More Gmarket awesomeness!

Since I'm rather behind on posts, this will be my second entry for the day

Luckily another one of my Gmarket orders arrived this afternoon so I can post about it. I love how the package took only 4 days to get to me including the weekend too; Gmarket is seriously efficient when it comes to shipping out items, awesome!

This time I purchased a few Etude House items, and banila co's latest eyeshadow palette. Swatches and reviews to follow.

banila co Deep The Night Multi Eye Kit (the packaging is seriously pretty). I will try to post a review of it along with my other banila co palettes this week. It's starting to get dark a lot earlier now so I'll wait to take more pics during the day.

No flash

Taken with flash

Etude House Moistfull Special Set, Peach Skin Pact and Precious Mieral Brightener.

I also received some freebie primers, and a toner & emulsion mini pack from EH's new Total Age Repair range - I have no use for this though hehe.

I think I've pretty much run out of things I want to get from EH and banila co (~sigh~), unless they release a bunch of new items of course. In the meantime I'll try to review what I've purchased so far asap - there's a rather large backlog!

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Cream, Emulsion, Essence, Facial Freshener & Eye Cream

I only planned on getting 3 things from EH's new Moistfull Collagen range (cream, eye cream and that SPF36 balm), but in my Gmarket order I received a freebie Moistfull Collagen Special Kit which contains a full set travel sizes of Facial Freshener, Emulsion, Essence and Cream - I'm going to review the lot ^^

I did consider trying the original Moistfull range but 1) I get slightly excited at the sight of new releases and 2) collagen is one of the most powerful proteins in the human body, gives tissues firmness and strength, and is basically what makes skin plump. Who doesn't want soft skin like a baby's behind? Exactly.


Moistfull Collagen Facial Freshener (toner)
Most of the time I don't bother with toners because I'm not convinced that they're necessary; I have used them in the past but haven't really found them to be particularly beneficial. This Facial Freshener feels refreshing, but it does contain alcohol, which is okay on my t-zone but if I don't follow up with a moisturizer it makes my skin feel tight after a while. I don't approve of skincare products that contain alcohol anyway, so won't be using this again.

Moistfull Collagen Essence (serum)
When I first used this I thought it was an exfoliator, as it contains tiny beads amongst the somewhat watery fluid. However the beads disappeared after a few rubs but I still found them a bit odd since all the essences/serums I've used so far have had smooth consistencies.

This essence feels a tiny bit sticky after it's rubbed in, but leave it a while and the stickiness disappears. I don't always use a serum type product before moisturizer, and when I do it's usually at night before I go to bed. This does add a bit of extra moisture though and makes my skin extra plump the next day.

Moistfull Collagen Emulsion
A lightweight, milky moisturizing lotion. Provides a little moisture but depending on your skin type this may or may not be enough on its own. I used the emulsion on my t-zone and the cream on my cheeks. You can also use this under the cream and I find that I need less cream if I use the emulsion first.

A nice thing to have but not essential in my opinion.

Moistfull Collagen Cream
I bought this cream on its own as well, and it came in a set of 50ml cream in a heavy jar plus 5ml sizes of the essence and another cream; there should have been a spatula too but for some reason I didn't get one. It has a light, fresh pleasant smell like the emulsion and the consistency is inbetween a gel and cream moisturizer. Non sticky, feels lightweight and very moisturizing, I like to use it before I go to bed and on my cheeks, which makes them feel plump and very strokable in the morning.

I have been using this pretty much daily ever since I received it (about two weeks ago) and I'm getting through it quite fast since I'm using it day and night, but at 15,000KRW (around $13) for a full size, it's not expensive at all.

Moistfull Collagen Eye Cream
Added review for the Eye Cream thanks to a reminder from the lovely raspy

When it comes to eye creams my requirements are pretty simple - moisturizing, lightweight, not too sticky, preferably with a cooling effect so it soothes my eyes when they feel tired. This doesn't give a cooling sensation but is very nourishing without being heavy so I can use it both morning and evening. Its semi gel like texture spreads easily which is important for me as I don't want to drag the skin around my eyes too much.

What's also nice is that it comes in a 25ml squeezy tube as opposed to most 15ml eye creams; I use it rather generously around my eyes, especially at night, to keep the skin soft and moist. I don't have super dry skin around my eyes, but surely using more product can't hurt.

