify about the promotions. VERY WEIRD. I was told, note that this was on the FIRST DAY, that the event for "free gifts above $100", "not longer exist" and I was told "I am afraid to say that the event is over.". Whaaat?? Did I underestimate Innisfree's popularity? All the freebies are out of stock in less than 24 hours??

All they told me is that the Minho pouch was still available. No. I'm in this for the Innisfree samples and bag, not really for one Lee Minho pouch. So I did not order.

Then I saw that other people still got the freebies even when they ordered on later days.

 So I sent an enquiry again on Oct 1, 2014 to ask if the events are still on. And guess what. This time I was told that they are all ongoing.

WTH. I was kind of pissed off. I followed all their promotions leading up to the launch day and was so excited to check out the new site but I was told the wrong information. I get that maybe, perhaps, possibly the staff are new and lack experience but I think opening promotions are very important and it should be something they are all clear of. The promotion was right there on the front page and in the emails, it should be something they know of. How could they make such a big mistake? Anyway, the events ended some time after my second message but I did not make an order.


End of story. Well, one bad experience, but they definitely redeemed themselves this time with my recent order! :)

I wasn't sure then if I would ever purchase from the website since I do have access to Innisfree products in their stores in Singapore, but I did look out for their promos. I did give them some feedback, hope they do read it because I like Innisfree products and support them going global.


But this time there was a discount code AND there was free shipping AND they had attractive offers. So I finally made a order! They delivered VERY quickly and I am very pleased :)

Delivery
I ordered on a Wednesday midnight, and they packed and shipped out my orders 12 hours after I placed my order. My parcel was on the plane to Singapore in the early hours of Thursday, reached the local courier company at night, and then my parcel was delivered to me on Friday!! How amazing is that?? I opted for EMS, which is the slightly more expensive option, since there was a free shipping promotion. In Singapore, EMS parcels are handled by Speedpost.

How to track (EMS)
This is for EMS parcels. I haven't tried the other method of shipping, but it may be similar. After Innisfreeworld has shipped your items, they will email you with a tracking number. I went to this website to track http://www.koreapost.go.kr/eng/sub/EMS_Search.jsp?contId=e1020600 my parcel. (If there are pop-up messages, click cancel, ok, ok.)
When the status has reached "Arrival at inward office of exchange", you may go to your local courier company's website to track the order. It will show you the progress of whether the parcel is with the postman and on the way to you! For Singapore, the website is http://www.speedpost.com.sg/.


On to the haul.

This is how innisfreeworld pack their items. Layers of paper above. It is just paper, no bubblewrap, but still good cushion for the products inside. Is it enough? I leave that to you to judge! All I know is that I ordered fragile items but they came safely, so it's good enough!

The first thing I actually look out for when I open packages is whether there's any smell... if the package smells too good, that means there's leakage!! lol. But that goodness there was no smell this time :)
 

After removing the brown paper! Bubblewrap for the candle, but no additional protective wrapping for the rest. I consider the capsule masks and eyeshadows to be "at risk of damage" items too, but they came in excellent condition! Perhaps paper is enough. There's nothing to complain if nothing is damaged, regardless of how unsafe you might think it is. I'd say don't worry and go ahead and order.

(Personal tip: always take photos of your parcels BEFORE opening them. To show if the package was mishandled/torn/damaged during shipping. If there is damage to your items, you can then use the photo to complain to the courier company or to the company you purchased from.)

 

Samples! I love samples. I got to choose 5 samples (I think the quantity depends on the price of your purchase) and I chose all lotions. These are all resealable -- I love that!

Top, left to right: 38, 39. Bottom, left to right: 40, 41

First items, eyeshadows. They are currently having a buy 2 get 2 free promo. Do that math, that's a very good deal. The colours are very close to the colours shown on the website. They did a good job in capturing the right shade! Don't have high expectations, they aren't super pigmented. But for the price, it's okay.

Capsule recipe pack masks are also going for buy 3 get 3 free. These are mostly sleeping packs. There are sleeping packs and non-sleeping packs.

Non-sleeping packs can only be put on for about 15 minutes and then you have to wash them off. They are usually thicker in consistency, like the Jeju volcanic clay mask pack. They are usually more opaque, the kind of masks you can walk around and scare people with.

Sleeping packs on the other hand, are meant to be kept on all night. The consistency is like moisturisers and they absorb well into your skin after massaging them on leaving them on for some time. You don't have to worry about smearing them all over your pillow when you sleep. You have to rinse off properly the next day though. They are usually go on (somewhat) clear like regular moisturisers, but you put on more.

I love these. Each pack can be used for 3/4 times, although I can get up to 5 uses sometimes, even after putting on a thick layer each time. Very good value, if you consider what these do. I highly recommend that you try these out. Only complain is that they aren't exactly resealable; you can only tuck the lid into a slot. Perhaps you can put a small weight to hold down the lid, or put the whole thing in a small zip-lock bag. I usually just put a weight. I don't get breakouts from them, so I guess it is hygienic enough.

I also got some tools this time. One is a magic puff as a backup, another is a hairband! Even cheaper than brandless ones.

