Holla! Back here to drop a new update from one of my recent travels with you all again ~ If you've been following me on my Instagram (click to follow if you haven't!), you'd have known that I went to Seoul for a trip with Korea Tourism Organization again! 

Instead of penning down a detailed itinerary of what we did every day there, I've decided to shortlist some of the more interesting activities that we got to experience on this trip to share with you all, and hopefully this will benefit when it comes to your next trip planning (and that you'll be able to try out something different!)

1. Making your own personalized Two Tone Lip Bar at Laneige Flagship Store




This was actually my second try at making my own Two Tone Lip Bar, the previous time was last year when I was on a Beauty Camp with Laneige. However, last year, their flagship store was under renovation so experiencing the making of my two tone lip bar at their official flagship store is Myeongdong was also a first for me!


Nestled on the second floor of their Myeongdong Flagship Store, the brightly lit level sure looks super inviting. There is a staff to assist you with a detailed skin analysis (not much of the facial kind of trouble detecting, but more of knowing about your own skin tone and which shades suit you better!). I've actually done this skin analysis on multiple occasions, all with the brands under Amore Pacific so I was pretty sure of my own skin tone already haha. 



True enough, we really did pick up a tone that we like and one that really suited our look very well! I'd recommend this experience to anyone who's a fan of their two tone lip bars, or even if you're just a sucker for all things personalized (like me!!!) (tbh it does feel really good to get hands on with a product you're about to buy, it makes me feel better about spending money HAHAHA)

2. Making your own perfume from scratch at Aromind 



We often hear people saying that our perfume speaks a lot about who we are, or that it should reflect our personality... but how do you really achieve that? Guess the answer is to make it yourself, from scratch, and find a scent that you like! 

When our mini van dropped us off, I felt a little puzzled. "Huh, aren't we at Bukchon Hanok Village???" Our guide then guided us into this hanok tucked away in an alley by itself, and we were greeted with warm hospitality by the owners of Aromind! Waaaa, haven't start and the location itself already score full marks from me! 

The past 2 to 3 trips to Bukchon (and the Samcheongdong area) only saw me walking the crazy steep slopes and some cafe hopping, and I never knew that a perfumery workshop would be housed here! 


We were made to smell every single scent from each bottle and ranked them according to what we liked best. Afterwards, we'd pick out the top 3 scents (1 each from top, middle and base notes respectively) and test out if we like how the scents work out. This trial and error process goes on until we find "the one"!


Of course, I was really happy with my own and tbh, got a bit can't bear to use it leh... XD


It's a really great experience that all of us agreed as our favourite activity this trip! Their website is in Korean so I'm bad at navigating around but I've heard you're able to book a slot under kkday or also airbnb experiences!

3. Rent a hanbok and enter Gyeongbukgong for free



Well, this shouldn't be something new to all who've visited Seoul before. But I still do think it's worthy of a mention! I've been to Gyeongbukgung 5 times and twice wearing a hanbok and I can really assure you the latter definitely brings a better experience (besides instaworthy photos la)! On both occasions, I rented my hanbok from Hanbok-nam (the first time my Korean friend brought me there, and surprisingly our guide arranged for us to get our hanboks at the same place this time!), and the place was filled with Koreans... so I guess it's pretty sure to say they're not a tourist trap in a sense? :)

Depending on what kinda hanbok you're renting, the rental fee for a 4 hour block can range from 10,000KRW to 20,000KRW! They have lockers for you to safekeep your belongings as well so you do not look like you have an identity crisis and not sure which era you exactly belong to in a hanbok and your handbags HAHAHA.



I'd recommend doing this in Spring/Autumn because it'd be way too hot to wear hanbok in Summer 
and way too cold to wear it in Winter LOL



Hanbok-nam's address: 109 Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

And... that's all from me for now! If I have the time, I'd piece together my Korea vlog for you guys :) So... stay tuned! 

With love, 
Xin Lin


Note: This post is in collaboration with Korea Tourism Organization, all opinions are my own.