March Hauls - JSM Beauty Global

12:17:00 AM mandy 0 Comments

This is the largest single-brand purchase I have ever made beauty-wise. While the act of buying from JUNGSAEMMOOL's newly launched Global e-commerce site was planned, the products I had in my cart fluctuated all month long until I couldn't think about it any longer. It seemed the longer I waited to finally place my order, the more interesting new releases the brand made.

Wants definitely won out in the battle between what I needed in my routine and what I wanted just to have in my collection. The ultimate justification was to pick what would be difficult to get elsewhere officially (i.e. Peach & Lily, Global Lotte, and Global Hyundai H-Mall). While the pricing on JSM Beauty's US site is a few dollars higher, it does have the entire range of products currently out and GWP (gift with purchases) bundles others don't carry.



The finalists that made my cart:

• Essential Star-cealer Foundation Illuminous - 21 Medium
• Essential Skin Nuder Cushion (plus refill) - 21 Medium
• Essential Skin Nuder Long Wear Cushion Refill only - 21 Medium
• Artist Layer Concealing Base Limited Set (full-size plus mini) - Light
• Refining Edge Eye Pencil - Soul Brown
• Start Dtoxeed Oil Balm Set (headband plus cleansing mitt)
• Pre-tect Sun Extrem Set (3 sheet masks + travel toner)
• Pre-tect Sun Waterfull Set (3 sheet masks + travel toner)
• GWP for spending at least $170 (various samples they specifically specify in promotion)

Getting one of all her foundations in a single order is 100% overkill but I was fueled by the uncertainty of when the "Grand Opening - Free Shipping over $100" offer would expire. I became especially curious about her other base products after trying the original Essential Star-cealer Foundation in 23 Medium-Deep. I liked the coverage and finish but felt it a tad too dark and dry for the less humid winter months. The Illuminous version in a lighter shade seems like the most obvious option to get as it looks just like the original yet promises a dewier and more hydrating finish. Cushions are great just because it is so fuss-free. I have decision issues...I know.

I am not sure what possessed me to order another concealer when the Star-cealer compacts come with a large pan of cream concealer as well. My confidence in JSM's products must be through the roof because the Artist Layer Concealer found it's way into my cart. Hopefully, it is amazing and I won't regret my impulsiveness.

Finding a good retractable eyeliner is a struggle. I don't typically like to buy expensive liners, especially without testing, but reviews have said it is pretty budge-proof. Fingers crossed!

The cleansing balm and sunscreens are new releases. Price range nor ingredients in those products are what I would typically go for but the freebies included with those items, in particular, sucked me in. But hey, skincare will definitely get used up in the foreseeable future. No worries.

Account & Coupons

Accounts can be made via linking an existing Facebook or Google account or signing up with an e-mail address.

The homepage is well organized. There are a few foreign concepts for me as an American shopper.

Order Detail // Information for successfully placed orders is here.
*Coupon Detail // Lists expired and valid coupon details.
*Mileage Detail // Lists accrued "mileage" from previous orders.
*Deposit Detail // ???
*Your Wish List // ???
1:1 Inquiry // Forum-like section to communicate with customer service.
My Posts // Collection place for all the "posts" made anywhere on the website.

*Coupons are sometimes generated automatically (i.e. for signing-up during the promotional period). Other times, they have "Events" where you can qualify for a coupon by completing an action (i.e. follow and comment). There does seem to be a lot of fine print with the coupon system. Some expire quickly. Some do not. Only 1 coupon per order.

*There is no explanation on the website for what "Mileage" and "Deposit" are. I am going to assume Mileage is some sort of rewards system. Each product lists the mileage points, which seems to be 2% of the product price. JSM says the Mileage can be used toward a future purchase once you've reached a minimum of 20 USD; based on the 2% calculations it means having spent USD $1000 on past purchases. There is no indication of whether the "Mileage" ever expires. I have no idea what "Deposits" is.

*There has a wishlist page but no button to add things to the list.

**There are also Chinese and Japanese versions of JSM Beauty. The Chinese e-commerce seems to only be a translated version of the US site as the prices are listed in USD. The biggest difference is the option to log in via Weibo instead of Facebook/Google. The Japanese e-commerce seems to be the opposite where the description and text are in English but prices are in JPY. Log-in is available via Facebook, Google, and Yahoo for the Japanese site.

Shipping Options

I thought their "Grand Opening Free Shipping over USD $100" deal was only available from January 26 to March 31, 2018. But it seems to still be available right now and it is about a week into April already.

Otherwise, there is no indication on the website on what kind of shipping they use, what options there are, or a breakdown of how the cost is calculated. After playing around with various sized shopping carts, the shipping cost does seem to vary by weight. From order experience, JSM Beauty shipped via DHL Express to America.

Payment

The site accepts a bunch of different payments: Eximbay and PayPal.

The entire process is very smooth. Buttons lead to pop-up windows. Once everything in the pop-up completes, it auto-closes and refreshes the page.

Check Out Process

The most confusing part of the check out is with the addresses. Rather than the standard "Billing Info" and "Shipping Info," jsmbeauty.com asks for "User Information" and "Address Info." It seems that "User Information" would equate to "Billing Info" and "Address Info" to "Shipping Info". Do not think that choosing a different shipping address in PayPal will work because JSM only considers what went into their system via their form, not PayPal's.

Typical of most Korea-based e-commerce websites, there are a ton of pop-up windows. Applying coupons brought up a pop-up. Payment brought up a pop-up. GWP qualifications brought up a pop-up.

I thought it was a little strange that the site only asks about the "Gift Selection" after I went through the entire action of PayPal payments because that seemed like it would have been the end of the check out process. But it is neither here nor there.

Delivery

Extremely fast for an international delivery and for a new company. I placed my order on 3/28 around midnight NYC time and the package arrived via DHL Express on 4/3 around noon.

I contacted customer service twice because of the shipping address issue that I thought I created and received responses within 24 hours.

Customer service said it normally would take 3-5 business days to prepare the package and another 3-5 for shipping to destination.

It seemed like my order only took a day or two to prepare and was already in the air from Incheon to America on 3/30. If it had not been the weekend following, I probably could have received the package even earlier.

Packaging

Kind of flimsy for an international delivery. The box was on the thinner side and only the top and bottom of the box was padded with bubble wrap—the contents weren't entirely wrapped by bubbles on all sides. My box was delivered partially wet and so were many of the items inside. Luckily it wasn't soaked enough to get through the individual product boxes.

Returns

Not specified on the site.