The latest Memebox scentboxes have all arrived, and with my crazy busy September I finally found time to sit down and review the only one I ordered – Memebox Scentbox #6 Sweet Shop. From the description, it sounded like this box would be filled with sweet-scented beauty products, and I was secretly hoping to see something in cupcake or French macaron packaging. Unfortunately, this box didn’t seem to have any of those,
HOW IT WORKS
Memebox Global is not a typical subscription service. They periodically release boxes filled with assorted beauty products popular among Koreans, and Limited Edition boxes are sold on first come first serve basis. Prices usually depend on the type of the box, but most of them are either $23 or $29 USD + $6.99 S&H. Memebox ships internationally, so if you are in Canada, Australia or anywhere in Europe, you can get your hands on one of these, too!
Click here to purchase.
COUPON CODES
!September Affiliate Code! Take $5 off your order using code ML2B. Expires 9/30/2014.
Take $5 off your purchase of 3 boxes or more using code MEMEBUNDLE3.
Take $8 off your purchase of 4 boxes or more using code MEMEBUNDLE4.
Get free shipping on orders above $70 from Memeshop using code FREESHIPPING.
Pure Smile Jewelry Scrub Glitter Sugar Scrub Diamond Ruby – So apparently this scrub contains real diamond powder, in addition to well-known skin caring ingredientslike shea butter, jojoba oil, black sugar, and glycerin. Memebox lists the value of this scrub at $8 [it’s funny because they’re selling it in Memeshop for $10], so I’m very skeptical about the whole diamond powder thing. I’m not sure how this scrub relates to the Sweet Shop theme, unless they are referring to brown sugar in the formula. The fragrance is probably best described as “perfumey”, it has that bittersweet chemical scent that is not pleasant nor unpleasant.
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| Pure Smile Jewelry Scrub Glitter Sugar Scrub Diamond Ruby |
As you might know, I recently started phasing out products with microbeads from my routine [including my fave Crest toothpaste], so I will have to take a closer look at the ingredients here. As long as brown sugar and “diamond” powder are the only exfoliators, I think I will be happy with this one. I know that physical exfoliation is not ideal, and it’s better to use gentle chemicals like glycolic and salicylic acids, even for the body, but that can get expensive fairly quickly. I’ll let you know if I find an affordable exfoliating body product that does not involve scrubbing.
Hello Everybody Vita Berry Shampoo – I tried sample sizes of this shampoo and conditioner before and actually really liked both. This brand is very popular in Korea and you can probably find lots of positive reviews from various bloggers and vloggers praising it for its fantastic gentle deep-cleansing formula.
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| Hello Everybody Vita Berry Shampoo |
In addition to thoroughly removing dirt and oils without totally stripping the hair of moisture, Vita Berry shampoo smells absolutely delicious! It contains 10 different berry extracts, but strawberry is the most prominent one. I don’t get the connection with Sweet Shop here either, because I don’t associate berries with bakery and desserts, but I’m glad to get this shampoo in full size.
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| Hope Girl Tinted Lip Balm 02 Love Peach |
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| …um.. thanks? Odd slogan for a makeup brand 🙂 |
This lip balm feels amazing on the lips, and really makes all the lines disappear; it’s not sticky at all, smells great, and moisturizes really well. I also noticed that it leaves a slight tint on the lips when rubbed off, and that pink-ish color is very flattering. Fun fact: Hope Girl is actually a brand with Christian background, and they put religious references on all of their product packaging.
Pure Smile Choosy Lip Pack Shining White Pearl & Pink Pearl – Hey, Memebox, we get it, you really love Pure Smile, but we want to see some other brands, okay? Not going to lie, I really do love these lip masks, because they aren’t just some wonky weird-looking things, and actually help improve the condition of my lips after just one use, and that effect is long-lasting.
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| Pure Smile Choosy Lip Pack Shining White Pearl & Pink Pearl |
Don’t get me wrong, I will surely use these two, but I think I’m ready to explore other brands already after months and months of Pure Smile overload. Speaking of Sweet Shop, at least these two are appropriate for the box, even though they are the cheapest products in it 🙂
THE VERDICT
Luckily, I only paid $6.99 for this box, after coupons and points, so I don’t feel that bad about it. I think if I paid the retail price, which is $15 + $6.99 S&H, I would have been a bit disappointed, because the only “Sweet Shop”-inspired products were two cheap lip masks. While I will enjoy all of the goodies in this box, my real complaint is that Memebox didn’t really follow the theme of the box, and I bet there were a lot of disappointed customers. Sounds like Tropical Fruits was really awesome, though, so at least those of you who bought the bundle, or just that box alone, were in for a pleasant surprise. Will I buy scentboxes again after this? I think I will, but I will go only for multibundles from now on.
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| Pure Smile Jewelry Scrub Glitter Sugar Scrub | $10.00 |
| Hello Everybody Vita Berry Shampoo | $14.99 |
| Hope Girl Tinted Lip Balm | $11.99 |
| Pure Smile Choosy Lip Pack x2 | $3.00 |
| Box Retail Value | $39.98 |
I was disappointed in this box too. The scrub and the shampoo are boring! My favorite item was the hope girl as well, and I totally didn’t see the weird packaging lol!
Yeah, kind of a bummer 🙁 I mean, the products are nice and all, and will be used, but the reason we bought that box is because we wanted things inspired by cute bakeries and cupcakes.
I actually found out about Hope Girl being a religion-inspired company only a couple weeks ago, and was pretty surprised, too. I even heard they were asked to change their packaging in Malaysia, because it’s an Islamic country and they also have some rules for religious propaganda or something like that.
I’ve heard so much about the Memebox! Now I know what it is. Haha. I used to subscribe to a service like this, too, but unsubbed a few months ago because I have way too many samples in my drawer! They are overflowing. I can’t use them fast enough. LOL.
Hi Jaa! This particular box is not a very good representation of a Memebox, because scentboxes are usually much cheaper and contain very few products. Normally the boxes are chock-full of amazingness 🙂