My 1st Gmarket Haul

I just came back from a 2-hour interview in London and I saw a note in my pigeon hole saying I have a parcel to collect. I almost squeal in glee and dashed immediately to the college receptionist to collect it. As expected, my first Gmarket haul has arrived!!



This is the first time I used EMS shipping. Being the stingy me, I would usually opt for the cheapest option. I don’t usually mind waiting for a bit in order to save money! But since Gmarket has only one shipping option, EMS that is, so I had no choice but to pay more. But oh boy, am I glad with the ‘premium’ shipping experience! It’s super fast! It arrived 5 days after I placed the order. Mind you, that’s inclusive of the domestic shipping time to the Gmarket warehouse in Korea and the parcel travelled all the way from South Korea. How fast is that? Plus, I was charged 24,700 Won for the shipping and I saw on the box the actual charges were 33,500 Won! That means, Gmarket actually charged me lower than the actual shipping cost! How cool is that? =)

On to the loot.

Inside the box - All the items securely wrapped in bubble wraps

All the stuff I bought – a sensible haul of ONLY 6 items! =P

These are the freebies I received from Etude House! Gosh, look at them! I have read from many other bloggers who had ordered from Gmarket before that the Korean sellers are very generous with freebies. Indeed they are!! I ordered 4 items from them and I received 7 freebies! =)

What I’ve got:

A box of facial cotton – this is great as I find the facial cotton I buy in the UK tend to be on the rougher side. Too harsh for my skin.

A box of Maxim Arabica 100 coffee (contains 5 sachets) – great too since I’m a coffee lover! I need my cuppa every single morning. Is this Korean coffee? Hmm…good to try.

A mini set of Total Age Repair skincare by Etude House – contains a 25ml toner, 25ml emulsion, 5ml essence, 5ml wrinkle filler and 5 ml wrinkle cream. Omg, this is the freebie that excite me most!! Can’t wait to try this out. Hmm…how do they know that I’m venturing into anti-aging skincare now? =)

A decorative Flip Flap – I place it on my desk and the leaves can move on its own. Cute!
A pen – the lipstick look-alike isn’t really a lipstick. It’s actually a pen! =)

Sugar Pink Lip & Cheek by Etude House – This is similar to Stila’s Convertible Color. A cream product you can use on both the lips and cheeks. I think they gave me a full size one (I’m not sure, it looks full size to me) and it’s a nice pink colour!

A sample of Collagen Moistfull Cream by Etude House

A pretty impressive freebies here huh? Now let’s see the breakdown of the products I actually purchased.

Fashion first – a pretty spring-ish dress and skirt. When I first opened these, my first impression were, “oh no, these are too small for me!!” I went on to try them on and turned out pretty well after all! They fit me nicely, only that I would prefer if they are a little longer. Both are mid-thigh length, which are alright in fact. It’s just me; I will be more comfortable longer. I usually would worry about the size whenever I purchase clothing online but I thought Korean size should suit me well since they are generally larger than their neighbour, the Japanese. Never know they are tiny as well! Anyway, I’m not saying I’m fat or anything. Just that I’m pretty tall in Asian standard (170cm) so the length might be a problem. =)

Btw, the dress costs 11,700 Won (~US$10.40) and the skirt 8,900 Won (~US$8). Pretty good deal right? Yay! =)

All Etude House products (from left to right):

Precious Mineral BB Cream in #2 Sheer Glowing Skin– 13,500 Won (~US$12.50)
Dr. Oil Solution Anti-Shine BB Lotion – 8,500 Won (~US$7.90)
Dr. Oil Solution Shine Free Dual Primer – 9,500 Won (~US$8.70)
BB Rice Compact & BB Rice Cream – 10,000 Won (~US$8.90)

I must say, Etude House in Korea is darn cheap! I am expecting the same applies to other Korean brands as well. My hands are itching for another order on Gmarket already. =.=

Btw, for those who do not know, Gmarket is basically the Korean version of Ebay where you find basically anything you can think of there. I haven’t explore the entire site yet (it might take me forever!!) but so far, from what I can see in terms of fashion and beauty sections, the selections are massive. The good thing of Gmarket over Ebay is that it allows you to buy from different sellers/stores, add items into the cart and get everything shipped in one single parcel as there’s actually a central warehouse where all the sellers send the items to be packaged and shipped. So that’s really neat and convenient. The downside of Gmarket however is that although the site is now available in English, almost all the sellers post items in Korean. So if you do not know Korean, it will take you some time to get used to and figure out how to shop for the stuff you want. I for one know not a single word of Korean and I took days to research and learn how to use that website. If you have any question regarding Gmarket, feel free to ask (comment or email), and I’ll try to help as much as I can.

With that, I guess I shall end my long entry on a small haul here. =)

Have a smashing day!