Memebox Special #45 Chocolate Mania

A box chock-full of chocolate-scented products? Genius. So good, I want to eat everything inside. This is perfection for the chocolate lover. You're likely already familiar with Memebox - individually-priced and carefully themed Korean beauty boxes. The Memebox Special #45 Chocolate Mania retails for $23 USD + shipping, which is a ridiculously good deal considering that the total value of 8 full-size products in the box is $88. 

Zamian Super Gold Cacao Pack, Shara Shara Tempting Avocado Chocolate Massage Cream, Neogen Code9 Gold Cacao Cream, Missha Cacao & Cream Facial Scrub, Skinfood Cacao Hand BAlm, dearberry Miss Mona Lisa Eyebrow

Above is preview swatches of the products...by the looks of it, products range from dark chocolate to white chocolate...I'm going to gloss over my evaluation of the scent because EVERYTHING smells like chocolate and it's pretty great. Let's see what's inside: 

1. Zamian Super Gold Cacao Pack ($22) 

Pamper your skin with Super Gold Cacao Pack infused with a blend of 99.9% gold and cacao powders – a beauty formula widely loved by Kings and Queens for its highly effective skin smoothening, firming, and nourishing results. 

Looks like a dark shade of ... poop, quite unappetizing but it's the most chocolate-y smelling of the entire box. I have yet to experience the firming effects of this product, but a first impression use of this 10-20 minute mask product left my skin feeling smooth and nourished. 

2. Missha Cacao & Cream Facial Scrub ($12) 

A soft, cream-type facial scrub formulated with real cacao extracts to gently peel away any dead skin cells, blackheads, and whiteheads clogging up pores while maintaining skin’s moisture level well-balanced. Plus, who doesn’t want to try a scrub resembling cookie & cream!

Missha is a familiar sounding, trusty Asian brand! This looks exactly like melted Hershey's cookies and cream chocolate.  The cacao pieces aren't too large or rough but it but the entirely physical exfoliator removes dead skin with ease. I'll be adding this into my regular exfoliating rotation. 

3. Neogen Code9 Gold Cacao Cream ($30) 

An intensively moisturizing and nourishing facial butter cream specifically formulated to target those with super dry, sensitive skin suffering from severe dehydration and rough, cracking skin texture in the winter times. Its key ingredients – gold, cacao seed butter, mango seed butter, shea butter, and olive oil – are all naturally derived and thus gentle enough to be used by all skin types. 

A lighter scented chocolate product, the Neogen Code9 Gold Cacao Cream is most definitely on the moisturizing side of things. It's fairly lightweight, given that it's targeted towards those with drier skin. It sinks in quickly and leaves skin feeling soft. The one thing that bothers me to no end is that the gold ingredient in the cream translates to visible gold glitter. Which is my absolute favourite thing to have on  my face ... not. 

4. Shara Shara Tempting Avocado Chocolate Massage Cream ($11) 

Replenish and rejuvenate skin with richly nutritious blend of avocado oil, cacao extracts, and banana extracts. Shara Shara Tempting Avocado Chocolate Massage Cream will deeply nourish, firm up, and smooth out rough, sagging skin, bringing back a healthy glow to your complexion. 

At first, I thought this to be a body cream, but it's actually a wash-off face product. To use it, you apply the cream on your face and massage for 5 minutes. I find that self-massaging for 5 minutes is a bit tedious but the results are worth it, because who doesn't want supple skin. The moisturizing effect isn't optimal for my very oily skin, but this will come in handy in the deep of winter. 

5. Skinfood Cacao Hand Balm ($5) 

The Cocoa butter complex delivers deep moisture & nutrition care to dry, rough-textured hands. 

A brand that I'm mildly familiar with, this is probably the product is the box that I will get the most use out of. Cold winters call for high-performance hand creams, and I'm quite happy with this one. The texture is different from other hand cream/balm products I've tried. It's slightly bouncy and not as sticky as a hand cream which is nice because it absorbs quickly into the skin without leaving an oily residue. 

