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beauty beauty boxes

Unboxing: Get it Beauty Box by MeMeBox No. 8

23. April 2014
Here is the second Get it Beauty Box I ordered from MeMeBox. This time it is box No. 8. :)

What is MeMeBox? It is a monthly beauty box for mostly Korean makeup and skincare products. Unlike most beauty boxes it is not a monthly subscription box, instead you can order all boxes which are available and you want to order. They sell out quite fast, especially since they gained a lot of popularity in the blogger community. They stopped shipping internationally for some weeks, but know they are shipping to a lot of countries again, including Germany, which made me really happy :)
And here you can see what I received in my MeMeBox:
Flower Men Energy Factory Moist Boosting Sheet Mask- Hyaloronic Acid (25 g / US$ 4) – box contained fullsize product
This funny sheet mask comes in a fun packaging showing PSY’s face. You can use this as a real mask, too…for example if you want to give your friend’s a heart attack jumping out of nowhere while wearing this mask. I already tried it and it is a nicely moisturizing mask. Nothing exceptional, but nice if you love using sheet masks.
Hairich Vedacell Hair Program Shampoo (340 ml / US$ 23) – box contained product with 100 ml
This shampoo is free from sulfates, silicon and synthetic dyes and made with natural preservatives. I didn’t try this one yet, but I’m looking forward to do so, because I love testing new shampoos.
Tonymoly BCDation SPF 30 PA++ – Pink Beige (50 g / US$ 27) – box contained a 7 ml tube and a 1 ml pouch sample
I was really happy about this, because I saw it the other day online and I wanted to try it. This is a BB+CC foundation and could be thus a time saver for those using both CC creams and BB creams. I tried it already and a review will follow.
Heart Face Ultra Pore Care Sleeping Pack (100 ml / US$49) – box contained 20 ml jar
this Sleeping cream is supposed to moisturize your skin, minimize pores and control sebum production. I used it once and although I thought that it might be drying because of the pore care effect my skin felt smooth the next day. I will continue using it and write a detailed review on this.
 
Secret Key Snow White Cream (50 g / US$ 21) – box contained fullsize product
I wanted to try this cream for a year now and here it is. I’m so happy about it. this is a brightening cream, which is free from mineral oils, benzophenones, phenoxyethanbol and artificial pigments. It contains Niacinamide. I used it daily since I received it and I like it. There will be a review soon, too.
MAX Clinic Caviar Massage Oil Form Cleanser (110 g / US$ 73) – box contained fullsize product
So, just by chance my foam cleanser was empty and this one arrived to replace it. It is already integrated in my nightly routine. It is made from caviar oil and is supposed to clean your face from make-up and dirt.

I’m happy with this box. I use both the fullsize product daily and I’ve used the other products as well (except of the shampoo) and I’m absolutely happy. I ordered some more boxes and I cannot wait for them to arrive.

These regular boxes cost US$ 23 and US$ 6.99 for standard shipping but they offer a lot of different other boxes recently, so I would recommend you to definitively check out their web page: www.memebox.com/

What do you think about the box? Any product you like most?





 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Wish Formula Panda Eye Essence Mask

18. April 2014
I love using eye masks, when I feel my eyes are tired and I recognise puffiness around my eye area. The cooling sensation directly makes me feel relieved. Since there are a lot of those eye masks, I’m currently trying several different ones. That is how I stumbled upon Wish Formula Panda Eye Essence Mask from Wishtrend.

This eye mask comes in a black sachet with a cute panda bear on it smiling at you :D. The ingredients are written on the front directly, and in English, too. Each sachet contains two eye masks, one for each eye.
Here are the ingredients of the eye mask:
water, ascorbic acid, saccharomyces, Viscum Album (Mistletoe) Ferment extract, butylene glycol, saccharomyces/Imperata cylindrica Root ferment extract, sodium lactate, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract, black strap powder, arbutin, 1,2-Hexanediol, bacillus ferment, centella asiatica extract, aspergillus/Saccharomyces/Glycyrrhiza uralensis root extract ferment filtrate, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, xanthan gum, arginine, tocopherylacetate, backhousia citriodora leaf oil, adenosine, honey, phenoxyethanol
The ingredients are really nice and no harmful ingredients are contained. Yeast fermented extracts are one of the main ingredients. Also, it contains Vitamin C and vitamin E. You can check the ingredients on COSDNA >>here<<. On the back side of the sachet the instructions are written on Korean only, but the image of how to wear the eye mask are sufficient enough for using the mask.
This eye mask is supposed to hydrate the skin around your eyes and provide nourishment with different extract in order to prevent the skin from aging effects. As soon as you open the package you should use it right away, so that the vitamin C does not oxidise. The color of the essence is yellow. The eye mask sheets are not separated by an additional plastic foil but stick together. The sachet also contains a quite amount of leftover essence. I used the leftover essence by its own the days after using the mask itself.
The eye mask delivers a proper amount of moisture for the skin around the eye area. Also, it gives you a cooling sensation, especially if you keep it in the refrigerator before. After using it my eyes look less tired and puffy. Since the ingredients are really nice and the effects of both vitamin C and yeast fermented extract are known, I’m sure, that these eye masks will show some kind of longterm effect (see my review on OST Vitamin C serum if you are interested >>here<<). I really want to try more of these eye masks. You can get these masks from Wishtrend for 2.99 US$ each or in a box with 10 sachets for 18.99 US$. If you are not yet registered on Wishtrend you can use the promo code 17939205 or my invite link to receive a 5 US$ coupon before making your first purchase.

