Hi fellow nomads,
A few weeks ago I took delivery of my Office Essentials box from Memebox. Memebox is a Korean beauty box which is subscription free - which means you just buy boxes individually, as and when they take your fancy. Mostly the contents are a surprise, but sometimes they'll release a box and show all the contents. The variety of boxes they have is staggering, so rather than bore you with it here I'll refer you to their website here.
Back to the Office Essentials box. I ordered this a while ago and was pretty curious about what they'd include in a box which had the following description:
Must-have beauty essentials for career women come together in our new Office Essentials Box!!!
Ladies, we all have extra heels or pieces of clothing stashed away at work in case of professional meetings or socializing afterwards, but what about beauty products?
Whether you had a crazy morning and need to finish getting ready for work or you simply need to freshen up in-between, there are handy beauty items every working woman absolutely needs to keep at the office!
Now, there’s no need to turn your desk into a dressing table anymore. Just place our Office Essentials Box in your drawer, and you’ll be prepared for any possible occasions and feminine emergencies at work ;)
Now, I'm a bit different to the average career woman in that I don't have a permanent desk. I work in consulting which means I'm usually perched with my laptop on some unsuitable table in a meeting room somewhere. Certainly no opportunities of turning my desk into a dressing table - but sadly no drawer either. I do however have a very large bag so perhaps there's something I could stash in there, instead. So, without further ado, let's see what 'essentials' were in store for me...
Pure Smile Refresh Tissue Citrus Punch // Despite being named ‘Citrus Punch’, there are no actual citrus fruits on the illustration which is a little confusing! That aside, I'm actually really happy to receive these. I know it’s just a fragranced wipe. But look at how cute that package size is! I opened this box just as I was throwing together a few things to take to IMATS. This mini packet ended up being perfect to take with me for removing swatches and freshening up, without taking up half of my bag. It’s almost as if they read my mind. Memebox, we’re off to a great start.
Hope Girl 140 Super Lash Mascara // I actually have about 7 mascaras that I'm trying to finish up at the moment so I don’t want to open this as it will dry out before I get the chance to properly test it, but this looks interesting. The note on the accompanying card advises using the wand vertically, which is a brave new world for me. I'm just not sure I can get on board with that. Also, I’m not sure what it’s doing in an office essentials box. Back in the day when I had a desk, I was guilty of stashing many beauty products in and around it - but I can honestly say mascara was never one of them. Maybe I’d appreciate a booster if I was heading out after work, but that was what the 10 minute box was for… no? Still, I will give it a go once I’ve ploughed through some of my other mascaras. I’ll never be truly disappointed with a mascara in a beauty box.
RiveCowe Sebum Control Convenient Compact // This is a powder compact which provides oil control throughout the day. I personally have dry skin, and I can report that this did stick to my dry patches slightly (no surprises there) but provided a nice finish on any more ‘normal’ patches of skin. I think if you had oily skin this would work really well, and the translucent colour means it is likely to suit many people, skin tone wise. It’s something I will definitely take out with me if I am going somewhere hot or otherwise shine inducing. The powder is very lightly fragranced and pleasantly so. I think this fits the theme of the box excellently, and even though I normally don't like powder puff type applicators, this is actually very helpful for application on the go.
Very Six 6 Seconds Kissing Lipgloss // I really like the packaging on this for some reason – it’s very understated yet functional and reminds me of Jo Malone packaging. (Does anyone else play Brand Mimic Bingo with their Korean cosmetics?!). I much prefer this type of applicator over a doe foot type applicator, it seems so much more hygienic somehow. This is a clear gloss with a very high shine, so much so that it almost looks like it has glitter in it. It feels super smooth on the lips and lasts a decent length of time. There’s a fragrance to it that I don’t love, but can just about deal with because the finish is so great. This works well by itself or layered over other products, and is just the kind of thing you would wear regularly in an office, particularly if your office is of the conservative nature.
Label Young Shocking Toner // I'm sorry, what is this?! It’s like some hair gel had an affair with a jar of jam and this is the result. Whaaat? Honestly, I don’t even know how to go about using this. It comes with its own spatula, so do I paste it onto my face and go about my business? Or do I use the spatula to get it out of the jar, to then put it on some cotton wool to wipe over my face? Which seems excessively complicated. So many questions. I’m also finding the pixie-sized kiss marks all over the jar a bit offputting. And finally, I don’t really see how this is something you’d use in an office, unless I have it all wrong and it really is jam to have on your mid-morning toast snack.
Maxim Maxim Mocha Gold // This is a great product to include in an office box but unfortunately I don’t like coffee. I will keep this in my beverage cupboard and use it on an unsuspecting visitor. You have been warned…
Lovey Dovey Perfume Fabric Mist // I think the flavour of mine is “mignon” which means cute or dainty in French. Well, that does fit I suppose - this is halfway between a girly scent and a clean laundry type scent, so it’s just about ok with my olfactory receptors. They’re not big on the girly scents but fresh smells they do like. I do think this is another good product to include as it’s the kind of thing that would be very useful whilst working in a stuffy office when someone just microwaved some leftover curry for their lunch (we've all been there).
Overall I'm pretty pleased with this box. I think most products would actually be useful for people working in offices (apart from the toner. Somebody please explain the toner.) and I will be using a fair few of these in the office. The total value of the box was $89, and I paid $23 plus delivery. However, I personally don't put much by that whole "total equivalent value" thing, as that's all a bit artificial - what matters to me is what I paid in the end and whether I think it's worth it for the items that I will use. In short, I do!
Sidenote: there was some controversy when this box was released, as Memebox released a teaser/spoiler on their website (and also possibly via email?) of a mist from Secret Key which was to be included in the box. For whatever reason, Memebox were not able to fulfil this product, however there was no email sent until after the boxes had been shipped to inform us of this change, by which point it was too late to cancel your order if you’d really only ordered for the mist in the first place. This all went over my head, as I didn’t even see the spoiler and don’t know anything about this mist. So, I was pleased with the box but I can see that if you really wanted a certain product and it didn’t arrive, that you’d be a bit miffed. Memebox did however send an apology email and give us all $10 worth of points which I was happy with.
Did you receive this box? What did you make of it?
-Rachel
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