One year in Gwang-ju, South Korea

July 23rd marks the one year anniversary of us arriving in South Korea. It's the first time we have been here and for Neil, the first time he's been in Asia. This day flew by like any other day, in fact, we had forgotten about this date. It was a Thursday and nothing significant happened. Here's a list of things I've liked and disliked in the one year I've been here: 

The Good...

- cheap taxi fares! coming from Vancouver where it'll cost me $7+tips to get from downtown to chinatown, it's unbelievably cheap here. For a 15 minute ride, it'll cost me around $5. And most of time going from the supermarket to my apartment is only $3. 

- keyless locks! In my first and third apartment, we got keyless/pinpad locks and they are amazing! No more forgetting my keys :) Some even come with an intercom so you can see who is at the door. 

- cheap kimbap and street food! You can easily get a kimbap that fills you up for $2 here and hurricane potatoes is only $1! All those times I've pad $5 for them at night market - I feel so ripped off! In the colder months, they even sell a cup of corn with cheese and peas for $2. Mmmm There's also this rice burger that's filled with tuna, kimchi, tuna and cheese that I like to get for only $2.50. I love cheap and delicious eats! 

- food home delivery! Most things here are available for delivery, including McDonald's. The website to order McDonald's is super easy and we've done it a couple of times :) Some other popular dishes to order for home delivery is fried chicken, sweet and sour pork, pork hock withe lettuce and sliced pork, black bean noodles, dumplings, pizza and burgers. We're limited to an app called Yogiyo because it's easy to use and I don't need to order over the phone. If I could order via phone, the choices would be even better! 

- korean makeup and free samples! There are always sales everywhere I look. The number of Korean brand makeup is also endless. I've tried only a couple so far such as Innisfree, The Faceshop, Tony Moly, Etude House, and Skinfood. There's so much more....Oh and every time you buy something, there's always so many free samples. These are great for quick weekend getaways and to give away. I love it! 

The Not So Good...

- terrible driving! people are constantly talking on their phone while driving, and I've seen instances where children sit with no seat belts on. Also, I've been toddlers held in the laps of adults in the passenger seat. Not only is it bad inside the car, but cars will drive reckless and fast. They don't always obey traffic lights. Many instances where cars are halfway into the intersection and decide to change their minds amid sounds of honking. I've had close calls with drivers and I love glaring at bad drivers and mouth "wtf" to them. But seriously, be extra vilgilant on the roads as a pedestrian! 

- expensive fruits and foreign goods! let me reiterate, fruits are expensive here. I haven't had many since coming here because I've been too cheap to splurge. And I can't eat it fast enough since Neil doesn't like it that much. I understand why it needs to priced where it is but I don't like it! Some things like canned beans, bbq sauce and other things are not easily found in local supermarkets so we always have to trek to the larger ones. Right now, I can't even find cauliflower! 

- air quality and humidity! I didn't realize how good I had it back in Vancouver. I miss the crisp, sweet air that you can bottle up and drink! The air quality here sucks. In the summer time, the humidity makes me feel like I've been roasted alive any time I step outside. There is no movement in the air, it's so stale. We don't have an A/C unit in our apartment so our two fans are working overtime. 

- late start = late hours! Our working hours are from 1:00pm to 10:00pm every weekday. I'm not motivated enough to head out during the day and then come back and prepare for work. In fact, it's because it takes so long for me unwind after work and dinner that I don't go to bed til 2am every night so I just sleep in. Sighs. It's a vicious cycle and makes me feel very unproductive. 

The Strange...

- sweet breads! First thing we noticed was how the bread here are mainly sweet. Sure there's some savoury ones, but they have a hint of sweetness. 

- large statues in front of most buildings! (art?) This could just be my observations but outside every building, there is a weird statue of some sorts. I think Gwangju is trying to be more artsy? It's weird. 

