Lunar Sale Avecko haul & Why you need to know what ePOSTg is

It's been a weekend of roller coaster emotions.  I went from elated that my package was here, in despair that it had been stolen, to elated when it was found, all within 48 hours.  I'm worn out.

I placed this order in early February during the Lunar Holiday (New Year) full knowing that my items would be greatly delayed on their domestic journey to Avecko, and then that Avecko themselves would be going on holiday as well.

I didn't mind; the prospect of snagging some delicious holiday flash sale deals like I did in my first two Avecko hauls (click here for those goodies!) and I was almost completely out of the Leejiham (LJH) Tea Tree 90 Essence, so it was an opportune moment to make a mini-haul and pick up some goodies.

I stalked my package daily, multiple times a day once it arrived in the US; it was a comforting bright spot in an increasingly stressful start to the year.  Then it went missing.

In this post:

  • My rage and despair over the loss of my package
  • Why ePOSTg is a really important thing to know about
  • Unboxing of my Avecko package (at last)
  • What I purchased, how much I saved, and why I bought them


My rage and despair over the loss of my package

My Avecko order was not just 'missing', actually.  Worse, it was marked as 'delivered in mailbox' but no package.  I live in  an apartment complex, and because my mailperson apparently hates to actually drive through the complex to deliver packages, they like to force the receptionist at the management building to sign for our parcels, even when they say 'addressee only', which is super shady/lazy of them.

Example of the type of mailbox we have.  Image source
On the rare occasions where they don't need a signature, they leave the parcel in one of the lockboxes outside and drop the key into our mailbox, which looks kinda like these:

When you get your mail, you take the key, open the corresponding lockbox, and grab your parcel.  When I saw the tracking said it was left in the lockbox, I was surprised (normally KR packages have to be signed for, so they end up in the office) but trotted off to get my precious precious Avecko package.

But this time, when we picked up the mail, my padded envelope from a friend was there, but no key.  Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but this means that my mailperson dropped off my key (and access to my package) to the wrong mailbox, thus basically giving one of my neighbours my package.

Our letter mail gets mis-delivered to our neighbours all the dang time, including all my replacement debit cards for the last year, and we have never had anyone return a single piece to us.  We give back the wrong mail to the management office and they take care of giving it to the right apartment, but apparently my neighbours are all jerks, because they've never done the same.   This means I'm more likely to see my stuff being hawked on eBay than returned to me.

You don't even CARE about snail mucus!  GIVE ME MY STUFF BACK!  Image Source
I called USPS, and they opened a case and confirmed it was left in the lockbox and not delivered to the office.  I called the office as soon as they opened the next day, and they declined to get involved and confirmed I had no Korean packages, just one from New Jersey.

I admit I cried; the last two months have been hell and I've had 99 problems but my Avecko package wasn't one, so I'd been really clinging to this silver lining and losing it was a blow.  Worse, even if USPS did refund me the insurance, I'd still be out the shipping, and these were Flash Sales - I can't replace them at the same price.

With a heavy, despairing heart and a pending-until-Tuesday USPS case open, I spent the day decanting things for some friends and was too worn out (and burning with disappointment) to open the package from NJ; I am expecting some sheet masks from a US seller so I knew what was inside.  No matter how great those masks were, they weren't my precious Avecko package. :(

Today, I decided to blog about that US order instead of the Avecko one as planned, and while I was despondently scribbling out my address and the tracking number, I realized the tracking number was ... strangely familiar.   Waitaminute.  That looks like my Avecko tracking number; WHAT IS IT DOING COMING FROM A US ADDRESS?!  IS THIS MY AVECKO ORDER? *cue frenzied shredding of the box*

Why ePOSTg is a really important thing to know about

Today I learned about ePOSTg, which is a KR->US shipping service.  Basically, rather than shipping your package right to the US, you ship your package to ePOSTg in Korea, who bundles it up with a bunch of other shipments also destined for the US, and then ships them en masse to the US facility as single, giant order.  This saves on shipping costs.