 

 
As you can see I’ve changed my rating system. I’m using a scale of 10 points for the categories design, application, ingredients, hygiene, effect and price. The average points build total rating. Hope you like this way better than it was before :)
 
 
 

 

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asian cosmetics beauty Born Pretty Store PR Sample review

Review: Lace Nail Art Water Decals Transfers Sticker ♥sponsored♥

16. April 2014
Here are the second  Nail Art Water Decal Transfer Sticker I’ve received from BornPretty. This time I’ll show you some lace pattern water decals. If you are interested in my previous post on the lotus flower decals click >>here<<.


Each set of the water decals comes with 20 stickers. This time the stickers are not as large as a typical nail would be, but smaller. If you have normal/short nails, You’ll only need one sticker per nail. If you have longer nails I think that you can use two of the lace stickers on each nail. But you’ll have to try it by yourself. I only used one sticker per nail.

I used a pink colored nail polish as base polish. This time the sticker were much less transparent than the lotus flower sticker I tried last time.
The application of the stickers was similar easy as the water decals I described before. You have to soak them in water first, then adjust them on your nail, remove the excess water, wait until it is dry, add clear nail polish on top, wait until it is dry, remove excess water decal by simply peeling it off. Again, the instruction on the back of the package says, that you should blow dry the water decals water application and also blow dry the top coat. I didn’t do this…actually, I only dried the nails after the application of the stickers with help of a tissue and continued with the top coat directly. The sticker itself lasts pretty long. This time the longwearability is dependent from the nail polish, because the sticker doesn’t cover all the nail, but only parts of it.
It is super cheap and there are so many different motifs to choose from. One sheet of the flower nail art water decals costs US$ 2.86. You can get it from BornPrettyStore (>>here<<  for the direct link) and they offer free international shipping! Now, the best part  is this: You can use the coupon code KBX31 for an extra 10 % discount!

 

I think these water decals are worth a try, they are cheap, long lasting and they have a lot of different styles available at BornPrettyStore. I will definitively check out some more.
 
Rating:
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.bornprettystore.com/, which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.
 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Too Cool For School McGirly Good Morning Rice Wash

9. April 2014
It really took me long to write up a review on Too Cool For School’s McGirly Good Morning Rice Wash. First of all, it took me ages to start using it after I bought it. Then I finally did use it, took some pictures, but since then it remained unnoticed in my folder with the unreviewed photos.

The Too Cool For School McGirly Good Morning Rice Wash came in three sachets, each of them containing 2 g of the rice wash powder. I don’t know if it is available in larger quantities than three. For using it you have to pour the powder into a bowl with clean, lukewarm water. Mix it a bit until it is dissolved and the water will turn milky. This does sound a bit complicated for an application in the morning and this was also the reason why it took me so long to review it :D
Honestly speaking, I was a bit underwhelmed by this powder wash. It is not a real cleanser, and I would not recommend to try to clean makeup with it. I think this is nice for people with sensitive skin. If you have cleaned your face in the evening thoroughly, you could go for this face wash in the morning. It is mild, smells nice and feels refreshing. But other than that it does not really work for me. It is too complicated to use in the morning. Also, I don’t think that this will brighten up your skin tone anyway. On the other hand, if you are a person having a lot of time in the morning you might enjoy this step and look at it as a kind of pre-toning your skin.
You can buy 3 sachets at testerkorea.com for 1500 Won (around 1.5 US$). It is not that expensive if you wanna give it a try. The shipping costs depend on weight.
Rating:
 
 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Holika Holika Love Fantasy Blush No.01

2. April 2014

// KBEAUTY / MAKE UP / AFFILIATe LINK //

I didn’t review any blushes for quite a while. Time to change this again :D Here is my review for Holika Holika Love Fantasy Blush No.01. This bush is available in 5 shades in total. By the way, I’m sorry for the lack of posts recently, but I’m working on my thesis at the moment. I’ll be done in about a week, so stay with me, I have some really nice upcoming reviews (^_^).