- obsession with 'honey butter' fad! Almost any snack these days can be found with 'honey butter' flavour! From chips, to milk to cookies. This has to stop somewhere right? I loved the original chips from Calbee but enough is enough. 

Overall, in the one year we've been here, we've learned to finally adjust our lifestyle to meet our needs and work. It's taken us about 6 months to get the hang of teaching. Now, it's time to incorporate other hobbies into our lives. We're here for another 10 months and hopefully this time around, we'll get to go out and do more things and enjoy these next months in South Korea!

Korean Makeup Reviews

Before coming to Korea, I've been very fascinated with Korean makeup. There are loads of blogs and video tutorials and reviews about Korean makeup. I was only familiar with a few name brands but since then, I've learned a few more.

I don't have a particular favourite brand yet. And I haven't used everything yet. But here's some stuff I've used. 

Skinfood

- Egg White Pore Foam

I've gotten this a recommendation from a co-worker. It's alright. To be honest, it doesn't make me feel anything. It foams up really nicely but it doesn't spell bad. But I don't feel like it's doing anything for me. I feel like the cleanser stays on top of my skin instead of going deep down. Right now I'm just trying to use it up so it doesn't go to waste. I alternate between using this and my other cleanser.

Tony Moly

- Egg Pore - black head steam balm.

I've read that this is great all over the internet. It's suppose to help cleanse your pores around your nose, which I find is a big issue for me. I'd like find ways to help clean those pores and minimize their appearance. It's got a very cute egg-shaped packaging. When you rub the gel-like substance on your nose, it heats up. I'm probably not using this often enough for it to work. But I do like it.

Etude House

- Aloe Moistfull soothing skin (toner)

I was looking for a toner since mine had run out. I went in asking for a toner and this was given to me. I've read that Korean toners do not have the same kick that western ones do. It's very gentle. It's feels refreshing to put on right after the shower. This big bottle lasted for more than six months and I use this every day. I put it in a small spray bottle so only a little comes out on a cotton at a time. 

- Sweet Cherry Tint

I really wanted a red lipstick and most of the ones tend to look pink on me than red. When the sames person put it on her hand it looked really bright red so I got it. But it still isn't quite the red I wanted. I just use it sparingly.

- Styling Eye Liner (white)

I really wanted a white eyeliner and honestly Etude House is very inexpensive. 

- Play 101 Pencils (Pearl, Black, Turquoise, Blue)

I found these were talked about a lot on the Internet. I like the pearly one for under my eyes but I always forget to put it on before my black eyeliner. The black is just standard. The other colors were on sale when I got it. I was looking for green eyeshadow so I got these. They are pretty thick and so I can just smudge it out to use as eyeshadow. Surprisingly there's not a lot of colors beyond pinkish and earthy colors for eyeshadows out there.
- Juicy Pop Tube
It's good to add a bit more shine to your lipstick. It was cheap and cute.

Isa Knox 

- loose powder

I was running out on the loose powder so I found this one at Olive Young (equivalent of Shoppers Drug Mart), I quickly got it despite it being $35. Creams and compacts are much more popular here, loose powder, not so much. So far I've had it for 3 months and it's still good. I like it. Even though now that it's summer, it might be too light. I'll need to mix it with the darker ones I still have left.  

Faceshop

- Chia Seed Moisturizer

I love this moisturizer! It feels silky and great on my skin. I put it on after my toner. The density is not too think and not too light. It feels light and smells great too but at the same times I can feel it giving my face more moisture. It's great to use during the winter time when my face is dry from the cold.

-Triple Eyes 

This little compact of three eye shadows were on sale when I bought it ($4). At first I just bought the purple shades, cause I love purple. Then I went back and got the smoky (black/grey) one too. The pigment is great on this! On top of my eye primer, it lasts all day for me. Great find! 

- Lip care cream - I'm mango butter!

Faceshop had a huge sale and I love lip balms so I got this. I'm not a big fan of having to squeeze out the gel because sometimes I squeeze too much. And because if I squeezed too much out, there's residue left so it doesn't look that great if it gets messy. It's okay. I alternate between this one and the Innisfree one. I put this on before my lipstick. 

