I took a dream vacation last month. Not to some tropical hideaway surrounded by crystal clear waters. Not to a romantic European capital overflowing with crumbling palaces and fine wine. No, I went on a shopping vacation. To Korea.

Shopping in Myeongdong, an old part of town revitalized with everything from nouveau Korean street food (french fry-covered corndog and french fries on a stick, anyone?) to cutting edge indie boutiques to Seoul's flagship Uniqlo store. Photo from flickriver.com.

For me, Seoul is the place to go to shop. Tokyo – too expensive. Singapore – too western. Hong Kong – too inconsistent. While Seoul may not be the bargain it used to be, the quality of goods and quantity of goods make it a shopper’s dream. So when my husband told me he was going on a once-in-a-lifetime Pebble Beach weekend with the boys, I took that as my cue to plan a once-in-a-lifetime-solely-to-shop-without-the-hubby trip with my mom.

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Although I am a SoCal native, my upcoming trip to South Korea has inspired me to do a post on makeup for humid weather. The last thing we want is to have our face melt off.. Here are some tips to keeping your makeup fresh and intact!

Face

For the face, ditch the powder and liquid foundation. Instead, use a tinted moisturizer or BB cream. Most of these have SPFs in them so you kill two birds with one stone! Couple products I would suggest are:

Stila’s BB Cream

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer

Eyes

For your eyes, make sure all your products are waterproof, and prime your eyes if you’re going to wear eye shadow. I swear by Stila’s liquid eyeliner in black. Rain, wind, snow, it doesn’t budge! Urban Decay is famous for their primer; it is a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer

Lips

Lip stains are known to have long lasting effects, but also known to dry your lips out. Try Tarte’s moisturizing lip stain. They have one that is both shimmery and matte, and the unique crayon shape makes it easy to apply quickly.

Tarte's LipSurgence Natural Lip Stain

With the exception of the eyeliner and primer, all of the products mentioned above are paraben-free. I found it difficult to find natural alternatives when it comes to long lasting ability, but if there is a fantastic product we are missing out on, please tell us in the comments! Yes, Asian products, especially BB cream often times fare better to the ones in the US, but it is trickier to get your hands on. I am planning to do a huge makeup haul when I get to Korea though so stay tuned!