Ordering Korean Makeup + Haul

Disclaimer: Everything in this post was purchased with my own money and is completely my own thoughts and experiences.

If any of you follow me on my personal tumblr or my twitter you'll know that I watch Korean dramas (Kdramas) a lot. As I did when I first started getting into anime (with Japan) , I got really into learning about Korean culture. Of course one aspect that drew me in: Korean beauty.

The only Korean beauty products I had used were BB creams, so I decided to do a little research. I soon became immersed and obsessed with Korean makeup. So I decided to order some. It can be a little overwhelming and a little frightening trying to order something especially makeup from another county. This is why I'm sharing my experiences with two online stores to help those of you that want to order some Korean makeup but are afraid or unsure of where to order.

There are many product similarities with American and Korean cosmetics, one major difference I discovered is that Korean cosmetics have the cutest packaging! Cute packaging and great products? What isn't there to love?

This haul consists of 3 orders, 2 from an amazon seller called Emunah and 1 from a Korean cosmetics website called Jolse ( http://cosmetic.jolse.com/ ).

Here are my Emunah amazon orders:

I bought 2 of the Etude House Sweet Recipe All Over Color. I got the colors Peach Sugar Cake and Blueberry Cheesecake. I was given 2 samples with each order.

The samples I received from both orders: Etude House Precious Mineral Cotton Fit BB cream (3 packets) and Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Cream (1 packet).


Here is my Jolse order:

I bought 2 Etude House Lovely Cookie Blushers. I got the shades Strawberry Choux and Plum Mousse Cake. I was given 3 samples per item (that's 6 samples total) and a little pack of oil blotting paper.

The samples I received in this order: Tonymoly Tomatox (3 packets), Perfumed Body Classic Essence (1 packet), Tonymoly I'm Real Aloe Soothing Lotion (1 packet) and Tonymoly Dr. tony AC Control Acne Cleansing Foam (1 packet).

Both are really great places to buy Korean makeup. Amazon is a good place to buy as long as you check into seller ratings and go with a highly rated, reliable seller. Emunah is a highly rated seller. APoly is also another one I've heard great things about. With my Emunah orders, I didn't get tracking but my orders arrived in about 2 weeks which is pretty fast. They also have me 2 free samples with each order. What's nice about ordering from amazon is if you're wary about using a credit card to buy something from a foreign country, you can always use amazon gift cards. They packed everything very, very well so you do not need to worry about delicate powders of blushes breaking.

Jolse is probably my favorite place to buy Korean cosmetics. They have a HUGE selection from makeup to skin care. There always seems to be a sale going on and all of the prices are very reasonable. Shipping is always free, but if you want tracking you will need to pay an extra $2.50.  I highly recommend paying for the tracking code. The postal service lost my package, I luckily got it though. If I didn't pay for tracking I probably never would have been able to track it down.

The shipping is a little slow, but normal and reasonable for where it is coming from. It took nearly a month for my package to get to me, but it was also lost for a week or so. The average amount of time to is  17-20 days.

Jolse accepts payment through PayPal so it is completely secure. They are very generous with samples, you also can get free gifts and even free tracking if you make a purchase of a certain amount. What's even cooler is Jolse has a points program. If you spend $20 then you can use your points to get money off. You earn points with each order and if you register with their site you get 300 (equivalent to $3) for free.

They also have great customer service, any question I had were answered quickly and their customer service rep is very sweet! I asked if it were possible to be given certain samples with an order, even though they told me they most likely can't fulfill my request due to whatever samples they have in stock, I was given 3 of the ones I asked for (Tonymoly Tomatox)!

Overall both experiences were very positive (my lost package mishap was completely the usps's fault) and I definitely plan to buy more products from both places. I am definitely a Korean cosmetics addict now! Want to see what the Lovely Cookie Blushers and All Over Colors look like?? Stay tuned for my reviews of both, coming very soon!

Nails by Vicky: Haul Post

A couple of days ago I went shopping with my best friend Heather, the owner of this blog. I wanted to make a post about the nail related products that I bought. As with any post that I make if you would like to see me use these products in a design, would like a review, or if you have a nail related question I would be happy to answer it!

Now onto the products I bought.

This is a Blackheart nail polish from Hot Topic. I have a couple other nail polishes from Hot Topic and they are actually very nice. I love the packaging too. It works with the Hot Topic brand. Unfortunately, this particular nail polish does not have a name on it and I bought it on clearance so Hot Topic does not carry it anymore. It is a pinkish glitter nail polish. Normally Blackheart nail polish costs $5.

Next is a Duo Nail Polish in White Lie. This was also a clearance product from Hot Topic and is also not carried anymore. It is a combination glittery orange polish and a white nail polish. I really like these duos because it gives you two different shades in one. This normally sells for $6.99.

