Memebox Traveller's Beauty Kit Unboxing and Review + Coupon

[So I know I just posted a Memebox unboxing, but in the interest of catching up on my reviews... I'm trying to crank these out].

Ah, the Traveller's Beauty Kit.  This kit contains travel friendly beauty and skincare goodies so you can look your best without lugging around your entire bathroom.  I suppose it would have been too much to ask to get this in time for me to actually use it on my one and only vacation, eh?  This is the one box I wanted by a certain time that was comfortably in the estimated delivery date, and it was the one box that took forever to get here.  It took the longest time getting to the US of all the boxes I've ordered, and then when it finally got here, it was delivered the very afternoon I left on vacation.  Of course, it got here after I had left for the airport.  So frustrating, given that so many of the things in this box would have come in handy on my trip... but I guess it was not meant to be.

I threw out the box already, but here are the contents of the Traveller's Beauty Kit (and also the pouch that came with it, though the pouch was nothing to write home about for me):

The first product (or two) is the Amini Traveller Kit, with Moisturizing Body Cleanser and Emulsion (30 ml each).  Memebox says these are "full sized", but I suppose it's a full-sized travel duo?  In any case, it's a pretty standard body wash + moisturizer set, with a mildly citrus scent. The body wash was pretty ordinary, but I do like the body emulsion.  I felt like it really does moisturize my skin rather than just covering it with a layer of lotion.  Although it's not the most chic packaging, I actually wish I had more of this (which is unusual for me - body lotions tend to all be one and the same to me).

The second product is one I really wish I had had on my trip.  It's the T.P.O. No-Wash Toner Sheet (full size, $10), which is a cleansing wipe.  Although I have plenty of these at home, vacation would have been the ideal time to use them.  After running around all day, I would go out at night but wouldn't want to wash my face three times in one day, so these cleansing wipes would have been perfect, whereas I don't have as much reason to use them at home.  I'm also curious if these are any different in that they're called Toner Sheets - I can't tell if they're supposed to also tone in addition to remove makeup and cleanse.  In any case, I already have an open package at home, so will wait until I finish that up before opening these.  One thing I found interesting is that the outer packaging, which markets this as a travel product, seems to have no connection to the product inside, as far as design goes.  That being said, T.P.O. apparently stands for Time, Place and Occasion, so maybe the entire brand/line revolves around products that can be used on the go?

The next item is a small (5 ml) sample of Easydew EX Active Soothing Serum.  This serum is made from Swiss glacier water (sounds nice, but I'm not sure what the benefits are... most google search results lead to product pages, which I am wary of) and it's supposed to cool and refresh dry, irritated skin.  It also has monk's pepper berries (sidenote: apparently the plant is known as Chaste Tree because it was believed to be an anaphrodisiac.  So, you know...  if your face is feeling a bit too lusty, you know what to use) which is supposed to sooth and repair damaged skin. I haven't used this yet, as my skin is neither dry nor damaged, but it feels like a pretty typical serum.








The next piece of the beauty kit is the ideeB Sweet Jelish Eyeliner ($11).  This came in two colors (Ultra Fine Pearl Black and Champagne Gold Brown) and I received the Pearl Black.  This is described as both an eyeliner and eyeshadow in an easy-to-apply product.  I'm not sure what makes this an eyeshadow, except for the fact that you can smudge it, and it doesn't smudge so easily that I would actually use this as an eyeshadow.  At most, I might smudge my liner a bit to make it smokier, but I think that's true of most pencil liners.  I'm also not sure why this is a traveler's item, except for the fact that it's waterproof.  I guess that's helpful if you're swimming or sweating while on vacation, but the connections seems tenuous to me.  In addition, this seems to be one of those annoying products that is made of plastic but has no internal mechanism to push the liner out, so you have to use a pencil sharpener on plastic, which I hate, and which is not as travel friendly as a twist up liner.  Also, I have about 100 black eyeliners to use up, which may put a damper on my enthusiasm for this.

As for application, the liner goes on smoothly enough.  It's not as easy as kohl pencils for my waterline, which is primarily where I wear eyeliner, but it does show up, and doesn't seem like it would smudge.  The color is black but not deep, jet black, and has a bit of shimmer which is (thankfully) not too noticeable.

The next product is another I really would have liked to have on my trip, and which is less useful now.  It's the Pure Smile Powder in refresh Sheets (sorry about the bad quality... I decided to retake the photo and was too lazy to break out the real camera).  This is a set of 10 deodorant sheets with a powder-infused formula to clean and refresh yourself.  Again, these would have been great at the end of a long day of sightseeing when I don't have time to shower before dinner or going out, especially since it comes in a cute little package that would easily fit into any bag.

Oh well.  The next item is a fun one, and it's the S&B Aqua Tint in Orange ($4).  These are cotton swabs that are filled with lip stain liquid.  You twist the plastic on one end, and the liquid very quickly seeps into the other end, leaving you with one disposable cotton swap with enough lip tint for one application on your lips.  I think this is a cool idea, but maybe not the most practical.  It is definitely convenient to have disposable, one-time use make up products, but to carry this case around, I may as well just carry a lip tint, since there are plenty that are smaller than this case.  That being said, it's still a fun product to use, and there's no doubt I will use them up.  I've only tried one (I would have swatched again for a photo, but since there are limited uses, I decided to save them) but the color was much less intense than I expected from the name and the look of the swabs.  It's possible I was just wearing lip balm at the time and that interfered with the lip stain absorbing on my lips, but I prefer the natural look anyway, so I like that it was a tint but not a full on lip color or bright stain.

