How we check prices

Where the prices come from

Seoul: the online sale price at Korea's largest health and beauty chain (Olive Young Korea) for the standard Korean pack. In-store prices usually match the online price and are sometimes lower with in-store promotions.
US: the cheapest listing on Amazon.com sold by the brand's official store or Amazon itself. We ignore resellers and look-alike products.
UK: the same, on Amazon.co.uk.

How often

We aim to re-check every product about once a month; if a check is more than 45 days old, product pages say so. The date of the last check is shown on every page. The current check is from 2026-10-23. Amazon prices can change daily, so treat home prices as a guide.

How the real cost is calculated

Exchange rates: $1 = ₩1,325, £1 = $1.34 (open.er-api.com, 2026-10-23).
Seoul: shelf price minus an estimated 6% tourist tax refund, applied when the receipt is at least ₩15,000. Refunds vary from about 6% to 9% depending on the store and amount, so we use the low end.
US: Amazon price plus 7% sales tax (a typical combined rate; it ranges from 0% to about 10% by state). The haul calculator lets you set your own rate.
UK: Amazon UK prices already include 20% VAT, so we use them as shown.
Different sizes: when Korea sells a different size from the US or UK, we compare per ml (or per gram / per pad), scaled to the Korean pack.
Gifts and bonus sizes in Korean sets are noted but not counted in the saving.

What we don't count

Shipping is usually free on Amazon above a minimum order, so we leave it out. Flights, baggage fees and your time are not included. Customs duty doesn't apply to normal hauls under the US $800 and UK £390 personal allowances.

Corrections

If a price is wrong or a product has been reformulated, email us and we'll re-check it.