Yeah haha.. i learnt my lesson the hard way by paying quite a bit for the excessive luggage weight. :x Yes, mailing back will be a cheaper alternative!! You should do that instead :)

Hi there! :) nope i went with 3 of my friends as well :D

Hi Christie! :) You can find Laneige products at Myeongdong in Seoul. Huge dept stores also carry the Laneige brands, I remember that I saw Laneige products sold at Gangnam bus terminal underground malls too :) It should be easily available, however for a wider range and variety, I would prefer to locate the Laneige Flagship store in Myeongdong :) Hope this helps!

Love,
Chloe

Hi Chloe,
May I ask how much did you pay for the LANEIGE time freeze eye serum 20 ml? What's the price difference compared to SINGAPORE?

Hi Joy,

Sorry I did not buy the Laneige time freeze eye serum so I can't advise on that. You might want to check out the Korean website for Laneige and do a rough conversion to Sgd. Hope this helps :)

Love,
Chloe

Hi Charlotte! so sorry for the late reply! Yup it should not be a problem but you might like to let the person know so they can pack it properly for you Enjoy your trip! :D

Hi Karlap :) So sorry, i'm not too sure about this as I have combination skin type. I have tried the Ettusais Acne Aqua Shooter and it works pretty well for me :) You might want to give it a try after consulting the counter staff. My friends have also told me about the Laneige trouble care series for acne conditions, hope to get a set of that during my upcoming trip to Seoul, hope to provide a review on that soon ;) Hope this helps!

Hi Pauline, apologies for the late reply as I was away in Seoul for the past two weeks :p Yes, most of the Laneige flagship stores and Aritaum stores provide tax free refunds. However, do note that the cash refunds can only be received after getting the custom chop at the airport and proceeding to Gate 28 or 27 upon departure from Incheon Airport for the cash refund :) Hope this helps!

Hi Chloe! Is the refund process quick when done at Incheon Airport? You can only process this upon departure?

Hi! :) Based on my recent experience at Incheon Airport (May 2014), the queue moved pretty fast! But do note that you might need to approach 3 different tax refund counters depending on the tax refund receipts that you have. Do factor in around 30mins buffer time or more in case of long queues ;) Hope this helps! And yes, you can only process the tax free refunds at the airport upon departure :)

Hi Chole! Can I check if you need to show custom officer all the cosmetics that you are claiming tax refund for? This is because due to the hand luggage restriction on liquids, you have to pack them in your check in luggage?

Thanks!
Isa

Hi Isa,

Sorry for the late reply! You might need to show the custom officer if they request for you to do so (that was what happened to me in 2012) but during my recent trip in May 2014, they did not asked me to :) So to be on the safer side, visit the tax refund counter before checking in your check in luggage. Hope this helps!

Hi Sahh, yes, it's the bookstore inside the university, sorry I can't really recall the name but it was the only bookstore I found there :)

Hi JJ! :)

Sorry for the late reply! You could approach any place that provides courier service to mail your shopping items back :) I spotted the courier counters at the airport as well as at Lotte Mart (Seoul Station). You could get the cardboard boxes from Lotte Mart or probably check with the courier counters.

As for cosmetics, I've recently just returned from my shopping trip to Korea (May 2014), will be updating about my loots very soon! Do stay tuned! As for the contouring product, I've just bought a contouring powder from 3CE and it's pretty good! Face mist from Aritaum (Baby Mist Spray) & concealer from Hanskin as well as primer from Banila & Co. are among my top recommendations! More pictures and reviews coming right up! Do stay tuned! :D

Thanks Josiah! :D updating my 2014 loots now hehe!

Hi! :) I am trying to update my latest loots from my May 14 trip, I will try to list the prices for the products that I rmb :) Do check back! :)

Hi there! :) yup, after telling the shop that you would like to get tax free for the products that you buy, they will prepare the tax refund forms for you. You will need to fill in your details on the forms before you head to the airport's tax refund counter :D

Hi there! :) From what I recall, different stores might have different minimum amount Eg. 30000 won and above (if I never recall wrongly) to spend before you can claim for tax refund. Hence, you might want to check with the sales assistant before making your purchases :D Hope this helps!

Hi there! :)

I had a 28 inch lugagge on top of the big carton hehe.. Oh you can find carton boxes of all sizes at Lotte Mart packing area ;)

Hi there! :)

I had to declare my cosmetic loot and show it to the custon officer when i came back from Korea in 2012, but didn't need to do so during my recent trip in 2014. :p As for which place is cheaper to buy Laneige from, when I went in 2014, I bought from the flagship store at Edae. My friend recently went to Korea and she told me that it's actually cheaper from Incheon Airport (but downside probably would be lesser samples). You might want to check out those few places before making your purchase :) Hope this helps!

Yup, Lotte Mart supermarket is at Seoul Station itself :) enjoy your trip to Korea!

Hihi! :) For the luggage bags, if you spend above a certain amount at various makeup or skincare stores like Laneige, Innisfree etc, they will usually gift a cabin size luggage. Hope this would be useful for you! :) Or not you might want to search for bags in those bags shops which might be pricey depending on the brand you pick. Enjoy your trip to Korea! :)

Hi Jaycel! :)

Sorry for the late reply! In my most recent trip to Korea, I came back with 80kg checked in lugagge (for two) :p Abit extreme but I topped up my luggage weight to the max :) Yes, i will be doing up a blogpost on tax refund soon! Do check back again! :)

Hi Elaine,

Sorry for the late reply! I think it depends on the exchange rate as well. Overall, 3CE might cost around the same as preorder sites in SG or probably 5-10% cheaper :) But you get to try out the products at the Style Nanda before purchasing, not forgetting the photo booth too hehe!

As for Laneige, during my latest trip i think it's around 15 to 20% cheaper after tax rebate etc.and you get more free samples :)

Hope this helps!

Hi Si Ting,

I woud think roughly around $1k to $2k for expenses? :) Depends on how much cosmetics and skincare products you plan to buy haha.. My most recent trip was 14days and estimated expenditure was around $3k (i'm an extreme shopaholic though :p) Hope this helps!

Hi Shirli,

I have been visiting Korea in Spring for the past two years :) It's about 15 degrees, perfect weather to layer clothes without sweating ^^

Love,
Chloe

Hi Chloe,

Would you recommend mailing packages overseas from Korea when travelling. As in mailing back to your home address?

Hi Cheryl,

I would recommend mailing packages only if they are non perishables :) It also depends on your budget. You might want to compare the rates for mailing vs. extra cost to pay for extra baggage weight (do this top up in advance to save money) and see which is more viable. Hope this helps!^^

XXOO,
Chloe

Hi dear, so sorry! I think i did not visit this store when I was there >.< Too many stores to go to hahaha... Hmm there is a possibility that they carry a mixture of brands in the Hanskin shop though :)

XXOO,
Chloe