The second to last product, again, would haven useful on a vacation... It's the NoTS UV Protection Sun Cream SPF 50+ PA +++, and it came in a box with 10 foil packets.  Normally I wouldn't be a fan of getting 10 foil packets instead of just a small container, but it would be convenient to have on vacation (for example, if I want to bring one packet to the beach and not bring the whole container just to leave it sitting out in the sun).  Now that I'm home and spending no more than 10 minutes in the sun on the average day, I don't have much use for SPF 50+, so I'm not sure when I'll use these.

The final item is (spoiler alert) yet another product that would have been more useful to have on vacation than it is to have it at home.  It's the Pure Smile Hand Gel - Maldives Dancing Waters, in a 30 ml bottle ($2).  This cute little bottle of hand sanitizer contains collagen extracts, jojoba extracts and ascorbyl palmitate (an antioxidant and... food additive?).  I don't have much to say about this, except that it's cuter than Purell and, as far as I can tell, works just fine.

So that's the Memebox Traveller's Beauty Box.  Overall I thought it was good box that I would have gotten a lot of use out of if I had had it on vacation.  What do you guys think?

If you're interested in trying out Memebox, you can use the code O4UP for $5 off your purchase.  Enjoy!

Memebox Brightening Skincare Unboxing and Review + Coupon

Wow, I am so behind on my unboxings, it's slightly overwhelming.  I just got back from a much needed vacation, which was lovely, but left a long trail of unreviewed boxes waiting for me... The first of these is Memebox #24: Brightening Skincare.  I've always had uneven, ruddy skin (there is nothing I want more than flawless, even skin some people are so lucky to have!) so I jumped right on this box.  Brighten away!  I got this box for only $13 due to $15 worth of points that I had to spend, so it would be hard for this box to not be worth it for me.  Without points, it would have been $27.  (Sidenote: Memebox randomly gives out points to existing accounts, and each point is equivalent to $1 in credit).

 Here's the box:

The first item is the ISPREN Magic Eye Solution Wise Patch ($3).  This single use, hydro-gel (whatever that means) eye patch is supposed to sooth and lock in moisture and nutrition into your eyes, hydrating and brightening your under eye area.  More specifically, it treats "panda-eyes", thus, I suppose, the very enlightening diagram of a sad panda cheering up when he loses his black eyes (personally, I'm offended on behalf of all pandas out there who think they need to get rid of their spots... what are they trying to say here??)  Anyway...thankfully I don't really have dry eyes or dark circles, so even if this worked I probably wouldn't be able to tell.  I'll probably give this away or wait for a day when I really need it.











The second product is the Finco Solution Spot (full size, supposedly $42).  This is a clear gel that targets red, uneven spots or emergency break outs.  It's supposed to sooth and brighten up uneven, reddish spots and acne scars.  The "important" ingredient (I refrain from calling it the main ingredient, because the first two ingredients are water and glycerin) seems to be agrimonia extract.  Based on a quick google search, it seems to inhibit hepatitis b (just what I needed!) and have antioxidant properties.  It can also act as an astringent and is antibacterial.  I don't see any consistent material on its effect on acne scars, but astringent and antibacterial sound good for break outs.  That being said, I'd prefer something more obviously targeted at unevenness - I rely on prescription strength products for break outs, so probably won't be turning to this anytime soon for those.  I did try it on one red bump I had on my arm, and it didn't seem to do anything, but I'd have to keep using it to really tell.

 The next product is the CLEOSIS All In One Water Shining Finisher (full size, $39). According to Memebox, this combines a toner, essence, moisturizer and primer all in one.  That's a lot of functions for one product, particularly given that all of the above typically have different textures!  In any case, it's used as the last step of your skincare routine (though really, doesn't toner through primer just cover everything?) and it's supposed to hydrate, firm up, brighten, and smooth out uneven skin texture, using galactomyces ferments, rice bran ferments, pumpkin ferments and other ingredients.  This sounds like quite the multi-purpose product, though I'm doubtful it can achieve all of these things.  Trying to keep my expectations realistic, I've been using this as a moisturizer (and only a moisturizer) and it has worked just fine, but I haven't noticed anything noteworthy yet.  It does have an interesting texture - it comes out as a white cream, but once I rub it in, the feel left over on my skin is more like that of a serum.  Definitely intriguing, and I will continue to test it out.

The next item is the Yufit Eon Wheat-Germ 97 Essence (full size, $36).  I received another product from this same line in Memebox Global #13 (review here).  I liked the wheat germ cream, although when my skin was sensitive it stung a little, so I'm looking forward to using this.  It's a whitening, anti-wrinkle, brightening and moisturizing essence (a light serum) that moisturizes and balances uneven skin tone and texture.  This has a very watery consistency - just barely thicker than water, so it feels very light, which makes me feel like I could put it under my prescription treatments without interfering with efficacy.  I think this is another product that would require prolonged use to see if it works

The last product in this box is the Dermahouse Perfect Whitening Moisture Mask (full size, seems to be roughly $12 value based on looking at a few other sites).  This mask can be used as a wash off mask (washing off a thick layer after 10-15 minutes) or as a sleeping pack (overnight, on top of your skin care routine), and it contains niacinamide, which is a form of vitamin B3 that has anti-inflammatory properties and is useful for preventing moisture loss and evening pigmentation and dark spots.  I'm not sure how concentrated the niacinamide is, but I am definitely willing to give it a shot.  I used it as a wash off mask and it did sting a tiny bit at first (probably due to my sensitive skin and the fact that I had just used my Clarisonic), but it went away quickly and I didn't see any other negative effects.  It was a tad difficult to wash off completely, and I think it would be useful to have a Konjac sponge or washcloth to wash it off, though with enough effort my hands did the trick.  I think my skin did look slightly lighter (not necessarily more even though, just lighter all over), so  while not hugely noticeable, my first impression is that this does in fact do something.  Next time I plan on trying it as an overnight mask to see if the effects are more noticeable.  If so, I'll report back!

