San Francisco Japantown: The Face Shop

The Face Shop has several locations in the state of California, and finally another location has even added in San Francisco!  The latest branch of this famous South Korean beauty brand is located in Japantown, inside the Peace Plaza.  Its location within the center is very easy to find, right next to one of the center's entrances.

Kim Hyun Joong is still the endorser of The Face Shop, having his refreshing appearance splattered on posters and advertisements throughout the store.  Sadly this branch doesn't have a cutout and barely any KHJ merchandise!  However there are KHJ diaries exactly like the one I bought from the San Jose branch.

The layout is similar to the other Face Shop locations.  However, this location is much cleaner, refreshing and bright with its clean-end and minimalistic furnishing.  The category overheads are in a fun, curvy font with color backdrops that create a naturally cheery atmosphere.  On the shelves are handwritten post-its with keywords that describe the benefits of each product, as well as "best sellers" and "new arrivals."

There were three workers who were very attentive, asking if we needed help and handing out shopping baskets.  One worker I asked didn't understand English fully, and I had to reword "bar of soap" to have her understand.  Despite this mishap, she was very patient and was eager to help me.

I bought 3 products totaling to under $10 and my aunt's purchase was over $100.  Above are the three products I had purchased.  The Face Shop's prices are fairly reasonable for their moderate products, but for their more advanced products that use higher quality ingredients and for more severe issues (eg. wrinkles, sagging skin), products can be more costly.

Together, we received an abundance of samples that'll last for quite some time!  We received 12 random samples (3 of which were duplicates).  With a purchase of over $100, you can also choose an additional gift from a variety such as an acne travel kit, a bottle of hair conditioner, pore primer, mini brush set or a pouch. We thought the travel set was the best deal and chose that.  Despite such a large purchase, we still had to pay $0.10 for a bag.  I guess in San Francisco it's mandatory to charge for bags (though SkinFood didn't!).

I love this San Francisco branch much more than the San Jose branch because of its clean and fresh facade, caring staff and generous samples.  This location will definitely be my go-to stop from now on.