Part of the game with Memebox, the Korean beauty box company, is that everybody wants a great box and nobody wants to waste their money on a dud. On close inspection of my memepurchases so far, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best boxes are those focused around a fairly tight theme or ingredient.
However, to complicate matters, Memebox has been developing a reputation for second editions of their boxes being substantially less good than the first. Luckily Whole Grain 2 completely bucks the trend, making the game of How do I choose a good Memebox? ever harder to play.
You can read my review of the first Whole Grain box on a previous post – the short version is: it had a lot of nice whole grainy stuff in it, so I ordered the next one.
What’s surprising about Memebox Whole Grain 2 is how elegant it all is. Some classy numbers in here all right
This all-Korean beauty box contains 6 full sized items.
- Young Face Nuruk Natural Mask & Scrub (50g $5)
Nuruk is a type of kneaded flour used in fermentation and is apparently great for your skin, though also so active it needs to be kept in the fridge. You mix the powder with water, milk, honey or yogurt, apply the paste to your face, put a gauze mask over that, then add another layer and leave it for 20 minutes. Looks like such an interesting product but sounds like a faff to use so I doubt I’ll bother more than once unless it turns out to be spectacular. - Young Face Natural Aroma Soap (100g $12)
This soap smells so delicious. It’s like a citrus mix of lemon and spicy orange. And yet the soap itself is made of mung beans. Who knew they smelt so good? - Tosowoong Timeshift Emulsion (120ml $34)
You know you are far gone in the Memeworld when you clap your hands with glee and say Great! It’s got galactomyces! And snail filtrate too! Six months ago I would’ve backed away from this in horror. Now I’m thinking that if I bought those facial gauzes I could make a sheet mask out of this, so I’ve just done that. It was only £2.50 for 25 plain masks on eBay and I can use it with the Nuruk powder too. - echoice Wash Oatmeal Body Scrub (110g $5)
An oatmeal and walnut combined body wash and scrub. It may be a cheapie but I really like practical products like this. This and the soap have gone straight in my shower. - Seven DIAS Medi Anti-Blemish Serum (40ml $29)
Contains germinating soybean, mung bean, brown rice, barley and pomegranate. It’ll either cure your blemishes or give them wind. - Osho Whitening Cream (50ml $34)
Given that I’m pale as snow already, I don’t really need a whitening cream. But who could say no to that adorable shimmering orb? Not me, and certainly not The Ood.
Total box value $119 or £73 (WG1 had a box value of $80 so that’s quite some leap)
Box price $23 or £14 plus shipping
I had saved up points so I only paid $3.99! #result #fallsover
So sticking with the theory that the ingredients-based Memeboxes seem to be the best at the moment, right now I would recommend the Yogurt Beauty Box, Wine and Cheese Beauty Box (I bought that one, it sounds hilarious), or the TeaTree Beauty Box. This is a non-subscription beauty box so you can pick up as few or as many as you want. But don’t pay full price for them!
I bought this box with my own money.