➹ currently loving: skinfood black pomegranate cream

OK, so I made sure to buy a new night cream last December. I didn't really have anything specific in mind so I just asked the Skinfood saleslady for recommendations. I wasn't aware that they were heavily promoting their Black Pomegranate line at that time so I had to listen to her try to sell me the cream in a mix of Korean and English ㅋㅋㅋ. Somehow, I understood enough that it was the newest and nicest line, supposedly very effective moisturizer, and boasting a wonderful subtle fragrance. Sold!




I have been using the black pomegranate cream ON and OFF in the last 2 months but I only recently searched for reviews on this product. So supposedly, this line is anti-aging! The key ingredient is this black pomegranate, which is some sort of "elite fruit" (totally my own words ... that was my impression on all the publicity around this). Its "voluming" effect is targeted to address wrinkle issues. After reading all that, I then remembered seeing some elaborate launch event for this in Kuala Lumpur last January!

★ AN I.T. GIRL'S VERDICT ★
::I don't really know if I can call myself that. But heck yeah, I don't know much about this stuff and I needed a kinda disclaimer of sorts. Anyway~~~::

So of course, not knowing anything about this product meant that I didn't really have any definite expectations. I needed a night cream which makes me feel luxuriously good. The Skinfood Black Pomegranate Cream does that so I am already a happy customer.

I watched some beauty show some time ago where the "experts" were emphasizing the importance of moisturizing during sleep. My major takeaway from that show was to make sure I do not skimp on my night creams! I have to be generous with it and thoroughly enjoy the hydrating effect. Just one thing with the black pomegranate cream is that on occasions when I applied just a tad bit too much, it feels kind of oily on my face. I mean, I wish that the cream is absorbed more if I applied more ... but it seems like there is just a "threshold" to the amount I can "appropriately" apply. But anyway, this is hardly anything to cry about for sure.

As for the anti-wrinkle effect ... I don't think the cream on its own is supposed to miraculously erase anything. I'm saying that there is no drastic improvement to my super fine lines (ahem hehehe). But I am not really paying any particular attention to those. Certainly the black pomegranate effect is best achieved with a whole array of products from this line.

I did notice from other reviews that the serum is tons more interesting than this cream. If I were to really target this anti-aging solution, best to pick out the serum first and then maybe toner, cream and whatnots.

For the purpose of a simple night cream, this product does its job. The lovely scent is also perfectly relaxing. If I don't find anything else interesting, I might buy this again when my current supply runs out. So we'll see. ^^

➹ currently loving: skinfood black sugar strawberry mask

It's been 3 months since I came back from possibly one of the biggest cosmetics haul I've ever had~~~ But I seriously haven't had time to do much of anything about the wonderful stuff I got! So much for idolizing those uber detailed beauty blogs ㅋㅋㅋ. Anyway, I may not have the expertise nor the patience to craft nifty reviews on Korean beauty products... but I still would love to just share some notes on awesome goodies here and there. This is more for those girls who just want to gather ideas on how to fill their EXTRA suitcase while going around the shopping paradise called Seoul!

So the second thing out of my suitcase (after from my Skinfood Parsley and Mandarin Mild Foam) was this Skinfood Black Sugar Strawberry Wash Off Mask. I just finished my Black Sugar mask last December and I was giddy excited to use the next one. I immediately took a liking to it on the first night I was out on the streets of Myeongdong. Just the idea of classic black sugar (which I really love) and strawberries was enough for me to drop this into my shopping basket. I totally did not need any convincing whatsoever.



I studied the label and did my search on this product before using it (haha, yeah ofcourse I did). I was kinda surprised to find TONS of review about this product already. I really had no clue. Anyway, everything online sounded enticing and harmless enough so I just went ahead and gave it a try.



★ AN I.T. GIRL'S VERDICT ★
::I don't really know if I can call myself that. But heck yeah, I don't know much about this stuff and I needed a kinda disclaimer of sorts. Anyway~~~::

The strawberry smell was YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!! It smelled like strawberry yogurt icecream on your face. The texture was also not as gritty as the original black sugar concoction. I didn't worry so much about the beads being too abrasive while I massaged it into my face. Or was that just me being hypnotized by that sugary strawberry scent???