Anyway, as I said earlier, for $13, it would be pretty difficult for me to think I didn't get a good value out of this box.  While I don't think any item was over-the-moon exciting, I will definitely get use out of almost everything in this box, and everything but the eye patches are full sized so I will definitely be able to test them out over a long period of time.  If any of you have thoughts on this box, please do share!  I'm very curious to see other people's experiences with the products I test out.

If you're interested in trying out Memebox, you can use the code O4UP for $5 off your purchase.  Enjoy!

Memebox OMG Box Unboxing and Review + Coupon

Hey all!

Today I'd like to share Memebox Special #16 OMG Box - this is one of the Memeboxes I was most excited about, and it did not disappoint.  The OMG theme was supposed to bring us weird and wacky products, which are my weakness.  I just adore trying products in new formats or new ingredients, and whatnot, so this box was perfect for me.

This is the full box, chock full of fun things:

The first item in the box is the Hope Girl Night Diva Gloss in Pink Drop:

This is full sized and retails for $22 according to Memebox.  I have to say, this was the least exciting thing in the box, particularly since I'm not really a lip gloss person.  What's "different" about this gloss is that it has two colors in the tube (a pink color and a coral color) and the cap lights up so that you can apply it anywhere (even in the dark) using the mirror on the side of the tube.   I wouldn't say this is anything that would make me look twice at a lip gloss, but I do have to say it's practical, especially since the light is conveniently placed in the cap so that it shines directly on your lips as you apply the gloss.  (Also, I once received a Modelco lip gloss that had a mirror, but the mirror was placed on the applicator itself, so you could only use it after you applied and not during, which was less helpful).

Memebox says this gloss is non-sticky, moist and spreads easily.  I do think it's somewhat less sticky than other lip glosses I've tried, which I appreciated, but it's still no tinted lip balm, which I live by.  As for the color, it's a bit sheer, but it's a nice shade if you're not looking for much payoff.

The second product is super cute, and it's the SKINAZ Premium Vitatablet (full size, $46 according to Memebox).  These little tablets contain vitamin C and "aroma oil" (supposedly 300g of vitamin C, but since the size of the product is only 39g, I'm a bit confused as to how that can be...).  There are two ways to use these: either by dropping a tablet into water and rinsing your face with it, or using the vitamin water as a facial mist or for your hair, bath or babies (the baby use is also not really spelled out...).  I was a bit sad to see the jar is somewhat empty once you take out the two packets placed inside to keep moisture out, so there are a lot fewer tablets than I expected.  That being the case, I will probably try these out once or twice to rinse my face, but I'm more likely to use this as a facial mist in order to make the most out of them.  I haven't used them yet, since I have multiple facial mists to get through, but will report back on anything noteworthy, though the skeptic in me doesn't expect a whole lot of noticeable difference from vitamin C-infused water, in whatever shape or form.  I still think the tablets are adorable though...

The third product is one that was revealed in spoilers, and it's the SKINAZ Kissable 24H Lip Tattoo in what I think is Sweet Wine (full size, retails for $18).  This is a very unique lip stain, in that when you apply it to your lips it looks at first like a very pigmented, shiny lip gloss, but after 10-15 minutes, it's completely dried, and you peel it off to leave a stain on your lips that is supposed to last 24 hours.  The color looks pretty intense when applied (see picture below), but once it's peeled off, it's a nice color that is strong enough to be noticeable but not so bold for someone who prefers lip tints over lipstick.  The only thing I don't like about this is that the application is not the easiest in the world.  It's very sticky and a little thick, which makes it hard to apply it as precisely as you would other lip products, but thankfully this hasn't caused any real problems, in large part (I believe) because the color is more sheer so you don't get such sharp lines where the product ends.  The other difficulty is in waiting the 15 minutes.  It doesn't seem to dry very well when there is moisture on your lip or where your lips are touching, so unless you only apply it to where your lips don't touch, it seems best to not close your mouth while it's drying, otherwise your lips will stick together, which is kind of annoying.

The next thing in my box is certainly interesting... it's the Pure Smile 3-Step Oh! My Busty!? Bust Pack ($6).  In short, this is a mask set for "taking care of your bust" and keeping it soft and moisturized.  The first step involves massaging a gommage onto your chest to exfoliate.  The second step is a hydro-gel pack (and have no fear, it can be worn under a shirt!  Just in case you want to be able to go out in public while you take care of your dry boobs) which is worn for 10-15 minutes.  The final step is a cream. Honestly, this seems a little pointless to me.  Though there may be plenty of things I'd like to address in my cleavage (or lack thereof) area, dryness is not one of them, so I don't really need a 3-step system to keep it moisturized.  More importantly, even if it were to get dry, I'm not sure why any of this is particular to your chest.  It seems as arbitrary as needing a 3-step system to keep your forearm moisturized, since I'm guessing the same things would apply all over your body.  But I suppose I'll try it, strange as it may seem (particularly since they took the time to provide this wonderfully helpful guide on the back).  Also, what does "Oh! My Busty!?" mean??

The second to last product is this cutely packaged Elizavecca Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask (full size, $18 + shipping on Amazon).  This is a carbonated mask that contains green tea extracts, pomegranate extract and charcoal extract as well as carbonated water, which is supposed to penetrate deep into your pores to clean them out.  I'm not really sure where the clay comes in, and I get the feeling it's only called a clay mask because it starts off dark gray.  It also functions as a cleanser, because you're supposed to use it on a dry, uncleansed face.

