What to buy in Taiwan - All about mags and mooks

My initial passion or shall I say obsession of Japanese mooks and magazines show on my blog. Since my very first Japanese magazine buy which was a Steady January issue with a Samantha Tiara oil blotter case and Rilakkuma calender.The road to obtaining was a complicated one. Since then I've learnt it's much easier to buy these mags in KLCC Kinokuniya ( cos Singaporeans are much much more aware of these freebie mags) and how to find out what worthy freebies are available and when. I've also learnt to not trust product pictures cos they might be misleading.

Over the years I've had my share of worthy and crap buys.I'd therefore like to share the yays and boos of my Japanese freebie collection.

This post came about thanks to a sweet reader Meng Her who wanted to find out where to buy these Japanese magazines in Taiwan. She is smart indeed because a mook in Taiwan may range between RM 40-50 in Taiwan while in Kinokuniya KLCC it ranges between RM 50-80. Of course occasionally they have 20% off with another purchase days and also 5% off for Isetan card members, but no matter what Taiwan is still cheaper.

Also do go for independent shops that focus on selling these magazines cos they might have past editions with great freebies ( that are sold out in Malaysia and Singapore) for a cheaper price. Try not to buy these mags at Eslite (biggest Taiwanese book store chain) cos it's more expensive for the newer editions. Not sure if Eslite has bargain bins though.

Also it helps that most of these specialty Japanese magazine bookstores have all the freebies displayed for your viewing and testing pleasure.

For the benefit of those going to Taiwan (lucky buggers) here's a list of my previous buys in order of how I rate them (so you guys get a gist of what i'm rambling on about) after seeing the actual product and also mooks and mags I wished I had gotten my hands on!

My Buys :

1) My favourite one of all.Gelato Pique Spring Summer 2010.It's the most well made traveling make-up case i have ever seen.

Even though you can't see it from this picture due to bad lighting, it actually looks like this with beautiful pastel coloured lining. And i bought it at a discounted price from Taiwan too.Even in Taiwan the stock for this particular mook was low since it was considered old stock when i bought it, plus the freebie is just so cute!

2) Cath Kidston Hello from London Spring Summer 2010 mook.

Another uber cute and functional make-up pouch, with matching mirror and tissue cover.

3) LeSportSac Spring Summer 2010 mook.

I actually bought two patterns.The Robin egg dots one which i use everyday and i get compliments from random strangers for this. Seriously the quality is just damn good.But there have been reports of uneven stitching from other bloggers.Mine was okay. There were about 3 copies left in Kinokuniya KLCC but they seem to have been repackaged.Hmm... So i would advice to ask for inspection of the product before buying.The Japanese counter people are really helpful.

This was the other pattern that i bought, but comparatively this is much more flimsy.

4) This Agnes B bag with Non-no November 2010 is pretty functional though a tad cheap looking. Non-no is going to be giving an almost identical Agnes B tote soon and the Agnes B mook is also coming up with a similar design.

5) With November 2010 came with a gorgeous Samantha Thavasa card case.Considering how expensive Samantha Thavasa bags are, i think this was worth the money. The patterns were really cute and waterproof to boot.

6)Samantha Tiara oil blotter case and Rilakkuma calender with Steady January 2010.

This was my very first buy as you probably already know.

Phew this post is taking longer than expected. Will continue some other time. Till then, hope this helps.