little white truths

I'm so glad I've stopped buying beauty products - I've had that many Memeboxes turn up in the last two weeks, I'm starting to feel overwhelmed again haha.

The problem with Memebox is that you order in advance - and often order a value set of two or more boxes so you only pay one lot of shipping - and then you wait a month or two for the boxes to arrive and, in that time, get excited by the new ones and decide you need to order a few more.

And then everything turns up all at once and ARGH! What have I done?!

Fortunately, I've only got one left to arrive. I think I managed to order ten boxes in the three months I was ordering these things - far too many in such a short space of time!

Still, I'm glad I ordered a global box in the bunch, since I've heard that those ones are a good place to start when it comes to Memeboxes - and in fact, this box was part of my first ever Memebox order, it's just that it didn't ship until a couple of weeks ago.

This box cost $23US, plus $6.99 shipping.

There's a nice mix of products, although I was expecting a more balanced box I think - it's heavy on skincare. But I'd rather that than a bunch of junkie glitter makeup, which I seem to have received far too much of from Memebox lately.

Before I look at each item in turn, here are my January Affiliate Codes:

Just click the Memebox banner to the right of this blog, or click here to enter the Memebox website and start shopping!

Note: as always I'll do an unboxing post first and give you my initial thoughts on the contents, then update this post once I've trialled all the products. I'll likely do stand-alone reviews of each item as well, so you can get a good idea of everything.

Note also that all prices quoted below are in USD.

Palan Crysence Home Care Pouch Set [Marin Shampoo 4ea + Power Treatment 4ea] (RRP $186 for 1000ml; received 80ml samples total)

Good lord, the full size of this is $186?! They'd better be good - but not too good because I don't want to fall in love with them haha.

These are deluxe samples of Palan's famous 'protein shampoo' and 'protein treatment', which are apparently praised by hair stylists and top actresses in Korea. This home care kit aims to not only nourish damaged hair but also to clarify and rejuvenate sensitive scalps. I should see a difference after one use. Ingredients include natural minerals, keratin and jojoba oil.

I must say, I'm excited about this little kit! My hair is in serious need of some TLC so hopefully these sachets will do the trick.

UPDATE: Unfortunately I was completely underwhelmed by this. I've gone through half the set now and honestly, there's not a lot going on. Maybe I was expecting too much considering the description on the card, and also the price tag.

I have dry hair and this set has done nothing for it - I've even had to add extra hair oil after use to get the knots out. On top of that, you have to leave the conditioner in for 10-15 mins, so it's a bit of a nightmare to use because that means getting in and out of the shower one more time than I'd want to, just for the sake of washing my hair. Hmph : (

Climax Water Pool Cleanser (RRP $34 for 150ml)

This is apparently a highly elastic, sticky textured cleanser that's enriched with soda water and over 22 naturally derived components. It aims to dissolve dirt, oil and makeup residues piled up on the surface. Double cleansing is recommended.

I don't have anything from this brand so I'm happy to see how it fares. Mind you, I've a bundle of cleansers from Memebox so I mightn't get to it for a while!

UPDATE: Happily, this product has ended up being a nice surprise and I really quite like it. I'll definitely do a full review at some point, but for now what I'll say is that it cleans well, feels nice on my skin and I'm enjoying using it. Plus it's gentle but still gets the job done.

I have to say, according to the product card it's meant to get thicker as you're massaging it in, and this hasn't happened for me (the consistency stays the same). Who knows why, but I don't care - it's a good cleanser and that's enough for me!

Dr MJ Real Mucin Restore Sunscreen SPF45 PA+++ (RRP $41 for 50g)

I know a lot of lasses wouldn't be particularly excited about the inclusion of sunscreen in a box, but I am! It's getting hotter and my stores are running low, so this saves a visit to Priceline.

According to the card, this one works to hydrate, protect and balance out skintone, smoothly coating a thin layer of nourishing snail secretion formula over your skin.

I'm going to pretend I don't know this has snail mucus in it and just enjoy the product ; )

UPDATE: This product is very much a sunscreen - it smells strongly of one, feels like one on your skin (and leaves a greasy residue), and it can leave you looking a bit whiter, so go easy on the application and give it a good rub so it absorbs.

