Thursday, November 21, 2013 :: innisfree in Jeju Island Day 3 & 4
Back with a longgggg blog post for my trip to Jeju Island (Day 3 & 4) with innisfree. These 2 days were my favourite days in the entire trip because of the closeness to nature. Didn’t know that Jeju can be sooo beautiful. During this trip, I met the people who choose and select the best raw materials from nature, people who do extensive research about these raw materials in the laboratory and even farmers who own and cultivate these raw materials.
The photo above shows Amore Pacific’s R&D facility which is the largest beauty research institute in Korea. They do tons of research and publish publications about their discoveries and also create more reliable ‘natural’ products with only the clean ingredients in Jeju.
Day 3 started with a Green Beauty Lab Tour where we were demonstrated the effects of green tea by a research scientist. Having studied 5 years of science myself, entering a lab and seeing the equipment are all too familiar for me. Jeez, nerd alert.
No redemption for myself in this photo haha. I just love to stand/sit closer to the whiteboard okay?
We learn about how the different parts of a jasmine plant can be used to make the Green Tea products in innisfree.
We learnt how Jeju green tea seeds are precious ingredients that can only be collected from healthy green tea trees that are regarded as the best tea leaves.
This is the jasmine flower used to make green tea! I never once knew that green tea…comes from jasmine flower. Do you??? No right?
And we even had the luxury of drinking the highest quality green tea harvested from the cream of the crop green tea leaves here in Jeju and farmed by AmorePacific. Did you know that green tea has the mysterious characteristic of avoiding impure water and spread its root deep under the ground to take the clean water for growth. Additionally, Jeju Island is filled with volcanic soil from active volcanoes which acts as a natural filter that filters out contaminated substances. That is why Jeju green tea is grown in a strictly clean environment with organic farming techniques so that rich nutrients from the root to leaves, fruits, and seeds and natural energy fully display the innate strength and efficacy of green tea. THEN the final product of it all, is going into innisfree skincare and cosmetics products.
*thumbs up, cheers and drink up for good health
innisfree products offers and contain the creative ideas and dedication of people who study and love nature just like the kind professor below :)
At the beautiful Seogang Tea Garden!
The Green Tea Reseach Institute and farmers of Seogwang Green Tea Garden successfully obtained the chemical-free green tea fields certification from the government. The healthy and clean green tea leaves cultivated here is used as an important ingredient for innisfree’s Green Tea Pure Line which is coming to Singapore really soon! ;)
Headed up the field to the newly built innisfree Jeju House. This house gives me a sense of tranquillity in a way I felt extremely relaxed and at peace with myself the duration we were there. Could be the way Jeju House has been designed – which overlooks lush gotjawal forests, mountains in the distant and the cooling weather. It all harmonizes to give this out-of-the-world-no-more-worries state of mind during the time spent in the House.
The house is filled with sights, sounds and smells to titillate your senses and experience. I actually think that the smell of subtlety of natural scents filling the inside of Jeju House responsible for giving me comfort in my mind.
Here in this photo is one of my favourite centrepiece in the House – the Aroma Oils corner. These aroma oils are made of the ingredients harvested in Jeju Island such as the Camelia Flower, Green Tea and Canola Honey. I love the smells and silky texture of the aroma oil that I bought quite a handful back as gifts. Aroma oils can be used to mix into your moisturizer and be applied to the face. I learnt from a workshop before that oils can penetrate even deeper into the skin layers as compared to creamy products. In that way, the efficacy of the product will be maximised as it goes deep into your skin to work its magic from the inside out (think of it as repairing your skin from the root of the problem) instead of getting stuck on the top few epidermis layers.
Other than being the first to raise my hands up in class (“me, me, me!" *waves hands frantically), I also like to stick my nose in everything to smell its’ scent (even if there might be none)…
…make the unlucky ones standing beside me take whiff too,
...and to touch everything,
…and really making sure I touch and feel every single thing I can lay my hands on.What? I am a woman with high curiosity and ever willing to learn, okay? :p
One of the highlights in innisfree Jeju House is the natural soap making activity where anyone can participate. An iPad is placed at every table to visually show the step-by-step of soap making and there were many friendly staff around ever so willing to help us out if this ipad is not idiot-proof enough haha.
My laughing buddy and I. We laugh at everything haha because it was pretty exciting to start on learning something new and doing it hands-on yourself just like…a pottery class!
My pride (and joy) – the first soap bar I ever made, proudly gifted to my Dad hehe.
We also get to experience the healthy organic foods here which are harvested from fresh locally produced ingredients in the island.
This dish beat all other desserts in Singapore (that I have tasted before) hands down. It is some green tea cake with red beans paste and peanut powder. It is soooo delish!
On my table.
Most of us bought something here! I got loads of aroma oils from here hehe! ;)
We headed to the O’sulloc Tea Stone Class and Tea Museum next.
Where we learnt how to drink tea from a Tea Master. It is extremely quiet and peaceful in this place we were housed at for the class and the spaciousness of this place rejuvenates my mind and I feel..how should I explain this..cleansed after the class.
