KOREAN MEME BEAUTY BOX- a review!

 I have been stalking my mailman for days... and today was the lucky day!  Just look what has arrived!
This is my MEMEBOX #4 and it is packed full of skin care, hair care and beauty products!!!  It is sold for $23 US +shipping which is super fast!

If you would like to skip past the product descriptions and learn more about how to order a MEME BOX for yourself scroll down to the bottom of the review.


CONTENTS:  there are 10 items (two of which are full size) in box #4 with an unbelievable value of  $103.65!!!

#1.  GOODAL Repair plus essential oils 

This is a fast absorbing, multi-use essential oil, that can be used on your face, hair and nails!  Since it requires only 1-2 drops each time this will last me a while!

sample size 15 ml value $7.20


#2.  LJH Dr's Care Vita propolis Ampoule

 This product intrigues me since it says that it is made with propolis harvested by bees!!!  You can use 2-3 drops directly or mix it in with your moisturizer or hydrating cream!

sample size 5 ml  value $8.67


#3.  Lanoa Natural Soap

This is the first full sized product in my box!  It is 100% natural soap with sulfer, shea butter, chamomile, and lavender!  I am really eager to try this one.  Oh, and the little box it was packaged in is going to be re-purposed for gift giving because it is adorable and smells great too!

product size is 100g     value is $12


#4  The Shampoo Plus-natural waterless shampoo

This is the second full sized product in my box!  It is a very convenient size for your purse or travel bag which is nice because it allows you to cleanse your hair anywhere without water!  It says that it protects against UV rays  and enhances hair follicles.

product size 50 ml    value is $5



#5.  Clio VF 21 Water BB SPF 35 PA

 I was hoping to get a BB cream and I did!  It says it is medium coverage and it fights against wrinkles!

product size 50ml  valued at $20


#6  IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning 3 day program

This is another one of the products I am super excited to try...and it is enough for a 3 day trial. (although it is a small bottle I think it might actually have enough for a little more than that)   It is an intensive skin enhancing program that is supposed to help clear and smooth your skin's texture over 3 days.   I like that they include the small cotton cloths to apply the solution with.

sample size 18ml     valued at $6.43


#7.  Laneige Snow Crystal Pure Lip Gloss.

 This is a gel based , high sheen lip gloss that is a rosy tint with micro glitter that is supposed to create the illusion of a full, juicy lip.     I really like the size of this as I normally find regular lip glosses too big.

product sample size 3g    valued at $12

#8 T.E.N Cremorlab Mineral Treatment Essence

This is a curious product for me and unlike anything else I have ever tried before.  It looks like water, and smells a little bit like a doctor's office or hospital.  You apply it to your face after you cleanse so I am guessing it will act as a toner.  ( I will have to get back to you on that)  It mentions that it can help minimize pores so I am super excited!

product size is 100ml  valued at $13.34

#9  Peripera Peri's Tint Mini Mandarin Juice tint gloss

When I opened the box this was the first thing that caught my eye!  The packaging is too stinkin' cute!  Oh my gosh!!!  The box is like a little purse, and inside the lip/cheek stain is in a small glass container with the same art work on the cap!  The description says it is an orange/red bite that lasts up to 5 hours.

sample size is 2.5 ml and value of  $2.69

#10.  Danahan Bon Yeon Jin Essence

I love beauty products and great value as much as the next person but can you tell how beautiful this box is from my photo!??  I will surely be taking this box and re-purposing it into jewellery or something else that is pretty!   SO...this item is an anti- wrinkle serum for your face and hands that is supposed  to enhance your skin's regeneration and elasticity.

sample size is 12ml and valued at $16.32

MEMEBOX

Memebox is a Korean based company that puts together collections of 6-8 beauty products featuring ones for skin care, hair care as well as some makeup items in affordable boxes.  It is worth noting though that my box came with an unheard of TEN products!   They are not a traditional subscription service like we are used to here in the United States because you don't actually subscribe to them.  When Memebox creates a new box it is given a number assignment (this review was done on box #4) and they put it up for sale on their website.  They are limited so once they are gone, they are sold out, and you can wait for the next one.  It used to be that there was a long time between them but with their growing popularity they have changed that are are now posting boxes that are pre-ordered   as much as a month in advance!!   You can check out their website at Memebox.com.

