Kelly Driscoll

There’s something special about K-beauty. No matter what draws you in (ingredients, packaging, something from another country) you can’t deny that having some Korean skincare products on your shelf can give you the warm and fuzzies.

Although there are drawbacks to K-beauty addiction, and one of the biggest ones can be where to buy it! K-beauty is not easily found in my area and the few places that do have it,(Riley Rose, Forever 21, Sephora, Ulta) their prices are amusingly high when you know what these products should really retail for.

Shopping online is the way most of us go but that can come with its own complications. Which sites are safe, which are the most convenient, what’s the best price? And let’s not even with the dreaded worry of counterfeit products. *gulp*

Which is why I wanted to share with you the places and shops I trust the most for my K-beauty purchases. These are all places I’ve shopped multiple times and have the utmost trust in to ship out my products in a timely manner, have excellent customer service, fair prices and protect their customer’s information (I still always recommend shopping with your PayPal account and not a credit card).

Amazon (US)*

US based | No rewards program available

Maybe pretty obvious but Amazon* is one of the easiest place to purchase K-beauty products. I’ve shopped Amazon for K-beauty for years and it sure has come a long way. Back in the day I was probably taking a risk by shopping the Amazon marketplace looking for Etude House, Skin79 and Missha!

These days there is a ton of K-beauty easily available with fast shipping.

Tips:

• I only buy Prime Eligible K-beauty products. This is not just for the fast shipping but as a way to ensure I receive authentic products. Selling through Amazon Prime is big business and Amazon takes its Prime sellers seriously. Sellers have to go through an application products to become Prime Eligible sellers. Products are housed in Amazon warehouses (how they can ship so quickly to you) and Amazon certainly wants to make sure the products they accept are on the up-and-up.
• I like to look at the seller of the product themselves. This information is easily found near the add to cart button. It will say something like “Fulfilled by Amazon, Sold by ______.” Clicking on the name of the seller will allow you to view their seller feedback and see what other products they are selling.

Recommendation:

You’ll find many authorized K-beauty dealers selling on Amazon these days, including Wishtrend and Jolse (I’ll touch base on them in just a bit). But one authorized Korean reseller that flies slightly under the radar is Credithink.*

Credithink is passionate about bringing new and natural Korean beauty to us through their website (international shipping)* and their Amazon Store (US only)*.

Credithink carries brands Whamisa, Hygee, Isntree, Iunik, Jin Jung Sung, Keep Cool, Make P:rem, 107, Sioris, Thank You Farmer and Urang just to name a few!

Credithink offers excellent customer service and are extremely responsive to questions. They often bundle their products with some samples (will show the products with samples in the product description) something that is sorely lacking in the K-beauty Amazon space.

Yesstyle (International)*

Based in Hong Kong | Rewards program available

Yesstyle* is one of the best known Asian Beauty shops on the internet and I’ve been shopping here confidently for about 7 years. Yesstyle doesn’t just carry Korean skincare and makeup, they also carry J-beauty and T-beauty products, plus clothing, accessories and home goods!

Yesstyle has a HUGE selection and if you are just looking to browse around you might feel a little overwhelmed! (I can easily spend hours just looking.) What I like is that they have great prices, pretty much every brand you are looking for, samples and reasonably fast shipping.

Tips:

• Since Yesstyle has such a large offering, not every product is in-stock and ready to ship after you’ve place your order. If you are looking to receive your items ASAP make sure the product says “Ships within 24hrs” some products take 14-21 days to ship out so pay attention if you’re on a time crunch!
• Create an account at checkout so you can be automatically enrolled in their rewards program. Every membership tier gets a slight discount on all their purchases, earn coupons and get access to promotions! Beginning membership level (bronze) saves you 3% on all orders.
• Standard shipping methods from Hong Kong to the States takes about 1.5 – 2 weeks after shipping from the Yesstyle warehouse.
• Special promotions will be listed on the home page.

Wishtrend (International)*

Based in Seoul | No rewards program

Wishtrend* is the official home to Dear Klairs, I’m From, Jungle Botanicals and By Wishtrend. They also are authorized dealers of Cosrx, Chica y Chico and Skin and Lab. Wishtrend runs a very popular YouTube channel with all kinds of skincare information and products.

Wishtrend has an easy to navigable curation of products. They don’t offer a rewards program but they will bundle their products together at a discounted price and this is often the way to get the best deal from your Wishtrend order.

They’re also very generous with samples and sometimes will offer promotional codes to get free products, steeply discounted products or limited edition Wishtrend swag.

Tips:

• The biggest Wishtrend sale happens the week of Black Friday with the lowest prices of the year. This is the time to stock up on your favorites from Klairs and I’m From. Site usually crashes, so plan your items and get in early.
• Another tip on Black Friday, promo codes are stackable so make sure you have all yours ready (sign up for emails)!
• ALWAYS pay for shipping. Do not opt for free shipping without a tracking code. My experience has been the extra $6-8 is not only peace of mind but also means my package arrives sooner. (here’s an example: last Black Friday sale I purchased on Monday, paid $8 for shipping and received my order that Friday! Others that opted for free shipping received their packages around or after CHRISTMAS.)
• Another note about paying for shipping. I have heard a few stories of people having issues with lost packages, it’s very hard to remedy these situations easily if you have opted out of a tracking number.

Jolse (International)

Based in Seoul | Rewards program available

Jolse is hands down the K-beauty shop with the most competitive prices! Generally speaking, they have some of the best prices on products that you’ll find and if you can combine with a coupon or promotion you will be an even happier camper!

Jolse has amazing, personalized customer service. On a recent order, I received a personal email from a Jolse employee letting me know that unfortunately one of my items was no longer available. They swiftly refunded me and they even let me know that my package had already let the warehouse! It may seem minor but the personalized touch really made an impression on me.

Jolse has a good selection of curated Korean products (there has been some rumblings about future J-beauty offerings coming) and is very easy to navigate. Although their selection isn’t as large as Yesstyle, they always seem to have the newest releases and most popular products.

Jolse offers cash back store credit every time you purchase with them. New registered members get $3 in their account and receive 3% store credit on every order.

Tips:

• Always check the side bar of the homepage for membership coupons. This page will have percentage off your order coupons as well as some individual product promotions. Don’t forget to “download” the coupon to your account!
• They offer samples and freebies, the more you spend the more you’ll get. I’m personally a big fan of the scrub mitts they give out (like a salux towel) and have gotten a mix of well known and little known brand samples.
• If you spend less than $40 you’ll want to pay the extra $2.50 to get your tracking number.

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*Indicates use of affiliate links, shopping through these links provides a small commission that helps to run this blog