The consistency of this mask is pretty thick (though less thick than many clay masks), but as soon as you put it on your skin, it starts bubbling and foaming up.  It's pretty odd, and it immediately becomes a light gray color as it turns into a sort of foam.  During the five minutes you're supposed to leave it on, you can definitely feel the bubbles forming, and it almost tickles a little bit.  It's not an unpleasant feeling, but it's definitely different.  After 5 minutes, it becomes completely foamy, which kind of makes you look like you have a face covered in shaving cream.  When washing it off, I noticed that there may be some spots that don't just rinse off and leave a slight residue, so it would be helpful to use a soft washcloth or Konjac sponge or something to make sure you get it all off, though I'm able too with enough effort.  I was a bit skeptical of how well this would clean my skin, but it seems to leave my face pretty clean afterwards, and I haven't felt the need to use another cleanser after it.  I haven't seen any noticeable improvements in my skin, but it hasn't had any negative effects either.  I'll keep using it to see how it performs more long term, but for now, it seems like a decent and fun (albeit it slightly more time consuming) cleanser/face mask.

Before and after 5 minutes:

The final product in the OMG Box is the Ladykin Aqua Exfoliator for Body (full size, $14).  This is supposed to give you a "quick glimpse" of the word of Korean public baths and scrubs, as a gentle exfoliator containing "cellulose components" of papaya and pineapple extracts.  You just spray it over your body after showering, and then you're supposed to gently massage away any dead skin cells.  I'm always wary of these "exfoliators" that instantly ball up on your skin, and this is no different.  Usually, however, they are a gel consistency, while this is more of a liquid spray, so at least that's slightly different.  After trying this on my legs, I do think this does exfoliate somewhat - my legs did feel slightly smoother afterwards, but I still prefer more intense scrubs for my body as my skin is not particularly sensitive, and the payoff here seems too minimal for me to use it all the time.  Oh well.

Anyway, there's the OMG box for you.  I thought this was a really fun box.  I know some people were disappointed by the lack of an OMG-factor in that none of the products were really shocking, but I still thought the products were fun and different, and they are all things I've enjoyed trying.  For me, that makes it totally worth it, and I can't wait to get OMG 2 and 3!  Did anyone else get this box?  What did you think?

If you're interested in trying out Memebox, you can use the code O4UP for $5 off your purchase.  Enjoy!

Beauteque August Beauty Bag: Head to Toe Spa Bag

Arghhh.  I've been so ridiculously busy at work I haven't had time to keep up with my reviews, and now I'm way behind... I'm also writing this on absolutely no sleep because I don't have enough time to go back to sleep before I have to get up again... so here I am.

On that note, anything spa related sounds perfect right now.  And Beauteque's [side note: I always pronounce this like "bow-tek"... but apparently it's "byoo-tek". I blame my pitiful high school french classes on this.] August Head-to-Toe Spa Bag is just the thing.  (Full disclosure: I received this bag for free to review, but all my opinions are my own, sincere thoughts).  [Skip the next two paragraphs if you're bored and just want to see the damn bag already!]

A bit of background: Asian cosmetics are the new rage (at least in the circles I run in), whether it's Memebox or Beauteque or even just a spontaneous trip to H-Mart (currently at the top of my list of things to do).  Beauteque broke out onto the scene fairly recently, and it sells Asian cosmetics from within the US (New Jersey, I believe), so shipping is very reasonable, and overall their prices are reasonable.  The company has had some awesome marketing techniques as it gets off the ground, including sending sample bags out to anyone who managed to order it.  What I think is really awesome, though, is that it was founded by a 16 year old girl (Elina Hsueh) in order to share Asian cosmetics with the Western world (and I know I speak for many people when I say we are all for making these things more accessible!).  When I was 16, I was... I don't even know.  But I certainly wasn't starting a company.  In any case, business reasons I aside, I fully support young people (making myself sound like a grandma here) going out into world on their own accord and just doing things, whatever they may be.

Also, despite the fact that Beauteque is less than a year old, it's already had its first charity event (Shine a Light in the Dark: a Night of Female Empowerment).  For $10/$15 (10% of the proceeds went to a battered woman's shelter), there were guest speakers, cocktails and food, a donation drive, free facial and body sessions and access to sample bags and Beauteque products.  I know I've already gushed (and I swear, no one is paying me to say these things), but I am honestly very impressed.  This is definitely a worthy cause and events like this are not something I see often from beauty companies.

ANYWAY.  On to the bag.  Since I know that's what you're here for, I'll just put this lovely picture of my goodies up front.  (My at-home photo set up was kind of out of commission at this point, so I didn't take many pictures - my apologies.  Also, flat pouches are just not that fun to photograph...)

I think Beauteque only started these bags in July, and I didn't get one of those, so this is my first.  August's theme was Head-to-To Spa and it centered around all kinds of masks, which are super popular these days.  What I really liked about this though was the customization option.  Memebox has a series of Mask boxes, which tend to be fun and awesome (and I'm certainly not complaining about those boxes), the only drawback for me is that sometimes you get products that just aren't really meant for you.  I, for example, have very oily skin, and so many face masks out there are for moisture or wrinkles, neither of which are concerns for me.  This is why I got excited to see that for the Beauteque bag, you could customize the majority of the contents of the bag.

The bag comes with 7 masks (all in a sturdy bag like so -->):
-  1 eye mask
-  1 wash-off face mask
-  2 sheet face masks
-  1 hair mask
-  1 hand mask
-  1 foot mask
plus a terrycloth headband/wrap type thing to keep your hair out of your face while you use the masks.

