Althea Korea (PH) Haul & Review

Okay, not exactly a haul. Would five items count as a haul? Not for me. But it's an Althea box. That in itself is good enough, right?

Here are the items I got, with links to their Althea product pages:

• Piolang Raspberry Hair Treatment Vinegar (500mL)
• Claims: no tangled hair, clean and soothed scalp, shinier and softer hair
• meant to be used in place of conditioner)
• 53% discount lowered price from Php750 to Php350

• Witch's Pouch POPO Lipstick in S21 "Burgundy Wine" (3.5g)
• Claims: rich color, easy to apply, moisture and lip protection
• you can go for the Korean gradient lip or full-color
• comes in a total of 24 shades
• 60% discount lowered price from Php750 to Php300

• Nature Republic Province Calendula Daily Sunblock (SPF 50 PA+++) (57mL)
• Claims: soothing effect, natural glow, lightweight, non-sticky
• 51% discount lowered price from Php954 to Php460

• Chica-Y-Chico Matt Cushion (SPF 35 PA++) (15g)
• Claims: "perfect for summer," zero greasiness, brightening, wrinkle care, concealer-like coverage, velvety-matte finish, cooling effect, skin elasticity, durability, no need to blot oil, sweat-proof, pore care
• comes in two shades: No. 21 (light beige for "bright skin tone" and No. 23 (medium beige for "natural skin tone")
• 68% discount lowered price from Php1,920 to Php610

• W-Lab Black Kill Pore Cleaner
• Claims: exfoliation, blackhead removal, cooling effects, removal of fine dust, and pore-tightening effect
• 30% discount lowered price from Php1,030 to Php720

I was able to get all of the above for Php1,955.00 (roughly $42.00), which isn't bad considering these are 100% authentic Korean cosmetics shipped directly from Korea!

Althea offers free shipping for orders above Php1,500.00, so I highly recommend placing an order with friends or family if you're on a tight budget to save as much as you can. Right now, they're also offering a Php150.00-off promo if you're a first-time customer.

This is not a product review post, but rather a review of Althea. I really commend their service. Why?

The first time I placed my order, I messed up on choosing the payment method. I chose an online transfer (through Dragonpay) instead of bank deposit, not knowing that I would have to "register" Dragonpay as a 3rd party account first. I kinda freaked out and the "back" button wasn't an option. When I checked my points balance (the Php150-off promo), the 150 points were gone and I got really down, but I decided to try contacting their customer service about my concern.

Thirty-five minutes after I sent a message, I got the following e-mail from their staff named Eliza:

"Thank you for contacting Althea! Rest assured that your pending order (#########) has been cancelled and your unused credits returned back to your account balance.

We would advise you to re-order since payments can't be resumed from pending state to avoid duplicate orders or payments on the same order ID.

Please let us know should you have further enquiries. We are more than happy to assist :)"

Which was really nice and efficient of them. So, I got my discounts back!

I paid for my new order on April 13 through a bank deposit to Dragonpay through BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands). The Althea website says to allow 10-15 days of shipping, so obviously I wasn't expecting anything to be as quick as your ordinary online-shopping deliveries.

On April 15, I received an e-mail about a possible delay in shipping due to a Korean holiday, which I didn't mind.

Three days later, on April 18, I got an e-mail saying that my order had been shipped, so I thought that 10-15 days' countdown would start on the 18th. Not counting Sundays, I projected its possible arrival between April 29 to May 5. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was on Monday, April 25, when I was eating lunch at my cousins' diner and she mentioned how a package from Korea had arrived for me that morning━basically 9 days of waiting (again not counting Sundays) from the day I placed my order. Wow!

As promised by Althea, I got a pink beauty box (a picture will be included in the next post). All the items were generously bubble-wrapped and I quickly snapped the above photo.

If there's anyone skeptical about Althea, I tell you: there is no need to be cautious or suspicious because the service is great and the products are all high-quality. Aside from Piolang, W-Lab, Witch's Pouch, Nature Republic, and Chica-Y-Chico, they also offer products from the following brands:

• 3 Concept Eye
• 7Hara
• Aromatica
• B&SOAP
• Banila Co.
• Belif
• BEYOND
• CLIO
• CLOUD9
• Dr. Althea
• Dr. Jart+
• Elizavecca
• Ettina
• Etude House
• Farm Stay
• Guerisson
• HERA
• Holika Holika
• Innisfree
• IOPE
• Ipse
• It's Skin
• Keep in Touch
• Laneige
• Magimaxx
• Mamonde
• Mediheal
• Mefactory
• Mise-En-Scène
• Missha
• Paralaplel
• Petitfee
• Pobling
• Primera
• Skin&Lab
• Skin9dan
• Skinfood
• Sulwhasoo
• Swanicoco
• The Face Shop
• The SAEM
• TonyMoly
• Too Cool for School
• Trendy Items
• VDL
• Vegeeco
• Wonde Ruci

Of the aforementioned brands I have already tried before (Etude House, Holika Holika, Missha, Skinfood, The Face Shop, The SAEM, TonyMoly, Too Cool for School, & VDL), I highly recommend Holika Holika, The Face Shop, The SAEM, Too Cool for School, and VDL.

As a Filipina, I do believe that investing in Korean skincare products is worth the extra cost and hassle (IF you can afford it━I do not condone splurging daily on cosmetics). While USA or UK cosmetics may work well, I do think Asian products are better formulated for our skin. This is just a suggestion, though, and I'm not saying ALL Korean products are great. I know a couple of brands (not mentioning) that have really cute packaging but when it comes to the product, you'd be better off with an ordinary drugstore product.

I'll be posting a full review of each Althea item soon, so do stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

<3 Mizshee