Somehow, I rarely buy any cosmetics from Holika Holika. Although they have quite a couple of things I would love to buy. This blush comes in a small metal jar. First of all, the packaging is beautiful and super girly. The tiny jar is so cute, you have to fall in love with it, when you are a fan of pink and ornamented items XD.

The jar is sealed with a sticker with the color of the blush written on it. This one is a pink blush.
When you open it, you’ll discover that a cute puff with an attached bow is included inside the blush.

The puff is super soft and feels smooth on the skin. The actual blush is separated by a clear plastic foil from the puff.

As you can see, the blush has a nice ornament imprinted on it. It consists of three colors. All of them are different pink shades.

Below you can see a swatch on my arm. As you can see it is not pigmented. I applied it with the included puff and with a brush, but there is not much difference. the color stays very subtle.

Apart from the lack of pigmentation (which could be a pro for those who want a soft blush effect), another downside for me is the metal jar. The lid doesn’t close properly anymore after the sealing sticker was removed. Normally I would say that it has the perfect size for travelling, but in this case, since the lid keeps opening, I wouldn’t dare to put it inside my bag…
You can get these blushes from Holika Holika here:
 
W2Beauty for US$ 15.39 (free shipping option. You’ll get a 5$ voucher upon registration with this link, which is usable for orders of minimum 30$)
 
 
Rating:
 
 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Recipe by Nature Spray Essence Water

25. March 2014
This product was featured in my MeMeBox No. 6, which I showed previously (click >>here<<). It is a Spray Water Essence from the brand Recipe by Nature. You don’t find a lot of information about this brand on the Internet and honestly I only could find the products sold on MeMeBox shop (English) and on the brands homepage www.recipecosmetics.com, which is in Korean only. Nevertheless, this was the first product out of the box that I tried because I really love the packaging design.
Recipe by Nature Spray Essence Water
As you can see the packaging design is very clean. The card box has a sketch of the spray bottle on it and the colors are yellow and white. The box only comes with Korean description unfortunately, except on the front part (click the image below to enlarge if you can read Korean and are interested) .
Recipe by Nature Spray Essence Water
On the homepage of Recipe by Nature I gave Google translate a try in order to translate the ingredients at least:
 
Water, Macadamia Seed Oil, PEG / PEG -17 / 6 copolymer, jojoba seed oil, meadowfoam seed oil, big sassi oil, bergamot fruit oil, olive oil, lemon peel oil, wanggyul peel oil, orange peel oil, Atlas Cedar bark oil, lavender oil, Scented geranium flower oil, lavender water, rosemary ipsu, kkotsu chamomile, peppermint leaves, flower oil, evening primrose oil, lime oil, basil oil, barley jissi oil, Brazil nut seed oil, sweet almond oil, orange oil, ylang ylang flower oil, sunflower seed oil, Laban Dean oil, horse chestnut extract, fennel fruit octagonal / seed oil, jasmine oil, rose flower oil, wormwood extract, galvanic num resin oil, Western cheukbaek leaf extract, argan tree kernel oil, orange flower oil, balsam peru oil, glycerin (palm extraction), castor oil, PEG-60 Hydro Painted jeniyi, Butylene Glycol, rengeul pentyl glycol, squalane, arginine, by Osaka Ride sword -1, glyceryl rilka Frill rate, tocopheryl acetate, resins, balsams kopayi bar, Carbomer, ethanol, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, acetic acid dehydro
It is a water spray containing additionally to water a bunch of different natural oils as you can see in the ingredient list. It is 8-free, which means that it doesn’t contain 8 unwanted ingredients like mineral oil, synthetic fragrances synthetic dye, triethanolamine or parabens. The front of the packaging also says, that it has a water phase of 91.6 %, containing celtic water and glacial water and 4 % natural origin skin conditioning agents. The other percentages must be from the PEGs and alcohol derivates. It contains all in all 6 kinds of Charabot’s natural essential oils and 12 kinds of natural ingredients (Charabot is a company providing essential oils for the perfumes) . If you go to the product page >>here<< you will find some illustrations on the ingredients. Since it also contains oil you need to shake it before use, you’ll see how the two layers will separate and form tiny droplets within the bottle.
Recipe by Nature Spray Essence Water
The actual spray bottle looks like the sketch on the packaging.
Recipe by Nature Spray Essence Water
The bottle is made of sturdy see-through plastic, so you can say how much is left in the bottle. The cap is transparent and protects the spraying nozzle. When you use it it provides your face/skin with a pleasant drizzle. The spaying plus the light citrus/herbal scent  makes it feel very refreshing while using. I used this as a toner as first step of my routine and it goes well with other products. It doesn’t make the skin look greasy at all and it is nicely moisturizing.
Recipe by Nature Spray Essence Water
All in all, this is a nice toner and mist. I will surely be sad when I used this up, especially since MeMeBox stops shipping internationally at the end of this month. also, I’d love to try other products from this brand, but I couldn’t find any other shop selling these.
You can buy the 140 ml bottle at www.memebox.com for US$ 9.00 (additional shipping costs will occur).
Rating:
 