For the eye mask, we could choose between masks meant for dark circles, puffiness or smoothness. I thankfully don't have dark circles or puffy eyes (yet), so I went for smoothness, although now that I think about it, that's probably to get rid of wrinkles, eh?  Don't have those either, but oh well.  The eye mask is the small green pouch.  Unfortunately it's almost exclusively in Chinese, but I can make out "my beautiful/beauty" and what I think is the character for "book", so I'm gonna go ahead and guess this is a My Beauty Diary mask.  It's the Smoothness Intensive Care Eye Mask.  After some googling, I see that MBD has three eye masks in this line: Smoothness, Dark Circles and Puffiness, so I was right. (Yay for minimal competency in Chinese!)  The puffiness one looks cool (kind of like a masquerade mask), whereas the dark circles one looks like a mix of  Goldfish (the snack, not the animal) and lobster claws (picture here).  Sadly mine looks the least interesting, but I guess I should be rational and not let my judgment be based on how closely my mask resembles food.

Anyway, for the hair mask, the options are: nourishing, split ends, hydrating, chemically treated - keratin and extremely damaged hair.  Again, I (thankfully) have pretty normal hair, so I just got the nourishing hair mask.  I received the Hask Monoi Oil Nourishing Deep Conditioner.  While I certainly don't mind it, this seems to be the odd one out as all the other products are from various Asian brands.  I kind of wish the hair mask had also been from an Asian brand simply because it's those brands I don't get on my own, but oh well.

The next (and best, in my opinion) choice is for the facial sheet masks.  Of these, I got to choose any two of the following concerns: oil control, whitening, pore control, anti-aging, soothing, nourishing, moisturizing and brightening.  Hooray!  I had a hard time picking these, but I ultimately went with pore control, due to my crater-sized pores, and brightening, because my face has always had a bit of redness and ruddiness to it that I just can't get rid of.  The two masks I received were the Tony Moly I'm Real Red Wine Mask Sheet for Pore Care, and the My Beauty Diary Apple Polyphenol Mask, for tightening pores, brightening and clarifying (sweet- this one hit both of my concerns!)  Given the infinite of masks there are out there, I'm not sure if there was just one set of masks these came from, or if someone at Beauteque just picked out two from their selection based on your choices.  Either way, I was pumped as I love trying these sheet masks.  I've only tried the MBD one, but I did enjoy it.  To be perfectly honest, I've never really seen noticeable results from using a mask once (which makes me wonder why I love them so much, considering I usually only have one...).  I don't know if it's just because my skin is that stubborn or what, but I know other people have had great success.  That being said, while I don't think my skin was suddenly brighter or my pores were smaller after using this, my skin did feel very moist (in a real, healthy way, as opposed to feeling like I just had a layer of wet serum on my skin, which is often the case with these masks).  I would use this again!

That was all for the choices, but the remaining products were:
-  Skin Food Rive Mask (Wash Off) -- this was a full sized container!  Super generous and I know some people rave about this mask.  Unfortunately I already own it so this isn't a huge value add for me, but I think someone will be very appreciative to get it as a gift.  My thoughts on the mask: it's not super effective on my thick as nails skin.  If I'm going to exfoliate, I want something that really helps smooth out my skin.  I think this mask would be great for people with sensitive skin as it's very gentle, but what can I say? I like it rough.  Also, you're supposed to leave it on your face after massaging, but the texture makes me feel like the primary point of the mask is exfoliation, and I'm not sure what the benefit of leaving it on is.  But like I said, my skin doesn't react (well) to anything, so it's hard for me to judge performance.

-  Baby Silky Hand and Foot Mask Sheets -- I'm excited about these too.  When I first took these out, though, I thought of the now-famous peeling-type foot masks (including one called Baby Foot) that are super effective and getting rough skin off your feet because they literally make your feet peel off in sheets. Pretty gross.  But hey, it works.  So when I took these out, I automatically assumed it was that type of foot mask, then got a bit concerned about a hand mask that did the same thing.  I can cover my gross peeling feet, but peeling hands?  Not so easy... But as it turns out, these are of the less aggressive family of hand and foot masks, and they're supposed to make your hands and feet baby soft, but does so through moisturizing rather than by unearthing the deepest layers of your skin.  So I guess that's good.  I haven't used these either though, because I actually do have a peeling foot mask, and I think this one would work much better as maintenance once I get rid of some of the tough skin on my feet.  And the hand mask I'm saving for a special occasion (read: first date, i.e. when I expect to be holding someone's hand... is that dumb?  Probably...).  This is why I have so much crap though... I save everything for the perfect occasion which means I never use it!

Anyways, one thing I wish this had included is instructions on the various products.  Some are straightforward enough (with pictures and clocks on the back), whereas some (mainly the eye mask), I have no idea how long I'm supposed to use it for.  Not a huge deal, as marks are generally pretty simple, but it would have been nice to have some guidance for products whose info I can't read.  That being said, it did include a cute little schedule for a relaxing spa day at home:

While the schedule does have some time guidelines, I would imagine different masks of the same category have different instructions.  But honestly if that's my biggest grievance I'll be ok. Hopefully I'm competent enough to figure out how to not mess up a mask...

ANYWAY this post has become much longer than anticipated, and quite boring without pictures.  But I wanted to share my goodies with you, since the mask craze is spreading.  The bag costs $20 from Beauteque (available here).  The Skinfood mask seems to be worth about $10-$15 ($9 on Amazon) which makes up for most of the cost. don't think this is some fantastic overwhelming value of a set, since single masks tend to be on the less expensive side (though to be frank I didn't look these up), but for $20 for a good selection of masks, it's $20 I'd easily spend on this over a crazy expensive actual spa day.

