Memebox Korea's Most Wanted 2: Unboxing & review

Ok, so I may just call this Meme Fever and be done with it - today, another Memebox unboxing. They're just fabulous and I can't get enough, so no judgement please and let's move on to gazing at the contents of this beautiful box.

Superbox #65, aka Korea's Most Wanted #2, promised "everything from the hottest skincare staples, makeup must-haves, hair and body essentials, and other K-beauty breakthroughs". Let's see if it lives up to the hype, shall we?

Hiello Blooming Multi Firming Cream // Any kind of highly concentrated face cream is guaranteed to grab my interest. I have chronically dry/dehydrated skin and I'm always trying to pack on as much moisturiser as I can. This has soothing ingredients like rose water and green tea, and you can also use it in a thick layer overnight as a kind of sleeping pack. I tried it overnight and it was extremely moisturising just as a thin layer, so it will certainly pack a punch when used as a sleeping pack. I think this is too thick for daytime use, even with my very dry skin. I'm also not hugely keen on the open-pot format, as I don't like fact that I have to keep putting my fingers in the product, but aside from that I'm pleased with this moisturiser.

The Tang Tang Kissy Skin Therapy Peeling Wash // This box sounds like it was formulated for someone with exactly my skin! This product is for people with dry and/or sensitive skin, and is applied to dry skin for a fleeting 40 seconds (precisely! Where’s my stopwatch…), massaged into the skin just before it dries and then rinsed off with warm water. I particularly like that in the description of the product, it acknowledges the fact that so many other peeling washes are formulated with ingredients which ball up to make it look like you’re rubbing away dead skin and impurities, but are doing nothing of the sort. I've whinged about that before and I'm glad they’re not pretending to do any of that with this product. When I tried it on my face, I found it gave my skin an extremely polished feel afterwards. Quite impressive actually. But it did ball up and I know there wasn't quite that much dry skin on my face so... I think someone's marketing team is telling little porky pies...

elRoel Tone Up Starter SPF50+ PA+++ Green // Here we have a tone correcting, wrinkle filling, complexion smoothing product which is SPF50. I’m not quite sure whether it’s being marketed as a sun cream or a primer, but that’s a small matter – either way, this sounds like an excellent product for my needs. I'm off to Australia in just under a month (!!!!) and it’s going to be suuuuper hot there. I'm British Midwinter Pale, and I burn like a bitch in anything resembling UV rays. I've also got somewhat of a ruddy undertone to my skin, so the fact that this is tone correcting as well as an extra strength sublock is very exciting. I gave it a go, and it applied relatively easily and looked unnoticeable on my skin. I couldn't detect a green tinge, and it didn't sit uncomfortably on top of my skin like lots of suncreams. It didn't fill in wrinkles or smooth my complexion but that's ok. I just want it to stop me getting burned. 

The Face Shop Calendula Eden Essential Moisture Essence // Another deeply moisturising face product – if this doesn't sort out my dry skin, then I'm not sure what will. This contains calendula extracts and hyaluronic acid to moisturise and ‘smoothen’ out uneven skin tone. It went on beautifully and smells really good, and after a week and a half of use, I think it's maybe too soon to throw this serum a party - but I really want to. Guys... it's that good. 

LadyKin One Touch Bling Glow Lipstick in Dipplum Burgundy a.k.a. Deep Plum Burgundy // As well as the amusing mistranslation on the actual lipstick, the sole makeup product of this box has such a dubious name. By name alone, I would never ever have picked up this product to try, but I'm glad it was in the box because it turns out it’s quite good. It applies extremely easily, almost like a balm, and feels very comfortable on the lips. I love the colour, too, which is great for making teeth look whiter. It has a very glossy finish, which looks great on the lips, but means it's not the most long lasting and does have an affinity for teeth.

Kskin Emu Leg R-Free Massage Cream // In case the rest of my body was feeling left out of this face-favouring box, here’s a cream for legs and feet. This is a cream packed with all the trendy ingredients du jour (snail mucus, hyaluronic acid, vitamin A, and Emu oil containing omega 3, 6 AND 9) plus some more usual ones (peppermint, menthol) which is to be massaged into areas of the body which need de-stressing. You don’t even have to stick to your legs! After a long day in London, I felt my feet could use some cooling and de-stressing, so I applied this. It certainly packs a punch; it was extremely tingly, very cooling, and the effect lasted quite a long time. I'm impressed. The only thing is it's quite messy to use as it takes a while to be absorbed into the skin, still, I may take this with me to Australia as well as it looks like it's going to be really hot there. Slight case of coals to Newcastle but never mind.

Overall I think this box was absolutely perfect for someone with my skin type, which is very dry and dehydrated. As such I loved it, however I can see that people with other skin tones might not be so enamoured. As for box value, I don't go by list prices as they can be wildly different depending on where you choose to shop, but for me I think this represented great value as I will use everything in the box.

As I'm linking to these products on the Memebox website, I notice a lot of them are no longer available. Sorry about that, but it looks like if enough people add them to wishlists then they might come back...

If you'd like to try out some Memeboxes, you may be interested in using these codes: 

$5 off when you spend $30 or more using the code Z6219V

$5 off automatically at checkout when you spend $100 or more - applied automatically if you follow the link below

$10 off automatically at checkout when you spend $150 or more - applied automatically if you follow the link below

Browse boxes to use your discounts on here*.

Did you receive this box? What did you think?

-Rachel

The box reviewed in this post was provided by Memebox for consideration. However, I have bought Memeboxes by the drove since they started shipping to the UK and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Memebox to a friend. * denotes an affiliate link, if you'd like to follow it then thank you but please don't feel obliged to. I'm solidly in love with the company as I'm sure you'll know if you've read my blog for any length of time!

Mini Review Mondays: HD Brows Eyeshadow Palette in Foxy

Hi fellow nomads,

Did you know HD Brows not only make killer eyebrow products, but also makeup for the rest of your face? I didn't either, until I passed by their stand at IMATS this year. They were demonstrating their line of products and this eyeshadow palette immediately caught my eye. I think you can see why.

This warm toned neutral eyeshadow palette grabbed me instantly, from the sleek packaging to the beautiful selection of essential shades it contained. I managed to negotiate a swap-in to my show pack purchase and we were off. It's now been a few months (like...6) and we are now firm friends, this eyeshadow palette and I. It's something I reach for when I am just at a loss as to what to do with my face, and I want something reliable. So without further ado, here's a close up on this beautiful palette. 

The shades, from left to right, are:

bare // matte pale cream highlight

golden // warm golden shade with glitter

honey // matte mid-brown

bronze // deep warm brown with glitter

truffle // deepest cool brown with glitter

The shadows themselves are well pigmented, even the glitter shades. They go on well and blend easily, although some of the shadows I find a little... drying? I don't know, is that a thing? But I do find that when I wear this palette, my eyelids do feel quite dry. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you have oily eyelids - although I always wear a primer. Using the aforementioned primer, these shadows stay in place all day without creasing. Each shadow is 0.8g, so it's a reasonable size. They all co-ordinate nicely, so this is a great palette for a no-fuss look. Just pick any of the shades and they'll all go with each other beautifully.

There's also a brush included, which does a pretty good job. One end strikes a nice balance between ability to apply colour with relative precision and ability to blend out said colour after application, and the other end is angled, and quite small which makes it more versatile.

It's available in three shade ranges, nominally dependant on skin tone. Foxy is designed to co-ordinate with their Eye & Brow Kit in Foxy, which is for people with medium skin tone. Yet I use HD Brows products in Vamp (the darkest variant) and this works fine on my skin tone. 

In terms of negatives about the product, there's the drying issue as I mentioned above, and obviously this isn't the product for you if you don't want glittery eyeshadows. And then there's the fact that the palette is a little on the bulky side. Yes, it contains a decent size mirror - it covers the whole inside of the lid - and the brush is actually quite good quality, but there feels like a lot of empty space going on here. The size of the packaging makes you think twice about chucking it into a travel bag. Also it collects dust and fingerprints in a fairly epic fashion (see photo for evidence). Still, if that's the worst thing about the packaging then they've not done too badly. 

