D'Ran Archive | Berries in the Snow

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Unboxing: Mishibox November 2015

2. December 2015

And here is another unboxing, but this time I’m super excited to introduce to you my first ever Mishibox! Yeeeii! I was eagerly waiting for the moment Mishi Box would start shipping to europe and finally I’m able to try them on my own! This monthly Korean beauty subscription box is packed with with a combination of 4 – 6 deluxe-sized samples and full-sized Korean beauty products from a wide range of Korean brands. Today I present you the content of the Mishibox November 2015:

MISHIBOX is a U.S.-based online retailer providing a wide selection of Korean beauty products. Apart from their online store they also offer a monthly Korean beauty subscription service that delivers a combination of 4-6 deluxe-sized samples and full-sized Korean beauty products. This way they are trying to help you to discover your favorite Korean beauty products. Their aim is to make Korean beauty products easily accessible to everyone regardless of where you live or what language you speak. Mishi (pronounced “me-she”) is their bunny mascot! When I first discovered about Mishibox I directly subscribed for their newsletter, because they planned to deliver worldwide one day. When I received their Email that finally Mishibox was shipping to Germany aswell I was sooo happy! And here it is finally, my first Mishibox:

The pink box was filled with 6 products in total, 2 of these being sample sized products, one mini-sized product and 3 products in full-size. Each box comes with a product description card, which is very detailed and even reminds us how we can distinguish between expiration and manufactured date and were we can find the list of translated ingredients. I really like the effort they put into the box by translating all the ingredients for example. You can even participate in a Mishibox Selfie Contest in order to win something! So lovely!

The theme of the Mishibox November 2015 was snail mucin. Two of the full-sized products are using snail mucin in their ingredients list. The variety of different brands in this box is nice, too: we have known brands like Etude House, Tonymoly and Secret Key, but also less known brands like D’Ran and White Cat. The product types are also versatile. Although all the products are skin care items you will find a cleanser, a sheet mask, a cream, a toner and emulsion, and an eye cream. It’s almost a complete skin care routine! Below I will go into the details of each of the products. Nevertheless, I will do a full review once I’ve used the products for some time.

The main product for me was the D’Ran Wonder Snail Treatment Cream. This nutrience-rich and highly moisturizing cream is perfect for upcoming winter days. Snail mucin is the key ingredient here and it contains 10% of it. Some other nice ingredients of this cream are Glycerin, Silkworm Cocoon Extract, Niacinamide, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Panthenol, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (jojoba) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Camellia Sinensis Callus Culture Extract and Human Oligopeptide-1 (also called EGF). The jar comes with 100g of content in a beautiful jar, too. It retails for 43 US$ which is super expensive, but it makes me even more happy to find this in a 20 US$ subscription box! I’m looking forward to use this cream, especially since I already tried a product from D’Ran before and was happy with it. Other than the one product from the past, this brand is hardly known to me.

The second item containing snail mucin is the Secret Key Snail + EGF Repairing Eye Cream. This eye cream is supposed to be very popular and it comes in a typical eye cream type. Snail secretion filtrate and EGF are the key ingredients here aswell, but it also contains some plant and fruit extracts and even some fermented plant extract. The tube contains 30 g and retails for 17 US$.

I was very happy to spot a sheet mask from the new brand White Cat. I just recently reviewed their eye balm and this is now the second product I can try from this brand. There were three types of this sheet mask which were selected randomly for each Mishibox in November. I received the White Cat Charcoal Pore Tightening Mask, which is directed towards pore care as the name already suggests. The masks from White Cat are free from paraben, mineral oil, benzophenone, petrolatum, imidazolidinyl, urea, talc, silphate and BHT. and I’m still loving their logo with the white cat :D The White Cat sheet masks retail for 3 US$.

The Tonymoly Fresh Cleansing Tissues in Mishibox November 2015 are provided in a miniature size. These water-type facial cleansing tissues contain baking powder for removing makeup and I’m not sure whether I like that or not, since baking powder is usually drying on my skin. But it also contains 5 natural oil ingredients to moisturize and nourish the skin. I will definitively try these, but I’m not sure whether I will like them or not. :D This small packaging of 15 tissues retails for 5 US$.

The last two items in Mishibox November 2015 were the two sample sized bottles from Etude House Age Defense line: there is a bottle of the Age Defense Essential Softener and a bottle of the Age Defense Essential Emulsion. I love these kinds of miniature bottles, especially for travelling! I didn’t try any products from Etude House’s Age Defense line yet, so I’m curious about these, too!

