Asian beauty supply recommendations?

I have heard fantastic things about Asian beauty supplies. I'd really like to try some skincare things out and possibly some make up (bb cream?). Does anyone have any recommendation on why to try and a reputable site to buy from (minus eBay)?

sasa.com and bobodave.com are both reliable sites. I usually buy my asian brands from eBay since I can usually find more there. What type of things are you interested in? I have used tons of asian cosmetics and can help you with brand selection if you'd like.

Prettyandcute.com. They have a brick and mortar location about a mile and a half from my apartment. So many colorful goodies! It's where I get my bb cream, among other things.

I would like a BB cream. Mask, face scrubs, night treatments, pore refiners, etc. Blush, liners, shadows. I am big on packaging. I love fancy cute packaging. I really like Étude Houses line, but I wouldn't know where to start on what's worth buying and what isn't.

Skinfood has nice earthy packaging to match their nature based skincare products. Majolica Majorca is a line by Shiseido and they specialize in eye makeup but they do have some lip colors and blushes. The packaging is circus themed and the quality is what you would expect out of Shiseido. It's all very nice. They previously held my HG status for mascara until they were dethroned by Chanel. Tony Moly makes affordable makeup and skincare. Their cc cream is one of my favorites. Their Snow White Ice Queen cream is a great brightener. My Beauty Diary is fan favorite for their sheet masks. They have tons of masks to choose from. Jill Stuart is a high end line available in Japan. They have gorgeous princess packaging. Holika Holika makes good skincare too. I love their Miracle Real Skin Finish. They have a witchy theme. Kate is a japanese drugstore line by Kanebo. They have affordable makeup with good quality. The Face Shop has good masks and packs as well as other products. Lavshuca is a japanese brand with pretty girly makeup. Etude House is a hit or miss with me. But they are affordable. I like their cc creams and eyeliner. Lioele makes mostly bb creams and skincare. They have cute pink packaging too. Laduree's makeup line is the most beautiful line I have ever seen. It's also the most expensive. Japan exclusive. Nature Republic is mostly nature based skincare. Their packs are good. Baviphat makes skincare and makeup. I've heard great things about their primer.

Skinfood has nice earthy packaging to match their nature based skincare products. Majolica Majorca is a line by Shiseido and they specialize in eye makeup but they do have some lip colors and blushes. The packaging is circus themed and the quality is what you would expect out of Shiseido. It's all very nice. They previously held my HG status for mascara until they were dethroned by Chanel. Tony Moly makes affordable makeup and skincare. Their cc cream is one of my favorites. Their Snow White Ice Queen cream is a great brightener. My Beauty Diary is fan favorite for their sheet masks. They have tons of masks to choose from. Jill Stuart is a high end line available in Japan. They have gorgeous princess packaging. Holika Holika makes good skincare too. I love their Miracle Real Skin Finish. They have a witchy theme. Kate is a japanese drugstore line by Kanebo. They have affordable makeup with good quality. The Face Shop has good masks and packs as well as other products. Lavshuca is a japanese brand with pretty girly makeup. Etude House is a hit or miss with me. But they are affordable. I like their cc creams and eyeliner. Lioele makes mostly bb creams and skincare. They have cute pink packaging too. Laduree's makeup line is the most beautiful line I have ever seen. It's also the most expensive. Japan exclusive. Nature Republic is mostly nature based skincare. Their packs are good. Baviphat makes skincare and makeup. I've heard great things about their primer.

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Thank you so much for the recommendations and information! I now finally have some direction! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

There is also YesAsia's YesStyle site.

A good ebay seller is roseroseshop - you gotta be careful if you do ebay- things like the skin79 bb creams are counterfeited often.

And Deareux beat me to the long response...what she said!!!

I back up sasa, that's my goto shop when I'm in asia to do in person shopping.

I've tried Nature Republic and Skinfood. IMO, Skinfood is overpriced and sells well because of their packaging and scents, but I like Nature Republic a lot more in terms of the product itself.  Nature Republic is way more affordable too! I've only ever seen a Nature Republic store in Hawaii, but I think you can order their products online/off eBay as well.

