I’m getting slightly too obsessed with beauty boxes. The first one I bought from A Beautiful World was great, but they haven’t released another one yet.
Then I heard about Memebox, a Korean beauty box currently gathering fans all around the world. Korean skincare has a fantastic reputation and even better – these get posted out from Meme’s headquarters in Gangnam. So if I use it I really will have Gangnam Style. On my face.
Previous Memeboxes have contained such strangeness as face cheese. Cheese for your face! Who knew that was a thing? See, this is why I find these boxes interesting.
Memebox is a non-subscription box, so you don’t have to sign up and only buy what you want, though you won’t know what’s in the box until it arrives. The company is releasing new boxes every week, with prices starting at $23/£14.
I ordered Memebox #7 which turned out to contain six products, plus an instruction leaflet to explain what it all does:
Mise en Scene Curl Essence (30 ml sample worth $2)
A leave in conditioner for dry hair, of which I have a head full.
Two BIO Medi-curing Masks (value $6)
These are coconut jelly masks you leave on your face for up to 40 minutes so that children can ridicule you. Also promises dramatic wrinkle reduction, ideal for those of us with dramatic wrinkles.
Dr G BIO-RTx Mentor Cream (20 ml sample worth $21)
I mainly like this because the pot has a big G on the top, and there is a drawing of (I assume) Dr G on the side. I think possibly Dr G has self esteem issues. And also a nice line in moisturiser for dry skin.
a:t fox Jasoyup Herb Tea Makeup Kit (full size product, $23)
This is incredibly cute – an intricately decorated tin containing three eye pencils, an eyeliner, a lip and cheek pencil, a nail file and twelve jewelled nail stickers. Yes, twelve – you know, for when you grow those extra fingers. Obviously I am going to put this ALL ON MY FACE AT ONCE, even the nail stickers.
Recipe by Nature Slowganic Cleanse (3 x 10g samples – value $12)
Could this be more face cheese? Actually, it’s more like face putty. These raw, organic cleansers look like little mozzarella balls; and who knows they may even be edible, such is their juicy freshness.
Catrin Natural 100 Mineral Sun Kill (full size product $38)
I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s an organic mineral powder sunscreen promising SPF 42. Comes with an integrated powder puff attached to the pot which you dip into the powder then smoosh all over your face, thus rendering you able and ready to shout SUN I KILL YOU! Assuming we ever get any sun.
So all in all this box contains a great mix of skincare, haircare and make up. There are no brands I’ve seen before, lots of interesting sounding stuff and cute packaging to contend with. Of course I’ve yet to use any of it so I can’t say how effective it all is.
But given that a beauty box is essentially a toy for grown women to play with, I don’t think that matters so much. The fun is in the exploring and the playing, and if half your face falls off in the process then so be it.
We know that none of this stuff is going to make us lose 10 years off our face or 10 pounds off our thighs, but that’s not really the point.
Fun stuff = increased happiness levels = YOU LOOK GREAT. That’s how it works.
Box value – $102 = £61.84
I paid: £17.38 (includes postage from Korea)
See, that’s more like it. If beauty boxes available in the UK offered value like that I would be placing a monthly order for sure.
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2015
The bad news is that from 10th February 2015 Memebox will no longer be shipping to Europe (or anywhere other than the USA, China and Korea), so if you want to order one of the boxes you’ve got to get in quick. I know they’ve had delivery problems because the first box I ordered got bounced back to Korea by UK customs. There are whispers that they may be resuming international deliveries in a few months but that may just be wishful thinking.