Since my post about getting my Korean visa in Cebu in 2016, Seoul has actually been my favorite city ever since. Yes, you heard it right...it's not Tokyo, Paris, or New York...it's the Land of the Oppas! And Seoul has strongly held my fascination all these years that I've been going at least 2x/year since 2017. Anyeonghaseyo!
Althea Philippines
I won't go any further about how much I love Seoul since this might bore you (but not my fellow K-Babes eyyy). But I wanted to share how I get authentic K-beauty items straight from Korea to my Cebu doorstep. I primarily use Althea Philippines.
Fave K Beauty Brands
I discovered K-Beauty products in Cebu first actually. The Face Shop opened here many years ago and I was hooked on the Rice Bran face cleanser. From there I tried the face tints and loved it too. As the years went on my skin had changed (acne, aging) and I found that I wasn't responding to Face Shop products as well as I used to. At the height of K-Beauty, I'd experimented with a number of lesser known brands. But truth be told my core need when buying personal care is value for money (cheap ko) and won't trigger acne. So I tended to stay in the mass to mainstream priced options that worked for me.
I loved Nature Republic for the price point. And was so happy to find them in SM Megamall when I was in Manila. And then I discovered Innisfree! I used to stay away from their stores in Myeongdong because I found them too pricey. But when I checked Althea Philippines, some items were really well priced/discounted. We're talking P280-P350 for cleansers, so it seemed like a "risk-free" price to trial.
I tried the Innisfree Green Tea Cleanser first and my skin loved it! It's been my go-to range since then. I tried experimenting with other ingredients/ranges but my sensitive skin really wants green tea! So I got hooked on the brand and needed to buy staples (cleaner, serums, hair treatment) every couple of months, and for a time I could only source them (with trust) from Althea Korea. Innisfree took a while to open a physical store in Manila. And I found the prices too expensive there. Even when I could easily visit them, I continued to buy via Althea Korea since the cost just made more sense.
Buying Experience with Althea Philippines
- Authenticity - They guarantee it. My experience so far makes me 99.9% trust them. It's the same, look, feel, smell as those I've personally bought in South Korea. And this is also why I keep coming back to them. I don't trust Shopee or Lazada stores as much, unless it's an official store. And the official store is still more expensive than Althea!
- Prices - Excellent. Better than physical stores.
- Shipping Fee (my #1 barrier to buying) - This used to be free as long as you hit a quota (i.e. P2000 per order), but now there is a flat fixed fee as long as you order above P1500. If you're buying a lot of products, this option will make sense.
- Delivery - It is 90% on time in my experience. And by on-time, that means >3 weeks based on their SLA. As long as deliveries are done by DHL they are usually very prompt, sometimes getting here in 2 weeks or less. I had one experience where another provider was used and it took longer than 3 weeks to get to Cebu as a result. Na-stress ko but it arrived eventually.
- For smaller K-beauty top-ups, they're already available on Shopee! See link here. This has been my preferred option during the pandemic since I can't consume too many personal care items these days. It's not a Shopee Mall store but since I'm familiar with the Althea brand, I trust it.