So anyway, I normally don't leave the mask on for too long. But this time, I left it on for almost minutes before washing up. Just a tip to make sure you wash up pretty well because the formula does leave some beads here and there. And alas! after washing it off, the yummy strawberry perfume lingered. My skin was also softer - an expected black sugar effect. At the same time, it was just a little brighter ^^. I knew I found my go-to mask for those nights when I just want to feel a little bit pampered. Besides, it's kindof cool to be able to enjoy the sweet strawberry feeling whenever I want right? Takes me right back to those awesome winter nights I was spoilt for choice with all the awesome strawberries sold on the streets!

➹ all night shopping itinerary at myeongdong!

Well, not really all-night... but NEARLY ㅋㅋㅋ.

Because I am helplessly obsessive compulsive, I kinda planned to NOT have any major plans during my vacation in Seoul. I had about 2 days to my (gloriously amazing) self and I wanted to just waste it away wandering around anywhere hahaha~~ Just that I had to make sure to properly complete my extensive shopping list, have a feast on street foods ... and do more shopping to fill my 45kg baggage allowance.

Hence, staying at Myeongdong was just a perfect decision. All my semi un-planned shopping are nearby so I literally can visit ALL the shops I wanted to. And in fact I did. At least twice maybe! I started off around lunch time - I had a late night watching a concert the previous day and I only crawled back into my hotel room at about 3am hahaha~~~ Anyway, I did want to stay in bed for longer but ofcourse, that would have been a waste of shopping hours. So I was off and about at about 12:30pm... with my empty stomach leading the way.

I stopped by a few clothing shops before grabbing a quick lunch at Lotteria. I thought I'd burn a LOT of my money at the WHO.A.U sale but I'm glad I held it in. After finishing my all-time favorite Lotteria shrimp burger, I was back on the streets shopping.



My high-level "non-plan" was to do all my clothes and cosmetics shopping first--> And then when I'm feeling famished, buy food for an early dinner --> then head out to the Myeongdong underground shopping center to get my final kpop stuff --> bring back the heavy stuff to the hotel --> rest and recharge --> head out for shopping part 2!





Spent some good time at SPAO and Uniqlo before hitting the small side streets. I already came from the H&M shop twice in the previous days so I had "research data" on the "sale situation" haha! Anyway, I took to the side streets and had a fill of accessories, phone cases, and memorabilia. Silk buttons FTW hahah!! I am just unable to resist they cosmetic shops so even if I already bought my "essentials" from skinfood and etude house, I still had to stop by all the other shops and pick up a mask and nail polish here and there. By the time I got to the huge 8seconds store on the major intersection, it was almost 4pm! So I made my religious walk all the way up to the Euljiro 1-ga station and then turned back craving for a shopping break!

Ofcourse, I didn't forget to go down the Myeongdong Underground shopping to re-visit my kpop stores heheh... One final set of calendars, albums and whatnots and then I'm headed out again.

So I thought I will get an early dinner and rest a while at my hotel room. Luckily, I found the tteokbokki stand on my way back. I was just happily overwhelmed with choices so I had to feast on all these amazing street food!!! I was back in my room by 6:30 and having one of the best meals ever.

Chatted with my family, took a quick rest, freshened up and then headed out again at 8pm for part 2 of my shopping day! This time, I thought I'd take it a little easy. I wanted to go back to the small shops to look again at their lovely products (ehem Artbox, Naughty Cat, Forever21 among others). And I found more accessories from the new stores being set-up on the streets. I really just wandered about at this point. I was just turning around corners when faced with the crowd of shoppers so I literally was going around in crazy circles. I overheard one salesguy telling another person how I keep coming back again and again heheh ... so they noticed huh?





Anyway, the lovely streetlights, the smell of perfectly sweet strawberries and just the winter chill were all embracing me with so much delight. I don't know how but I managed to walk around for another 2-3 hours ... until the shop doors started closing. I didn't really think it was possible but I did just fill my afternoon and night with MYEONGDONG.



Ahhh, what a lovely day that was. Of course at 11PM, I started packing my bag and realized how I bought TOO MUCH! I had to stay up until the wee mhours (2-ish?) to figure out a way to pack everything hahaha. I was bone-tired, nearly bankrupt but really just blissful. I wish to do this kind of shopping again when I come back!

➹ yummy finds at the korean grocery part 2!

I love my Korean grocery side trips especially when I discover new goodies like these.