If you're interested, hurry and pick it up now - it's only available until Sept. 1. (but then hopefully we get to see the September box!).  Did any of you pick this up (or are you planning on it?)  Let me know what you think!

Memebox: At Home Box Unboxing and Review

Happy weekend y'all!

I've been crazy busy at work and haven't been keeping up with my posts, but have a few things to share.  Tonight however, in the spirit of spending a relaxing Friday night staying in, I'd like to share my thoughts on one box in particular: the Memebox At Home box.  The theme of this box was pampering yourself for a relaxing night in, and it was definitely one I enjoyed receiving, if nothing else for the sheer entertainment value.  For reference, I paid about $26 for this box including international shipping from Korea.

 The first product is the CNKCOS Sexy Beans (full size, valued at $17).  These powdery balls are supposed to have a slimming effect when you smush them and massage/lather it into your body part of choice (rinsing after leaving it on for 3-5 minutes).  Big surprise headline of the day -- these sexy beans for some reason did not turn me into a swimsuit model.  Quite the shocker, I know.  To be fair (well, as fair as I can try to be with a straight face), it says you will slim up "with continuous use", but I hope you won't mind if I go on and assume that rubbing mashed up soy bean, corn, centella asiatica (also known as Asiatic or Indian pennywort) extracts and caffeine will not make me slimmer, no matter how long I use it.  I still gave these a try just in case they proved useful for something else, but to be perfectly frank these just seem pretty pointless to me.

Side note: the instructions recommend using it in the shower, and letting it sit on your skin for 3-5 minutes before rinsing.  Is it just me, or does anyone else not have time to stand in a shower for five minutes not getting your legs/stomach/butt wet?

Next up we have the cotterang Blackhead & Black Mask Economic Kit (full sized, listed as $29).

 This neat little blackhead remover kit comes with a petri dish, cloth strips (40 for your nose, 20 for your chin), a formula that you spray onto the strips (Memebox called it Blackhead-Out Sauce, which is a cooler name than the actual name, which is Blackhead Out Source), a pair of pincers/tongs to grab the wet strips, 25 black sticks with a q-tip on one and and a blackhead remover on the other, and a plastic bag for it all.  I was excited to try this as I have crater-sized pores that get filled up with sebum every single day and had high hopes that this would draw them out.  It's a bit different than other pore strips in that you spray the formula on the cloth strips and keep them on your skin, but the strip isn't stick, so I felt the need to continue pressing it down to ensure constant contact.  Also, it doesn't harden and pull out the gunk in your pores - the instructions actually say to remove the strip before it dries completely and then to remove the "extracted blackheads' with the q-tip sticks.  I'm not sure why you're not supposed to let these dry, but I've tried it twice and didn't really notice any difference (and there certainly wasn't anything pushed out of my pores enough for me to remove it with a q-tip).  That being said, I think my pores might actually be more clear than usual, in terms of that gunky sebum stuff.  I used a different pore strip and nothing really came of that either, so maybe I just don't actually need this right now? On the other hand, I have more blackheads than usual (I usually have no blackheads but lots of gunk, and now it's reversed), but this didn't seem to do anything for blackheads.  In any case, I'll definitely try again another time.

 Although this was also kind of a dead end for me, it was fun to try (though the whole set up is admittedly a bit gimmicky - I'm pretty sure I don't need a petri dish and tweezers to spray a piece of fabric).  More than that though, I'm actually really happy to have these disposable extractor sticks!  I'll use these up either way and they seem handy to have, although I find it hard to imagine how the q-tip end would be useful at removing blackheads...

 So the next product is a bit weird...  it's the Labstory V-Line B-Tox Lifting Mask (apparently $34).  This mask is made of rubber and you fasten it under your chin to lift up the wrinkles on your chin and neck.  If you Google-image search this (and please do), it looks a little bit like it came out of a horror movie.  Fortunately for me, I have no wrinkles on my chin (yet) so don't really have any use for this, but it will surely make for an interesting gift!

Another product I was very excited to try out was the Oseque Silk Foot Peeling gel (full sized, apparently $42 - though I question the accuracy of this.  First of all $42 seems very overpriced for this, and also the picture Memebox put out as a spoiler included two bottles and a buffer thing, which they sadly did not include, so I wonder if "full size" is the entire set).  In any case, my feet are always suffering from horrible calluses so I was looking forward to trying this (especially about hearing about the efficacy of various foot peeling masks people have used).  This is one of those gels that balls up on your skin.  Memebox says to apply it on your heels then use a callus removing buffer to rub off dead skin cells, which is why it would have been helpful if they included the buffer.  I tried this with a (pretty hard) loofah and I think it's just not strong enough for my calluses.  I think these gels are good for more sensitive skin as it seems to gently exfoliate the very top layer of skin, but it just does not get deep down into rough calluses.  This might be helpful after using a real foot peeling mask (the ones with super intense peeling) to maintain soft feet, or if you don't have tough calluses to begin with, but until then it probably won't do much for me.  On the plus side, unlike the intense foot peeling masks, this one won't leave your feet looking gross for weeks on end, which is always a plus!

