Claims: Skin-brightening and anti-wrinkle effects
A rich, non-greasy cream that sank in easily. Didn’t notice any skin-brightening or anti-wrinkle benefits, but it did feel good and left my skin well conditioned.
Would like to try more of this.
Korean
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Shara Shara Creamy Dual Auto Eyestick #3, Celeb Burgundy
Standard
Shara Shara is a Korean cosmetic brand, more well known for its fun take on beauty than quality.
This is a dual-ended ‘automatic’ type pencil with a creamy glittery ‘eyeshadow’ that goes on smoothly and a more narrow, darker ‘liner. Ours was a peachy corally eyeshadow (shade similar to NARS orgasm) together with a burgundy liner.
The quality of both of these isn’t great and like most soft liners, they settle in to creases quickly without the use of primers and fixers. We suggest applying them then dusting along the lash line with a shade of eye shadow that matches or is darker than the liner to set it.
Whether or not the shades suit you, whether or not the shadow is too glittery for you, our biggest gripe is the absolutely terrible value. The liner end of the pencil broke and the turns out, there’s maximum 5cm of product in that end.
You woulodn’t get a whole eye look with this product and not that convinced the two colours even complement each other that well but it does give quite a fresh look. It’s a fun throwaway product that came in a Memebox, but we wouldn’t actually have wanted to spend money on this.
UNBOXING: Memebox Luckybox 7 – the one with two of the tiniest samples in the world
StandardSo excited to have my 3rd MeMeBox on the same day as receiving Global 13.
This is my first Luckybox – they are billed as being a selection of the most popular products from past boxes…seemed a good place to start as a relative newcomer to both MeMeBoxes and Korean Beauty.
This is the box http://us.memebox.com/luckybox-7#.U9MB5rHLLEQ – it’s probably sold out, but they do restock boxes now and again so if you’re particularly interested in a box that has already been released, then it’s worth signing up for updates. We’ll do a proper feature on Memebox services in general soon
We’re so excited to share this box with you that we just wanted to post the blog – and we’ll come back and review them later.
Illi: Green Tea Brightening Mask
Value: $3 (full size product)
“This 100% cotton mask drenches the skin with green tea, amino acids, minerals and organic acids, while working to revitalize, comfort and provide intense hydration. It immediately replenishes dehydrated skin, leaving it refreshed and cool.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: What’s a Korean box without a sheet mask? Lol. This will get used, even if it doesn’t excite us all that much
Botanic Hill: Boh Radiant Youth Ampoule Essence & Boh Moist Youth Ampoule Essence 4ml
Value: $6.40 ($3.20 x 2)
“Touch up anytime with this sebum control convenient compact, specially is an anti aging essence that combines ampoule, essence and oil all at once”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: So what’s the difference between an ampoule and an essence. We don’t know but look forward to finding out! Tiny samples tho…
Hanskin: Bio Origin Royale Ampoule BB SPF 30 PA++ 5ml
Value: $7.72
“Hanskin’s famous Royal Ampoule BB cream is packed with rich nutrition from royal jelly extracts and it lightly glides over your skin when applied, leaving a visibly silkier, brightened complexion.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: This sounds like a hardworking product that has a lot of great buzz words in the description. We look forward to seeing whether it delivers!
Charm Mud: Green Pearl
Value: $70 (full size product)
“This mud pack is composed of mud extracted from ancient bedrocks and thus extremely rich in all sorts of natural deep sea minerals. It works to deep cleanse and tighten up your enlarged pores, leaving your skin silky soft and without visible pores and excess blackheads.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: We’re not mad about mud packs, but like them more than sheet masks! 😛 Will give this one a whirl. Generous size product.
Mise en scene: Curling Essence 2x 150ml
Value $12 (full size product)
“Enriched with argan oil and cedar wood oil, this two-in-one hair essence provides deep nutrition and helps define your curls all at once. It will instantly make your sagging curls bounce with luster and elasticity.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: We’re excited to try this! Especially if this product suits Oriental hair more than UK products.
Illi: Cleansing Oil & Foam Set 15ml
Value: $2.93 ($1.65 + $1.28)
“Illi’s total age care Cleansing Oil and Foam set is infused with oriental medicinal extracts that brightens skin tone, enchances skin elasticity and provides a healthy glow to your skin. The powerful yet gentle cleansing oil dissolves all traces of makeup and impurities and the gentle cleansing foam rinses off all oil and makeup residue.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Having combination skin, we are fans of oil cleansers. We love the look of this, but it’s such a tiny sample! 🙁
Elle Girl: I Say Tint You Say Gloss 5.5ml
Value: $23 (full size product)
“I say tint you say gloss is a sheer ultra-moisturising lip gloss with less thick texture that also gives a lip tint feel to the gloss.”
BT INITAL THOUGHTS: This will be our first Korean lip tint. Yay! We love the sassy design and the gorgeous deep red colour.
23Yearsold: Air-laynic Pore Mask
Value: $14 (full size product)
“This unique pore mask is in the form of a syringe which contains gel-type ampoule for tightening enlarged pores and fighting against any blemishes on the nose and the cheeks, the most sensitive and oily part of your face. It’s different from other pore masks in that it’s actually a 20 minute long home therapy for a cleaner, more resilient complexion.”
BT INITAL THOUGHTS: Exactly the kind of quirky Korean-ness that we buy MeMeBoxes for!
OVERALL VERDICT:
We doubt the claymask is really worth $70, so the stated value of this box isn’t as brilliant as other MeMeBoxes. Having said that, we think this is a really great curated selection of items that we are really looking forward to trying. It excited us much more than the Global 13 which was worth a lot more money. Everything will get used. Although a couple of the samples could have done with being bigger, we’ll definitely be ordering more Luckyboxes in future as they seem a great way to sample Korean trends without taking too much risk as they are tried and tested products.
Box price: $23 + $6.99 shipping
Total value: $133.05
Note: We paid for this MeMeBox with our own hard-earnt pennies
Interested in trying out MeMeBox? Use the link below to get $5 off all orders over $100 or check the referrals & deals page for other offers on specific boxes.
UNBOXING: MeMeBox Global 13 – the one with the tampons
StandardMeMeBoxes are all the rage at the moment. They are Korean non-subscription boxes that you buy blind based on a brief description. They release themed boxes as well as Global collections of which this is one.
My first ever MeMeBox was the Global 12 Collection and I have to say, I was disappointed. I’ll write a review of that box soon and link it so you can see why. Having ordered a ton more, I was hoping that MeMeBox would live up to its reputation.
So this is the box I am writing about http://us.memebox.com/memebox-global-13 – it’s probably sold out, but they do restock boxes now and again so if you’re particularly interested in a box that has already been released, then it’s worth signing up for updates.
As this is an unboxing, I’ll just list the items in the box and come back and review them later 🙂 The box seemed to be focussed mainly on skincare which was great for us, but this box will always be remembered as the one with the tampons!!
23yearsold: CX Detoxifying Air Therapy
Value: $50 (full size product)
“Made from carbonated water, this Carboxy pack creates sparkling bubbles on your face, minutely massaging the skin while you’re wearing the mask pack. It may prickle a little bit as the bubbles penetrate deep into the skin and cleanse away all the impurities clogging up the pores. The mineral-rich carbonated ater also helps brighten and firm up your overall skin for a revitalised feeling after use.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: You syringe out the product and apply it to your face and put a mask sheet over it for half an hour. I’m interested to try this just because it looks fun and quirky. I wonder if it will perform better than a standard mask – hugely pricey for one application!
Donga: Tempo Eco Natural Super x 3
Value: $2.07
“Dating back to the 1970s, Donga was the first Korean brand to product women’s tampons – for providing busy, outgoing women the freedom and comfort to engage in their lives even through their monthly periods. Tempo Eco Natural is made from 100% purely organic cotton and thus very gentle and comfortable.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Seriously…tampons? Useful, but unless the Koreans are doing something no other tampon manufacturers are doing, what is the point of putting these in the box?
CNP: Derma-Scalp Shampoo 25g
Value: $2.70
“It only takes 4 minutes a day to maintain your scalp healthy and well-nourished! The CNP Derma-Scalp Shampoo will deep cleanse into your scalp to unclog the pores, remove excess impurities, and cool and refresh with tea tree oil extracts. Suitable for sensitive, troublesome scalp.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Not too excited by this, but it will be handy for travels. It is not really a large enough sample to see whether it will help scalp issues. I have long hair and it’s good for two treatments at the most. It has a fairly pleasant menthol smell.
