Where to buy Korean and Japanese cosmetics in Bangkok
If you are a fan of layering like me (Asian skin care technique) and you have the opportunity to come to Bangkok, don’t miss this opportunity to stock up on Korean and Japanese products
Some brands such as The Faceshop, Etude House, Innisfree, Too cool for school… have their own stores in Bangkok. Other brands like Hada Labo, Bioré, Missha… are distributed through resellers.
I confess, I didn’t find out where to buy them by chance. I read on the blog of a layering fan the detailed description of who sells what and where (article in English dated 2015). I just wanted to give you a more recent feedback (August 2016) after my express trip to Bangkok.
Address
So the area is called Digital Gateway (near the SIAM subway station). It is also called Center Point of Siam Square. Cabs are familiar with this place. You can also take an Uber (it’s cheaper than autorickshaws). If you come by subway, it’s a 1mn walk from the Siam station (get out of the station, go down to the road level, take the sidewalk in front of Siam Paragon, it’s the street parallel to this sidewalk).
This is the pink building you see in the picture. On the ground floor of this building, you can find a store of The Face Shop, which is opposite Beautrium ( a retailer that distributes cosmetics from all over the world), and at the end of the corridor, an Innisfree store .
Right next to Digital Gateway, you will find the SiamSquare One building (building on the right in the picture), where a store of Too Cool for School lives.
As you leave the Innisfree store, you will see the Watsons retailer across the street which, like Beautrium, offers various Korean and Japanese brands. I find that Beautrium is cheaper than Watsons. However, Watsons offers more choices and larger formats -> in the end, if you buy the larger formats, go to Watsons.
Watsons, like Beautrium, do not offer many testers. This is very annoying when buying BB/CC Cream or foundations. That’s why I encourage you to find out in advance what shade you want, or to go to the brands’ own stores instead of buying from retailers.
Be prepared to be disappointed at the resellers, they sell so many different brands that the choice is very limited and sometimes you can miss the bestsellers/must-haves of those brands. For example, I couldn’t find any Missha sunscreen !!!!!
Here’s a corner reserved for Too Cool for School at Beautrium
I didn’t find anyStudy House or Missha store in the area, contrary to the article mentioned above. Missha is now distributed through resellers (Watsons, Karmarts Shop, Stardust, Eveandboy, Beautrium) and Etude House has moved to the Central World mall which is only 5mn walk away.
Korean & Japanese Cosmetics Awards in Bangkok
In terms of price, I compared Thai prices with the site jolse (Korean prices), peaudanges (French prices), suka (French prices). I noticed that they were between 10% and 15% more expensive than jolse, -40% compared to peaudanges and -50% compared to suka (this isn’t a criticism compared to the French sites, they have to pay a lot of taxes and a more expensive labor than in Thailand).
So, for a fairly pleasant shopping experience, and less risk to make mistakes (when you have access to the testers of course), I find the prices very acceptable (I will give you the price of each item below).
OK, but what do you have to buy?
Frankly, Korean & Japanese cosmetics are very well known for their quality, I feel like saying: you have to buy EVERYTHING 😀 but it’s true that each brand is known for one or two products. To guide you in your choice, here is a non-exhaustive list of the best-sellers of each brand (sorry it isn’t in alphabetical order)
Etude House: Precious Mineral Moist Any Cushion, the lipsticks
Skinfood: Black sugar Mask Wash off
Tony Moly: the apple-shaped scrub and the tomato-shaped mask
Innisfree: ALL the masks, the sun cream (chick yellow color), their clay mask
The Face Shop: their new sun cream, eyebrow pencils, lip tints, rice water cleansing light oil, masks that look like a tiger, panda etc. because it’s too funny
Oh yes: their serum, too, it’s expensive
Missha: their sunscreen (blue color where it says “milk essence”), the BB cream Cover Perfect (best BB cream in the world)
Hada Labo: gokujyun lotion, gokujyun cleansing gel
Too Cool for School: Egg Mousse Pack and products with dinosaur packaging (including mascara)
It’s Skin: anything that contains snail slime
Mizon: anything that contains snail slime
Benton: anything that contains snail slime
Bioré: Aqua Rich sunscreen
The products I bought
Before going shopping, I already made a list of what I wanted (compared to the brands present in Bangkok). Each brand is known for 1 or 2 products, it’s more interesting for me to buy from several brands than to rob a single store. I was very inspired by the list of top products at jolse and Charlotte Cho’s book. I deliberately ignored Étude House, Too Cool for School and Tony Moly because of my backpack being too small but if you have more room in your suitcase, rob their store!