COST OF THE BOX:

Each box is $23 which is an incredible value  no matter how you look at it!  The company says you will receive 6-8 products but I got 10 in this box.  Although I'm happy that two were full sized I liked that got a wide variety of a bunch of different things that I normally wouldn't be able to try otherwise.    I coupon, shop sales and do samples and reviews of products all the time and this is still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to bang for your buck because for around $30 they sent out just over $103 worth of product!  Since the company is doing expedited shipping from Korea, they also charge "from $5.99~$7.99 and it varies by region and shipping to North American to Europe would be $6.99."     








If you would like to contact me to review your products please message me at Tanya@mail4me.com

***Please note that MEMEBOX did provide me with this complimentary box for review, but the opinions expressed are my own.***

My opinions (and defense) of foil packets in Subscription Boxes

I am waiting on my third Birch Box subscription to arrive, as well as my second Ipsy bag...and there is one thing I have noticed in watching all of the You Tube 'un boxing' videos and feedback on the respective sites---everyone hates samples that are sent out in foil packets....except me!!!  lol

Here is the most recent Birch Box I received. (November 2013)

People who received similar items in their boxes typically complained that ...

#1)  a 'beauty box' has no right sending out samples of tea (or in other boxes it was chocolate) EVEN THOUGH THE FOOD ITEMS ARE AN EXTRA ITEM AND ARE COMPLETELY FREE IN ADDITION TO THE ITEMS YOU WOULD NORMALLY RECEIVE! and

#2)   without trying the product, feeling how much is in the package or reading the measurement of contents,  looking at the retail value of the full sized item, or in simple terms giving the sample a fair chance they decide it is not a good value for an item in their bag based simply on it's packaging!?  Whatever happened to not judging a book by it's cover? 

Let's look at the "value" of the box.  So we are on the same page as to my meaning...the value is "An amount, as of goods, services, or money, considered to be a fair and suitable equivalent for something else; a fair price or return."  One way that I like to calculate the value of the sample is to take the MSRP of the full size of the sample product that is disclosed to us with our bag, and calculate how much the sample I received would cost.  For example, if the full size is 7 ounces and has an MSRP of $9.99 I know that my 1 ounce sample tube has a value of $1.43.  The same can be done with foil packets and in my opinion SHOULD be done because they do add value to the overall box.

On a little side note, when I am going through my subscription boxes/bags, I like to look at the overall cost of the item and divide it by the number of items in the box.  This months box had SIX items in it (including the tea) so my $10/month cost breaks down to roughly $1.67/item.  If you don't want to count the tea that is still $2/item....anyways,  I like to play a little game where I look at each item and ask myself if it is worth $1.67 to ME?  So far, on every item, the answer has been yes!  IN ADDITiON to that...Birchbox has an a-maz-ing points program that in my opinion is silly not to take advantage of!  Each box has 4-6 items in them.  Each item you receive is eligible for a review which is as simple as logging into your online account and giving feedback- most of which is simple check boxes!  For each review you do, you get 10 points. (or the equivalent of $1.00), for each person who you refer you get 50 points! (equivalent to $5) and finally when you do shop their store, each dollar you spend gets you one point!  Each of these doesn't sound like much on their own but think of it this way....I pay Birchbox $10/month....$5 a month to curate on average five items to send to me at $1/each....this covers their time, storage and shipping it to me.  In turn, they set $5 into my savings account to accumulate for several months-up to a year when I will select items of my choice from the store, and they will ship them to me for free!  ahhhhh it's a beautiful thing when you think of it that way isn't it?!!!   And that is just the straight up physical value- I could do a whole blog post about how they contribute to my life with respects to anticipation of the box, meeting new people on forums who share a liking for them as well, time spent watching other do unboxing, etc.  I simply count myself very lucky to be comfortable enough in my life to be able to afford such luxuries as 'beauty boxes.'  Anyways...where was I?

Let's take a closer look at the foil sample I received.   While I do this keep in mind all those who say that foil packets are 'stupid' and they would rather not get them, and those who when calculate their box go so far as to say "I do not give any value to foil packets."  (gasp)

This is a foil packet that actually contained three separate products...a cleanser, a serum and a moisturizing creme.  I LOVED that I got to sample three different products in the same line because I think they worked well together and I truly believe I got a much better idea of the skin care line than I would have got with just a single sample of one- even if in a larger size!