Handcreams are also buy 2 get 2. Very good deal. These scents aren't available in Singapore yet, so I got them. I use a lot of hand cream because I sit right under then AC all day at work and my hands get really dry. I can't NOT apply hand cream.

My worry for handcreams are that they get squashed during shipment. You can see from my past hauls that they have wrapped them quite well and there is minimal/no damage. Not this time. There are some bumps on them, 2 are very minor, the green one I had to push back into shape (already did in this photo), the red one was beyond "repair". But this is only an issue if you intend to give these as gifts.

 Next is the Jelly Tint set from the Limited Edition Christmas range! This isn't sold in Singapore Innisfree stores.

Cute packaging, great as gifts. You can even split these to be stocking stuffers.

Lastly. I got the Innisfree Cream White Perfumed Candle. I did not get this in Singapore stores as I already got the diffuser, but this was cheaper so I got one as well. This is made from soy wax, much safer to burn than other types of waxes.

If you don't have an Innisfree store to smell these, I will try to explain to you how these smell like.

The Cream White Perfumed candle/diffuser/hand cream is described as one that "delivers all the coziness of Christmas through heart-warming fragrance of musk and powder"
It smells like... some baby powder. I can only describe it as that. It is a pleasant smell to have in bedrooms. Relaxing and calming. I've asked my friends and mom & sis to smell them in stores and they like this the best, our of all 3. I think most people will find that it is a familiar scent. Don't let the word "musk" mislead you to think it is a more manly scent. It is not. I like this, but I don't recommend it to people who don't like the smell of powder. If you think powder = granny smell = no,

The Red Berry Perfumed candle/diffuser/hand cream is described to be one that "delivers all the excitement of Christmas through sweet, fresh fragrance of cranberry and apple."
It is a fruity, sweet scent.

The Mint Chocolate Perfumed candle/diffuser/hand cream is described to be one that "delivers the sweetness of Christmas through deep fragrance of mint and chocolate".
It is exactly that, mint chocolate. If you don't like mint chocolate and food scents, skip this. This is the least favourite of me and my friends as I guess we all don't like food scents that aren't.. from.. food.

The candle, just like the diffuser, comes with a knitted sleeve. SUPER CUTE. lol. They made it look so festive just like that. Go buy one now.


With my purchase, I could pick one of then 8 Solutions Kit. I went for the Whitening kit.

A sheet mask & 3 more resealable samples. These resealable samples have more product. I like that because I hate it when samples finish after 1/2 use. How would I know if it is really good??? They are generous with the samples, which to me means they are very confident in their products and know that these samples will make you buy the full sized. Very true for me.

The packaging can actually be upcycled and DIY-ed into these cute drawers. You can stack them up if you have multiples!

I really like Innisfree because they REALLY try to be what they claim to be. They focus a lot on being environmentally friendly. They give out handkerchiefs, cold cups and tumblers to encourage you to reuse and reduce. They give you points for returning empty bottles for recycling. They give you extra samples (not everyday) when you bring your own bag. All very in line with what the brand claims to be. Compared to a lot of other brands, I find that they put in a lot more effort to be environmentally friendly.

That's why I love the brand a lot. I like products with natural ingredients (no parabens etc) and they are eco-friendly (I'm quite environmentally conscious). On top of that, they products are affordable and work well.

I may do a post on my top 5 favourite Innisfree products soon!

PROMOTION ALERT!!
Meanwhile, if you're reading this in December 2014, I highly recommend you to make an order on their site now to enjoy the free shipping for purchases above USD $50. Select EMS shipping! That's express shipping and it is ALSO FREE! I think free shipping is the biggest discount you can get as shipping can cost quite a lot. Since it is free, you don't have to worry about ordering heavy and bulky things like their LE christmas candle (which I ordered).

For their xmas collection, I recommend their Green Tea Seed Cream. It is more expensive as it is TWICE the usual size. It has cute xmas designs on it. I bought one last year, finished it this November, and replaced it with this year's Xmas version again! :)

That's all.

InnisfreeWorld facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/innisfreeworld
InnisfreeWorld website: www.innisfreeworld.com
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Have you ordered from Innisfreeworld? What did you get and what was your experience? Share with me!



Disclaimer: This post and all the items are not sponsored. I bought them with my money. I don't work for Innisfree not am I affiliated to them in any way.

Gmarket Haul #12: Sulwhasoo, Innisfree, fashion items

Gmarket Haul #12! Quite happy with my purchase this time although I spent quite a lot this time ): BUT! The savings were tremendous!!

I ordered on Friday night, most items were mailed out by seller by Monday to the Gmarket warehouse. All items reached Gmarket warehouse & was packed and dispatched out by Tuesday evening to the airport. Reached Singapore on Wednesday, and delivered to me on Thursday! Fast?? Yes! As always! The part that's most likely to delay your shipment will be when you're waiting for the individual sellers to send your items to the Gmarket warehouse. Then it also depends on how often there are (cargo) flights from Korea to your country. For Singapore, I think there are flights almost everyday... So it is always pretty fast for me! So for that shipping price, and that speed, I think it is very worth it! Like I've mentioned many times, shipping will be more worth it when you purchase more items. Just study the shipping fee table and you'll understand!
 
