The Face Shop

5 stars for the product line, but 1 star for the store and lazy customer service.
Unless you absolutely need to have something ASAP, buy your Face Shop products online at Amazon for a fraction of the price and – probably – better customer service. I bought a $ 15 bb cream (on Amazon) for $ 50 here – and while returns and exchanges are allowed with receipt and unopened, don’t count on an exchange for another color happening not 5 minutes after you step out of the store. Upon leaving with my purchase, I saw that my purchased shade, swatched on my hand, was ghastly in natural light. The shopgirl (who was chatting with a coworker when I came in and didn’t bother helping any of the customers out) didn’t want to make an even exchange for another shade «because it was a long process» and she had to call corporate. Truthful? Not sure, since I cut my losses and left.
I’ll save you the $ 50 lesson – do some research on the reputable Amazon sellers and buy straight from there. Shipping is usually free, too!

I am an Asian cosmetics junkie so I love going here! It’s on my cross and checklist for every Japantown trip I take. This face shop location is a bit small, but they have a very wide selection of skincare and makeup items. Again, with most places like this, the products are marked up a bit higher than online prices. I usually come here to stock up on face sheet masks (which sometimes go on sale! Score!) and try a new skincare product or two. Customer service is helpful and friendly. They always recommend me new things and with every purchase, you get generous amounts of samples!

Their shop opens late on Sundays, 9pm! I like the décor and product lines offered here.

Waaay overpriced! Bought the Magic Cover BB cream for $ 33 and the micro retouching blur pact $ 32. I checked online via Amazon and E-​bay to see the prices and it was almost half of the prices that they sell. Man, what a rip-​off. I understand that rent at Japantown is high but to jack up the prices of their products at double the price is just too much!

Very upset and disappointed. I bought a highlighter for $ 38 here just to find pricing online that I got majorly ripped off. It is more than HALF the price is bought online. What a joke. I will never come back.

I had an unpleasant experience here. I was the only one in the store and the clerk didn’t even acknowledge my existence. I didn’t even get a single «Hello» when I walked in. The clerk, Pothi just sat behind the counter the whole entire time doing her own thing. I’m not the type of person that expects first class customer service; I don’t really need it because I usually like to just browse on my own. But at least acknowledge that I’m in the store shopping and ask if I need any help. Her type of customer service makes me never want to shop here ever again. You would think that spending $ 60+ would at least get you better customer service, but not here. Go somewhere else. There are a lot of Korean skincare shops in Japantown that provides you with better service.
Also, I didn’t get any samples.

The staff isn’t the best but I love coming here to try out new skin products. I usually end up loving more than most of my American stuff.

For what I want from them they are 5 star. I buy tons of masks. I love them! Their $ 2 masks are awesome. I get Korean face sponges. Brushes. Some makeup. Face cleanser and products I am familiar with… you get a lot of bang for your buck. My skin looks great. My only issue with them is there are a lot of products there and I don’t feel like the Sales people have a huge knowledge base of the products. Since I don’t speak the language I don’t know what any of it is… otherwise they are really nice.

I love the face shop products, but I had to give it a three because of the employee there. I get it, its important to not have products to be stolen, but seriously at least give me space! This one lady would follow me and eyeing me on things I touch. It would of been nice if they didn’t follow you and keep looking at you as if your going to steal it.

I had been meaning to go ever since reading about it in The Chronicle. Finally went, so glad I did. Amir helped me, and he is so great. I really had no idea what to buy and he made helpful suggestions and sent me home with some Korean serums and face masks, and some fun gifts. Amir was friendly, helpful and informative.