 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Innisfree Color Glow Lipstick Romantic Autumn Rose

19. March 2014
A couple of days ago I received a beautiful parcel from Stella from http://www.stylebystella.net/ with a huge pile of goodies I received  because of winning her Valentine’s Giveaway. I was so happy about it, and I was even happier when I saw all the nice cosmetic brands she put together for this giveaway. One of the items was Innisfree’s Color Glow Lipstick in the shade “Romantic Autumn Rose” (No.3). In case you read my blog before, you may have stumbled across my review for Innisfree’s Color Glow Lipstick before. Back then I reviewed the shade “Plum Burgundy” (Click >>here<< for the review). I really do love this lipstick, and this is why I was really happy about especially this product within my winnings.

Apart from loving this lipstick even before, I was also happy that I received a pink shade, because I rarely buy pink products and it gives some more versatility to my lipstick collection :D The packaging is typically for Innisfree very clean and unspectacular, but I like it nevertheless.

The paper card box unfortunately doesn’t contain any English translation, only the symbols on one side of the box a re explained.


The lipstick contains 3.5 g. It has some kind of metal support around the lipstick, probably in order to prevent that it breaks off easily. 

 

The color of the lipstick bar is a pretty rose-pink shade and I think that the name “Romantic Autumn Rose” is a perfect choice for describing the shade. The lipstick glides smoothly and feels very creamy. It does leave a descent amount of pigmentation on my lips, although my lips are naturally darker than the color of the lipstick. I don’t need to use concealer for seeing a visible pink shade on my lips. That’s great!
 
 
 
Nevertheless, I discovered with this shade, that it tends to accentuate dry flakes on the lips. The burgundy shade didn’t leave that impression, probably because the shade is darker, but with this pink shade I have to exfoliate my lips before. Other than this I love this lipstick as much as I loved the burgundy shade. It has a natural color and it is suited for upcoming spring as well, although this lipstick range was designed for last years autumn. The staying power is similar to most lipsticks, so you’ll have to reapply as soon as you eat or drink. Here is a comparison between the two shades:
 
 
All in all I love the Innisfree Color Glow Line and I recommend it to everybody looking for a creamy and moisturizing lipstick. Nevertheless you should keep in mind that the staying power is not comparable to the staying power of lip tints for example. And that the brighter colors may accentuate dry parts of your lips.
 
You can buy this lipstick at:
 
W2Beauty for US$ 15.92 (free shipping option. You’ll get a 5$ voucher upon registration with this link, which is usable for orders of minimum 30$)
 
 
 
Rating:
 
 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Innisfree Moisture Firming Essence

16. March 2014
I’m still trying to decrease the amount of samples I’m hoarding and I fell I’m doing some progress XD Today’s post will be about Innisfree Moisture Firming Essence, based on a couple of samples I found from it ;)

The description on Innisfree’s global webpage says:
 
“A lifting-up essence that fills the skin with moisture and firmness for supple and plump skin.”
 