There is also imomoko.com and beautynetkorea.com

Imomoko.com has japanese products, and beautynetkorea.com has, well... korean products

I have tried the Skinfood skin care line, I had the set for troubled skin. Honestly, I didn't realize how much it worked for me until my mom's friend saw me one day after I haven't seen her for a long time and she was pretty much complimenting my skin the whole time! I wasn't even wearing make up, so that made me really happy. It really worked for me. She said my face was so different than when she saw me last, it looked smooth, bright and not dull. I also liked how the packaging for the toner and emulsion are heavy and made out of glass, they just look awesome on the vanity.

However, I am not using it right now.. My financial situation has changed and I'm trying to save as much money as possible. The sad thing is I missed my old skin! Haha well I guess I can save little by little and buy a whole skincare set.

One of my favorite products from Etude House is their nail polish remover. Oh my gosh, when I received it I didn't expect a lot of thing, you know it's just nail polish remover. The great thing about it is that when you use it to remove your nail polish, you are left with this nice strawberry scent. Pretty much all of the nail polish remover I had used before that just smelled like acetone. It's just something that may be insignificant yet it's very nice.

For masks, I usually use My Beauty Diary's facial mask.  You have to be careful when buying this as there are counterfeit products. Luckily, the local Asian store nearby sells this so I'm trusting them. They have so many different types for different skin types. Honestly, they are so moisturizing and your skin just feels so smooth after. This is no joke, but I introduced this to my Dad (who was at least 50 years old at the time) and he got hooked on it! It's a bit hilarious as he would ask my Mom to touch his skin after he wears the mask. Haha I love my dad /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

So I was just looking for Friedman's paper masks ln eBay and I stumbled upon super cheap unsatuated DIY paper masks (cute little individually packaged pods 12 for $1!)

I then started looking for masks to soak them ina nd came across SK II...It sounds AMAZING...and they actually have it at Sephora!  It is super expensive so I ordered a little half ounce bottle from eBay...Anyone know anything about it?  The reviews seem to be great!!!!

I've heard great things about SK-II, but they're terribly expensive. They are also counterfeited a lot, so be careful when buying SK-II from unauthorized sources. I once bought what I thought was a Shiseido blackhead mask, but it turned out to be a fake.

Sasa.com is a great place to shop. Just remember to switch the destination for your country. Some of their items have oversea shipping restrictions because they ship from Hong Kong. And if you wait for promotions, they frequently have buy $29 for free shipping to usa! Aside from sasa.com, I'd also recommend Japanese supermarkets like Mitsuwa or Marukai if there are any in your area. They usually have skincare and beauty sections with tester bottles.

Quote: Originally Posted by Deareux /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I've heard great things about SK-II, but they're terribly expensive. They are also counterfeited a lot, so be careful when buying SK-II from unauthorized sources. I once bought what I thought was a Shiseido blackhead mask, but it turned out to be a fake.
Thanks!  How can you tell they are fake?  I mean unless its obvious (ie I bought a fake ud naked pallet that was obviously fake) but how would I know otherwise?

Quote: Originally Posted by OpheliaDiFranco /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Thanks!  How can you tell they are fake?  I mean unless its obvious (ie I bought a fake ud naked pallet that was obviously fake) but how would I know otherwise?
I'd probably look closely at the packaging. Are there words that are misspelled or sentences that aren't coherent? Does the product exist in that size or packaging (my fake Shiseido item was never made by Shiseido)? Does the seller have other fake items for sale?

If there's anything that looks fishy, I would probably email the company to ask. 

SKII is awesome, love there facial essence but also hideously $$. I get from sasa.com

Sasa.com is having free overseas shipping to the U.S. and Canada for orders over $19 right now if anybody is still interested. Offer ends Feb. 14th, Hong Kong time, so sometime Feb 13th for most of us here since they're like more than 1/2 a day ahead of us. This is their free shipping offer info from their site. But from past experiences with them, expect a long wait time for your order to arrive especially if it gets stuck at customs (14-21 days).

1. United States and Canada free shipping offer period: 00:00 11th to 23:59 13th February 2014 (Hong Kong time GMT+8).
2. Orders (upon US$19) for United States and Canada will all enjoy free standard shipping. Customers could add US$15 to upgrade to expedited shipping. *Please select the shipping method to 'Expedited Shipping' under Step 1 Shipping fee of the checkout process.

Time to stock up on sheet masks. =)