I am a skincare junky… I’m Sephora VIB Rouge… that’s how bad my addiction is. But I get a lot of compliments on my skin and I love it. There are worse habits to have, right? I’ve been on this Korean skincare kick for the last couple of years. Korean spas in Southern California before moving up to NorCal. I bought so many products from Amore Pacific at Sephora. I like them but they are quite pricey.
Last night was my first visit to the location in Japan Town and the clerk, Linda, was great. I bought 3 types of masks (the masks with the ampoules are amazing!!) for brightening. I bought the white seed toner, essence and lotion. I spent over $ 100 but I got these free gifts — a full bottle of foundation and a mask. Plus samples! You don’t get this at Sephora (sorry…still love you Sephora *kiss*). I used the products last night and this morning and they are great.
The store clerk worked really hard so I wish that The Face Shop had another employee there because there certainly were customers who needed questions answered. Most items are in Korean with a little bit of English in there so unless you read Korean, you need a sales clerk to help you.
Synopsis: Products are great for the price!!!

In terms of service, don’t expect any. Plus, if you are assisted, you may wish you hadn’t been. The service can be somewhat condescending, so if you don’t know a whole lot about Korean skincare don’t expect an education from those who work the shop. In terms of their products, the sheet masks are what The Face Shop is best known for. The Nature line is affordable, and come in a variety of masks. My favorite are the green tea and olive. The blushes are «ok» at best, and don’t stay on very well. The White Seed facial scrub/​wash is too harsh for my sensitive skin to use daily, so I use it once a week.
Looking to try The Face Shop products? Best to stick to shopping online. Also, they don’t take card payments on purchases less than $ 10 (which is illegal via terms of Visa and MasterCard agreements)

Their products are way better than sephora and drugstore makeup. I just don’t like how the testers were unorganized and really beat up, then again, I did come at the end of the day. The workers were nice and helpful! I would come back again when I have more money.

My experience is from some time in late March 2015.
I’ve purchased The Face Shop products from Asia before and was looking to restock my cleanser (Arsainte Eco-​Therapy Multi-​Care Cleansing Foam). I looked around and a heavily made-​up salesman asked if I needed help. I told him I was looking to repurchase the aforementioned cleanser and he said they didn’t carry the item. He snobbily asked if I was sure if it was The Face Shop brand and maybe I didn’t know what I was talking about since he never heard of the Arsainte Eco-​Therapy line. Rude. Needless to say, I left empty handed that day.
I was definitely put off by his demeanor. I seriously dislike being talked down to and treated so poorly. I’ve purchased this item before from a REAL TFS store. It just so happened that they did not carry the specific item/​line I was using. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist if you don’t carry it. Sheesh.
I had a much nicer experience at The Face Shop at the Grand Century Mall in San Jose. The saleslady steered me towards a different cleanser that’s working better for me. I’ll probably head that way or online for TFS items.

I came here for brands that I can’t find where I live, especially Asian skincare products. The salesgirl was super helpful, and she helped me select the correct shade of powder and concealer. She also ended up giving me more samples than I had expected.
I just wish they would open a store near my town so I don’t have to make the 2 hour drive.
The store is relatively small with narrow aisles, so sometimes you might bump into other shoppers. The store also gets pretty busy, and the line can get long as there’s only one or two people at the cashier counter.
I’m not sure how their pricing is, as I usually don’t buy these brands, but the products I got seemed reasonable. I did try to keep it under $ 20 for each item.

Seriously furious to how the sales person handled the situation. I’ve worked in customer service since I was 16, so I know exactly how a situation I was involved in should have panned out.
I went into the face shop looking for a black felt tip eyeliner. The girl was helpful and gave me a few options to look at. She opened a brand new box and handed me an eyeliner to try on my hand. I asked her how much it was and she walked over to the register to scan for the price. I then continued to look over my options trying different pens on my hand. I decided to go with the second one she scanned for me. The transaction went smoothly until I got home and realized I had an empty box.
Seeing that the exchange was a little back and fourth, I can see how she might have totally forgot to give me a new box. I called the store optimistically thinking the whole ordeal was a mistake and I can pick up my eyeliner the next day. WRONG. She put me on hold for the longest time, proceeded to come back on the phone to say that «It is impossible that you have an empty box,» and continuously accuse me of lying and stealing without actually saying the words. So yes, I got loud, and yes, I dropped profanity but I was extremely angry that she was telling me that I was wrong.
Instead of apologizing and telling me she would call her manager to review the protocol for these types of scenarios, she challenged my words, raised her voice and told me that «a lot of customers come back here and say they got an empty box.»
At this point, I don’t even want the stupid eyeliner. I just want my $ 20 back cuz I did not pay that much for a small empty box. It’s the principle of the situation now. How dare you accuse me of lying and stealing. You will be hearing again from me very soon.

