I recently received a box of beauty lovelies from Nature Republic. I love trees, so the box is perfect for me. ♥
The brand obviously took care to place everything neatly inside the box and I appreciate the thought that went into it.
Thanks to the compact packing, I couldn’t believe the box contained all these items! Besides a number of facial masks, there were several makeup and skincare products inside.
The Prism Star and Prism Star Dot Eye Shadows made me smile as soon as I saw them. According to Nature Republic, they are two of the brand’s top-selling products.
It’s not difficult to understand why – they are not only beautiful in the pan, they are also pigmented and wear very well.
The Age Slick Dual Secret Lip Color & Gloss is slightly blockish in packaging but certainly a practical lip product to have.
These wands for the eyes look like they’d be fun to use. From the top: Eye Lover Eyebrow Pencil, Maxi Power Volume Lash Mascara and Eye Lover Point Makeup Remover.
Like many Korean eyebrow pencils, Eye Lover Eyebrow Pencil has a spooly end (love this feature). One of the caps is a mirror that looks like a dental mirror. :P I’m not too fond of it because it’s a tad small but it will suffice when one’s in a pinch. What I really like about this pencil is its sharply angled nib, perfect for stroking colour onto the brows.
The packaging of the Pinetree Urban Detox Clay Mask intrigues me – the bottom looks like a manual juicer!
I was happy to see that the Forest Garden Premium Cleanser Oil contains argan oil, also known as Morocco’s liquid gold because of its restorative and anti-ageing properties.
Okay, who’s thinking ‘genie in a bottle’? Isn’t the packaging of this cleansing oil adorable?!
I have purchased quite a few products from Nature Republic, so this gift box filled with items I’ve not yet tried was a delightful surprise! I’m actually quite impressed by the quality and packaging of its products, hence my continued patronage. Nature Republic seems like a somewhat low-profile Korean brand in Singapore but I hope its products speak for themselves. Happily, the brand celebrates its first birthday this month and will open its fourth store at Parkway Parade very soon.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Nature Republic!
That Pinetree has mask now? I love the scent & would love to try the mask. Time to make a trip to NR soon.
Hi Farah,
Yeps! It reminds of the blue corn mask from The Body Shop.
I LOVE the Pinetree Urban Detox essence but didn’t see the clay mask then. The ‘dental mirror’ design is genius! Hooray for eyebrow touchups on the go:)
Hi AG,
It’s new, I think. The mirror is too small for me; I prefer using my phone, haha!
Mag,
I know this is not related to your post. But could you kindly tell the good people at Nature Republic to stick to their opening hours?
I was very excited after reading your eyeshadow review that I went to Orchard Central’s outlet. I got there at 11am and according to the operating hours listed. I waited until 12pm and the shop remained closed. Called the number listed and no one picked up the line. Finally gave up cos I had errands to run.
If a retail shop cannot adhere to their operating hours, what’s the point of having a shop at all? Might as well do online business solely and we can shop to our hearts’ content at all hours.
Hi Trish,
Gosh, I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience. I’ll certainly let them know about this. If it helps, they might be starting an online store. :)
I *love* that eyebrow pencil. I got it a few weeks back and it’s my new holy grail for brow pencils.
Should drop by Nature Republic to stock up and try out more of their products. The eyeshadow looks very tempting, as well as the masks.
Hi Mona,
I’ve been using it these past few days and like the shade and finish. The tapered nib is great for the tail end of the brow too. Some of the shadows are very good – have fun shopping! :)
Hi Mag, the color of the Age Slick Dual Lip Color and Gloss looks so pretty! May I know what color is it?
Hi Jingni,
It’s 02 Raspberry Pink. :)
Hi Trish,
Thought you’d like to know that I’ve conveyed your message to Nature Republic and that they’re investigating the matter. :)
Nature Republic stores are all closed in Singapore, if I am not wrong. I remember seeing the store outlet in Somerset 313 closed since late last year, and this year, an inevitable closure of the first branch in Bishan J8 since last week(???) means that the brand has exited Singapore. I find that it suffers from bad PR and publicity since it has done next to little in the way of promoting itself, and its business is about as quiet as Skinfood in Singapore. That is strange though, considering that NR’s prices are way cheaper than those at Skinfood and their products comparable in terms of effectiveness.
Hi Kev,
Do you know if the Parkway store is still around? I echo your sentiments – Nature Republic makes very good products but not many have heard of it, unfortunately. :(
Hi makeupmag, I don’t go to Parkway so I cannot comment as to whether the store is still around. i suspect that it is closed too, since I heard from online sources that all the stores for NR have exited Singapore. Not surprisingly, NR is just opening in Johore Bahru across the border in City Square Mall. I was there a few days ago, and actually for someone who travels to Korea a lot, I find that with the current Malaysian tourism promotion initiative(20% discount), the prices are rather good in NR Malaysia and also close to Korean prices, although still slight more expensive by a few more dollars. Overall, I would recommend going there if you have a passport.
Hi Kev,
A few of my followers on Twitter have confirmed that all Nature Republic stores are closed. Such sad news! Thank you for the heads up re: the JB store. :) Korean brands in Malaysia are generally cheaper than over here.
With all the mark-ups and the lack of good publicity, I am not surprised that NR exited for one. It was following in the footsteps of brands like Missha, History of Whoo/LG O’hui, which disappeared from Singapore only because the PR side of things did not work at all. That is kind of just sad news in some ways for their side here, since honestly, to begin with, they have better brands and products than those other Korean brands still existing here, such as beauty Credit/somang, The Face Shop, and Skinfood, which are not really that good.
Hi Kev,
I haven’t even heard of History of Whoo! :( The existing Korean brands here are varied in quality but I really wish their products aren’t so expensive.
Well, I blame it on the taxes here, but I don’t think that is the only reason. You have some merchants who just make use of the markups to markup a lot, and you see something which retails for only 40,000won in Korea(around 45-47 Singapore dollars) sold for about 200 to 600 Singapore dollars here. (Don’t shop at Beauty Credit /Somang here in Singapore, because it is a rip-off and even with discounts of 20%, it is still 3-4 times the original Korean prices.) The History of Whoo is a LG premium brand sold only in department stores in Korea, but it is the number 2 selling brand in Korea after Sulwhasoo by Amorepacific. These brands cannot afford to make it here, because merchants would mark them up ridiculously by more than 3 times, and they would then cost more than 200 dollars. History of Whoo’s shortlived existence in Tampines Mall from 2008-2009 was a good example……
Hi Kev,
I’ve really enjoyed your insights re: Korean beauty brands. Thank you for sharing! :)
I have a blog on skincare myself. Nothing on makeup per se. But I travel to South Korea often, and am able to read Korean and speak it. I can give you the blog address if you like, maybe via email instead, since it is more secure that way.
Sure! I’d love to read your blog, Kev. :)
Did all outlets closed down in Singapore?
Hi Sora,
Unfortunately so. :(