Good morning everyone!
So let me start off by saying that I'm really glad that I ordered my
Memebox Fourth Edition last month because a) holy shit those babies are selling fast (everything up to 7 is sold out, including 5-2 and 5-2) and b) this no buy month is already hard. :C A lot of times I want something,
a lot, and then after a few days I don't care as much anymore, but the wanting is tough man, the wanting is tough.
As some background info, Memebox is a beauty box that isn't a subscription, so you pick whichever box you want (and whatever's in stock). This one was $21 and after shipping about $27, but now I see for the newer boxes they're charging $23 (so more like $30 after shipping). They ship fairly fast, and they usually hit the states in 3-7 business days.
Anyway, mine came in the mail on 31.01.14, actually, but I wasn't awake yet at 9:30 am, so I missed the USPS person, which meant I had to pick it up the next day. This is a little frustrating, by the way, since normally I only bus around and I can't bus to the USPS office, but I'm glad the company actually gives a shit if we get the product or not.
It's obviously quite full with items, and each box contains a little card that explains what's inside and how to use the product. I found that to be helpful, since a lot of the stuff is familiar, but I can't read Korean (and I wouldn't want to apply too much/not properly/etc).
This is more of a brief overview of what's inside the box - I'll probably revisit this a bit later with a more detailed review, once I get a chance to use the products (thus far I've only been able to try the shampoo). As a warning, this post is going to be picture-heavy, so I apologize if you aren't a fan of pictures. Let's get started!
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| IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning, 18ml (Full: 168 ml/$60) |
The description is, "Intensive skin-enhancing program, clearing and smoothing skin texture within three days. Fast-absorbing active ingredients instantly regenerates the skin". You apply this stuff in the bottle with the pads in the morning and night. Sounds interesting. I'm not sure about the whole texture thing, or if I would be able to judge how well it works, since I have pretty all right, smooth skin to start with, but I'll still give it a go.
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| LANEIGE Snow Crystal Pure Lip Gloss, 3g (Full: 5g/$20) |
The description is, "Gel-based, high-sheen lip gloss formulated to smooth the surface texture of your lips. Rosy tint and micro glitter creates the illusion of a full, juicy kiss". Well, firstly, I'm offended that Memebox thinks my kisses aren't juicy enough as is (thanks guys). Secondly, this stuff feels kinda sticky, so I'm not sure someone would want to kiss me while wearing this anyway. Well, I guess I'll have to try it out on my lips and see what I think after that. (Also, this is literally called "the snow" snow crystal pure lip gloss. I'm not sure why people think saying things in another language [in this case French] makes them fancier, but they do.)
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| Goodal Repair Plus Essential Oil, 15ml (Full: 100ml/$48) |
The description is, "A fast-absorbing multi-use essential oil derived from argan, olive, macadamia, sun flower seeds, jojoba, camellia, and green tea. This combination of oil from these super-seeds hydrated, firms, and enhances the skin's complexion". Apparently you can use this on your face, nails, cuticles, and hair. But what I'm wondering, is what the hell are jojoba and camellia!? After some research (and by that I mean using google and wikipedia) I discovered that jojoba is, " is a shrub which is native to the Sonoran, Mojave and Baja California deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico and the southernmost portion of the California Floristic Province". ... Oke. Sounds good I guess? And for camellia, I got, "Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia". All right. Well, the more you know.
Anyway, I've been meaning to try out some essential oil stuff, but it can be kinda spendy. I'm actually glad this (along with another oil thing) was included in the box, so I can try this sort of product out first in a small amount before committing to a lot.
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| Clio VF 21 Water BB SPF35 PA++, 15ml (Full: 50ml/$20) |
The description is, "Ultra-hydrating BB cream designed for dry skin with SPF35, PA++. It gives you a natural dewy glow with long-lasting, medium coverage. Enhances skin complexion and fights against wrinkles". Uhh... What the hell does PA++ mean? I see I'll be off to google again (man this is turning in to a long-ass post). Well, apparently it's the "protection factor" of anything with SPF (according to
Yahoo Answers, god only knows how much I can trust that, but I don't really care enough to dig any deeper).
I've always been leery of BB creams ever since I read
this post on Brightest Bulb in the Box's blog. I mean there's nothing wrong with them, per se, but people seem to think they're some sort of miracle cream when that really isn't the case. Anyway, I feel like this is going to be hella dark on me, since I swatched on my hand and saw this:
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| It's like me, but if I were ten shades darker |
Now to be fair, I didn't really blend it in all that well, but that is how it comes out of the tube. Usually I prefer things with sheer coverage, since I usually don't use that much product on my face and I feel like a buildable product is better since you can... y'know, build up and get your desired look. I haven't tried it on my face just yet, so I'll have to do that before giving up on it completely. I do like that is has some SPF since I burn and turn lobster within a matter of minutes when I'm outside, but we'll have to see.