6. Binucook Cacao Choco Pie Soap ($6) 

Scented with a delicious chocolaty goodness, Binucook’s hand-made Cacao Choco Pie Soap looks and smells of real choco pie (a popular chocolate snack in Korea) and works to deep cleanse as well as maintain skin’s moisture/oil balance. 

This guy looks EXACTLY like a chocolate dessert. But beware, it's actually SOAP! No special feelings towards this particular soap, though it does smell delish! 

7. Purederm Choco Cacao Collagen Mask ($2) 

A facial pulp mask made from high concentrates of cacao and collagen extracts. It’s gentle on skin, delivers an instant moisture surge and works to improve skin elasticity for a healthier complexion overall. 

I used this moisturizing mask after exfoliating with the Missha Cacao & Cream mask. The Purederm Collagen Mask has a light choco scent. The sheet is quite thin and not overly wet or dripping with serum. The mask fit my face well, as there were slits on the sides to wrap around the edges of the face. The result were good but not particularly unique or spectacular - moisturized, non-sticky skin. It seems like Purederm is actually available at Walmart (in Canada). So realistically, this mask is quite accessible for me! 

8. dearberry Miss Mona Lisa Eyebrow 01 Choco Brownie

Frame, structure, and stylize eyebrows with this easy-to-use auto-pencil. It features a colored tip to trace the eyebrows and fill in sparse areas. The formula features a beautiful no-smudge finish, and long-lasting hold. The result? Perfectly groomed brows and completely enhanced eyes.  

Upon opening this eyebrow pencil, a half of the pencil broke off. I applied it to my brows as directed and the colour was way too warm (my hair is jet black) and washed it off immediately. I put it away for a few days and picked it up again to test the longevity. Unfortunately, the rest of the pencil fell out and all I'm left with now is a spoolie. 

I'm a tad overwhelmed by all the chocolate stuff. This is a delightfully scented box (nearly good enough to eat). Everything smells like cocoa butter and chocolate.  Most of the products were skincare (and I'm drowning in skincare) but nothing says relaxation like a luxuriously scented chocolate-scented scrub or mask. The box looks like it's sold out, but if you want to smell like a bar of chocolate, Memebox sells some of these products on their website. 

If you're interested in purchasing a Memebox, check out these codes valid until December 31, 2014 :) 

$5 off 30: OH3XZG

$5 off 3 boxes: MEMEBUNDLE3

$8 off 4 boxes: MEMEBUNDLE4

Free shipping on orders over $70: FREESHIPPING

20% off any USA SHOP order: GIVETHANKS

Do you like chocolate scents? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

MEMEBOX Superbox #38 Detox Care

By now, you probably know what MEMEBOX is... it's a Korean themed subscription box that varies in prices and sizes. For the month of October, I was sent the MEMEBOX Superbox #38 Detox Care ($29). 

The card in the box mentioned something about how "summer's rolling around" but it's 1 degree Celsius outside and I'm pretty sure it's more like "winter is coming". Regardless, detox beauty is  always on my mind. My pores are prone to storing lots of gunk, so a box full of products dedicated getting rid of breakouts and blemishes with skincare is a good fit. 

I haven't tried any of these products yet (*slaps self on hand*) but I'm trying to regulate my skincare routine so the purpose of this post is more to share what's inside. If there's something that's particularly noteworthy, it'll show up in a future favourites or empties post. 

Likke Detox Scalp Care Gel ($8) 

This all-natural hair product claims to scrub away dead skin cells for a healthy, clean scalp. It's to be used pre-shampoo on dry hair. My scalp gets kind of gross during the winter so this will come in handy quite soon. I'm sad that it's such a little "full-size" product. 

CNKCOS Special Day C Focus Essence ($20)

A powder in the cap is released into the liquid when you open it up. The entire bottle is meant to be used for 7 days straight and contains Vitamin C and 100% galactomyces for clear, supple skin. Again, I'm a little underwhelmed by the product sizing but if it does exactly what it says, perhaps I'm mistaken. 