“It is enriched with Cactus and Green Complex from jeju island. Moisture firming helps improve moisture balance and firmness.”
You can find the ingredients >>here<< on COSDNA. Except of Cetearyl Alcohol, the ingredient list seems to be quite fine.
The design of the sample package is simple, as you expect from Innisfree to be. The full size comes in a bottle with a similar design. The essence has a gel like consistency and smells of flowers. The scent fades away quickly. If you apply it, it feels sticky on the face, but after a while the stickiness is gone. It absorbs into the skin after some minutes and leaves the skin with a moisturized and firm feeling.
This is a nice essence, the only downside is, that the firming effect it gives to the face at the beginning, fades away after a time. But all in all it is a solid product and gives some nice temporarily effects.
You can buy Innisfree Moisture firming Essence at:
 
 
Rating:
 
 
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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask

14. March 2014
Remember the last time when I reviewed Skinfood’s Black Sugar Wash-Off Scrub (click for the review >>here<<) ? I received a sample of Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask together with this purchase and I was really happy, because I’ve been really indecisive between the Strawberry and the pure Black Sugar Mask. Since I’ve been testing the Strawberry Masks now, I can tell you, that I super love it! ♥
The full size product comes in a jar like the Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask, but the packaging design of the sample sachet is not less beautiful. I really love the design this one has, the colors fit together nicely and it has the cutest strawberry illustration on it. Also, the sample sachet does contain enough product to use it at least 3 times, which is great for trying!
Although this is a sample and most of the Korean product samples have only Korean description written on them, this one comes with English and Korean description. Again a plus! Now, the major difference between this mask and the pure Black Sugar mask is the consistency. This one has a gel-like consistency and is not that solid as the Black Sugar Mask. Thus, it is more gentle to the skin for exfoliation.
The effect of the Strawberry Black Sugar Mask is the same in the end. It exfoliates the skin and leaves it refreshed and cleansed, without leaving a greasy film. The scent is divine (for those who love strawberry scented products) ♥ I can only say that I love this mask, it has a great scent, works well and leaves me all in all super happy! If you have sensitive skin and were worried about the Black Sugar Mask to be too harsh you should at least try this one!
You can buy a jar containing 100 g at:
W2Beauty for 12.00 US$
Amazon.com for 9.95 US$
 
 
Rating:
 
 
 

 

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Lost Identity Lip Crayon in Lost in Hawaii

12. March 2014
Another lip crayon I’ve tested in the last time. Actually, I wanted to review it looong time ago, but then I decided to review some skincare products first, because back then I was only reviewing lip products XD. This review will be about Too Cool For School’s Dinoplatz Lost Identity Lip Crayon No. 2 called “Lost in Hawaii”. 

As you can see, it has a very special product design. I absolutely love the creativity of the packaging. The crayon is packed inside a paper roll with super nice illustrations all over. And it continues inside the paper roll as well. ♥

The TCFS Dinoplatz Lost Identity Lip Crayons are available in three shades. A pink shade called “Lost in You”, an orange shade called “Lost in Hawaii” (This is what I bought) and a mint colored one called “Lost in Dinoplatz”, which is a color changing lip crayon. You can look up the ingredients and the promotional pictures on TCFS’s web page >>here<<.

The lip crayon has a transparent plastic cap and works by twist-up mechanism. This is the most convenient way for lip crayons in my opinion, because you don’t need an extra sharpener. The design of the crayon shows the same illustrations as the paper packaging.
When swatched on the hand, you’ll see, that the color of the crayon is not as pigmented as the crayon itself looks like. It gives a nice orange glow and has a smooth feeling, comparable to a lip balm. If you are looking for a highly pigmented crayon these crayons won’t satisfy your needs, but if you are looking for a natural hint of color these might suit you. Since my lips are quite “dark” the color doesn’t show on my lips like in the promotional pictures. It just gives a hint of orange, which is nice nevertheless. I couldn’t capture the color on my lips unfortunately, so I will only show you a swatch on my hand:
It really glides smoothly on the skin and you can see the shine it provides. This is a very pleasant light crayon in my eyes. It has a very light fruity-citrus scent, but I could only smell it, if holding the crayon directly under my nose. The pros for this crayon are definitively the design, packaging and the natural look it creates. I love to use it when I’m in a hurry and I just want a tiny bit of orange color on my lips :D But unfortunately it also comes with one downside: Since the color is brighter than most of our lips naturally are, it will show off any dry patches or flakes on your lips, so you have to exfoliate your lips regularly, or live with that fact.
You can buy this crayon at www.testerkorea.com for around US$ 11 (shipping depends on weight).
Rating:
Btw: Thank you all for participating in my First Bloganniversary Giveaway! Congratulations to June again! I send out your package today and I hope it arrives safe and soundly ♥ I also want to thank you all for your advices on how to improve my blog. I’ll try to consider each of your saying. Some I already incorporated ;D As soon as I finished writing my thesis I’ll have more time to improve my blog :) Thank you all! ♥
 
 
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