Hello kittens!
Are any of you darlings into K-Pop? Or have you only dabbled in the odd bit of Gangnam Style-ing? Either way, you might have noticed how polished and beautiful and clear-of-skin those K-Pop girls are. I know I’m jealous. Welp, it’s because of the kickass potions and lotions they use.
For the longest time, Korean and east asian cosmetics lines have been out of reach of us poor schmucks in the west, which is a crying shame. However, the tide is turning, and more and more lines are becoming available certainly in america, if not globally. Regardless, there is one surefire way you can get your mitts on all those Korean goodies. That source is Memebox.
Memebox is a beauty box service rather like Latest in Beauty, except on hyperdrive, and for Korean cosmetics. If you want a specific box to target one body part, one look or instead a mixed basket, there’s a box for that, and they release dozens a month, not to mention their well stocked online store for individual items. Formerly only available in the states, Memebox have opened their doors to the world, and now loads of locations can enjoy what they have to offer.
On the outside, their myriad options can seem kind of pricey, with boxes ranging in price from around $20 to $30 dollars, plus shipping. However, with the exchange rate as it is, that’s not really much pricier than a UK based box like LIB, and the contents seem to be full size products.
To try Memebox out, I chose the Memebox Mini 3. Memebox Minis are few and far between, but they’re actually a lot more like a Birchbox. Each one contains approximately 5 products to try in deluxe sample size. These are the smallest and cheapest option that Memebox offers, at $15, or £7.90 in UK money, which also includes the shipping. That’s pretty darn good. I managed to order Memebox Mini #3 back in march when it was announced. I had to wait nearly two months until mid june for the box to be released and then shipped, but the box arrived just before I went on holiday (#swbholibobs), and I tried out all the products while I was away.
The Memebox came in its own branded pink padded envelope. Inside was an adorable pink square box- very reusable. The box contents came neatly and securely packed, with a Menu/Tips and Tricks card. This I was very glad of as, er, I can’t read Korean.
First up was the Illi Total Ageing Care Cleansing Kit. Now, I’ve complained about sachets in previous box review posts, but I am not complaining here. Not only did they give me a total of six sachets (3 of each product in the kit), they also gave me a deluxe sample size of each product in a sweet box. I really like the packaging on this- the clean black and white of the bottles, the simple papery box.
The products themselves are a cleansing oil and a foaming wash for your face and neck. Their scent is very light and delicately fragrant, and they leave your skin feeling super duper clean and not remotely dry, though not super moisturised either. I used mine after a shower, but you could of course use them during. First, massage the oil all over your skin and rinse off, then lather up with the foaming wash, rinse and pat dry. In terms of sample size, you probably have 10 days-2 weeks worth here, which is a great sample size really. Each sachet contains about 1.5-2 uses worth in it, so you can either be decadent or frugal with it.
I liked this product- it’s perfect for daily cleansing and is very gentle, yet pampering.
The only other product in the box was this A.True tin… but inside was a treasure trove of different A.True products to try. The tin is a lovely size and obviously reusable- mine is currently full of cotton buds. A.True make their cosmetics with Darjeeling black tea from a company called Compagnie Colonial. It’s the oldest tea ‘brand’ in the world.
The first product in the tin was this ‘Real Black Tea True Active Essence’, which is a toner. It smells scrummy, as all the A.True products do- of aromatic tea and a fruity fragrance not unlike apricot. It left my skin feeling really fresh and soft.
Next we have the ‘First Anti-wrinkle Essence’, which is a serum product. Each sachet has two uses in it really, and I wasn’t being cheap with it, either. It’s a lovely serum, with that same mild and sweet fragrance. It’s easily absorbed into the skin, and just lovely. I’ve tried lots of serums in my time, and this is one of my favourites, because it is so gentle, yet it makes me feel very pampered.
The final ‘product’ in the tin completes the skin care routine- a moisturiser. ‘First Anti-wrinkle cream’ is a light facial cream designed, as with the other products, to rejuvenate your skin and gently moisturise. Again, it was super gentle and had a lovely formula. I probably liked it least of the products I tried, but simply because it didn’t wow me like the serum and toner did. It’s a nice moisturiser, but it won’t stop traffic.
The final touch in the tin was two bags of Earl Grey tea in a lovely little drawstring bag, to finish off a good pamper session. Earl Grey happens to be my favourite.
I really liked all the products. The tea theme in the A.True cosmetics was charming, and the cleansers were lovely too. I also really liked that the box provided a complete skin care regimen for you to try. It had everything to get you from getting up (a cup of tea), washing your face (the Illi cleansers), toning (the True Active Essence), concentrated serum (First Anti-Wrinkle Essence) and finally moisturising (First Anti-Wrinkle Cream). I took it away on holiday, and it was just perfect for that. The same sizes were pretty darn generous too (a minimum of 10 days supply).
As with all boxes I try out, I like to find out if I got value for money, despite how much I enjoyed the contents. I’ve included all of the prices in dollars, as this is the only price I could find. I have then calculated the equivalent price in pounds sterling, because I’m British and that’s what makes sense to me. So here goes:
- Illi Total Ageing Care Cleansing Oil: $22/£13.18 for 200ml, so the total sample of 21ml is worth $2.31/£1.38
- Illi Total Ageing Care Cleansing Foam: $17/£10.18 for 200ml, so the 21ml total sample is worth $1.79/£1.07
- A.True True Active Essence: $51/30.55 for 180ml, so the 30ml sample is worth $8.50/£5.09
- A.True First Anti-Wrinkle Cream: $46/27.56 for 50g, so the 10ml sample is worth $9.20/£5.51
- A.True First Anti-Wrinkle Essence: $50/29.95 for 40ml, so the 10ml total sample is worth$12.50/£7.49
- 2x Compagnie Colonial Earl Grey Teabags: $9.60/£5.75 for 25, so the sample is $0.77/£0.46
Total: $31.66/£21
On an outlay of £7.90, the contents of this Memebox Mini are easily worth twice the box price, nearly thrice. This is fantastic return, and this box was truly a pleasure. It’s lovely to look at, the products were all completely new to me, and they were all lovely.
To be honest, I find the Memebox experience a little bewildering, as the website is quite hectic, and they don’t archive sold out/past boxes. Combine that with the sheer number of boxes that are released every week, and it’s hard to know where to start. If another Memebox Mini came out, I would order it in a heartbeat, and I would love to try more of their range, but it will take more investigation than I currently have time for before I do.
Let me know if you try Memebox, and what you think!
Later days!
She Who Bakes 