- Ink Graffi brush pen liner

I love brush pen liners over pen liners any day! And these were on sale so I got two for when I finish using my Innisfree one. It was only $6 each! 

- Over Girl Edge Stick Pen (purple)

This is  roll-on eye shadow. I've only used it a handful of times since my regular makeup tends to be more browns and blacks than light purple. It was cheap when I got it so it's still worth it.
- Rice Water Bright - cleansing foam
I actually haven't used this one yet. I wanted to try it because it's one of those raved about products but I'm enjoying my Innisfree one right now. I'll probably use this when I'm done the other one.

Innisfree

- No-sebum Mineral Powder

This was a very popular product from what I've read. But to be honest, I don't see what the hype is. Maybe I'm not sure how to use it. It's a white powder that's suppose to decrease the shiny-ness of your face. But the compact is so small, it's really tedious to apply all over your face. Maybe other people have the bigger one or smaller face. But I haven't really touched it since I got it. 

- No-sebum Mineral Primer

Whenever I use a cream base foundation, I like to use a primer to smooth out the texture of my skin so it goes on smoother and cleaner. I like this product and it works well. My only qualm is that it's so small that it can used in a month - two months max. Maybe others only use it sparingly but I like to have it all over my face. 

- Green Tea Balancing Lotion

I was running out of my moisturizer so I wanted to get a new one and the salesperson recommended this. I touched and and I liked how light and watery it felt. The problem is that when I got it home, it was too watery. I felt like once it was absorbed into my face, my face felt tight and shiny. Also, it took a while to be completely absorbed. But I think if I use less it might be better. For the winter it's not moisturizing enough but it will be good for the summer when I want it to be more watery than oily. 

- Green Tea Balancing Skin (toner)

This came as a companion to my lotion. Also it was the same price to buy the lotion as the set with this. So I picked it up as well. It felt the same as the lotion so I will save this to use for the summer. 

- Green Tea Pure Cleansing Foam

I love this cleanser! It smells great and feels great! Every time I've used it, my face feels clean and breezy. 

- Canola Honey Lip Balm (deep moisture) 

I really like this lip balm. It's very moisturizing. It smells good. Goes great underneath my lip products. 

- Cherry Lip Tint

I'm trying to like lip tints but it's weird. They're suppose to dye your lips but not to the darkness of what it appears. Always slightly lighter. Also it feels dry when the lip tint dries. I just prefer more moisture on my lips. 

- Jeju Peach Hand Cream

I love their hand creams. It's very affordable and there's always a buy two get one free deals. I think I got this as the B2G1 for $4 each, so for $8 I got three hand creams to put in my purses. 

- Powerproof Pen Liner

I'm not a fan of pen liners because they are too hard and pokes my eye too much. I like to get really close to my eyes when my liner so this hurts. 

- Powerproof Brush Liner

From top to bottom: (1) brush liner + pen combo
(2) eyebrow pen + brush (2) brush liner (3) pen liner

My favourite eye liner! It goes on very dark and I have great control over it. The only thing was it was hard to get off if you don't use a proper eye makeup remover. I used to use wet paper to get my makeup but this doesn't work on it. You must you eye makeup remover. I thought I had originally bought these for $6 but the second time I got it was $9. Strange. Still good though. It lasts for a good 3 months and I use it every day. 

- Brush Liner + Pencil Liner combo

I really wanted a pencil liner cause I know eventually mine will run out. And this one came with a brush liner, so score! It's great to take on trips because I like to use brush on top and pencil on the bottom. 

- Eyebrow pen with brush

I used to use an eyebrow brush and dark brown makeup to colour in my eyebrows, But I thought I'd give this one a try and it's amazing! I love it! You have to use small strokes that go with the growth of your hair to make it look normal. I alternate between using this and my eyebrow brush.