The next product is great for those of you who take better care of their nails than I do, or who use nail polish a lot.  It's the with shyan Ruby Pusher and Eraser ($17) - this is a solution that you put on your cuticles and rinse off after 30-60 seconds.  You're then supposed to use the included cuticle pusher to push your cuticles up and scrape off the loose, dead skin from under your cuticles.  Let me say - this stuff is named Eraser for a reason.  It actually stung quite a bit when I put it on my cuticles, which was not pleasant.  I don't know if it's dissolving my skin cells or what, but hopefully that means it's actually doing something.  That being said, after about 45 seconds it really did make it easier to push my cuticles back with the included cuticle stick (sorry for not having a clear picture of that, but it's a ceramic, slanted tip that gets under your cuticles very effectively).  I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be scraping my cuticles off, but I tried to scrape out whatever was "under" them.  The picture below shows my nails before and after using this, and to be perfectly honest I think my nails look better before I used this stuff, but that's because my cuticles are now just pushed up and loose (and my nails are slightly scraped).  I think once they've recovered a bit, or if I figure out a good way to scrape off the loose cuticle, it will probably look better.  Ultimately though, I thought my nails were fine the way they were, and although this might work, it's just too much trouble for me, with too little payoff.  If this something you care about though, I think it would work quite well!

Before and after:

The last two products are the RiRe Cool Dr. Scalp+ and Hot Speed Manicure ($11).  The Cool Dr. Scalp+ is supposed to cool down scalp temperature to prevent hair loss (I was not aware hair loss was related to an overheated scalp...) and also remove impurities and dead skin cells from your scalp.  Though I don't expect much from the first half of these claims, removing impurities and dead skin cells sounds good, especially since I tend to have an oily but flaky scalp.  I'm not totally certain how to use this - it says to apply directly onto your scalp whenever and wherever needed, no washing necessary.  I'm wary of the grease/heaviness-factor of putting a cream directly on my scalp on dry hair, but I massaged a small amount in my scalp when my hair was still slightly damp, and it didn't seem to make my hair any greasier.  That being said, I didn't notice any cooling effect and I'm not really sure what other effects I would see in terms of cleansing my scalp without rinsing.  Maybe I just need to use more, but I'll reserve that for a day where no one will see my potentially product-overloaded scalp.  It does smell relatively nice though, and seems fairly light (similar in texture to the Palan Crysence Hair Essence we got in Memebox 12).   I will definitely keep trying it, but I'm sad it's such a small tube (speaking of which, it's kind of weird that it's in a lip gloss type tube, with a slanted tip with a hole in the middle).  If I end up liking it, it's not going to last very long.

This Hot Speed Manicure, though... I'm not really sure what this is about.  First of all, the name literally makes no sense.  You're supposed to apply it to the ends of your hair and it's supposed to deliver nutrition and create a strong protein layer for maintaining a healthy moisture balance in your hair.  I guess the Manicure is a reference to the protein, in the same way protein is related to nail care?  I'm honestly not sure.  As for the hot and speedy, this is neither hot nor is it any speedier than any other hair treatment out there.  But I won't hold that against them - a lot of foreign products have names that don't work particularly well in English, and it doesn't detract from the product itself.  But on that note, holy crap does this stuff smell like baby powder.  As in, this makes my hair smell like baby powder more than putting baby powder in my hair (and I used to use baby powder as dry shampoo so I have lots of experience in that area).  The smell was so prominent that I literally put it in my hair and then immediately went to the bathroom to try to rinse it out (and as someone who hates waiting for her hair to dry, this was a big deal). The smell itself is not that bad in and of itself, but it's just really not what I want to smell like, and it's strong enough that other people would be able to smell it too (in particular, the guy I thought I might be seeing - nothing kills the mood like cuddling with someone who smells like your grandmother's house).  Because I rinsed it off immediately, I can't speak to what this does for your hair (although my ends are very soft today, but I don't know if it has anything to do with any residual product).   I suppose I will try it again someday, but only when I know I won't be in close contact with anyone before my next shower.  Sadly though, this means no matter how effective it is, I'm never going to want more because it kind of defeats the purpose if I can only use it when in isolation mode...

In conclusion, somehow despite the fact that most of these products were a bust for me, I actually still had a lot of fun trying them out and I don't think it was a waste of money.  If nothing else, $26 for a nice cuticle pusher, some disposable blackhead extractors and a foot peeling gel that I will probably eventually use (once I deal with some of these more stubborn calluses) plus the sheer entertainment of being surprised by the box and trying everything out was totally worth it for me.

What did you guys think, and did you have any more luck with any of these than I did?

If you're interested in trying Memebox, they have some promotions going on.  If you go through my link here, you can get 3 reward points back (equivalent to $3 credit) for the Vitamin Care box, Herbal Cosmetics box (this one looked great!), Collagen Cosmetics, Dermo Cosmetics 2, $5 in points back for the Anti-Aging 3 box, $10 in points for the IOPE 2 box and $2 in points for the Whole Grain 2 box, Diet Box, All about Eyes box.

Enjoy!

Memebox Global #13 Unboxing and Review

Happy Sunday everyone!  I won't waste time on silly introductory language (see my earlier posts if you don't know what Memebox is!).  Without further delay, I present to you Memebox Global #13!

First up we have the 23 years old CX Detoxifying Air Therapy. This mask is made from carbonated water, and the bubbles are supposed to penetrate your skin and cleanse your pores.  The mineral-rich carbonated water also helps brighten and firm up your overall skin for a revitalized feeling.  I have to say, I'm a sucker for interesting packaging.  While I love masks in general, I can't help but be fascinated by a mask that comes in a syringe.  That being said, it does seem to be purely aesthetic because I can't for the life of me think of a practical reason to package it like this - the directions just say to apply it to your face and then place the included sheet mask on top (then rinse after 20-30 minutes).  Either way, I'm excited to try it and will report back!