The HD Brows Eyeshadow Palettes aren't a product I hear talked about a lot, and I wonder why. Plenty of people rave about the HD Brows Brow & Eye Palette (which I also have... which I also love) but not so much about this little gem. 

You can find this palette here for £28. Yes, it's a little steep - and honestly, I'm not sure I'd recommend it at full price, especially if you already own a swathe of neutral eyeshadow palettes. However, if you can get this one sale, as part of a bundle, or on eBay or similar, I'd suggest you give it a go. I myself am eyeing up the palette in Vamp... 

Have you seen this palette anywhere? Have you tried it?

-Rachel

The Bin Diaries Part IX: Products I'm Throwing Away

To my fellow nomads,

The Bin Diary Backlog is finally nearing its end - normal empties pace will be resumed shortly. Until then, it's time for a final poke around someone else's rubbish. Let's go!

This episode contains haircare, skincare, bodycare and makeup in a bijoux package. I mean, it's quite small. So, rather like ripping off a plaster, let's get this done all at once.

Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist // This is a pleasant rosewater spray which you can mist over your face as a toner. It smelled of real roses, and was refreshing to spray on my face, but didn't make a noticeable difference to my skin. This is probably excellent for those with extremely sensitive skin who can’t use more active toners, or as a refresher midway through the day, but I couldn't use this instead of a normal toner.

To buy (again) or not to buy? Probably not, unless I go and live somewhere hot and need a refreshing facial mist.

Percy & Reed Dry Shampoo // What a shocker, a bin diary dry shampoo that’s surprisingly not from Batiste, but from Percy & Reed. This haircare brand has been everywhere recently, so their marketing department has obviously been very busy. I picked this up in a set from TK Maxx (love that shop) and I was pleasantly surprised by this dry shampoo. It didn’t show up as too grey on the hair, although it wasn’t quite as invisible as I had hoped, but it did have an interesting scent, and gave a reasonable amount of texture as well. I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to.

To buy (again) or not to buy? I think I would, actually, depending on the price point.

Percy & Reed Dry Conditioner // The theme continued with the dry conditioner, which I just didn’t really understand when I got the kit. It is basically just a spray which makes your hair extra glossy and nice, and it smells good too (it’s perhaps an acquired taste but I like strange smells). This is great to use on dry hair which just didn’t quite turn out how you expected to, or frazzled by sun hair, or smells like the tube hair. Or all of the above. A surprising hit, here.

To buy (again) or not to buy? Yes, as I don't own anything else like this.

Triple Dry Deodorant // So maybe it’s a bit odd to include a deodorant here, but we all use it (I hope?!) and I was impressed with how this performed. I don’t tend to think that spray deodorants will really do a decent job but this one actually did. 

To buy (again) or not to buy? Yes, I already have! 

Sephora Lemon Verbena Smoothing Body Scrub // This was obtained in a Spanish department store (I was so excited when I saw the logo hidden away in the corner) and led me on to buying the makeup remover from the last Bin Diaries. Anyway, as for the actual scrub, this was a perfectly pleasant scrub to use although nothing revolutionary. It wasn’t super scrubby, but the smell was beautiful, so there’s that. 

To buy (again) or not to buy? If I could shop in a Sephora (sob), I consider it and then probably buy the scented candle instead.

L’Oreal Lash Architect mascara // Rather like the Rimmel mascara from a previous Bin Diary, this was a pot luck Boots purchase. I remember this being all the rage in school, but that was (ahem) over 10 years ago so… I think it’s safe to say things have probably changed a little since then. This is no longer the holy grail it once was, and didn’t perform as well as my new favourite mascaras. I found this wasn’t the easiest to apply and transferred to under my eyes, so I was glad to chuck this out in favour of my new favourites.

To buy (again) or not to buy? Noooo. It's so 90s dahling (and not in a good way).