It doesn't claim to reduce wrinkles or dark circles (I don't have either), just improves the elasticity and look around the eye area - I think it does the job well and is a great basic eye care product.

Eye Cream ingredients

Overall this is a pretty nice skincare range and I'm glad I tried it, but I'm not sure if I'll repurchase - I already have enough products lined up waiting for me to try!

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Balm SPF36

When Etude House released their new Moistfull Collagen range of mostly skincare products, this balm especially stood out because its name made it sound like an all in one skin perfecting product with sun protection thrown in. The swirly pattern & compact it comes in looked cute too, so without much hesitation into my cart it went.

The box it comes in is rather big, but it holds the mirrored pact, a handy replacement sponge and a 10ml sample size of Moistfull Collagen Cream. The packaging of the compact is in a fat pearly peach coloured plastic casing with a semi reflective shiny plastic thing on the top; it does absolutely nothing so I guess it's there for decorational purposes.


Inside the compact there's another sponge on a holder which separates it from the actual balm - a rather nice feature in my opinion. The swirly balm looked so pretty that I almost couldn't bear to use and smudge it up.

Dark swirls are foundation, white swirls are moisture cream.

According to the promotional pics you can use the sponge for different areas of the face depending on how much of the sponge you use, but I find it much easier using fingers because the included sponge gives a somewhat blotchy finish. The balm texture is creamy, smooth and very easy to spread.

I really wanted to like this pretty balm, but it's pink toned and looks unnatural on me (usually NC15 sometimes NC20 in MAC) in that it's very easy to tell I'm wearing foundation. You can see the obvious mismatch even when swatched on my arm. Coverage is medium and a little cakey unless applied with a light hand.


There's also a white cast (it does say "whitening" on the box but powdery white is not a good look) when I first apply it, although this does go away after a while. Also this balm really highlights any dry patches on my face - so much for moisturizing, heh. I tried patting it on gently with the sponge, and using my fingers but both yielded pretty much the same powdery result.

All in all I'm pretty disappointed with this, so I'm sending it to my makeup drawer to gather dust.

Mine was purchased from Gmarket for 16,500KRW (around $14).

Another visit to Gmarket

So I couldn't resist the calling of Gmarket and placed another order for some Etude House items - mostly skincare stuff, plus 2 more tubes of Glow Base Sun Guard because it is that awesome

Nicely bubble wrapped

This time my order took less than a week to arrive from when I placed it. As soon as Gmarket received everything from the seller they shipped out my order via EMS, and because it wasn't stopped by customs it came straight through to me!


There were tubes of sun protection:
- Aqua Drop Sun Guard SPF33 PA++
- Glow Base Sun Guard SPF36 PA++ x 2
- Super Aqua Sun Guard SPF35 PA++
- White Aqua Sun Guard SPF50+ PA++

And a few items from the recently released Moistfull Collagen range:
- Moistfull Collagen Cream (full size cream, mini jar of cream & tube of essence in box)
- Moistfull Collagen Balm SPF36
- Moistfull Collagen Eye Cream
I don't always use a toner or serum so I just picked up a few basics. I didn't bother with their Code B stuff; they didn't look like what I would normally go for.

The Secret eSpoir Perfumed Body Travel Kit (never heard of, and the scent is too strong for my taste) and Moistfull Collagen Special Kit (contains handy travel sizes of Facial Freshener, Emulsion, Essence and Cream) were freebies. Oh there was a little heart shaped dangly thing too.

It's a good thing that banila co hasn't released any new items I want since my last order, otherwise this one would've been a lot bigger

Etude House Glow Base Sun Guard SPF36 PA++

I hate the summer. While most people sit under the sun basking in its rays I prefer to seek shade and cover myself with a high SPF - I'm always on the lookout for decent, non sticky sun protection so when I came across this Glow Base Sun Guard on Gmarket from one of my favourite sellers, I had to have one!

Etude House makes several other Sun Guard products; these include Aqua Drop, Aqua Proof, White Aqua and Super Aqua with different levels of SPF. I chose this because it was the only one in a pink tube and the SPF 36 will be enough for most days.


Etude House says:

Supplies attractive pearl glitter expression for moist and sparkling skin expression. Specially formulated to soothe, nourish and lighten skin while suppling sun protection.