My first impression of Mishibox and their subscription box is very positive. Although all the products in their November box were skin care products there for items for almost all skin care routine steps. The themed ingredient snail mucin was included by two full-sized products containing snail mucin. The variety of brands was well balanced with known and unknown Korean cosmetic brands. The total value of 68 US$ for a subscription box sold at 19.95 US$ is awesome! If you are interested in Mishibox you can use my referral ID and get a discount code for $5 USD off your order (min. $30 USD) for your first purchase. At the moment their box subscription is closed due to high demand, but you can put your name on the waiting list. Mishibox also has a product store where you can buy a specific product, too. Until 4ths of December they are having Blackfriday sales with up to 30% off by using the coupon BFSALE2015. Did you try Mishibox already? How do you like their subscription box? Did you know any of the products I received?

Fell free to join my giveaway with Japan Candy Box, too! Did you see it already?

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.mishibox.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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beauty empties

Graveyard: November and December Empties 2014

14. January 2015

Here are the last empties I’ve got for you from 2014. I also changed the design of my product graveyard cover image. Hope you like it :D I’m still not sure if this will be final though. Now, have fun reading about my emtied products for the last two months (I didn’t keep sheet masks and other masks, and also no sample sachets…it would simply be too much…and also too messy ;)

1. Laneige Waterbank Essence: Repurchase? Yes, if I can afford it XD

A very nice and moisturizing essence. A pitty Laneige is quite expensive, otherwise I would have bought the fullsized product already. A review is upcoming.

2. Nivea Soft Milk: Repurchase? Yes.

I bought this a couple of times and since it is cheap and locally available I would always get another one when needed.

3. Etude House Lash Perm 3 Step Volumescara: Repurchase? Yes, but I still want to try various different asian mascaras first.

A volumizing and lengthening mascara. You can turn it and change the amount of mascara on the brush by rotating in three steps. See my review >>here<<.

4. Tunemakers Original Moisture Lotion? Repurchase? Yes, but I have a lot of new toners to test first.

This water based toner has a light acid pH and not many, but good ingredients, like hylanoronic acid, honey, ceramide and collagen. If you love products with few ingredients which are natural you should check out Tunemakers. Read my review >> here <<.

5. Anatomicals sud the lot of you get lost grime body cleanser: Repurchase? No.

Nothing special about this body cleanser to be honest. The scent wasn’t spectacular either.

6. Dita von Teese Rouge Shower Gel: Repurchase? Yes!

I told you already how much I love the Dita von Teese Rouge Body Lotion and Perfume and I do love the shower gel, too. The scent also lingers quite some time on your skin and is amazing! Love it ♥

7. Lush Sugar Scrub: Repurchase? Maybe.

This scrub was really nice, but I don’t like the packaging because it has no protection for the scrub. If you do not put it in another container it will melt away in the shower as soon as it gets wet. The scent was nice though and the grains did a good scrub on my body.

8. Shiseido Ibuki Softening Lotion: Repurchase? Yes, but it is too expensive…

I really like the scent of the Ibuki line and this softening toner really softens the skin. I did like using it, but it is too expensive to be rebought atm.

9. Donginbi Donginbidam Red Gingseng Aqua Oil & Red Ginseng Aqua Pack Essence: Repurchase? Yes and No.

This set was part of Memebox Oriental Medicine and from the two products I really liked the Aqua Oil better, which was a watery and ungreasy facial oil. The essence was okay, but nothing special. I think this is more on the expensive side which is why I would not repurchase it. Other than this it was an interesting line and brand. Review is upcoming.

10. Avène Cleansing Lotion: Repurchase? No.

This mild cleansing lotion unfortunately didn’t remove makeup as I expected. If you have gentle skin you will like it, and if you don’t wear makeup you will like it, too. Other than that it is not really useful.

11. Hairich Vedacell Hair Program Shampoo: Repurchase? No.

This herbal shampoo was part of Memebox Global No. 8 and it targets hair growth and vitality, similar to the Damoae Therapy Shampoo. I liked the effects from the Damoae shampoo better and my hair was softer after washing it. If I would go for a herbal shampoo, I would go for Damoae.

12. Declaré Anti- Irritation Serum: Repurchase? No.

I was not convinced by this serum, especially compared to asian serums I tried. It was too sticky, when applied alone! But the application with included pipette in the cap was nice and the scent was pleasant, too. And it did a great job in moisturizing the skin. Read my review >> here <<.

13. D’Ran wonder Serum: Repurchase? No.

This serum is packed with great ingredients used in traditional korean and chinese medicine. I liked using it and it had a nice and calming ginseng scent. Read my review >> here <<.