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| Peripera Peri's Tint Mini Mandarin Juice, 2.5ml (Full: 6.5 ml/$7) |
So I had originally thought to put this at the end of my post, but a) this post is starting to get ridiculously long and I didn't want someone to give up before seeing this disappointing mess and b) I figured maybe it would be better if I encased the bad in the midst of good and all right products. Either way, look at this fucking bullshit right here. Now I am no scientist, and I'm actually REALLY bad at measuring things, but you can't honestly expect me to believe this is 2.5 ml. Also, why waste that whole (tiny?) bottle for like... a few nasty looking drops of product? Was this really the desired amount? Could you at least make it look better if that's the case? Obviously it got tossled around in transit, but my god it looks like weird orange cooking grease in there.
The little box thing was so cute, I was really excited. And then I opened it and was like.... "wat??" Yeah, I'm not impressed. I sent an email to Memebox customer service. Either this is wrong or I'm a picky customer, I don't know.
Anyway, here's what it looks like swatched:
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| As you can probably see already, orange is not my color |
I'm not too impressed, as it left a gross-looking orange stain on my hand after I tried to wash it off, but if I'm feeling really ambitious I might try it on my lips a little later. We'll see, we'll see.
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| LJH Dr's Care Vita Propolis Ampoule, 5ml (Full: 15ml/$26) |
The description is, "This perfect combination of vitamins and propolis (psst, propolis is "a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from... botanical sources" peeps) harvested by bees brings out the natural, healthy luminosity of your face. High concentration of propolis in the hermetically sealed ampoule (a fancy word for the vial itself) hydrates, soothes, and protects skin. Suitable for sensitive skin". Directions are to either drip it on to your face, or (what's "highly suggested") is to mix it with your facial lotion/cream. Lots of fancy words in that one (at least fancy to me, maybe I'm the only heathen in the house who didn't know some of those terms). It smells nice? That's basically all I have right now, I'll report back later with more.
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| The Shampoo Plus Natural Waterless Shampoo, 50ml (Full: 50ml/$5) |
A wild full-sized product appears! And the description is, "Made out of oregano (wat), this foam-based dry shampoo allows you to cleanse your hair anywhere without water. It also protects your hair from harmful UV rays, and enhances scalp and hair follicle health with antioxidant properties". So this is something I've already used (as in on Sunday morning as I am sat here writing up this post). I wouldn't call it a dry shampoo, exactly. It's like... somewhere between dry and wet. It's a foam, but a bit more watery than a foam? You definitely don't need to stick your head under a faucet for it to work.
I can actually say that I like this product already. Because of my red hair, I try to wash it with water about once every two weeks and to use dry shampoo in the interim. My dry shampoo ran out recently, and so my hair was getting pretty gross, so I tried this out ASAP. And my hair felt much better, and looked better, immediately after use. Not sure if it actually protects or does anything good for my hair, but at least it doesn't look greasy as hell anymore.
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| Danahan Bon Yeon Jin Essence, 12ml (Full: 50ml/$68) |
The description is, "Concentrate your skin's effort to enhance regeneration and elasticity. Thick serum is a formula made of red ginseng and herbal extracts compatible with all skin types" uhhhh.... K. Somehow this sounds like bullshit to me, but whatever, I'll give it a go.
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| Lanoa Natural Soap Sulfur, 100g (Full: 100g/$12) |
Another full-sized product! The description is, "100% natural handmade soap featuring powerful natural ingredients: sulfur, shea butter, chamomile and lavender. It is specially designed for sensitive and dry skin by hydrating on the surface as well as underneath the skin's barrier". Well, my facial skin has been really dry lately (no matter how much lotion I apply) and I do have sensitive skin, so I'll have to give this a go.
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| T. E. N Cremorlab Mineral Treatment Essence 100ml (Full: 270 ml/$36) |
The description is, "Start your day with essence derived from therapeutic hot spring water to hydrate, tighten pores, brighten and even skin complexion". So basically it's something you apply to your skin after washing. My god, with all this "essence" talk I'm reminded of Zoolander:
Anyway, we all needed a good laugh after that long-ass unveiling. I know it was long, and those of you who stuck around till here deserve cookies (or maybe more appropriately awesome lip stick and facials). I'm excited to try all this stuff out, and I feel like it was certainly worth the money that I spent, but I'll make sure to report back later (and we'll see if I still think so).
Have you gotten this Memebox or another one before? Thoughts? Was this post too long? Did it make you want to take a page out of Oedipus' book and gouge your eyes out? Let me know!
Cheers!
