Over the past year or so, I've hardcore gotten into Asian skincare. Until relatively recently, getting lesser known Korean brands required ordering from specialty sites like Memebox or placing orders from Korean sites such as Jolse or RoseRoseShop and then wait for the international shipping to get your goodies to you. However, stores such as Ulta and Sephora have "discovered" Asian skincare and the previously "unknown" brands are now popping up for sale! I love shopping at Ulta for their rewards system, so I was excited to see brands such as Goodal and Whamisa available on their site. I've been slowly ordering more goodies from Ulta to supplement my other orders. Ulta's prices are in line with stateside retailers such as Glow Recipe and Memebox, which are a little more expensive than ordering directly from Korea (give or take with that shipping, though...) but give faster gratification. Unfortuantely, the full lines of the K-beauty brands are not available, but hopefully one day there will be more of a selection. Another benefit to buying from Ulta (or Sephora) is the advantage to return purchased items in store, which is just added convenience.
Goodal and Whamisa are brands that both focus on fermented ingredients, with Whamisa putting extra emphasis on organic ingredients. These brands tend to cost a bit more than brands such as TonyMoly (also sold at Ulta!) and have packing that isn't as cutesy as other K-beauty brands. I've bought Goodal Double Bright Intense Serum and Waterest Lasting Water Oil, and I really like them both. I wasn't terribly impressed with the sheet masks I tried, and since they're excluded from the famous $3.50 off $15 Ulta coupon, I may not give them another try. From Whamisa, I really like the Organic Flowers Eye Essence. I've only used the Water Cream a few times, and it was a little heavier than I'd like, but my skin feels really silky in the morning after I use it. Ulta has some exclusive "7 Wonders" masks from Leaders, along with some of their other sheet masks. I really liked the Pore Minimizing mask I got! To be completely honest, I didn't realize it was a gel mask and put it on my face with the protective film still on it and thought it was a total piece of crap before I realized that I was an idiot.
I also picked up a TonyMoly foot peel, and I got about five weeks of super soft feet. I've already ordered my second one. TonyMoly items can be bought using a coupon, so it makes the increased price of the sheet masks a little easier to swallow. (I still order packs of 10 sheet masks from Korean retailers because it's cheaper per mask, but if I want something on a whim, this is super convenient.) Some of the other brands are online only, but TonyMoly and Leaders are both available in store. (Not to mention the Hada Labo that was already available!)
I swear I'm not being paid by Ulta or Sephora or another store to gush about this, I'm just
really excited that I can buy stuff I've been wanting to try and get points for it. I'm really hoping western stores expand their offerings so more goodies can be tried!