I’m writing on my first impressions of this particular location and products. Never before have I heard of this product until my niece mentioned that it was all the hype among Asian teens… Hmmm. This little shop have 2 main aisles without much clearance for the bevy of foot traffic in Japantown. People had to meander through very carefully not to trample on unsuspecting shoppers.
The sheet masks are one of my favorite facial products. The prices varied between $ 2 to $ 8. The masks seem to all moisturize and/​or firm. It’s a dizzying selection. Upon inspection of the ingredients, I’ve noticed parabens in many of these masks. It was enough for me to back away (not literally b/​c I’ll topple over the displace inches behind me) from these items. It had raised a red flag in my head to inspect every ingredient list of any topical product I may fancy in this store.
There are some intriguing one-​of-​a-​kind products, such as 24k escargot face creams? WHA? They are rather hefty in price. The more extravagant brand, Miindo, includes the ginseng and other Chinese herbal ingredients. I didn’t see parabens among the ingredients… or maybe by that time my eyes have failed me after enduring 2 hours of traffic to get to Japantown.
There are testers for each non-​sheet mask item. After some sampling, I found myself searching for some type of cleanser or face wipe to get the residue off my hands! The only close semblance of such was small cotton squares and eye makeup remove… ew, it’s even oilier now!
I’ve read that the return policy is rather stingy…7 days to return unopened boxes with receipt, and store credit for opened items (with adverse reaction?). I would recommend trying other locations, as this one is too chaotic

3.5 Stars! Great for hydrating face masks! BUY 5 get 1 Free!
The Face Shop is a popular beauty chain that started out in Korea carrying pretty good face products. Don’t expect them to work wonders. They’re definitely no ‘La Mer’. I recommend their hydrating masks and BB creams since they work great on sensitive skin.
After moving to Cali, my skin became really dry and tried drinking more water but it didn’t help. Came in here to grab a few hydrating masks. They were having a special so thought I pick up a few. They recommended me to get this exfoliating crème so I got suckered into buying that too. So far works great!
Service:
3 stars — It doesn’t seem like sales staff really knew much about the products. Probably should do your own research before coming in.
Products:
4 stars — For their hydrating masks
Price:
Inexpensive

I accidentally stumbled upon The Face Shop after having a bento box overload at Daiso & Ichiban Kan across the plaza. I’m so glad I did!
The Face Shop has every cute and practical cosmetic item you could ever need. The sales girls are amazing, friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. They recommended products perfect for my skin type & fair complexion. I wish I’d gotten their names because they were so helpful.
I got to try every product that caught my eye, bought way more than I should have, got a lovely (and multi-​product) free gift, and was given loads of free samples.
If you’re looking for face masks, make-​up, skincare, or brushes, skip Ulta and Sephora & head here. Great quality, an extensive line of all products, and perfect customer service.

Grand opening promo. Spend over $ 30 and you get 30% of what you spent in free gifts.
Small and somewhat cramped in there, but I’m glad I don’t have to trek to the South Bay for Korean cosmetics and facial products.
Love the collagen eye masks! My mom and I are fans. I have very dark circles and bags under my eyes due to genetics. The masks actually help with some of it.
Also love the blackhead removing mud. Works wonders for someone with small pores on their nose like me.
Samples galore (my favorite thing about Korean cosmetic stores)
just didn’t like how the lady kept following me around like I was gonna steal something –_–