A Small Skinfood Haul for Y’all

Hi friends!

So a little while ago I decided to do something wildly unusually for me and buy some more Korean cosmetics. Lolz! This time was actually slightly different, however, as I went to Skinfood in my local Lotte Department. For any of you that don’t know, Lotte is a conglomerate that owns basically everything in Korea. Department stores, supermarkets, cinemas, they even import Doritos into Korea. When you’ve got control over the world’s tastiest corn chip, you know you’re doing something right!

I was in Lotte Department this particular day to peruse their premium groceries in the downstairs food court (if you can call something with luxury ice-cream and German Schneeballen a ‘food court’) and stopped by the Skinfood stand. Last year I got a bit obsessed with Skinfood and really enjoyed their products, although I soon realise they never have sales and they are are quite expensive compared to other Korean brands (cough Nature Republic cough). But I was in need of a powder compact, and thought I’d give them another try.

The lady at this counter was sooo nice, and straightaway I felt comfortable. I gotta say, sometimes the intensity of the sales assistants here in Korea really puts me off. Obviously there is the language difference, and I already feel like a bit of a dunce, but the level of personal space is much lower here than it is at home. As in, the sales assistants will stand really close to you and follow you with every little move you take in the aisles. I believe that this is just a cultural thing and they don’t mean offence by it, but it does take a bit of getting used to!

So what did I get on this particular day?

Well, I ended up finding a pressed powder that matched my skintone and seemed to provide decent coverage. It is the Gold Caviar Moist Fitting Cake SPF25 PA++ and it it that shiny bronze compact in the middle. For a while, I was just using this as my everyday base (did I mention I like low-fi makeup?) and it did me just fine. In Korea, they like the whole natural look anyway and when I have good skin days, this really is enough. Just pat and you’re done! Since I discovered the IOPE Air Cushion XP that has changed somewhat, but it is still pretty low-key – which is just the way I like it. That bajillion-step Korean skincare routine really makes your makeup mornings easy!

As I said, Skinfood prices are relatively expensive compared to your regular Korean skincare brand, and this came in at ₩17,000 which ain’t cheap here! However, I wanted to try it out and so I forged ahead. The lovely sales assistant then told me that Lotte was having an ‘event’ (a special) where if you spend ₩20,000 you got a free cleansing product from their new Green Tea Milk line. I ended up getting this bright orange Jungle Fruits nail polish which was exactly ₩3,000. The lady then helped me to choose my free product, as I was torn between this Green Tea Cleansing Milk Cleansing Gel and a cleansing cream. She ended up saying that the cleansing cream was for older skin and that I should go with this one. I didn’t really understand why, but I took her advice. I like to have faith that sales assistants know best… I know this can go awry sometimes, but I always try to keep the faith!

She also gave me four extra samples, two of their Honey Rich Body Essence and two of their Quinoa Rich Body Wash. I get such a thrill out of Skinfood samples and I’m still not 100% sure why. I guess it’s because it is that bit more expensive than other brands and I don’t shop there that much now. I also have a bit of a thing for cosmetics with food ingredients in them – as a old school foodie (aka hardcore lover of food), the idea of food in something/anything just sits well with me. The only improvement I could make on this ethos would be if you could actually eat the products. Mmm… cleanser. But now this is all getting a bit weird so I will just move on!

Although I know this is a mini haul, I walked away feeling like I had received a lot for not all that much! Always a nice feeling. I have yet to use that nail polish – oops – but will get onto that ASAP. I have been having a bit of a thing for mint polish lately but there’s nothing like a fiery ginger to liven up your day… just look at me! Badum tish. Thanks folks, that’s the end of this comedic ramble haul post and I’ll see y’all soon!

Steph x

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