I became aware of YesStyle and similar sites while I was trying to figure out the best way to consistently and cheaply order Korean formulated sunscreen and ended up ordering Skin1004’s Hyalu-Cica water fit Sun Serum, which is one of the most popular products for Asian sunscreen right now.

Background (optional read): The problem with American sunscreen formulations of course is that it’s 20+ years behind Asian/European sunscreen formulation, due to the FDA classifying sunscreen as an OTC drug rather than a cosmetic product like other countries. Due to the FDA’s blunder, they haven’t approved a new UVA/UVB filter for retail in over 25 years, with the first new filter being approved later this year, Tinosorb S. This leads to the only way for US residents to get Korean formulated sunscreen is to either buy it in Korea and bring it back, import it (YesStyle), or buy it from a small shop who imported it. Big shops (Sephora, etc) sell the reformulated dog water that don’t use any of the unapproved filters.

I was highly suspect of the quality/service that YesStyle provided, and I decided to place a small order of two sunscreens and one ampoule to test it out. The problem started when I decided to take express shipping, which was $11 compared to ($6?) regular shipping. I expected it to arrive in a week or so, but it ended up getting here in two months.

Explanation:

US Customs apparently held it up in Memphis for that entire time, while I was repeatedly being told by YesStyle that it would be coming. I looked it up online and I was told that most likely it would be rejected and sent back to its origin. I later received an official letter from the FDA confirming that my package was awaiting inspection, which pretty much told me that I was going to have to:

1. Contact YesStyle for a refund
2. Try to get my money back in $, not in points
3. file a claim with my bank if it’s not in $

At this point the package has been in Memphis for about a month and I had no hope that it would arrive. After struggling and contacting YesStyle multiple times through email or live chat, they could not help me and basically just stalled me. I ended up finding the contact for the CEO on the YesStyle site, and messaged telling them about my situation with the letter and the package locations as proof, and told them that if I didn’t get a refund in $, I would file a claim with my bank.

The reason why my package was held up and not many others is because I got it with express shipping, which YesStyle used FedEx for. Normal shipping (1-2 month delivery time) would use UPS Ground.

I got unlucky with FedEx ratting me out. USPS would have not cared enough but FedEx flagged my package and sent a manifest straight to the FDA.

Result:

I soon got a full refund from YesStyle, and the surprising part is that my package actually did arrive a month later without missing anything. The box was ripped open and repackaged and the sunscreen was opened, but everything is there. Still, I found another site, Yami, which has US warehouses which bypasses the customs issue. They delivered sunscreen to me in two days. 👍 Plus they have a coupon for new users who were referred to get two $10 off coupons.

Overall, YesStyle’s system and customer service is extremely poor. I would say that besides the occasional good deal, I would never think to use them again. Their customer service led me into frustration and anxiety, and they did nothing but waste my time. Yami on the other hand reminds me more of Amazon.

TLDR: Don’t get express shipping from YesStyle if you want Korean sunscreen. Yami is your new best friend for that.