Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Memebox Superbox #74 Memebox Empties Review

**FYI - Memebox no longer ships to Canada.  I'll leave these reviews for posterity but any links or recommendations are sadly no longer for us :( Many of the products can be found elsewhere - check out my post on where else to shop for k-beauty products!


Memebox is a Korean Beauty Box company with a different model than most beauty boxes.  Instead of subscribing to a monthly box, they periodically release new boxes and you can purchase as many or as few as you like.  Boxes usually range from $23 - $29 plus $6.99 for shipping to Canada (shipping can take 10-20 business days so be prepared).  Express shipping is available for an extra cost or with bundles (more than one box purchased and shipping at the same time).  Memebox also offers many of the items from their boxes in their shop - a warning to Canadian shoppers, some of the shop items are for US customers only so don't get your heart set on anything until you check the tag under it!

This box is not currently available for sale, although restocks do happen from time to time.  Current boxes can be found here.  At the moment, Memebox is running a 12 days of Christmas promotion with daily specials found here.

This was one of the first boxes I ordered from Memebox, as part of a bundle with Memebox Special #64 Green Food Cosmetics.  While there are no bundles currently, when they are available they include both boxes and an upgrade to express shipping (much appreciated).


The first look - lots of products! As a Superbox, these will all be full-sized items so I was also quite happy to see so many of them (and such a variety of products as well).  Memebox Empties was billed as a collection of favourites from previous boxes - the kind of favourite items that memeboxers used until they were empty! While this might be less exciting to someone else, as a Memebox noob, this sounded like the perfect way to get into k-beauty products.


Memebox includes these product cards which indicate what each item is, what it is valued at (sometimes these are a little inflated but since I can't get most of these products where I live, I'll cope with that) and how to use it.  I can't stress how valuable the "how to use it" aspect is since I haven't heard of many of these items before and would have no idea what to do with them!



Ernesti Rice & Milk Foaming Cleanser 120g ($15 value)

This is billed as a gentle foaming cleanser, intended for use after make-up removal.  I have been using it after my go-to Tea Tree Oil Cleanser or my new (courtesy of the Tea Tree Memebox - review upcoming) Tea Tree Make-up Removing Towelettes.  This is definitely gentle and creamy and I find that a little goes a long way.  The scent is delicate and milky.  Love this :)  I can totally understand how this is an "empty" for many people.

Boutique Bebe Hair Salon Argan Oil Essence 60ml ($31 value)

This is a hair treatment for use at the end of your morning hair routine or whenever your hair could use a little moisture and shine.  I like it.  It is creamier than most hair oil products I have used and it does a nice job at softening my hair.  It doesn't do a terrific job at calming my frizz or flyaways when those happen - at least not as well as my usual hair oil.  Overall, this is okay.  I will use it but not every day. 

Benton Snail Bee High Content Essence 60ml ($18 value)

And a more controversial item. . . This is a product that many people have had issues with in the past (Google it if you like) and also a product that many people elevate to holy grail status.  So this was, of course, the product I was most excited to try immediately (and it's the essence I was referring to in my Green Foods Review when I mentioned that I needed to wait on using the essence from that box).  While I was nervous about potential issues, but more nervous about smearing snail mucin and bee venom all over my face, I have to say that I am really enjoying this product.  I have had fewer, less severe breakouts since I started using it - whether that is because of this product, another new product, or just taking the time to care for my skin, who knows? It has a light, easily absorbed texture that goes well under my day or night cream.  This makes the box for me!


Secret Nature From Jeju Peeling Gel 150ml ($29 value)

This product is intended to be used once or twice a week and is similar in purpose to an exfoliator.  Instead of using microbeads or harsh, abrasive ingredients, this is a smooth gel that helps to remove dead skin cells and impurities through more gentle means.  As you massage it over your skin, it will pill (like a sweater) and remove impurities, then you wash it off.  It reminds me of a similar product I got from Aloette years ago and quite liked.  This makes my face feel softer and appear brighter.  I can see this as an "empty" for sure.

Purederm Nose Pore Strips Cacoa (box of 6, $6 value)

These are chocolatey nose strips - kind of like the Biore ones only brown and smelling like chocolate.  And they do the same thing:  you apply them to a clean nose, let sit and then pull off and cringe at all the gunk they pulled out of your pores.  I don't really have a blackhead problem, and have always found these products a little harsh for my skin (and a little strange, to be honest) so I have gifted them to someone who will use them.

Evas Rose Mine Perfumed Hand Cream 60ml ($12 value)

There were a variety of scent options for this one and I received Gleaming Bijou.  It is a nice scent which is not too strong (and I appreciate that).  The hand cream is good quality and absorbs quickly without leaving behind greasy residue - a necessary quality in a hand cream as far as I'm concerned.  This isn't the best hand cream I have ever used but it is probably top 3 and a great size to throw in my purse.  I go through a lot of hand cream so this will be used, and quickly too.

Purebess Galactomyces 80 Eye Cream 50ml ($20 value)

I had to look this up. I like this explanation so I'm going to use it:

As a natural enzyme used in a brewery to make liquor, it was discovered that the hands of masters brewing yeast were distinctively more transparent and elastic than their actual ages that Galactomyces was found to be the best enzyme for skin texture among the numerous enzymes. There are many kinds of enzymes used in fermentation such as yeast and leaven. Enzymes used as cosmetic ingredients amount to over 200 types and among them, Galactomyces is very rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that it is recognized as the best ingredient as a beauty care enzyme. Galactomyces turns the skin bright, transparent and more elastic for the perfect intrinsic skin rhythm and balance. (source)

So this is super-exciting as an eye-cream and I can seriously say that it has brightened the skin around my eyes.  I might need to try this in a few other spots that could use brightening, actually.  It's a really large tube of eye cream - especially since I use so little at a time.  This is an awesome product.

Overall Verdict:

This box rocks my world.  I love the essence, eye cream and face wash.  The hand cream and peeling gel are a little less exciting but are also seriously good products.  I'm not as in love with the hair essence but I will use it.  The only miss for me is the box of nose strips but I have sent them on to a loving home.  The Memebox value of this box is just over $131, with the value pretty evenly distributed among most of the products (instead of having one big ticket item and a lot of lower value ones).  While I am not sure it is really worth quite that much, I paid $67.99 for this box and Green Food Cosmetics, including shipping - so, let's say, about $34 for this one.  I can say with confidence that the essence, eye-cream and face wash are worth more than that and are game-changing products for my skin.  This box was worth every penny.  Here's hoping for more quality, well-curated boxes like this one in the new year!

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