14. Etude House Aloe Moistful Soothing Gel: Repurchase? Yes, or maybe another aloe gel

The Etude House aloe soothing gel comes in a convenient pump packaging, which was the reason for me to buy it. It is soothing and refreshing for face and body and perfect for warm weather. I could imagine buying another Aloe gel for summer. Read my review >> here <<.

15. MAX Clinic Caviar Massage Oil Form Cleanser: Repurchase? No.

I had high hopes for this cleanser since it sounds very luxurious, just from the name. I didn’t like the citrus scent and it was not the best oil cleanser I encountered. Read my review >> here <<.

16. Missha Vita M BB Cream Moisture: Repurchase? Maybe.

A light BB cream with a glowy finish. I love Missha BB creams, but the Perfect Cover BB is still my favourite. Read my review >> here <<. Anyways, I could not repurchase it at the moment because I have too many BB creams :D

Which items did you try from these? Any favourites? Leave a comment if you like ♥

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: D’Ran Wonder Serum

3. December 2014

Remember when I received the MeMeBox Oriental Medicine? It contained some really great products, amongst these the D’Ran Wonder Serum I’m reviewing today. This serum contains 20 kinds of Korean medical herb extracts and is supposed to nourish and revitalize your skin.

D’Ran is a Korean brand affiliated with Kordeal Asset, a company for nature and bio beauty. D’Ran is the name of their cosmetics and skincare brand, which also produces the here presented Wonder Serum. There are different Wonder Serums available, targeting each a specific skin concern. The D’Ran Wonder Serum for Nourishing and Revitalizing is supposed to help the achievement of brilliant and elastic skin by offering norishment and various anti aging properties. The product comes in a milky glass container with a pump dispenser. The design of the serum is simple and not really special, but since the pump dispenser has a golden colored part it makes the product look very noble and mature.

The ingredients are written on the label in English, which is really great for a product focussing on Korean medicine:

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, PEG-32, Dipropylene Glycol, Niacinamide, C14-22 Alcohols, Phytosqualane, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Triethylhexanoin, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Arachidyl Glucoside, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearic Acid, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, PEG-100 Stearate, Dimethicone, Tromethamine, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Beta-Glucan, Royal Jelly Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract, Phaseolus Radiatus Seed Extract, Glycine Max (Soybean) Seed Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Hordeum Vulgare Seed Extract, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Tricholoma Matsutake Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Morus Alba Fruit Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Red Ginseng Extract, Astragalus Membranaceus Root Extract, Placental Protein, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Panthenol, Arbutin, Fragrance, Human Oligopeptide-1, Copper Tripeptide-1, Camellia Sinensis Callus Culture Extract, Methylparaben, Allantoin, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate

You’ll find an evaluation od these ingredients on COSDNA. The ingredients are mostly green flagged and the serum contains a lot of different plant extracts. Moreover, it contains hyaloronic acid for moisturizing, niacinamide for brightening, and snail secretation filtrate for its anti inflammatory properties. All of these are really great products which I love to use :)

The pump dispenser is protected by a plastic cap, too. Unfortunately, the dispensing part of the pump is very short, so you’ll always have to tilt the bottle, so that the serum doesn’t run down the container instead of on your hands or fingers. The serum itself has a clear color and a thicker consistency. It can be spreaded easily and smells of herbs, especially of Ginseng. It absorbs after little time and doesn’t make the skin look greasy. But it has a slight stickiness to itself. If you use other products afterwards it might dissapear though.

The bottle contains 30 ml and I almost emptied it during the last 4-5 months. I was using 1-2 pumps in the morning and evening. I didn’t see any super obvious changes, despite that my skin feels nourished and I really enjoy the relaxing herbal scent. It adds some moisture to my daily skincare, too. Moreover, I didn’t have any breakouts while using it, so I think it is a pretty descent product, which I was glad to be able to try. I’m really looking forward to the MeMeBox Empress Edition and I hope it will contain some similar and nice products like the ones from the MeMeBox Oriental Medicine. According to the product description from MeMeBox this product retails for around 30 US$, unfortunately, it is not available at their shop.

♥ PS: Check out my post on Beautiful AM Moisturizer and PM Vitalizer. There is a giveaway for you, too :) ♥

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Unboxing: MeMeBox Oriental Medicine

10. July 2014

I was so excited about the MeMeBox Oriental Medicine since the moment I ordered it! There is always a kind of fascination about products containing oriental herbs, because they work really great in a sometimes magical way. MeMeBox describes this box a “key to youth” which makes it even more promising. Here is what I received in my newest MeMeBox:

MeMeBox is a box service company, offering a wide amount of different beauty boxes. Unlike most western beauty boxes which have to be subscribed for on a monthly basis, MeMeBoxes can be preordered but that doesn’t force you to buy more than the desired box. They ship to many countries and the products they send in their boxes are mainly Korean. Apart from their monthly Global Boxes like the ones I reviewed previously (check out the links at the end of the post), they also have a huge amount of themed boxes, Mini Boxes, Boxes where you know what is inside, so called Superboxes with a higher value and so on…just check out their online store and you’ll find a huge selection of different boxes. Since they have become very popular within the blogger community they sell out pretty fast, but they bring up new beauty boxes so fast, that you cannot keep up with them anyways.