CNP: Tone-Up Protection Sun 15ml
Value: $10.20
“An SPF42/PA+++ sun block for protecting yoru skin under the scorching sun, this smart sun block contains powdery components for maintain your skin silky soft while the deep sea water works to prevent skin dehydration in the summertime”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Not too excited by this one either but at least it’s also practical. This can also be used as a makeup base, which is a bit more exciting than having a little tube of sunscreen that won’t even provide a full application
Yufit: Eon Wheat-Germ Cream 75ml
Value $48 (full size product)
“Over 75% of the cream consists of organic wheat bud extracts which work to hydrate, firm, brighten and fight signs of aging all in one! It’s gentle and lightly absorbing texture does not irritate even the most troubled skin, and instead helps to tighten pores for an overall healthier and younger-looking complexion”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Always interested to try new skincare. This is a generous (full size) tub. Have never tried a wheatgerm cream so pretty happy with this! If it’s not a great face moisturiser, can always use it as a body cream.
Soy Bio Plus: Fermented Lumpoule 5ml x 2
Value: $24.86
“This ‘lumpoule’ is a word combining two words – ‘lump’ and ‘amoule’ – and is basically a facial ampoule made from real Korean fermented soy bean lump. It’ll work to prevent formation of fine lines and wrinkles and also brighted up your overall complexion.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: We’re excited to try this! We’ve never tried any fermented products and would love to see if this works particularly well with oriental skin…hoping that the two lumpoules will be enough as they’re usually sold in sets of 14.
Nuganic: Customised Sun Base Colour Control Cream 40ml
Value: $54 (full size product)
“Enriched with snail mucus extracts, aloe vera leaf, lemon and various plant extracts, this easy to use CC cream works to balance out the skin’s oil/moisture level for a silky smooth finish to your makeup! It will cover up major skin imperfections and leave your skin glowing with a natural shine. Also, the high SPF helps protect your skin from the scorching sun for a long period of time.”
BT INITAL THOUGHTS: This product claims to do a lot! We love a good BB or CC cream and as Korea is the home of BB creams, we’re excited to try this and see whether it lives up to any of its claims.
OVERALL VERDICT:
This is a great box, even if they did play it a bit safe. We’re skeptical about whether the products are worth the stated value, but it’s a good mix of fun (items we don’t usually come across here) and functional products (things we will use!) A couple of samples were on the small side, but were still practical, so nothing will go to waste in this box. Our faith is restored in the Global Boxes! We’ll get back to you with reviews of the products soon.
Box price: $23 + $6.99 shipping
Total value: $191.83
Note: We paid for this MeMeBox with our own hard-earnt pennies
Interested in trying out MeMeBox? Use the link below to get $5 off all orders over $100 or check the referrals & deals page for other offers on specific boxes.
UNBOXING: MeMeBox Global 12 – the really bad one!
We cannot put into words how excited we were when this hot-pink package landed on our doorstep! We’d loved every review of MeMeBoxes that we’d seen and only heard brilliant things about them!
For the uninitiated, Memeboxes are Korean non-subscription boxes. They sell out very fast and you have to buy them blind, without knowing the contents. Often the description is very vague, but sometimes the boxes are themed. This was one of their more general Global collections. Or so we thought.
As we have a focus on products that work well for people of Oriental ethnicity, we were particularly excited to try out products from Korea as they might suit us better. For our first box, we thought we’d play it safe and get a Global box as it should be suitable for everyone…right?!
However, to be brutally honest, we were disappointed and surprised by this box, because:
a) the general low quality of the products
b) some very specific products that were USELESS to us (and we felt shouldn’t be in a Global box)
c) nothing particularly ‘Korean’
d) poor selection
They often don’t ship until sometime later, so you end up in a situation where you may be waiting for several boxes. We has already ordered more boxes because of this and it made us really nervous about what they would contain.
This is an unboxing, we’ll list the items and come back and review them later 🙂 This one will always be remembered as the bad MeMeBox with the anti-hairloss treatment!