Teafood! This first cookie set is really lovely. The cookies on the blue package were quite nice. They weren't very sweet which would make them a perfect snack with hot milk tea. But I love the honey ginger flavored cookies better ^^. I am such a sucker for cutesy design hahah~ and these cookies are all decked out on festive decors! They are also delicately sweet which I absolutely love. I want to get more of these next time.


I also got this 고구마 snack as I was quite taken with the "The world filled with sweet dreams" tagline on its package. Its shape was certainly peculiar as they actually look exactly like the picture on the package. Sweet? Yes, indeed and really crunchy too. It tasted fine but I couldn't get past more than a few pieces as I got too full. I kept it inside my fridge and kept snacking on it for a few days ^^. The crunch and the sweetness did not change so I really enjoyed this for a long time!

Yum. Can't wait for my next good finds! ^^

➹ seoul souvenir shopping

SOUVENIR. I've learned that the meaning and significance of this word evolves with the traveler. For some, it could mean small gifts to give friends and family back home … while for others, this could mean a personal memento to save from an extraordinary experience. The curious thing with Seoul is that the city seems to invent fun new souvenirs with each year. I've been to Seoul more than once, and I managed to find new treasured souvenirs with each vacation!

Friends planning to visit Seoul as first timers would often ask me what and where to buy cheap yet good souvenirs in the city. My default answer has always been Namdaemun.



Right off the subway exit, tourists can find this store chock full of adorable Korean souvenirs of all kinds.






Key chains, magnets, bookmarks, chopsticks, pouches, and whatnots … everything is just too cute and tempting, to be honest. Just walk around the market and you will find all sorts of knick knacks. Food packages like teas, ginseng, and other traditional fare can also be purchased. There are also T-shirts emblazoned with Korean flags, words, and landmarks. Or if that is not your thing, check out some Red Devils merchandise (shirts, jerseys, and even the red horns haha!). And then ofcourse, hallyu merchandise! Non-official calendars, notebooks, socks, posters and what nots are all over the place.

The selection would match a shopping list filled with office peers, friends, and extended family members. So I highly suggest coming here prepared with your budget and shopping list haha! Else, you'll have a tendency of leaving with more than what you intended to buy. My personal favorite thing to buy here are the bear key chains in hanbok (they never get old for me) and the huge fans with really pretty Korean designs. I still use the fan I bought from 2008 (especially during brief power outages) and later on I bought one for my mom and grandmother as well!



Namdaemun is a primary default. The next default souvenir haven would be Insadong. The main street is lined with curious souvenir shops with pretty store front displays. I do think that the options in Insadong are more special than those in Namdaemun though you'll find a lot of similar items as well. I remember buying a shirt with special Hangul printing off one of the stores from there. I've always wanted to get the rubber stamps with my carved Korean name on it so I do need to go back to Insadong next time… And someday I'll buy that pretty music box with my own choice of design and kpop song! This music box store can be found inside Ssamziegiel. I did find this music box sold in that huge bookstore in Time Square but the selections are more overwhelmingly cute in Ssamziegiel.




After Insadong, I'd recommend the Korea Tourism Organization office along Cheonggyecheon (somewhere between Jonggak Tower and Cheonggye Plaza). Sure, this isn't exactly a tourist DESTINATION but there are amazing souvenirs here! Last year, there was an online survey conducted by KTO on the best Korean souvenir items and most of the candidates are available for purchase here. The products are a bit more pricey than Namdaemun or Insadong since they are more exquisite too. How I wanted to get those flash drives with the beautiful Korean enamel designs… And then there were these pretty tea sets which we wanted to get for a dear friend… Sooo irresistible, right?





There are also hallyu souvenirs from the KTO office. You'll find a lot of official goods like photo books, file folders, stuffed toys and what nots from famous dramas and singers. There is also this photo area with lots of hallyu star standees hahaha … HEAVEN haha^^.

But my personal favorite places to shop for hallyu souvenirs would of course be the official stores (SPAO, Everysing, record stores) and the Myeongdong Underground Shopping!



So let's go there … and you'll find some more souvenir shops with pretty much similar goods with what you've seen so far in Namdaemun and Insadong. Except that, the souvenir and merchandise stores are more mainstream than traditional Korean and the hallyu stores in Myeongdong underground are more into kpop (so ADDICTING). You'll find ALL SORTS of kpop goodies here~ from albums to calendars, photo books, stickers, fan lights, banners, towels, posters, shirts, CONCERT MERCHANDISE and T-MONEY CARDS! Needless to say, I can go bankrupt if I linger too long in these shops. You'll also find some random Pororo goods, cute accessories, and clothes which you can (I think) bargain for. This is a smaller scale Dongdaemun … less trendy than Dongdaemun but not as errr mature as Namdaemun.

