K-Beauty straight from South Korea
This past Saturday was pretty wonderful- I went to the K-Beauty Expo in Seoul. The expo offers the opportunity to view all the new trends/new products/new companies (as well as older established favourites), tutorials and seminars, discount shopping, and just generally be surrounded by the most innovative and exciting K-Beauty everythaaang. I went along with my good friend Megan, blogger from Kimchi Days and Soju Nights, and here’s what we got up to!
On September 3rd I attended a new beauty event called After 6pm: All About K-Beauty. The organisers are trying to bring together those interested in Korean beauty, in Seoul, with monthly events. I attended their 3rd event at Mary’s April in Gangnam, and wanted to briefly let you know how it was! (Disclosure: I was provided a free ticket, but this in no way affects my review. All opinions expressed here are my own).
The location was beautiful. It was about a 10 minute walk from Gangnam station, and was in a function room. It was well organised with the ticket desk right inside the door, then a snacks and beverages table in the centre of the room, with the lights and tutorial area set up against the back wall. The vibe was relaxed, and I really liked the lighting.
When you first arrive in Seoul Whenever you’re vacay-ing in, living in, or just in breathing range of Seoul, it can be VERY easy to spend a shit tonne of money within your first day, or hour, if you’re like me. That’s money on cosmetics, accessories, electronics, stationary, clothes, and just about everything in between. I’ve finaaaally after two years figured out a strategy (you know you’ve got shopping problems when you have to come up with a strategy) to avoid buying everything every single weekend. So I’m gonna share! In other words, this is a guide on spending loads of money, but spreading the spending out, so you’re not left in shock looking at your bank account after day 1 (disclaimer: you may still be left in shock at a later time, your choices not mine).
When I received an email from Shangpree Spa in Seoul saying they had read my articles in the Korean journal I write for, and wanted to invite me for a facial treatment at their renowned spa in Seoul, I jumped at the opportunity. Skincare in Seoul is among the best in the world, and with mentions in the likes of The New York Times, Vogue and Forbes, Shangpree Spa sounded like the best place to try my first (shocking I know?!) facial in Korea. I went there with an open mind, and ready to get my glow on.
(This experience was provided courtesy of Shangpree Spa. This does not affect my review- see disclaimer for policies)
The spa is in the beautiful Apujeong area. As soon as you walk in you can feel the luxury- lovely black lockers for your shoes; a gold couch area where you can take a seat with refreshments; a water feature in front of the desk; and a wooden sculpted back wall where the reception desk stands. The spa is incredibly chic, yet not decadent or tacky.
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I’m a little late with last weeks Seoul Selections. When I originally drafted this, I was feeling exhausted after a stressful week at work, a slight stomach bug, and very little sleep. After the tragedy of Orlando, my minor troubles have really been put into perspective. I feel so deeply saddened by the events in Florida, and I’m praying for the victims and also the community as we come together to support LGBTQ. I attended Seoul Pride this past Saturday, and instead of feeling deflated at the hatred/ignorance of the counter marchers, I felt truly inspired by the love and happiness of all the Pride supporters, and the sense of togetherness. I just hope that every person in the LGBTQ community knows that for all the hate and ignorance, there are SO many people worldwide in support of equality and happiness for all. I’m thinking of the Orlando victims and their families, and for all of those affected by this terrorist act.
I’m off to Vietnam for the weekend and I am SO excited. This means that I won’t be around to post my week’s favourites at the weekend, so here they are a day early. It’s been a busy one, and these are the products that have been getting me through the past five days.
So new plan for the blog! Each weekend I’m going to post my weekly favourites from the past seven days- my Seoul selections. I want to share what I enjoy through the week in cosmetics, skincare and other cute bits and bobs I manage to get hold of. Here we go, my favourites from this week…
I get asked a lot of questions about COSRX. Their products are widely popular among Western K-Beauty fans, and they’re very visible in the K-Beauty instagram and blog world. Despite this, it seems that many people here in Korea -both Koreans and non-Koreans- are still just learning about the brand. I really do always get asked questions from expat and Korean friends who’ve seen/heard me raving about the brand, asking me who COSRX are, where their products can be bought, what their best products are etc. Thus I felt it was the perfect focus for the beauty column I write for a Korean online and printed journal, because I really wanted to share some more information about a company I have come to love and trust.
Myeongdong…or paradise as it’s known to K-Beauty shoppers. If you want to buy cosmetics in Korea, this is where you need to head to. I don’t know how true it is, but I hear there’s around 1000 cosmetics shops in the area. Bearing that in mind, it’s easy to see how this could be overwhelming, particularly to visitors who don’t have long to get a handle on it! So voila, a shopping guide to tell you subway info, eating suggestions, and a simple shopping route to get the most out of your visit. (My photos are not fabulous…grey sky plus a distinctly average camera/iPhone do not produce picture perfect snaps- my apologies).
Ok! I made it this far with getting a domain name, a host, setting up, coding, and all the other words that make no sense to me. Onto what I came here to do- beauty.
So I thought it would be a good idea just to give you some background about me, my skin, this blog, and basically introduce SkinfullofSeoul.
As you can see in my About Me section, I came to Seoul from near Newcastle, England, in October 2014 to teach English. I quickly fell in love with the city and have ended up staying here much longer than I ever intended or imagined. A large part of my love for Seoul, although I’m slightly ashamed to admit it (I promise I adore the culture and many other aspects too!), is the shopping. More specifically, cosmetics shopping. I am sure any reader who has visited Seoul will agree with me that it truly is heavenly!