Ryo: Anti-hair Loss Treatment 50ml
Value: $3
“Infused with biota seed, coix seed, green tea and gold extracts, this hair treatment will not only prevent hair loss but also re-energize and strengthen thin, damaged hair. Its excellent cooling formula will gently soothe and noursh your scalp at the same time.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: What is this doing in a global collection? This is a very niche product that is also very hard to gift to a friend. Great if you do have problems with thinning hair (if it works), but we will have no use for this product so is a waste of space and money. This type of product should only be included in a specific hair-related box, or should be hinted at in the description. Bad MeMeBox!
Banila Co: Claypatra Mineral Salt Clay Pack 12g
Value: $2.52
“100% pure mud extracted from the Dead Sea (consisting of 32% salt and minerals) effectively removes any excess sebum, dead skin and external pollutants clogging up your pores. The mineral-rich formula also delivers deep hydration and nourishment to the skin.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: This is the only product we were particularly excited about receiving. We’ve heard good things about this mask and look forward to trying it out. At least the box is not a total write-off!
Plagentra: White Mark Cream 15g
Value: $5.70
“Ever been stressed over stretch marks on yhour melly or on your thighs? Plagentra’s White Mark Cream will be your life-saver. With its scientifically approved formula to treat overly stretched skin and balance out any uneven skin tone on your body.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Erm, pretty indifferent to this. Will try it but again it’s pretty specific. Might be useful if it works on age spots though.
Plagentra: White Mark Lotion, Cream, Massage Gel (3 x 3ml sachets)
Value: $3.42
“Ever been stressed over stretch marks on your belly or on your thighs? Plagentra’s White Mark products will be your life-saver, with its scientifically approved formula to treat overly stretched skin and balance out any uneven skin tone on your body.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Meh. These samples are not big enough to be worth including. Especially as this type of product only shows benefit over long term use.
L.vida: Nail Polish 10ml
Value $7 (full size product)
“L.vida’s popular nail polish line comes in vibrant, trendy colours, each packaged with a lovely flower bouquet around its neck. These nail colours are highly acknowledged for their high-end, long-lasting fnish as well”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: If it is long lasting, then this would have been OK if we hadn’t received Neon Orange…but still hardly exciting
Inter-cos: Smooth Sensitive Removal Cream 250ml
Value: $43 (full size product)
“This unique spray-type removal cream allows you to remove any unwanted hair from even the most sensitive areas of the body.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: Another item that is useless to us (is not our chosen method of hair removal), cannot be gifted easily and we feel should only be in themed boxes. And worth $43? Really MeMeBox?
Palan: Crysence Organic Essence 120ml
Value: $72 (full size product)
“Highly praised by beauty experts and hair designers, Palan’s famous hair essence is a non-greasy lotion type treatment for dry, damaged hair that you don’t have to wash off. Made from natural herbal ingredients, it’s extremely gentle and deeply moisturizing.”
BT INITIAL THOUGHTS: The second (of two) products that we are looking forward to trying…if it works at all. The design looks cheap, but we will keep an open mind and report back 🙂
OVERALL VERDICT:
What a terrible box! With MeMeBox Global boxes, we think most people hope to get a combination of Korean beauty trends that can be used by most of their customers. This box had too many specific products that meant it was mainly a waste of money. Luckily we had already ordered other boxes as otherwise, we would not still be a customer of MeMeBox. MeMeBox – you really let yourself down with this box!
Our main conclusions were a) you you should be including some higher end products or having a better overall average of quality as most of these are the types you would find in the ‘junk beauty shops’ in Asia b) if you are including very niche products in a ‘general’ collection, you should hint at it in the description or keep these items for themed boxes c) you cannot just chuck any items into a box – you need to curate them so they are an exciting collection. We know this is not normal for MeMeBox and hope this is not a sign of things to come.
On top of it all, there is a type – the introduction sentence on the card describes Global 10 not 12! Only way it could be worse is if tamp;ons were included (see Global 13!!) Bad MeMeBox! Go away and write 100 x “Must do better…”
Box price: $23 + $6.99 shipping
Total value: $136.64 (however, we find it hard to believe the $43 quoted value for the hair removal cream)
Note: We paid for this MeMeBox with our own hard-earnt pennies
Interested in trying out MeMeBox? Use the link below to get $5 off all orders over $100 or check the referrals & deals page for other offers on specific boxes.