Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sweetsun]

hey there,
i was just curious as to what types of make up , hair dye, face wash ect...they have down there. i heard the makeup is super light, and i am not sure what types of dye they have hair.etcl... i guess i'm picky and don't know if i should bring my favs down. or just deal.

[tzechuk]

If you are caucasian, you should bring your own foundation and stuff like that because the colour tones are generally darker, since Asian people have *yellow* skin....

There have been talks of shampoo being different here, too, because the hair quality is different. So you might want to bring some just in case, especially if you are prone to losing hair.

As for face wash - what brand do you normally use? They have all the major make up brands like Lancome, Dior, Estee Lauder etc.. they are quite a bit more expensive than elsewhere in Europe or North America. Then they have the Face Shop and Missha - which people have found to be good. So you can try that perhaps.

Hair dye - they sell your usual L'Oreal, so you shouldn't have problem finding those.

To being with, my suggestion would be to bring your favs with you and then suss out what there is out there and pick your new favs from the local market.

[sweetsun]

thanks dude thats all i needed to know

[cardigan bay]

Lindsay
if you are blonde then bring a good supply of your own color from home since is is virtually impossible to get a good color at a salon here and quite difficult to buy blonde colors in shops. The only source I have found is in an area in Seoul called Itaewon and the selection is small.
Cardigan Bay

[cardigan bay]

Lindsey
sorry I spelled your name wrong the first time. Most of the major cosmetic brands are available here in department stores. I use Clinique but things like that are expensive here so I usually stock up with duty free when I travel. It might pay to bring a deodorant and any medicine that you need. Sometimes the deodorants here don't really work.
Bed sheets are quite hard to come by. I buy things like oatmeal and good coffee when I go overseas. It is impossible to buy decent bras here unless you want something really padded and really small and really fancy. If you are big busted you HAVE to stock up before you come.
Cardigan Bay

[neandergirl]

While many of the bigger brand names are here they don't always carry the same lines they do elsewhere. I use lipfinity (Max Factor) and L'Oreal's Airwear coverstick and have never been able to get them here (mind it probably doesn't help that I'm 5 hours away from Seoul). Also as someone noted the lighter colours (Pale, Ivory, Buff) generally aren't carried. So if you're attached to a particular product or are fair skinned bring lots or make sure you have someone who will knows your colours and will send them to you. Of course you can always stock up in Thailand or Japan .

That's not to say there aren't some good products here, there are but trends change quickly and very often the one you liked will disappear.

[tzechuk]

I don't think I have ever seen Max Factor in Korea.

I quite like Max Factor's stuff... cheap and cheerful.

[neandergirl]

Back when I lived in Daegu there was a little hole in the wall beauty shop (the kind women used to walk to with their shampoo and rollers and get their hair washed at) near the apartment that carried a very limited line of Max Factor products - mostly mascaras and blush. I've seen a few stores with Max Factor signs but nowhere with actual stuff to sell.

[jessiaka]

If you use MAC cosmetics you can find your match in foundations, concealers, and powders fairly easily
The counters in the smaller areas don't tend to carry NW shades, but busier areas (Mok-dong, etc) carry NW shades.

Facewash and stuff... like everyone has said above, there are all the big name cosmetic brands in department stores. They also have The Body Shop out here as well.

Hair dye, DON'T TRUST THE COLORISTS OUT HERE TO GO LIGHT.. oh my god... came to Korea as a platinum blonde, went to get my roots touched up by someone who claimed to have worked in London for 7 years, and I left with a pixie cut because all my hair fell off where the roots ended. Disaster. Color your own hair and bring your own products to do it!

I agree with the shampoo bit, I regularily order from www.stuff4beauty.com for all my hair products.

[cardigan bay]

Jessiaka's comment about color disasters really is a sad fact of life here. Even though some stylists will tell you that they understand what you want and can deliver it, it doesn't usually work out that way. They don't have access to the products available overseas and they aren't used to non asian hair which has a different texture and pigments???
CB

[sweetsun]

ausome...i'm thinking if they have mac i should be good regarding makeup... hair products and facewash...guess i'll bring a little selection down with me until i find something i seoul.
thanks for all the info