I am really excited to try this next product out because I have heard very good things about the Essie line. I got the color Good as Gold which is a shimmery gold color. I had been looking for a gold color for my nail polish collection and this polish was the perfect color to add to the collection. I bought this polish at a Beauty Supply store near me but Essie polish normally sells for $8.

Another nail polish brand that I have been wanting to try is Zoya. I am so excited to be able to try out the Zoya Pixie Dust polish in Chyna. It is a nice ruby red color. I also bought this polish at a Beauty Supply store but Zoya polish normally sells for $9.

The last product I bought was from Sephora and is called a nail protector. This product helps keep you from accidentally painting your skin along with your nails. If you follow my posts you will know that I am not the cleanest painter in the world, so I am hoping that this product will help me.

That is everything! Please let me know if there is anything that you would like me to review or make a post about. 

ELF Haul

Hello lovelies! Today I thought I would finally post my Elf haul. I've said it before, I love Elf so much and I'm always so excited when one of their packages shows up at my door. I'm not just posting this to be like "Oh look at all of the cool stuff I bought that I will eventually review". I would actually really like some feedback from some of you. I would like to know what out of this post would anyone like to see reviewed. Or any Elf products in general you would like to see reviewed. I own so many of their products, if there is one you would like me to review and I have it, I will gladly do a review.

Anyway, onto the haul.

First up, the Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Clear Mascara. I always have a few of these kicking around, I use it to keep my eyebrows in place and it really does its job well. Both ends of the product are the same thing. One of the best things about this product: it's only $1.

The new HD blush in Headliner. I have been wanting to try one of these out so badly. Once I have had the chance to properly test this out, there will definitely be a review on it.

Studio small stipple brush. I bought this just for use with the HD blush.

Mineral blush in Joy. I had been wanting to try out one of the mineral blushes for a while. I had also heard this was a dupe for Benefit's Dandelion blush.

Lip Lock Pencil. This is one of my favorite Elf products. I might do a review of this eventually. Would anyone like a review of this in particular?

                                                               Mineral Eye Brightener.

Eyebrow Treat and Tame. I really wanted to try a liquid brow filler. I haven't tried the treat side yet, but I'm hoping it'll work if I ever over wax my eyebrows.

                                                            Baked Blush in Passion Pink.

Maximum Coverage Concealer. I really wanted another concealer for under the eyes and for when I don't feel like wearing my beloved Hard Candy Glamoflauge.

Essential Brightening Eye Color in Nouveau Neutrals. This was a free gift that Elf sent me for filling out the email referral after placing my order.

So that's everything! Please let me know if there is anything from this post or any Elf product at all that you would want to see a review of.

Bath and Body Works After Holiday Haul

This is a very long overdue post, and the last in my series of after holiday haul posts. I hadn't discovered Bath and Body works until I was on a shopping trip to the mall with Vicky right before Thanksgiving. I had always walked past the store never stopping in. I'm so very glad that she introduced me to the wonderfulness of this store. Everything in this post is from an online order and a visit to the store.

Pretty much everything here I had gotten on sale. At the time every holiday item was on clearance, they had a hair care sale on their website and $4 lotions and shower gels.

Winter Candy Apple Shower Gel. I love sweet and fruity scents, but I was unsure at first about this shower gel based on some reviews on the website. I went ahead with it anyway, hoping I would like this. I didn't just like this, I love this scent! I will be using this year round, it smells so good! This has become one of my favorite scents. It is as described, a candied apple scent. I also have the matching lotion that I bought on amazon.com. This is the very first Bath and Body works shower gel I have ever used and it certainly won't be the last.

Vanilla Bean Noel Body Lotion. I bought this online looking for a good lotion, but unsure of the scents available. I love anything vanilla scented, so I figured this would be a safe bet. I was so right, this is a heavenly smelling lotion. It's very hard for me to describe the scent myself, to me it smells like a mixture of vanilla and sugar cookies. I also get a kind of salty - sweet smell from it. Bath and Body works' website describes this scent as having fragrance notes of  caramel, burnt sugar and vanilla.

Strawberry Sparkler Body lotion. This is a very sweet strawberry scented lotion. I love it, but a lot of people may not due to how sweet smelling it is. Strawberry next to apple are my favorite fruity scents so this is a perfect lotion for me.

Black Raspberry and Vanilla Moisturizing Conditioner. There was a really good hair care sale going on and I needed a good moisturizing conditioner, so I thought I would give this a try. I wish my local Bath and Body Works carried the hair care products so that I could buy this again (without the annoying shipping cost). Not only does it smell amazing, but this is as promised a very moisturizing conditioner. What I love most is how this is color safe! Although I haven't dyed my hair in a long time, I have been trying to preserve the bit of color that I have left and this certainly does the job.