I say:
This baby pink lotion brightens and provides a pretty dewy glow to my skin, is very easy to spread, doesn't give a sticky or heavy feeling and has a lovely refreshing scent. Does make me resemble a mirror when first applied but the extra shine disappears very quickly (I have combination skin so probably shouldn't have used so much on my t-zone, lol) and I'm left looking fresh.


I like to use this under BB creams too, and it gives a boost to my complexion making it look super healthy. I only use it on my face and neck since I have a bigger bottle of SPF for body areas.

The PA++ part is a rough measure of how effective it is at protecting against UVA rays (cause the most amount of skin damage). There are 3 grades - PA+, PA++ and PA+++.

For the past few days I've been using only this on top of my moisturizer, with a bit of finishing powder on my t-zone to get rid of any excess shine. It hasn't caused any breakouts so far and doesn't leave a white cast. I have now ordered some other versions of Sun Guard from Gmarket, as well as 2 more tubes of this stuff for backup

The Korean retail price of Glow Base is 7,500KRW (currently around $6) for 50ml.

I ♥ Gmarket!

My second order from Korean website Gmarket finally arrived! Ever since it landed on the 24th it has been with UK customs with the tracking information frozen on "AWAITING CUSTOMS CHARGING" so I was expecting a charge of some sort, plus a £13.50 rip off handling fee from the courier (parcelfarce) for paying customs on my behalf. In the end though, it was delivered without any charges, which I was very happy about.

I haven't really had a chance to look though everything as they arrived mid afternoon and I'd been spending most of that time on Pancake duty.

Anyway I've now unpacked them and taken a few photos.

Arrived in a box within the EMS box

Unpacked and laid out on my desk are:


♠ Etude House Glow Base Sun Guard SPF 36
♠ Etude House Secret Long - I don't own any false lashes and these were less than $2 so I threw them in
♠ banila co The Mineral Surprise Sensitive Foam Cleanser
♠ banila co Rio De Janeiro Copacabana Highlighter
♠ banila co Rio De Janeiro Copacabana Blusher
♠ banila co Gossip Girl Multi Palette S01
♠ banila co S Night Standing Palette Shadow S03
♠ banila co Good Night Kiss Lip Care Essence
♠ banila co Eye Love Brow Cake
♠ banila co Eye Love Eye Primer in Temptation
♠ banila co Eye Love Color Stick Duo in 01 Parisienne, 02 Blondie and 03 Dark Angel
♠ banila co Dear Flower Eye Mode Washable Mascara in Volume Lash
♠ banila co Tint Balm 01 Clear Magic


Now the freebies...

I was given freebies from both sellers, although just 2 were from Etude House since I only bought two items from them. The banila co seller on the other hand, was ultra generous and I even got some full sized products! The cosmetic bag will be perfect for storing some of my banila co stuff

All these are freebies - there's even a banila co carrier bag as if I'd been shopping in their actual store!

♣ banila co Prime Primer samples x 5
♣ Isa Knox Re-Active Concentrating Cream samples x 5
♣ Isa Knox White x-II+ Special Whitening Gift Set
♣ Kanebo DaDa Lift Balance Cream samples x 3
♣ Kanebo FairCrea Whitening Foam samples x 3
♣ Etude House mobile phone charm
♣ Etude House Baking Powder Pore Cleansing Powder Wash
♣ banila co cosmetics/toiletry bag
♣ banila co Kiss Collector
♣ banila co Love Holic Pearl Mascara
♣ banila co It Shiny Lip Gloss 03 Orange Fever
♣ Clio Professional Eyeshine 04
♣ Cosline Inter Sense Shine Color Gloss 04

Honestly not one single retailer in the UK is anywhere near this generous; even if I spend £200+ from a beauty counter in store (which is as rare an event as rocking horse poo) all I'll get is maybe a tiny tiny sample, plus a couple sachets of cream/moisturizer at the very most, and sometimes a promo leaflet (yipee!)

From the freebies seen here it's easy to see why I much prefer to order from abroad. Often the quality is excellent, prices are very reasonable and you just get so much more value for money.

Gmarket is one of my very favourite sites to order from - superb customer service, speedy shipping, plus cute Korean makeup products at retail price with a mountain of freebies thrown in. What more could a girl want?