At Innisfree
Clearly, masks are their flagship products. And their sunscreen too (but it costs around 500 baht, so I didn’t buy it). Credit cards are accepted from 500 baht.
They are 2 products created only for Thailand, having as main ingredient, aloe vera (mouais).
Each mask costs 50 baht or 1,2€. I bought 11, and the saleswoman offered me 2. I had the opportunity to test the “manuka honey” mask in France and I fell in love with it. I took a lot of “green tea” and “tea tree” for my combination skin.
At Innisfree, I let myself be tempted by this powder allowing to have 2L of Jeju thermal water: Jeju sparkling mineral powder. I let myself be totally influenced by a Korean series sponsored by Innisfree, in which the heroine sells the merits of this water. There are 2 sachets in it and you have to mix the two sachets in water to get a sparkling water, which is supposed to give shine to the skin. I haven’t tested it yet but I plan to do so in the coming weeks. The sachet costs 90 baht, 2,5€
At Watsons
I went crazy with Japanese products: Hada Labo and Bioré. And a BB cream of Missha. I put pictures of the packaging & descriptions in English here, click on them to see them in large OK?
So let’s start with Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50+/PA++++. There’s a lot of + that will protect me well from UVA and UVB. According to some, it’s the best sunscreen in the world: no white film, tip top absorption. It’s true it’s true! The only negative point that bothers me is that alcohol is one of the most important ingredients in this cream. My skin feels it well, as soon as I apply it, there is a kind of evaporation of alcohol which is very unpleasant. But in terms of protection and feeling over a long period of time, I vote YES. The large format costs 585 baht (15€)
Here is the best lotion in the world: Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion, also known as Hada Labo Rohto Gokujyn Hyaluronic Acid Lotion. It contains 4 types of hyaluronic acid of different sizes, allowing the molecules to go deep and moisturize the skin over several layers. I use it as a serum and moisturizing cream because it is very hot here. A moisturizing cream would have clogged the pores. The texture is quite strange: it’s almost liquid.
I buy 2 formats: the pocket size of 30ml (to moisturize my skin regularly at the beach) for 129 bahts (3,3€) and the standard format of 170ml for 459 bahts (11,7€).
This was not planned: Hada Labo AHA/BHA face wash, but there are few good quality AHA/BHA cleaners available (except at COSRX) so I’m going to give this big tube of Hada Labo a chance. Because of the presence of AHA, it is absolutely necessary to use a sunscreen after its use. I paid 339 baht or 8,6€.
One of Hada Labo’s flagship products is this SUPER cleaner with PH 5.5. Hada Labo Gokujyun Face Wash. Thesaleswoman showed me another cleaner, which I bought like a sheep, but after reading the English description carefully, I came back to exchange it. You have to take the “Hydrating Face Wash” or “gokujyun” version and not the “clean, acne-free” stuff. It cost me 289 baht or 7,4€.
Two advantages of this cleaner:
-Physiological PH at 5.5 (very rare for a cleaner that lathers well)
-The presence of hyaluronic acid, which hydrates at the same time (super rare also for a cleanser)
Last purchase at Watsons: this BB cream from Missha that made the brand famous: Missha Perfect Cover BB C ream. The trick is that the saleswomen at Watsons are null and void. There were 2 shades 21 and 23 and I asked them for advice, they told me it was the same thing. Well, no!
