Althea Review – Here’s where I buy my skincare!
Finding a good price on Korean skincare online, with reasonable shipping, +not worrying about buying phony products is a lot to take on all at once! Today I’ll be sharing an in-depth review on Althea. They’re an online Korean skincare and beauty shop that I’ve recently come to love and if you’re in the market for cheap Korean skincare you’ll want to check them out!
While looking for the best price on a skincare product I’ve been eyeing I’ll think I’ve finally found a good listing just to be disappointed by outrageous shipping fees. Or on the other hand, there are suspiciously cheap listings that cause you to doubt the authenticity of the products being sold.
Althea Review – Their Authenticity Guarantee
Counterfeit K-Beauty is a rising problem plaguing even popular marketplaces like Amazon. Althea nips this problem in the bud by sourcing 100% of their products either directly from the manufacturers or via reputable distributors in Korea.
I’m not saying you can’t trust any Amazon sellers, I’ve found some great authentic and reasonably priced products there. Here’s a bunch of Korean skincare I’ve bought from Amazon for under $10!
Where do they ship?
They have free international shipping for orders over $50, otherwise, it’s based on weight. So you won’t break the bank shipping one or two items! I hate having to save items for a later purchase because the shipping fee is more than the item itself. I get especially annoyed with things like sheet masks that weigh almost nothing; a ton of site want to charge 5-6 dollars to ship something the weight of an envelope. They offer international shipping as well!
Do they have sales or coupons?
If it’s your first order with Althea you can use the code “NEW15” for 15% off your order; I was able to squeeze in a few extra products with this code for my Althea review haul 🙂 They also run limited-time deals on various items that change all the time so it’s easy to find a bargain on something you’ll love! You can find their sales listed here.
Is Althea’s in house brand any good?
I was pleasantly surprised by the outstanding quality of Althea’s original line of skincare products. I picked up their Milk Peel Cream Mask and the Real Fresh Skin Detoxer Green Tea Cleanser. The milk peel mask is a gentle clay that bubbles into a foam. It has AHA and BHA exfoliators which leave your skin feeling smooth and remove dead skin cells. It also came with an adorable mini DIY cardboard milk carton. I spent more time than I’d like to admit fiddling with this silly bit of cardboard….
The green tea cleanser was also very impressive! I usually don’t expect a lot from in-house formulated products but Althea has definitely brought out their big guns. The Real Fresh Detoxer Green Tea is a thick gel that has green tea powder in addition to real green tea leaves that work as a mild exfoliant.
These two products have actually turned into go-to cleansers in my skincare routine. I’m planning on picking up more items from the Althea line the next time I place an order. They’re all at a great price point and have really impressed me!
They also have insanely adorable sheet masks for 50 cents a pop. I’m kicking myself for not throwing some of these in my cart, they’re too dang cute! Shown above is the A’BLOOM Nourishing Avocado Mask (10 Sheets) for $4.50 which is awesome price!
What brands does Althea carry?
The brands they carry range from brands with cult followings like the April Skin cleanser bar below to lesser-known brands like Onsaemeein. I always love finding new brands; it can get frustrating when you keep finding the same things over and over in different listings.
How is their customer service and return policy?
Althea has a 30 day no muss no fuss return policy + they cover any return shipping fees which is awesome! I’ve held onto crappy products in the past because I didn’t want to mess around with shipping fees; returns can be such a pain in the neck!
Unfortunately, I had my first run-in with their customer service right after receiving my first order. I had ordered the Onsaemeein Anti-Redness Ampoule and opened it’s the package to see that the glass bottle had completely shattered and soaked its box with serum. 🙁
The glass of this serum is way thinner than a standard bottle and the package had been bubble wrapped within an inch of its life by their shipping department so I’m going to assume the postal service was not kind to my box while it was en-route. I sent pictures of my pulverized serum to Althea Customer Support and they quickly put in an order for a replacement serum without any questions asked.
It stinks that this happened but I’m glad to know they have my back if I have any other problems in the future.
What’s your favorite online shop to buy Korean skincare or beauty products? Let me know!