Now going into mainstream souvenirs, I'd have to mention at least 2 places ~ 1st is the Haechi Shop at Gwanghwamun. They have uber cute Haechi merchandise from magnets, bags, bookmarks, to stuffed dolls. 2nd would be the souvenir stores at N Seoul Tower. Ohhhhhh, cuteness extreme?!?!?!





I don't think words are necessary for that haha… Just don't miss the souvenir stores at N Seoul.

Wow, this post has gotten longer than I originally imagined. And the thing is, there are MORE places for souvenir shopping which I did not mention. So I'll just namedrop those which I've visited so far ~ Hongdae! Gyeongbukgung Palace! Artbox! Bookstores (Bandi & Luni's, Kyobo, etc)! And Incheon International Airport (oh yeah, LOTS of goodies here)!

I hope to find more remarkable souvenir shops in the future and I plan to come back to all those I mentioned above for another round of treasure hunting haha! Seoul is just an incredible shopper's haven ^^.

➹ addicted to cute korean stickers

Why are Korean stickers soooooooooooooo irresistibly cute?


I've had a long standing affection for Korean stationery way before I had any clue on their origin. I think I still keep a few of those treasured stationery pieces somewhere ~ with their fascinatingly cute designs and adorable english phrases ^^. I also used to have a diary and an organizer with Korean calendars and inscriptions too! Those were the days when smartphone apps have yet to monopolize our way of lives haha!

So I might have outgrown the stationery, the diary and the organizer ... but NOT the stickers ^^. I fell in love again with collecting stickers and started buying these from my first trip to Seoul some years back. I just can't allow myself to walk away from those revolving display stands at bookstores and shops (ehem, Artbox) without picking out some pieces to keep!






Really cute eh? And these are really affordable too at just KRW500-KRW2000. They make for great personal souvenirs and even cheap, but unique and delightful gifts for friends, cousins and nieces. These won't even weigh down my luggage so there's really no reason not to keep getting them hahaha! I wanted to supplement my Hangul studies with the catch phrases on the stickers too so I believe it has a functional use as well ㅋㅋㅋ. I'm sure I'll keep collecting these just for the sheer fun of it. I couldn't grow old with this as my hobby, right? ^^

➹ korean accessories in singapore

Went with a friend around a mall in Tampines and found this stand advertising Korean-made accessories! Everything was ALL TOO CUTE!

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This reminds me of those times when I was so overwhelmed with filling my basket at that naughty cat store in myeongdong ! Ahh, at least I can somehow get my Korean-accessories fix here at Tampines for the meantime ... Oh btw, Helen (another accessory store) also sells Korean made goods. Just bought a really pretty hairband from there!

➹ seoul autumn cosmetics haul

My growing love for cosmetics shopping in Seoul is now directly proportional to the growing luggage space I've had to allocate for these buys. Here's what I bought for myself on the recent trip (gave away some gifts already):






Some freebies from my purchases (except for the face masks)


This one is just a box full of cotton pads ... but the box is ehem ^^.


I used to be totally ignorant on this fascinating sub-culture until I was drawn into that Skin Food shop in Dongdaemun last 2008. I even played it safe and just picked a body essence and a cologne. I could not risk any face or hair products at that time. But I was sold with the samples they dropped into my bag and resolved to muster up my courage to try new things on my next trip.

On my next trips, I fell in love with more essences, face masks and nail polishes! I was still mildly intimidated though whenever I browse through the endless pretty selections. I couldn't decide which ones to pick and I am usually too shy to use my limited Korean to consult the salesladies.

So before I left for Seoul last autumn, I took time out to educate myself on Korean cosmetics via beauty blogs! I didn't realize how extensive the resources are on the web on cosmetic reviews. I can't pick any one favorite since these beauty blogs each has its own style and charm. Just trust your google search and click on the massive selection of "Korean cosmetic reviews"!

Reading through the bloggers' assessments and comparisons of various Korean cosmetics raised my shopping confidence for my Seoul trip. Clearly understanding which brands and products I wanted to try, and how much they would set me back, I am able to walk into most of the cosmetic stores in Myeongdong … and come out with my pretty selections! I'm definitely hyped to try them all out now!