Borntree Lemon Tea Tree Black Head Nose Pack ($3)

Yet another tiny product....I assume these will be like the Biore pore cleansing strips. My nose seems to be the nastiest place on my face, so I'm looking forward to trying this. 

Duft & Doft Lime Detox Nourishing Hand Cream ($12) 

Hand cream doesn't particularly excite me but it smells like limes. Yum. I feel like "detox" is just a marketing word. I don't get how a hand cream could possible have detoxifying qualities (and I don't think my hands need any detoxing). 

Vicioni Pore Minimizing Detox Essence ($29) 

I currently have 3 different pore minimizing products opened. This one in particular is very similar to the Philosophy Total Matteness Primer. It feels silky smooth on the skin and works in a similar pore-minimizing, oil-controlling manner. Plus, this single product makes up for the entire value of the box. 

 

Secret Key Lemon D-Toc Peeling Gel ($16) 

Last but not least is a peeling gel. The lemon scent is.. tantalizing. I LOVE LEMONS. Meant for enlarged pores and uneven and dull skin, I kind of sort of can't wait to try this out. Unfortunately, I tested it on my hand and it's not like a peel-off mask. Instead, your massage it around on your face until the product balls up and you wash it off. 

Overall, I really like the lemon/lime theme of the box. However, not all the products are actually detoxifying. Some are sure to be used (like the pore minimizer, hair treatment, and peeling gel) while others were kind of meh. This box is perfect for those who want more skincare. Get $5 off $30 with the code 5IKF0E. 

What do you think of this MEMEBOX? 

Press samples featured 

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

MEMEBOX Colorbox #3 Blue Unboxing and Review

Centre stage in the world of beauty boxes is the MEMEBOX - pink boxes full of carefully curated Korean beauty (makeup and skincare) products. I've kind of gotten tired of the subscription box thing but MEMEBOX is different. It's non-subscription and each box is themed, so if you're interested in the theme - you can purchase it! There's also a huge range of price points and a few options depending on what you're looking for

: 

the MEMEBOX ($15-$29) - 4-8 full-sized products and deluxe-sized samples

the SUPERBOX ($23-$89) - full-sized items only

the LUCKYBOX ($23) - a selection of popular products from past Memeboxes

I received the MEMEBOX Colorbox #3 ($15), a box focused on blue makeup products! 

Like any other subscription box, the Memebox comes with a description card. Each product is carefully described and there's retail prices (presumably American). The box totaled to a value of $3 + $30 +$10 + $10 = $53,  great value considering the box as a whole is only $15. 

Dearberry Today nail Lacquer #32 Twilight ($3)

This tiny bottle of polish yields a sparkly, deep blue. It's a pretty colour but a pain to bother wearing. It chips in less than a day and anything that isn't chip is a total pain to remove.

Ruahin Magic Lipstick in Blue ($30)

Does this not look like a total Dior dupe (minus the blue)? I've always wanted a blue lipstick but I was kind of sad that it wasn't actually blue. It's more of a purple-pink when applied. Regardless, it's a super cool product. The texture is more lip balm than lipstick and the colour stains the lips quite nicely too! 

L'Ocean Eye Shadow L-62 Dark Blue Pearl ($10)
Not sure when I'm ever going to wear this one, as the colour is quite... out there for everyday normal old me. It's neither buttery smooth nor chalky. The pigmentation is there, but I'm pretty sure this one will remain untouched in the eyeshadow collection. 

Tosowoong Gel Pencil Liner 08 Aqua Deep Blue ($10)

Pretty much your standard blue, sparkly liner. I think I have something very similar to this already. It's a bit hard and chunky but this paves the way for its miraculous staying power when fully set. 

Overall, two products that I'm pretty happy with and two I could do without. Trying out the Memebox was quite an interesting experience and I'd recommend checking out some of the other themed boxes if you're interested in testing out Korean beauty stuffs! 

Memebox ships to 45 countries including Austria, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA. So, with any luck, you'll be able to pick up a Memebox and try some Korean beauty products! 

OH and there's always promo codes like... $5 off on any order: X4DF4B 

Have you tried the MEMEBOX? 

Press samples featured

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram