12 hidden beauty gems on sites like Taobao you didn’t know you need until you see them

Online shopping has long been ubiquitous, but the option of shopping from a very wide variety of vendors at very affordable prices has only recently become a thing with the rise of sites such as Taobao. The China-based website lists a huge number of vendors and often offer prices that are super attractive, even after factoring in shipping cost.

The only problem with Taobao and other similar sites is that everything is listed in Chinese, and can be a little hard to navigate around its complex layout. Thankfully, online agents such as Ezbuy allows you to shop effortlessly (in English!) and also help you ship your desired items to Singapore.

You already know that you can find literally anything you may be looking for. But did you know that you may also be able to stumble upon things you weren’t even looking for? Here are some hidden beauty gems from sites like Taobao you never knew you needed until now.

1. Pocket mirror that is foldable and stands on its own

Item price: SGD 2.51

Item listing: Ezbuy

It comes in so many cute designs, folds up in a very neat and space-efficient way, and can even stand on its own! These come in three different sizes (Small, Large, Extra Large), so you can either use it as a staple for your vanity table, or as a portable option for you to carry around every day.

The item’s original Taobao listing show very positive reviews by a large proportion of buyers, who said the quality of the item was good and they were very satisfied with the quality of the mirror.

2. Silicone mask brush

Item price: SGD 1.26

Item listing: Ezbuy

There’s no better way to relax and feel like you’re pampering your skin by giving yourself a good home facial. Unfortunately, most masks on the market nowadays come in a tub and reaching in to get enough product, before smearing it all over your face can get quite messy.

This brush sounds like a great idea to solve that problem! We can imagine that its silicone material will help in grabbing as much product as possible, providing a smooth application, and cleaning up after. It has received good reviews on its original listing on Taobao, especially noting how easy it is to clean.

3. Blackhead vacuum

Item price: SGD 13

Item listing: Ezbuy

Some of you may have seen it on advertisement videos on Facebook recently. This handheld beauty tool is meant to exert a vacuum pressure on targeted areas of your face so as to pull out any blackheads, oil clogs, dead skin cells and so on. It comes with four different tips that are used for different purposes, and which you can interchange on your device easily:

• Large circular opening: For blackheads and oil clogs
• Microcrystalline tip: For dead skin
• Small circular opening: For blackheads on fragile skin, provides some lifting effect for small areas (do not apply vacuum pressure to these areas for too long)
• Oval opening: For the corners of eyes and mouth, or fragile skin, provides some lifting effect for small areas (do not apply vacuum pressure to these areas for too long)

It is charged by a USB cable, and has 3 different strength settings for its vacuum power. Over a thousand reviewers on the item’s listing on Taobao has expressed satisfaction for the quality of this product.

4. Blackhead brush

Item price: SGD 1.82

Item listing: Ezbuy

If you’re hesitant about trying out a blackhead vacuum, here’s an alternative that might suit you. It’s a soft silicone brush designed to fit on your index finger for ease of use. Apply facial wash to your skin, or on the brush, then gently massage the area with the brush to clear blackheads. It comes in two colours: mint and light pink/peach.

This has gotten a 4.9/5 rating on TMall, a Chinese shopping website similar to Taobao, with over 10,000 reviews. Many have said that they were pleased with the quality of the product.

5. Nail polish template

Item price: SGD 1.84 (for 26 pcs)

Item listing: Ezbuy

Do you find it difficult to apply your nail polish without having it get onto your cuticles? This guide for your nails not only acts as a nail separator, but also covers up your cuticles so you won’t have to worry about getting unsightly polish overflow.

From the pictures, it seems to come in various sizes for differently sized nails. However, we aren’t quite sure how well it’ll hold up if your nail shape happens to be tapered or slanted, as the edges of these templates look straight. For such a low price, however, we’d say it’s still worth a try!

6. Big bow hair accessory

Item price: SGD 1.36

Item listing: Ezbuy

There are times when we just need to get hair out of our faces, whether it’s when we’re cleansing our faces, applying a mask, doing our skincare routines, or even when we’re trying to focus on work at our desk.

These bows help you do that, and also come in such cute shapes and designs that you can certainly wear them out! Choose from cute animal ears, towel bows, or from more chic-looking scarves. From its Taobao listing, more than 700 buyers were satisfied with the quality of the product, and more than 400 said it was good value for money.

7. Cushion puffs

Item price: SGD 2.18

Item listing: Ezbuy

We love our cushion foundations but it often happens that the puff it comes with gets very grimy very fast. While you could certainly buy triangle sponges and use that to apply instead, but they don’t fit nicely into the compact and don’t work as seamlessly as a cushion puff.

This is exactly what most of us have been looking for: a whole pack of extra cushion puffs designed exactly like the ones that come with our favourite cushion foundations. They’re so affordable that you could probably make do with simply throwing them away when you feel like you need a clean puff again.