You see that origin address?! Avecko is not in New Jersey!
Then, the US branch of ePOSTg splits up all the packages and mails them Domestically to their US destinations. thus avoiding the cost of individual International shipments.

This is what threw me off; I was expecting my package to be International, not Domestic.  I felt like a giant idiot when I recalled that Hena, Avecko CS (and the sweetest person alive), had mentioned that my package was being sent via 'epost' but I just stupidly assumed that it was some sort of postage and didn't look further into it.

I had no idea that meant that it was going to be drop-shipped to a US company and then repackaged and sent to me via Domestic mailing, but that is 100% my fault.  *clubs self in the head*

Regardless, I'm still going to chide USPS for falsely reporting that the package was left in the lockbox instead of left in the office, because if they had marked it 'in office' like they normally do, I wouldn't have worked myself into a state before seeing the box.

Unboxing of my Avecko package (at last)

When I opened it and saw this, I couldn't believe it.  It was my Avecko order.  Hena, you will never know how happy I was to see the items you carefully packaged for me.


Not pictured: all the air-filled padding, bubble wrap, and layers of foam that Avecko safely nestled my babies between, to protect them on their long journey.  They also included the bag and product pamphlet that came with my LJH essences, which was a nice touch.

What I purchased, how much I saved, and why I bought them

One of the things I love the most about making Avecko orders is being able to get things, even with full shipping, at a much better price than via usual channels.  Pre-shipping, my total was only $83, whereas the LJH Tea Tree Essences go for $30-$40 each on their own.


The only product I had to count at the actual Korean price was the Beauty of Joseon Dynasty cream, because this simply isn't being sold anywhere outside of Korea right now.

I am down to my last drops, so these are just in time!
LJH Tea Tree 90 Essence

This is a repurchase + a backup, so clearly it's a favourite.  I was hesitant to try this as I associate 'tea tree' with the 'scorch the earth' style of skincare warfare I inflicted on my teenage self, but this is essence is soothing, does reduce my breakouts, and is watery enough to work nicely as my first post-toner essence.

Click image for large size
It came with 3x samples per bottle, along with the bright blue bag in earlier image, and this  product pamphlet that shows an entire range of LJH products to enable your lemming needs.

I haven't tried anything from LJH other than the Tea Tree Essence (love) Tea Tree Cream (like) Tea Tree Sheet Mask (like) and Tea Tree Mist (meh, kinda drying, maybe good for summer?).

However, LJH seems to be gaining traction in the international K-Beauty community so I anticipate that we'll be seeing more and more LJH products trending.

Here's the individual inner pages, apologies for white balance freak-outs and floppy page issues:

Color Series
5a Control
Hydra Whitening
Make-up
I am particularly intrigued by their makeup section, because I didn't know LJH even did makeup.

Here's the external folding pages:


It looks like they have a few other lines of interest as well!

Sooryehan Hyo Biyeon Concentrated Essence - Brightening

Oh man.  I would be lying through my teeth if I didn't admit I purchased this mainly for the packaging, but can you blame me?  LOOK AT IT.

This picture doesn't even do it justice; the blue-purple bottle has this amazing glow in the light and even the box itself is this incredibly luxe ornate gold eye candy.

I am out of the Hanyul White Chrysanthemum serum, which didn't do much for me anyway, so I was in the market for a new whitening serum and on flash sale for $10, I was willing to give it a try.  Worst comes to worst, I have a truly magnificent container to decant my samples into.


Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream

I had been ogling this for a while but was unable to find any English translations and the image readers were struggling with the stylized Hangul too much for translation.  However, a Korean acquaintance took a look at it and said that not only was it a whitening cream (score!) but that it had received rave reviews from Korean beauty bloggers on Naver.

That's all the encouragement I needed; I caved like wet cardboard and added it to my cart faster than you can say "enabled!"

I absolutely love the packaging as well; if you have watched any historical kdramas you will recognize the traditional jar visual they've used.