So now we're all caught up in Bin Land, you're free to enjoy your weekends. Have a good one!

-Rachel

Memebox Global #16: Unboxing and review

Good evening fellow Memeaddicts,

Today I received the latest Global Memebox to be shipped, namely no.16. Keep up! For those of you who are unaware, Memebox is a Korean non-subscription beauty box which ships out an unfathomable amount of boxes containing Korean beauty items all around the world. The boxes usually contain skincare, bodycare and makeup items but have been known to include items such as coffee and tampons in the past. Their box naming and theme system is fairly incomprehensible unless you're in the know, but basically you pick a box you like the sound of, sometimes you'll have spoilers to help you and sometimes you won't (I prefer the surprise anyway), pay your money, and your box arrives on your doorstep anywhere from 5 days to 5 months later (if you buy your box as part of a monthly bundle, like I did with this one). I realise that sounds like a fairly negative experience - it's not at all. In fact, I always look forward to my Memebox arrivals with huge excitement as the contents always, always bring me joy.

With that said, let's look at what my parcel of joy (a.k.a. Memebox Global #16) brought me...

Unni Recipe Vitamin Recharger Mist // Here we have what I suppose must be the Korean equivalent of the Caudalie Elixir? Anyway, this is designed to brighten your complexion and hydrate thirsty skin with the aid of various vitamins, hyaluronic acid, and no nasties like parabens spoiling the show for everyone. This is a very pleasant smelling mist delivered in a slightly violent spray which certainly wakes me up, regardless of whether it helps my skin. I think this would be fabulous on the desk at work for those 3pm slumps, but I personally will be taking this with me to Australia at Christmas to keep me cool in the heat. Perfect.

Delskin Delskin Centella 90 Power Ampoule // What an incomprehensible name! This is a very pretty ampoule which is supposed to sooth and repair sensitive skin and red patches. Well hello ampoule, where have you been all my life?! My winter skin is about to hit (I can feel it any moment) and that ain't pretty. So I will be slathering this all over my face starting now, in the hopes of staving it off for as long as possible. I'm thinking this is going to be like rosehip oil, only better.

RiRe Style Black Head Brush Cleanser // LOOK IT'S GOT A TEENY TINY BRUSH ON IT. In my head, this totally makes up for me not owning a Clarisonic or one of those fancy electronic face brushes. I can use my own arm power, girl. This cleanser is formulated with lots of black things, like black rice, black beans, and black sesame, to unclog those pesky blackheads. I wonder if they're thinking the black things will cancel each other out, like a double negative? We'll see...

RiRe Skinny Black Head Closing Serum // The brushy thing is to be followed by this oil control serum. Now, we all know Caroline Hirons' mantra - "pores are not doors" - eg, it is not possible to close your pores, they just exist there happily as part of your epidermis. So I'm not expecting this serum to be closing any of my pores, but I will give it a try on any oily patches and see if it manages to control the oil.

Hair+ Velvet Nutri-Injection // My hair has been extremely well pampered with Memeboxes of late. I'm always happy to see a treatment for dry hair and will add this to the pile of things to add to my hair whilst it's still damp.

MMizon Snail Recovery Gel Cream // 74% snail mucus... That's quite a lot of snail mucus. I hope no snails were harmed in the making of this gel cream. Anyway, This is for soothing and de-stressing whilst moisturising, nourishing and firming the skin. I have just started using a gel moisturiser and I absolutely love it, although I do think they're slightly better suited to hot weather. I think I'll be taking this cream away with me to Australia as well, as it's a good size for travel and will hopefully suit the conditions well.

Elizavecca Shrink Lifting R Pro // I'm a little put off by all the pictures of smug looking pigs across the packaging. Like, you ate worse than this smug pig and now you need to firm your calves? Ok. This basically contains a whole ton of stimulants (caffeine, caffeine, peppermint) and will 'shrink' your calves. I'm glad the instruction booklet includes the quotation marks as we all know the effects will be temporary, but this could be useful if you're suffering from some unusual water retention, for example after a long flight. 