My laughing buddy and I again. We found alot of fun doing this although we had trouble understanding the steps initially and messed up the process. But the tea still tasted as good haha.
The Tea Museum is like a dark cellar where it is housed with crates and crates of green tea for specific consumption such as those suitable for the elderly etc.
After which we headed to the shop nearby to purchase green tea leaves for our folks back home. I spent most of my Korean won here because I am a lover of green tea! I drink it almost every night before I sleep. After a meal, I like how hot green tea warms my tummy and cleanse me of the “oiliness” the meal may contain.
*Our next destination kept me really excited throughout the 1 hour odd bus ride. We were en route to visit Seongsan Ilchulbong also known as the Sunrise Peak. This is the place where people go to climb the mountain to look at the beautiful sunrise. It also overlooks the ocean so imagine that spectacular view.
While the rest went downhill to look at the bustling civilization (where women divers sell their produce here), I went uphill on my own and found….horseback riding activity teehee!
Thank you horsie, I will be back again I promise! xx
This is downhill towards the foot of the mountain where the women divers sell their produce here. It has hence become a culture. Do you know that Jeju women play a leading role in the fundamentals of Jeju traditional culture? They are brave enough to risk their lives working in the sea to support their families and enhance the quality of life for all Jeju islanders. So it was really good to witness for myself the energetic lifestyle of a Jeju woman!
Found this pretty seashell (is it called a seashell for that size?) and held it at my ears for about 30 minutes trying to listen hard for supposedly ‘sound of waves’ which one of the media rep insisted I will hear it if I listen hard enough –.- Don’t prank me next time ok? Haha I always genuinely believe..(that’s why John always manage to trick me into this and that) – I really listened hard for that 30 minutes y’know….
With the media reps, innisfree peeps and the fun-loving peeps (dressed in green) from an events company hired specially for this trip!
One with our official photographer, Jun! On a side note, why do I always get bunny ears in group photos? –.- Has that got to do with my height??
Although we couldn’t climb up to the top because of time constraints, much less catch a glimpse of the sun-setting, it was still a memorable experience! If only I could do this again with John!
*
It wasn’t too long before the sky turned dark and temperatures dip really low. But actually it is the cold winds that sent chills up our spine. We headed just outside our hotel for a luxurious BBQ cookout! Was really excited for this because I never had BBQ cookout out in the cold before!
One of the caravans we were in! It is sooooo cool!
Our chef for the night hehe. All the glorious food were cooked to perfection! ;)
There were fresh seafood like prawns, lobsters and high quality juicy beef steak and many more! It was soooooo yummy!
Because of this luxurious BBQ cookout (which costs $200 sgd per pax), I wanted to give John this good experience I had overseas and decided to throw him a birthday party in 10 days time with similar food and standard as well. I also managed to hire a chef for this BBQ cookout! Now, I’m only left with scoring the freshest ingredients with the best marinate and sauces. My dear friends, watch out for the invites coming your way! ;)
I really envy people who can hold their liquor well. I…can’t even take half a glass of wine!
It was a good 2-3 hours dinner in the cold but I enjoyed every single bit of it thoroughly! Amongst many funny stories about our industries and work, we cheered our glasses to this innisfree green tour and the wonderful experiences but wait, look at my cup of…water =.=
The great dinner cookout marked the end of our trip and we took a flight back to Seoul Incheon International Airport (via the Gimpo Airport) the very next day.
Do choose to sit by the window when you visit Jeju next time because it is explained in the limited edition handbook given by innisfree that there is fascinating harmony of blue in the skies over Jeju and there is a good reason for it. The iridescent blue created by Mother Nature emits refreshing energy in the sea of Jeju. When this blue reaches the land, it turns into a more transparent light. A good example would be the natural bedrock water coming from the volcanic island. The blue DNA of Jeju originated from a dark blue color in the far sea turns into emerald waves when it reaches offshore, and into soft bubbles against the basalt rocks by the coast. While streaming through the hills of the mountain soft light goes clear and the beautiful chromatic change of this blue color can be seen through the window of the airplane before you land. So do sit by the window next time when you visit the pristine island of Jeju!
Had the very last Korean meal at the airport and I chose my food very carefully to make sure I get the best of Korean culture before I leave! ;)
And this marks the end of my trip to Jeju with innisfree! Documenting it differently from how I usually write my blogposts because this had been such a great experience I want to be able to read back at my blog posts and remember all that I had learnt and see during this trip! It is definitely more lengthier but hey, it is as though you go on this trip with me, right? ;D
Thank you for reading this longggg post and do anticipate the launch of innisfree in Singapore! Experience for yourself the thoughtfulness of this all-natural, eco-friendly Asian beauty brand!
With Love,The official opening of innisfree first ever store in Singapore will be on 22 Nov at Takashimaya S.C. #B2-34/35! So stay tuned to it! I am sure it will be a blast!Good luck with your beauty adventure with innisfree! :)
Tricia
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