To note: I was waiting for the EMS tracking page to update, but it was stuck at "Received by air carrier" (meaning it reached Incheon Airport & awaiting a flight to Singapore) for almost 2 days! I thought it was weird but guess what... turns out it already made it's way to Singapore! The status just wasn't updated in real time... which was something I observed the last time. It didn't use to be like this.

My tip is that once you get the tracking number, use that to track on your local postal company who is in charge of deliverying EMS parcels. In Singapore, it is Speedpost. Speedpost will update when they received the parcel in Singapore and will update when it is out for delivery and you can know when to expect the delivery.


In my previous haul, I mentioned how Innisfree likes me because of their impeccable timing of holding sales. I was waiting for a sale for a long time but they never did. This time I was like ahh I shall just order without Innisfree sale....and guess what... when I logged in to Gmarket (Korea) to prepare my order... Innisfree started their sales!!! Great timing or what! (lol I know it is just luck)

And that's how I ended up with this: 

As usual, let's start with my Innisfree haul:

I bought quite a few items this time. I mainly bought things that Innisfree Singapore does not carry. I do like to shop at the Innisfree Singapore store because their prices aren't marked up too much and still reasonable. Without sale price, the items aren't always cheaper on Gmarket Korea. So I do recommend buying from the stores in Singapore!

I love that they always pack my items so well! And despite ordering several items with varying quantities, they always get my order right. My items never leak and the boxes are never dented. My nail polishes don't spill. And my handcream aren't dented much!! Thumbs up to the packers....

I got a couple of sheet masks. They've got new sheet masks and also new design for the It's Real mask. I shall do a little research on the new masks later. My main concerns this time was whitening and brightening. From what I heard, when Korean products state "whitening", it doesn't always mean making your skin fairer but rather, to help with pigmentation or uneven skintone. I also needed brightening products because my skin can look dull and that's why sometimes I have to put on some base makeup even if I don't have major blemishes to cover.. My Innisfree Soybean Energy Essence has been very good in helping my skin look less dull! Hopefully these masks will show results too.

Next, I got a new gel liner in black! Somehow they are always sold out of these in Singapore every time I visit the store.

I am totally the kind who likes flowery granny scents (but I like fruity scents the most!!) because somehow they are kinda comforting and familiar to me. I love the smell of all the gardenia blossom scents in Innisfree. I haven't seen this in Singapore so I popped this into my (virtual) cart!

(But as of Oct 2014, I've spotted these in stores.)

My hands are always dry, even in sunny humid Singapore, and so I always have a bunch of hand creams around me. These aren't all mine. Bought these as they also aren't in Singapore yet! Love any gardenia scented things.

This was for sis! My mom has also tried a product from this line and she also got me to buy another for my sis. I'm guessing it must be good?

Another haircare item!!
Warning! This does NOT smell very good at all. Yes, even someone like me who has pretty high threshold for stinky herbal products found this a bit... unpleasant. It doesn't have the usual ginseng smell. It does smell herbal. I'm not sure what's "green ginseng" but I do not like it that much. That said, this is very cooling when I spray this. I think a lot of us neglect our scalp but it is also delicate skin! This also isn't available in Singapore. (yet?)

As usual, we got a couple of nail polishes. The one on the left is supposed to be orchid colour and it looks more pink in real life. It looked kinda purple on photos.


Innisfree also recently launched this new exciting nail product.....

Make your own glitter polish!! I went a bit crazy and bought almost all the glitters. Well, it isn't fun if I don't buy more than one to mix right? The whole point was to mix and create your own combination..

They also sell this clear polish that's specially for this make-your-own glitter polishes. They are all sold separately. It is more expensive than getting one glitter polish off the shelves.

& a close up of all the glitters! I'm sure someone is gonna steal this photo.

Some goodies from Sulwhasoo....

unpacked!!

Guess how much all those above cost? ..... $65!!

That's the price of the Sulwhasoo Evenfair Perfecting Cushion actually. It is already discounted PLUS they give so much freebies... In Singapore, the cushion retails for 74. It comes with a case and 2 cushions. The freebies are quite big (those 2 pump bottles are 50ml each!). This cushion foundation is SPF50+ PA+++!

Love the packaging. I also love the product. Coverage is medium-high and it gives a flawless finish. Thinking about it, $65 is wayyy above my budget but well, it was worth it I guess! Manufacturing dates are all very recent!!


2 fashion items this time!

That's not me in the photo. Just wanted to show you what the stock pic looks like!

& my photo! Quality is really good. Thick enough to prevent VPLs (lol).

I also got a black bucket bag. because I love black bags. and I love simple bucket bags. I know this looks like a particular branded bag that has like a 4/5 months waiting list (SO hard to get your hands on one these days!). I love the design too. This is just a small fraction of the "original" piece. It isn't 100% the same so it isn't imitation or a fake, so I was okay with buying this.

 

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That's all! :)