Overall thoughts // This Memebox contained all full sized items, although I think some could potentially pass as travel size, and overall I'm very pleased with the box. There's a great range of skincare items in here plus some haircare, and one wildcard (I'm looking at you, smug piggies). I will definitely use, or try to use, all the products in this box but as they're skincare, it will take me a while to form a proper opinion on them. Keep an eye out for any which may appear in my favourites over the next few months.

Did you receive this Memebox? If not, would you have liked the items in it?

Happy Monday... The week gets better from here on out, folks.

-Rachel 

The Bin Diaries Part VIII: Products I'm Throwing Away

Dearest fellow nomads,

It's time once more to take a nosey into a stranger's bin. Who's with me??!

In this instalment, I've got haircare and skincare galore to trash review for you, so let's get cracking.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical // Let’s get the dry shampoo out of the way first, shall we? Here we have a classic Batiste entry into the Bin Diaries, in fact I'm pretty sure it’s No.1 on the Most Featured List. There’s a very good reason for that; this is a fantastic dry shampoo and I haven’t found anything that works better for such a good price.

To buy (again) or not to buy? Of course. It's Batiste!

Ryoe Jayang Yunmo Anti-hairloss Conditioner // Apologies for the ‘shower fresh’ bottle… Here we have a product from my first ever Memebox (ahh, the memories) which was an anti-hairloss conditioner. As I mentioned at the time, I have pretty thick hair so hair loss isn't something I'm overly worried about, however this was a delightful conditioner which made my hair very soft and smelled interesting. Personally I really liked the smell, but I think it’s an acquired taste.

To buy (again) or not to buy? If I could, I would.

Jo Hansford Intensive Masque // I've done a Mini Review Monday on this before and I enjoyed my second tube just as much as the first. This is a very good hair mask, although the scent began to grate after a while. That’s a minor gripe though, when the results are so good.

To buy (again) or not to buy? If I had the spare budget, I would. However I've found other good hair masks at a lower price point.

Essence Eye Makeup Remover Waterproof // I got this for a ridiculous price like €0.18 or something, after making a Sephora purchase in a Spanish department store and getting a money-off-your-next-purchase voucher. Obviously I used it straight away, and this was the closest thing I found to the till. This was a dual layered makeup remover and it actually worked very well. It was quite greasy so required a second cleanse, but it did remove even stubborn waterproof makeup so I was impressed for such a low price. 

To buy (again) or not to buy? If I could, I definitely would! I wonder if this is included in the range on sale at Wilko's?

Planet Spa Dead Sea Minerals Facial Mud Mask // When I was away on business trips I’d take this tube with me and give myself a hotel room facial if I ran out of things to do in the evenings. I actually really enjoyed them (this coincided with me finding some really trashy reality shows to watch on the hotel TV) and I ended up looking forward to my little business trip spas. This was a fairly good face mask, nothing spectacular but it did a decent job considering it was quite good value.

To buy (again) or not to buy? This was good, but I probably wouldn't. I've got such a backlog of masks to get through, plus I think Mask of Magnaminty from Lush works better than this.

Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum // My last visit to a French Pharmacy induced a sort of blog-fuelled Supermarket Sweep episode. I honestly don’t know what came over me, but I just started pulling things off shelves. This Caudalie bottle of goodness looked like the perfect product for me as I have dry skin, so into my basket it went. I've been using it since and whilst it’s been a pleasurable experience, I don’t think it has worked miracles on my skin.  

To buy (again) or not to buy? No, unless I become a rich person and/or move to France.

Ginvera Green Tea Exfoliating Marvel Gel // This came in a sample box a fair while ago (I think it was one of the Glamour ones via Latest in Beauty) and this one just wasn’t a winner for me – hence why it stuck around for so long. You’re supposed to rub this into your face, at which point it makes the dead skin on your face form little balls which you can then scrub off.  Personally, I thought this just balled up all on its own, with none of my dry skin along for the ride. I tried this over dry patches and spots alike, and it did nothing to help either. Bit of a fail there I think.