8. Fruity pill box

Item price: SGD 2.28

Item listing: Ezbuy

Pill boxes aren’t exactly anything new to us, but just look at these cute designs! Whether you have medications you need to take with you on the go, or when you’re travelling, these pill boxes are sure to perk you up whenever you see them in your bag.

You can access your medication either by rotating the box to its opening, or simply taking off the lid entirely. Don’t have any medications to carry around? You can try out this pill box hack if you’re really into de-potting makeup.

9. DIY magnetic palette

Item price: SGD 6.75

Item listing: Ezbuy

Though the packaging of makeup products are often irresistibly gorgeous, they are also often inconveniently bulky. It has become an increasingly common practice amongst makeup artists and YouTube beauty gurus to depot eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers and anything else that might come in a removable metal pan, and fit them into a magnetic palette that keeps the pan in place. This makes for easy storage and portability.

If you’re up for trying this particular hack but had no idea where to get that sort of magnetic palette that you need – you’re welcome. This item has received a 4.8/5 rating on its original Taobao listing.

10. Hair brush cleaner

Item price: SGD 1.75

Item listing: Ezbuy

Ever find that your hair brush tends to accumulate hair balls super quickly? Even if you are conscientious in removing these hair strands every time you brush your hair, it’s inevitable that there are still some left over, entangled hopelessly on the base of the brush.

This cleaner sounds like a great idea in dealing with that issue. It features bent metal wires which can comb (ha!) through your brush, pulling out any clingy hair strands and ensuring a cleaner, more hygienic-looking hair brush.

11. Mesh brush protector

Item price: SGD 2.76 (for 20 pcs)

Item listing: Ezbuy

If you bring around your makeup brushes a lot, whether to touch up on an every day basis, or for travel, these are the things you never knew you needed. It’s basically just a stretchy mesh tube, which conforms to any brush size and keeps it in shape even if you simply throw it in your makeup pouch without any other casing.

These can get dirty, and may themselves go out of shape after some time, so they’re meant to be semi-disposable. Each tube is approximately 10 cm in length, which should cover most types of makeup brushes on the market.

12. Cartoon manicure set

Item price: SGD 1.56

Item listing: Ezbuy

Manicure sets aren’t exactly new but we couldn’t resist sharing this one that came with really cute designs! It’s in a convenient pocket size that’s easy to bring around with you every day, or when you’re travelling. No more putting up with peeling cuticle or broken nails!

These come with slanted-edge nail clippers, straight-edge nail clippers, a pair of cuticle scissors, a nail file, a pair of tweezers, and an ear digger. It measures 6.5cm by 11cm.

No idea how to use Ezbuy?

The concept is pretty simple. They are essentially the middleman that helps you with overseas shopping, especially from websites that aren’t easy to navigate for us.

There are two ways you can shop on Ezbuy:

1. Direct shopping

Simply log on to Ezbuy, register an account if you haven’t already, click on the shopping category or the country from which you’d like to shop, and go to town!

This is the most convenient way of using Ezbuy, and recommended for those who haven’t used Ezbuy before, or aren’t able to navigate websites like Taobao on their own.

2. Shopping via agent

If you want larger control over your shopping, you can also use Ezbuy as a shipping agent and middleman for your Taobao purchases! This basically means you pick out what you’d like to buy on Taobao, and then get Ezbuy to help you buy it so you can bypass the potentially confusing checking out process. Check out this useful guide to see how this works.

Take note, however, that Ezbuy charges an 8% agent fee for every order. Psst, sometimes they do have promotions where agent fees are waived!

As for Shipping Rates & Durations, do click here to find out more on Ezbuy!

We’ve got something for you!

Click on the banner above, or this link, to register on Ezbuy and get a free SGD 10 shopping voucher credited to your account! Daily Vanity doesn’t earn any commission at all from this freebie, so it’s solely for your benefit.

Terms & conditions:

• S$10 voucher will be credited directly into customer account upon registration.
• Voucher is valid for first-time purchase on Ezbuy only.
• Voucher is valid for 14 days upon registration on Ezbuy.
• Voucher is valid for redemption with minimum spend of $20.
• Ching International Service Pte Ltd (Ezbuy) reserve the right to vary any of these terms and conditions, or to withdraw this promotion, at any time in their discretion without prior notice.

Promotional registration closes on 10 September 2017.

What can you buy with this?

Anything on Ezbuy!

We suggest checking out their Korea marketplace, where you can shop your favourite Korean cosmetics and skincare brands shipped directly from Korea at up to 60% off. Put your mind at ease, as products are guaranteed to be 100% authentic.

Just a few final words

• We have not ordered any of these items ourselves and cannot vouch for their quality or efficacy. We hope that this guide can nonetheless give you options that you may not have otherwise know of if you don’t have the time to browse around these e-retailers yourself!
• There are usually many vendors selling the same product at varying prices. These are the ones we’ve found, but there may be vendors selling it at lower prices out there – browse more and your determination may pay off, literally!
• Note that these prices are only for the items themselves and do not include any other fees, such as those for shipping and agent.