Next up: erm.... tampons? While these are apparently unique in that they're purely 100% organic cotton and made by the first Korean brand to make tampons, these Donga Tempo Eco Natural tampons are still just tampons.  Practical, I suppose, for some of us, but also quite possibly the least exciting item I've ever received in a subscription box (and that includes pens (in a beauty box), and a bag of nuts (I hate nuts)).  But whatever, it doesn't bother me, I just have very little to say about this.  Apologies if y'all wanted a better picture... but I figured this would be sufficient for most of you.



Next: CNP Laboratory Derma-Scalp Shampoo.  This shampoo contains tea tree oil extract and is supposed to deep cleanse and unclog the pores on your scalp.  I didn't realized clogged pores on my scalp were an issue, but I do have an oily scalp, and cooling and refreshing sounds good.  Initial thoughts: I'm sad this is small (25 g) - a decent size for a sample, but it's one I would definitely use (whereas I have tons of full-sized products that just sit around taking up space).  Also, this does have a tea tree oil scent - a bit medicinal, so probably not something I would use before a date, assuming the smell lingers in my hair (and I also have a feeling it won't go well with the smell of my conditioner).

I've definitely seen a bit of repeats from the same brands, and the next product is also from CNP Laboratory, and it's the Tone-Up Protection Sun (spf 42).  This is also kind of small (15 ml) but I have more than enough sun protection products, so that's quite alright.  According to Memebox, this SPF 42/PA+++ (sidenote: apparently PA+++ seems to mean the highest protection against UVA rays, so hooray for that!) contains powdery components to keep skin silky soft while deep sea water prevents your skin from drying out in the summer time.  It can also be used as a makeup base. As you can see, this has a tint to it and it's pretty light,

but once blended it's pretty translucent.  It may leave a slight whitish cast in photos though (my hand in the blended picture looks slightly lighter than in real life).  I have high hopes for this, though, because it was not greasy in the slightest - in fact, I can't even tell it's on my hand anymore.  This is great for oily-skinned people like me.  As I'm writing this, I'm starting to wish they included a bigger size!





The next product is the Yufit Eon Wheat-Germ Cream 75 (full size - Memebox says $48).  Memebox says: more than 75% of this cream is made of organic wheat bud extracts, which work to hydrate, firm, brighten and fight signs of aging.  It's gentle and lightly absorbing texture won't irritate even sensitive skin, and it will help tighten pores.  This is for both day and night.  All of these things sound good to me, but how does it perform?  I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this has an interesting consistency. It's thick but not heavy, and it's almost matte-like.  Not a great description, but it's less "shiny" than other moisturizers, and it doesn't leave my face shiny, which I'm happy about.  I don't have dry skin, but it feels decently moisturizing, though maybe not heavy duty enough for those with really dry skin.  According to Dr. Oz (the most reliable source out there, of course), wheat germ has lots of antioxidants in the form of Vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins, which sound great, but that's in the context of ingesting it.  Most of what I can find on wheat germ in skincare is about wheat germ oil rather than wheat germ extract, so I will refrain from making any claims about this.  Fan-B has a useful post about the ingredients here. In any case, I  really can't tell any benefits from using this for a few days but I will definitely keep using this and report back if I have anything else to say about it!

Anyways, onwards and upwards! Next we have the Soy BIO + Fermented Lumpoule.  Yes, "lumpoule".  Whoever is naming these products in Korea should really get some input from English speakers because lumpoule just sounds awful - pretty sure I wouldn't think twice if I heard someone talking about the benign lumpoule their doctor found.  That being said, I will forgive the rather unfortunate choice of name (so named because it's a facial ampoule made from fermented soy bean lump) because 1) I love these tiny matte-glass bottles and 2) it's supposed to help prevent fine lines and wrinkles as well as brighten complexion.  You're suppose to use 2-3 drops after applying toner.  Normally I find it hard to get 2-3 drops of anything to apply to my entire face, but interestingly, this "lumpoule" seems to take a little time to absorb, so I can rub 3 drops around my hand and it spreads so easily without yet actually absorbing into my hand, which makes it quite easy to pat it in over my entire face.  These are pretty small bottles (about as tall as half a finger) but given how you really need very little, I think they will last a decent amount of time.  Like the wheat-germ moisturizer, I can't tell yet how well this works but will continue to try them.  I do notice that it leaves my hands slightly tacky after application, but it's fine on my face since I end up layering other things on top.

The last product is the Nuganic Customized Sun Base Color Control Cream (also full-sized, and worth $54 according to Memebox).  Boxes contained either this or the Nuganic Customized Pure Snail Color Control Cream, which I would have liked to try, but oh well.  That being said, based on the info card, I'm not sure what the difference is.  Both appear to list wrinkle improvement, whitening function and the same sun-protection level.  I'm also not sure if the product description applies to both of them, but it's apparently enriched with snail mucus extract (in both?), aloe vera, lemon and various plant extracts.  Memebox calls this an "easy to use" CC cream that will balance oil and moisture for a silky smooth finish, cover up imperfections and leave skin glowing with a natural shine ("dewy" makeup, anyone?).  Personally, I'm not sure I would call this easy to use.  It starts off white, and eventually blends into a beige-ish color, but it took a lot of blending for me (second picture is after a decent amount of blending, third is pretty much fully blended) and having to rub my face that much seems like it would be bad for my skin.  The amount of blending required is also problematic with the number of face products I use that are at risk of pilling of I rub too hard.  On top of which, it's still a little light for me, although that can be fixed with a tad of bronzer.  It's too bad, since this is full-sized, but I'll still give it a try.

Final verdict: I don't regret spending ~$26 on this.  While I may not love or fully use everything, I don't think it was a waste of money and it's always a pleasure to be able to try new things, which ultimately makes these boxes worthwhile for me.

If you guys have thoughts about this box or any of the products, please do share!