To buy (again) or not to buy? Nope.

That's it for this week's entry. May your bins ever be full.

-Rachel

October Favourites

Hi fellow nomads,

October – the month that gave us Winter, Autumn and Summer all in one (and in that order, as well). As I type, it’s a balmy 20 degrees outside and nobody knows what to do with themselves. There are some very confused people wandering around in their shorts and winter coats… As for me, as long as it’s warm, I don’t ask questions.

Anyway, you didn’t come here to hear me talk about the weather. So let’s get on with this months’ favourites…

A;t fox Moisturising Gel Creams in Gyoolpy Tea, Jasoyup Herb Tea and Black Tea // Can we just talk about the cupcake face creams for a minute? Ok. I've loved having these cute little containers on my bathroom shelf for the month of October, and what’s more, they’re actually quite good creams as well. Nominally, there’s a vitamin C one for lifting, one with whitening capsules to brighten, and one for lifting sad bags. Well, sign me up for all three. I wouldn't say the effects were miraculous, but they were decent and really that’s all I ask from for a face cream. These came in my My Cute Wishlist from Memebox, a triumph of a box all round.

Fat Face snood // This is the sister of the snood I featured in my May favourites. I went away to Jersey in October and managed to forget my scarf – total disaster. I’m never without my scarf. It just so happened that there was a Fat Face at the airport, and they just so happened to be having a sale. I was also going away with the friend who bought me the Fat Face Snood The Original, and she gave her blessing for me to buy another, as long as the first one didn't go unloved. Well, it hasn't – I have room in my heart for both of these beautiful scarves. This one is slightly more Autumn/Winter toned and is generally beautiful.

Dr.Jart+ V7 Eye Serum // Also from a past Memebox, I've been giving this eye serum a whirl. It’s pretty good I think. Again, no miracles as far as the under eye bags go, but this does as much to help them as it can. It’s thick yet easily absorbed, helps wake up my face, and provides a decent base for makeup too. It also does a great job of concealing the identity of my delightful niece who, at the age of three, isn't quite old enough to grant permission for use of her image.

Big Day Lite app // You may have heard I'm going to Australia soon (in 47 days, as it happens). This app has one purpose, and one purpose only – it counts down the days until I am in Australia. You can put up your own picture (plus/minus anonymous niece) and your own event name, and it counts down the days for you. If you have something which you’re so excited about that you simply must know how many days there are until it happens at the touch of a button, then this app is for you. If you want something with a bit of interaction, a game, or something fun, then move right along. There’s nothing for you here. 

Bourjois Blush in 34 Golden Rose // I've had this blush in my stash for a while and it’s one of those products that I fall back on time and time again. It’s definitely a failsafe product when everything else looks weird or too adventurous, and it’s such a bargain too at £7.99 full price, and it's often included in 3 for 2 offers, etc. It contains just a little bit of shimmer to brighten the face up and it’s perfect for glowy Autumn cheeks. The included brush is surprisingly decent as well.

Cargo Cosmetics Vintage Escape Eye Palette // I was inspired to hunt this down after seeing it feature heavily on Tati's YouTube channel, and then coincidentally endorsed on Instagram a few days later. I haven't been disappointed by this gorgeously Autumn themed palette - it's helping to get me in the mood for the season for a start, plus the shades are just gorgeous. It's a great all-rounder palette, with everything you need and a few unexpected twists. The shadows are great quality and last well, and I think it's a good sign that there's a few that are so pretty and multi-dimensional that they can be worn alone - for example, Cuddle (a shimmery pink) or Frolic (a shimmery deep taupe).

Minimalist jewellery // Feeling inspired from my minimalist jewellery post a couple of weeks ago, I picked up these beautiful earrings from & Other Stories. They were a total bargain at just £5, and I've been wearing them paired with my circle necklace which was a Christmas present. They’re the perfect pair for work and go with just about anything. Much minimalism love.

What have you enjoyed during October?

-Rachel