I like the tube format very much. The shade may seem too light and “mask effect” at first but after 10 minutes the result is very natural. You don’t feel it anymore. It’s the first time I buy a real Asian BB cream and it’s really different from the European BB creams. According to the feedback I read on the internet, it also has a long term anti-wrinkle and radiance effect. In short, I validate. The price : 510 bahts (13€)
At The Face Shop
The Faceshop, contrary to its name, doesn’t really have any flagship products for skincare (in my eyes). However, I love their eyebrow pencil (with one side for drawing the eyebrows and the other for brushing them) Designing Eyebrow Pencil (color 02). And Ialso love their “lip tint” which gives too natural lips like “I just bit into a cherry”: My lips eat Cherry Aqua Tint
Price: pencil (119 baht), lip tint (229 baht)
Since credit cards are only accepted from 500 baht (sigh), I let myself be tempted by two moisturizing masks. A funny one (in the shape of a hihi tiger head) and the other one “cream mask in sheet”. I’ll test it and tell you if I like it. They cost 99 baht each.
At Beautrium
After spending money at other people’s homes, the only thing I need at Beautrium are cotton discs (Aimé brand on the top right). I’m a bit ashamed because I spent 30 minutes there taking pictures, looking at the different brands, only to end up paying only 59 baht.
Many love Asian cotton discs, finding it too soft, too this too that. I miss my Demak’Up discs and if I have to settle for Asian cotton discs, it’s because I have no other choice. By the way, these are the first ones I’ve seen since my trip to Asia (Indian and Nepalese women do NOT use bouhouhouuu cotton discs).
If you have not been to Nepal/India before going to Thailand, I advise you to buy at Beautrium the Purifying Neem Cleanser from Himalaya Herbals. The best for mixed skin with a tendency for acne because it contains Neem (purifying) and turmeric (healing). I also use it for the body because it has the ideal PH (5.5). If you find the “Foaming Face Wash” version as on the picture, it’s even better.
At Siam Paragon
Siam Paragon is the shopping center one street away, very “Galeries Lafayette”. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to hang out here for a long time but I saw a Boots and in each Boots there must be some Korean and Japanese brands too. I know that Paula’s Choice isn’t an Asian brand, but a lot of layering fans love their AHA, I saw a sign indicating the presence of this brand in July 2016.
The list of all Siam Paragon stores is available here if you are interested.
At 7-eleven, Family Mart
In these mini supermarkets, there are always plenty of samples. I found at 7 eleven my Bioré sun cream in small format, the Hada Labo lotion in 30ml, the trendy Thai cream Snail White (5ml for 150 baht). And many other samples of vitamin C, hair masks…
I also found the famous Nexcare imperfection patches (42 bahts), the charcoal blackhead patches (those seem more effective because you can see much more of what has been removed) and lots of other placenta creams, serum, vitamin C, masks, AHA, BHA to test for fun
At Family Mart, I found Tony Moly’s famous tomato masks for 19 baht. They are really nice and give a unified complexion in 20 minutes. I also took the Japanese version for comparison. They have a lot of other aloe vera masks.
Here, for the lazy ones, a little trip to the supermarket and you will be satisfied.
And after an exciting but exhausting morning of shopping, nothing beats a good BUBBLE TEA at 50 baht (Classic Milk Tea).
Have a good shopping!
P/s: I also went to Terminal 21, but there is a lot less choice of products. Two stands of The Face Shop and It’s Skin are there.
At Watsons of Terminal 21, there is almost nothing interesting, just Hada Lab and Bioré.
The Boots on the side neither except for the Anti imperfection patches from Nexcare.
At Daiso’s, where everything costs 60 baht, there are some interesting things to do
A dupe of the silicone cleaning brush sold at Sephora a few years ago. It’s softer than a Foreo Luna and manual.
These tweezers are the best for eyebrows
This is a dupe of COSRX, used to exfoliate the skin well but very gently.