The MeMeBox Oriental Medicine is described the following way:

“A favorite beauty regimen among Queens in ancient Korea, oriental medicines were used to revitalize and balance exhausted skin, giving them a beautiful and enchanting glow. Designed to improve softness, luster and elasticity, the mystical properties of oriental medicinal extracts leaves skin looking healthy and youthful. Great for all skin types including sensitive skin, oriental medicinal extracts improve the skin’s functions of regeneration, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation and moisturization.”

Every box contains an overview card with the products and a description for the products. It is in English, which is great, especaially when the product packaging is only in Korean.

All in all we have 6 products: 2 of them are sheet masks, 3 are fullsized products and one is a deluxe sample kit. A great content for the tiny box as I must admit. :) Let’s see what each product is about:

1. Shib Jang Ceng Chun Ji Heang Hands Cream – 80 ml for US$17 (fullsized product)

This is a huge tube of hand cream with a nice scent. It feels nice and moisturizing on my first try and I will definitively use this up. It contains gingseng extract, shea butter and olive oil and is described as highly moisturizing. My first quick test was positive. :)

2. Purederm Korean Herb Mask – 19 ml*2 for US$2 (fullsized product)

4 different masks were available. I received the moisturizing mask called “Soo-an” and the brightening mask called “Myung-an”. The other masks were a refining mask and a hydrating masks, although I don’t know what the difference between the moisturizing and the hydrating mask will be. I didn’t try these yet (thanks to MeMeBox my decreased pile of sheet masks is growing again), but I really do like the packaging design. It looks very beautiful ♥

3. D’RAN Wonder Serum – 30 ml for US$30 (fullsized product)

I’m really looking forward to try this. It is said that it is made from 20 different Korean medical herbs like ginseng, black hoof mushrooms, licorice, portulaca and granoderma…It claims to give your face a deep nourishment and glowing complexion. Since I don’t have a serum in my skincare routine at the moment, I will add it. I hope it will make me look like a baby again, haha ;) In the direction it is written to use it before toner application. I would advice you to use it after toner, especially if you use a cotton pad for toner application. Otherwise you’ll wipe the serum off again.

4. Donginbi Donginbidam Red Gingseng Aqua Oil & Red Ginseng Aqua Pack Essence – 50 ml*2 for US$90/180 (deluxe sample with 5 ml*2)

Another product I’m really curious to try are these two. MeMeBox says that Donginbi is a super exclusive Korean department store brand. These contain red ginseng extract as main ingredient, which is known for it’s beauty-promoting properties. I will soon start trying these :)

5. Hanhui CC Cream – 50 ml for US$30 (fullsized product)

The last product is this beautiful CC cream containing ginseng extract, cactus extract and galactomyces fermented extracts. I will surely write a review on this one. I love trying new CC or BB creams.♥

In total I received a great box today. All the products are useful and interesting and the packaging of the products is beautiful, too. I cannot wait to try these on their efficiency :) Did anyone else order this box? How is your impression?

If you are curious about MeMeBox and their products, aswell as their enourmous selection of different beautyboxes check out their page >>here<<. MeMebox has also a couple of new promotions for July: 5 US$ COUPON CODE for my dear readers: 3JID6S (once per customer until end of July) There is another deal for everybody using my referral link: if you choose any of the boxes from this Referral-Only Deal page you’ll be rewarded with 3 MeMePoints worth three US$ each box. Another affiliate promotion I can share with you is, that you’ll get $5 OFF discount on any orders above $100 (shipping charges not included) using my affiliate link. This can be combined with the coupon code from above aswell! Other promotions: $5 off on entire order when purchasing over 3 Memeboxes: MEMEBUNDLE3 $8 off on entire order when purchasing over 4 Memeboxes: MEMEBUNDLE4 Free shipping on orders above $70 from Memeshop: FREESHIPPING

You can also read my previous unboxing posts:

MeMeBox Scentbox Bundle

MeMeBox 10 Minutes Box

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 11

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 10

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 8

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 6

Do you know MeMeBox already? Were you happy with the products so far? And if you have any requests for reviews of the received products, feel free to leave a comment :)

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