It comes with a small spatula, which I will no doubt immediately lose, and has a sturdy yet elegant frosted glass jar.  I'd happily reuse this as well; I like to purchase really expensive skincare products in samples to save money but I do miss the luxury of the beautiful packaging.

As I mentioned I recently made serious inroads on my stash so some friends could try them; I'm currently using the LJH Tea Tree Cream but I decanted a fair bit of it so I am glad this has arrived.

The Reader Saccharomyces Niacin Serum

I ordered this on accident.

No, seriously.  I had added and removed this so many times from my sheet, but had finally decided to get the Sooryehan instead and put this one on my wishlist.

 However, I forgot to remove it from my sheet before sending it to Avecko, so I am just going to take it a a sign that it was meant to be?

My skin is horribly prone to pigmentation and darkening (making my face 1-2 shades darker than my neck) so it's an ongoing battle to try to reverse hyperpigmentation on my face and even out my skintone.  I also tend to load up on serums and essences for hydration and use occlusives sparingly as my skin is very dehydrated and prone to clogging if I use things that are too rich.  As a result, I burn through my serums/essences very quickly because I am using them as moisturizers, not as treatments.

AR Meang Sheet Masks

My sheet mask collection has been rapidly dwindling as I use them every day in the winter (sometimes even in the morning/during the day if I feel the need- working from home has its perks!) so I have been stocking back up on masks.

I don't have a separate picture for these, but here they are from left:

Aloe Water Mask
Acacia Water Mask
Cherry Blossom Water Mask
Cactus Water Mask

I admit I got these because the art on the packaging was so lovely, and because they were so affordable (around $0.60 each compared to $2.50) due to the Lunar Sale.

And there we have it!  I'm looking forward to trying my new goodies and will be using one of the masks tonight as soon as I finish this post; it's been a stressful weekend and I'm looking forward to relaxing with a mask.

All the best,
-Cat


**Disclaimer: All products reviewed/mentioned in my blog, are 100% purchased with my own money, with a single exception of a press sample I tested & reviewed in 2015 which swore me off of them forever.  This blog contains  both affiliate and non-affiliate links, and clicking the former before you shop means that this blog may receive a small commission to assist in this blog supporting itself.  Please see my Contact Info & Disclaimer policy for more information.

8 comments

  1. Good thing your package was not really lost, Cat. I've had a package that was lost way back and I'm still slightly upset over it. I actually am close to believing there's a Bermuda Triangle up there in the post office where all missing parcels go. The GIF was funny and yes, downright true as well. A good number of people will look at the word snail on the packaging and not realize how great it is for the skin. Looking forward to more posts from you. :)

    PS: I really should keep tabs of my orders in a spreadsheet just like you do. I don't use/test as much products as you do, but it helps keep track of which ones I should repurchase at least. :)

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    1. Did you end up making a spreadsheet? :D

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    2. I did, but it's not as elaborate as yours. It's mainly to make sure I don't purchase three of the same type of product in one order and leave a blank spot in my skincare routine because I forgot to buy something else. :D

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    3. That's exactly the reason I started mine, along with wanting to have a testing schedule. I realized that I had more creams than I needed, but was running out of other things, so it really helped me balance out my purchases and resist temptation when new exciting things came along. ;D

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    4. I haven't even gotten to the new things yet because there are too many products I'm curious to try. I keep coming back to your blog to read your thoughts on a certain product. I've ordered the Mizon Snail Gel because of your recommendation and couldn't wait to try it. :D

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  2. hello, i want to ask if the price and the content is written on the package?
    i want to order something but if they don't write it the customs will open it and i don'T want that. if i order somewhere else than they write that it costs 20 $ or so.
    thank you :) and sry for my english :S

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    1. Well in this case, because it was shipped via ePostg, I didn't get to see what the Customs form looked like as it was removed from the box. :( You can always email them and ask what they declare on the package, though! :)

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  3. Hi Cat! What is the korean website you ordered all your items from? I can't make out the whole link. Thanks!

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