Cinnamon Frosting candle. Vicky bought a mini candle of this for me during my very first visit to the store and I loved it so much, I had to buy another one. It is as described a cinnamon frosting candle. It is a good quality candle which fills the room with scent.

I got a bunch of PocketBacs. While I was in high school, I would always see kids with these on their purses and backpacks. This was the very first thing I insisted I get from Bath and Body Works. These are great little things, they sanitize your hands well without drying them out and they smell amazing. There are so many scents to choose from and they are rotated often depending on the season. The only problem I have with these are how addicting they are! Since taking the pictures for this post, I probably have at least 20 of these!

I also got this PocketBac holder, which I keep clipped onto my purse. It was a steal at only $0.25!

Lush haul

Here it is, finally, my Lush haul post! This is all the result of 2 visits to a local Lush store with a friend. These were from my first few Lush visits ever, so I'm pretty new to all of these products and to Lush its self. Some of the samples I haven't gotten to try yet, but once I do I'll do a review on all of them. The picture backgrounds and quality are a bit different. I had taken pictures of everything at two different times with different cameras and different backgrounds.

One of the coolest things I got was the Toner Tabs.

I originally bought 2 of them, but I had used one by the time I had taken pictures for this post. I will be posting a review of this along with a few other products from this haul on Monday.

Next I bought 2 Whoosh Shower Jellies. I had used my first pot a few times and loved it so much that I had to buy another when I had the chance. I have already reviewed this, you can find the review at: http://lipstickxzombie.blogspot.com/2013/01/review-lush-shower-jelly.html .

Cupcake Fresh Face Mask. I had been dying to try one of these masks, my review will be in Monday's post.

 Popcorn lip scrub. I had wanted to try one of Lush's lip scrubs very badly, luckily they had the buy 1 get 1 free sale after Christmas. My friend bought one and didn't want 2 of them so she gave me one.

 And lastly, I got a bunch of samples to try out. The ladies at my local Lush were very nice and let me get a sample of everything that I had wanted to try out.

Here are all of the samples that I got, a few of these will be on Monday's post:

                                                    Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask

                                                                Retread Conditioner

                                                              Imperialis Face Moisturizer

                                                              Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

                                                             Ocean Salt Facial Cleanser

                                                                     Rehab Shampoo

For some reason I do not have a picture of the top of my last sample, Daddy - O Shampoo.

That's it for this haul post! As I mentioned a few times, there will be a post on Monday of some mini reviews of some of these products. For anyone who is sick of my haul posts, I only have one left so please hang in there!

Holiday haul!

Here is my very delayed next haul post! This is all of the makeup that I got for Christmas.There are also some mini reviews in here.

I got the first Urban Decay Naked Palette as I mentioned in a previous post. It came with a mini primer potion. This is what the gorgeous palette looks like:

I will eventually write a review on both Naked Palettes, so keep an eye out for that!

The next thing I got is this E.L.F palette:

I really like this palette. It is pretty compact and you can fold out the drawer, it's really good for if you're in a rush and you need some makeup all in one place. The pigmentation in this was better than I expected, but I haven't had too much of a chance to play around with this yet so I can't completely comment on pigmentation. I would recommend getting this if you want some sort of compact kit to keep in your car, in a bag or in a drawer.

The next palettes I got were the E.L.F Glitter Eye Palette and the E.L.F Natural Eye Palette.

I am putting these two palettes together because they are similar, just with different colors. I haven't had much of a chance to use the Natural Eye Palette, but I have used the Glitter Eye Palette. The Glitter Eye Palette really disappointed me. It is not very pigmented. If there was more pigmentation it would be a great palette. I love E.L.F, but sadly this is the case with some of their palettes. A while back I bought the big limited edition Studio Spring Palette on clearance. I was really glad I didn't pay full price because the colors weren't pigmented at all. I wish E.L.F would step up their game and make more pigmented palettes.

Here is my next palette, E.L.F Sinister Smoky Eyes

This palette is from a series of Limited Edition Disney villain palettes that were released around Halloween exclusively at Walgreens. I had wanted to get one but sadly I could not get to a Walgreens. I was ecstatic when my best friend got me this palette for Christmas. I haven't used many of the shadows yet, but so far I love everything about this. It is a beautiful palette. I love the design and I really love the eyelashes it comes with. I have seen other bloggers complain about the pigmentation of this palette. So far I have only used the two colors that you see in the top left corner, and I didn't have any problems with them.

Last but not least, this set of E.L.F eyeliners:

I am so glad I could finally do this post, I have had it planned out for some time now. I was going to have one giant post of everything I got from people and of the things I bought after Christmas, but I'm going to break it up. There will definitely be some more haul posts coming up! I am in the process of taking pictures for them so stay tuned!