None of those comments are criticisms, just comments. I love a good facial sunscreen and this is definitely one of those. I've been using it over powder foundation (which dries my skin out) to re-establish some balance and give me a more dewy, plumped look. It's rare that I've got a decent facial sunscreen to use, so I'm enjoying this while it lasts. Very happy with this inclusion.

Cheek Room Lip Palette (RRP $24)

You could have received this one or another quad, and I'm glad I got these colours. I'm so far not a massive fan of Cheek Room, however, after receiving a couple of dud products from the brand. Hopefully this one's better! When I open it, I'll do some proper swatches so you know what it looks like.

I do like myself a palette since I don't have many of them and they're good for travel, so I'm happy enough with this in theory. Fingers crossed Cheek Room can redeem itself!

UPDATE: A couple of swatches above and below for good measure. As you can see, the colours aren't pigmented at all and the plum is the only one that really shows up on my lips.

The bottom row is meant to include a 'shiny lipstick' in 'orange' and a 'lip balm' in 'lovely purple'. Essentially both are sheer glosses. The top row of 'colour lips' products are described as 'hot pink' and 'purple lady'. The pink is barely there (I need to use a lot of it to get any colour, and even then it's very sheer) and the plum is actually quite nice and a colour I'll use.

None of the products lasts well, but few products do (on my lips, anyway); and they smell and feel a bit cheap - like those occasional dodgy lipsticks I'd buy for a couple of bucks in a pharmacy when I was in my teens.

Having said this, the overall quality of this palette is actually better than I expected, considering my feelings towards Cheek Room products. I'm not saying it's great (it's not), but the little package is sturdy and doesn't feel cheap, and while the lip products themselves aren't wonderful, they're not the worst either. I'll probably chuck it in my travel kit and forget about it for now.

Shara Shara Pink Piggy Collagen Cream (RRP $22 for 50ml)

This is a skin firming and nourishing cream containing high concentrates of collagen to enhance skin elasticity and resilience. It has a naturally derived formula that's made up of collagen, hyaluronic acid and argan oil, and helps to moisturise, rejuvenate and treat fines lines and wrinkles.

I definitely need myself some of that. I don't like the products I've tried so far from Shara Shara, but they've all been makeup ones so hopefully the skincare is better.

UPDATE: Full review here. In short, I like this cream more than I thought I would.

It has a strange consistency - kind of like panna cotta - but it melts well enough into the skin and definitely has a plumping, hydrating effect. Generally I'm using it throughout the day over makeup (rather than eg as a day or night cream), purely because the wrinkle plumping effect is noticeable.

The packaging is beyond horrendous and they could have come up with a more appealing name, but if you can get over that (and its strange consistency), you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

I wouldn't go out and buy it - I've used similar creams that work just as well (if not better) - but I'm enjoying using it and reckon it's worth giving a go.

Shara Shara Bee Tox Spot Cream (RRP $18 for 15ml)

Now I'm definitely hoping that Shara Shara skincare is good (!). This is a spot cream for acne-prone skin. It's formulated with bee venom extracts to help control excessive sebum secretion and six kinds of herbal extracts to mitigate troubled spots and blemishes for achieving clearer, more well-balanced skin.

I have been getting some preggers blemishes so I might open this one sooner rather than later and see if it works.

UPDATE: I've been using this as a spot treatment for the occasional blemish, and I've noticed no impact. It may be that I need to use it for longer and on a daily basis (eg, on areas that usually get a few spots), rather than just picking it up as needed.

I'm not liking it that much to be honest - it has a weird smell and it's not something I'm enjoying putting on my face. I'd be interested to hear from others who've used it, to see what they think.

The other thing to be aware of with this product is that it expires in November this year (at least mine does), so if you're like me and have a lot of products sitting around waiting to be used, don't leave this one in the cupboard for too long.

Verdict

Five out of six full-sized products at a total RRP value of $153.88 (for a $23 outlay) isn't bad at all. This is quite a nice little box and I'm happy with it, which is good because I've had a couple of duds from Memebox recently.

There's also some stuff that I'll open sooner rather than later (the hair pack, sunscreen and acne treatment) so that's always a good thing because it means I don't have those things lying around in droves already ; )

Did anyone else get this box? If so, what did you think?