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 boxUnpacked 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? 
Hi!
Is it possible to do a review on the banila co eye love eye primer??
Thanks a lot in advance!
Hi raspy! Thank you for your request! I'm currently working on having a new blog template made, but once that's done I'll be sure to post that review first xx
Hi Siany,
I'm a Brit living in Korea and I use Gmarket a lot, mostly for electronics (I'm a geek!)
I want to get gifts for the ladies in my life in Korea and I wondered if you have any tips? Brands, items etc.
I'm a totally clueless male buying presents for 30-something sisters in law and my 60-something mum. I have no idea where to start, but I assume that if you like Korean cosmetics enough to import them into the UK then they've got to be good stuff.
The only thing I do know is good (and have given as presents) is Face Shop face masks.
Cheers!
Hi Adam,
Thank you for visiting my blog!
I have only bought multiple products from 3 Korean brands so far – banila co, Etude House, Skin Food (I haven't tried Face Shop) – and they've been so top notch that I probably won't be trying any new brands soon.
Out of those three, Skin Food is probably my favourite for skincare and masks; they sell the most delicious smelling facial masks (you must try some if you're lucky enough to be in Korea!) and body lotions. I also like their BB creams – they're a bit like all in one foundations with SPF thrown in, but BB creams tend to be available in only 1-2 shades. They use natural ingredients too, which is something I try to look out for. Unfortunately I've been unable to find a Gmarket seller who sells Skin Food internationally (I'd probably go crazy clicking otherwise), so my only source so far is ebay.
Etude House has the most adorable packaging in my opinion, and has a huge colour range. They're very affordable and the product quality is definitely there, but I think some of their packaging look better than they feel. Although the main appeal for me is their packaging, it's probably not for everybody. I would definitely recommend their Glow Base Sun Guard though, I can't honestly think of anyone who wouldn't love it :p
banila co has some really excellent eyeshadows & palettes with great colour payoff, makeup primers and my favourite BB cream is by them. It's a good brand to try if your sisters in law/mum like makeup too. Quality & packaging are brilliant in general and I think it targets a wider consumer base than Etude House does. Price wise they're slightly more than Etude House on average, but it's definitely worth it. They actually remind me of the brand Benefit, so if you know someone who likes Benefit it's likely they'll love banila co.
If you can I would definitely visit the above stores in person to see what other goodies they have to offer.
To summarize if you could only get a few items from each of the above brands I would recommend (in no particular order):
Skin Food – As many yummy masks as you can get hold of! You can never go wrong with masks 😀
Etude House – Their non sticky Glow Base Sun Guard
banila co – Eyeshadows, a palette or two
This is by no means comprehensive as I haven't tried everything from each brand and haven't been that adventurous when it comes to trying new ones, but I hope it's been of some help!
Siany
Wow, Siany, that's much more than I expected! You should make a blog entry out of that, it's really useful.
I'll get my girlfriend to try out the Skin Food masks, although they'll have to be pretty good to outdo the Face Shop ones.
I'm not surprised you like the Etude House packaging if their shops are anything to go by. The ones in Seoul are the most OTT girly places I've ever seen. I don't dare step inside in case I am suffocated by a cloud of oestrogen.
I'll definitely look into the items you suggest.
I probably won't be back in the UK until next summer or I'd offer to bring some stuff over for you to say thanks. I could send you something, but obviously you don't want to give your address out to a stranger (unless you've got a PO Box or an office address or something…) Let me know if you think of anything.
Thanks again!
You're very welcome! I really appreciate your lovely offer but don't worry about sending me anything, I'm just glad I could help 😀
You could try taking your gf to the girly shops if you don't want to venture in alone, I'm sure she'll love it too!
Siany