So here is the breakdown...
the full sized cleanser is $15.50/6 oz
the full sized serum is $29.95/2 oz
the full sized moisturizer is $29.95/2 oz

Each packet in the sample was 0.12oz. So if you calculate that out....
the cleanser was $0.31 worth of product
the serum AND the moisturizer were each $1.80 for a total sample value of $3.91!

So how did our foil packet rank in the actual box I received?  Let's take a look at the breakdown...
remember our sample trio was valued at $3.91
Full sized body wash is 8oz for $19.  Sample size 1 oz so a value of  $2.36
Full sized parfum is 3.4oz for $98.  Sample size was 0.06oz so a value of $1.73
Full sized Dr Jart is 1.7oz for $32.  Sample size was 0,17 so a value of $3.20
Full sized Chella pencil is $18 and we received a full size...so value of $18
although an free item I am including it in my overall value
full sized tea is 15 bags for $9.95.  Sample was 3 bags so value of $1.99

Are you surprized by these numbers at all? If I rank the items in order of value from high to low...
#1.) Chella pencil @ $18  (no surprise)
#2.) our foil packet trio @ $3.91
#3.) Dr. Jart @ $3.20
#4.) body wash @$2.36
#5.) our add on tea bags @ $1.99
and finally
#6.) parfum at $1.73 
So the box I paid only $10.00 to have shipped to my door, arrived with $31.19 worth of product inside PLUS I used the tissue paper in our birthday wrapping supplies saving me from having to buy a package at the dollar store ANNNNNND I re purposed the box and lid to act as dividers in a make up drawer to hold nail art tools and supplies saving me from walking over to Dollar General to buy a couple of those!!!  That is pretty freakin' awesome if you ask me!!!

So back to our humble foil packet sample.  How was it?  It was my favorite sample in two boxes I have received so far!  Yes you heard me correctly....fav-o-rite!  You see...I have been getting AND ENJOYING  foil samples from manufacturers for years and I've learned a couple things about them to maximize my experience.  First...I read the directions!  This sample packaging has been thrown out but I think they were to use a "dime sized" amount.  In any case, I was able to get THREE complete face washes out of this sample!!!  

I've drawn a diagram of how  I "used" these particular foil packets.  The green dotted lines represent the scored lines the manufacturer created.  I first cut off the long stripe along the top to be able to better access the samples.  They were still sealed at this point.  Then while keeping them together as a trio (because I didn't cut the bottom in any way) I pushed the product down to the bottom before I clipped a very small corner off the top of each one.  Once I dispensed the amount the manufacturer recommended I simply pinched the cut opening with my fingers, pushed the contents of that section back down towards the bottom, and then similar to how you would seal a zip lock baggie I used my fingers to "seal" the package back up.  The stickiness of the product inside is usually enough to hold it closed although sometimes a small clothes pin or clip might be necessary.


Here is my argument...when you only pay $10.00 for the whole box each month, you can't accurately NOT calculate $3.91 worth of it's value into the big picture....at least not the way I see it.  I have a tight budget and I certainly can not get away with dismissing any portion of it when it is over 33% of my total!  So why then are so many people upset with foil packet samples?  I haven't totally figured this out yet, but I am here to say that I welcome them, and while just like everyone else I do believe that more is more, I would rather have the higher valued samples sent out to me in a foil packet than to not have them at all.  
I do want to speculate a little bit here however...at the risk of offending some readers I think part of the issue is that we are over privileged and spoiled here in North America.  While we often cringe at the price tag of that bottle of shampoo when we checkout, is reading the label and only using the recommended amount really our priority in our morning shower? or are we more worried about finishing before the baby wakes up, or thinking about our presentation at work today, or what outfit we will wear when we get out?  We simply tip the bottle, pouring out a big blob and get to the task of washing our hair.  Of course I am being a little tongue and cheek here, but I have been guilty of this when measuring things around my home like...say.... laundry detergent!  Who knew that you didn't fill the cap to overflowing for each load!?  lol  Markers inside the cap with measurements for 1...2.....and 3 representing different sized loads and ALL of them are lower than the rim at the top of the lid?!  Well that's the best kept secret!  Let's face it...if we are getting a subscription box, we aren't exactly worried about IF we will have our next meal...or when.  So yes...I am going to claim if you are amongst those who are bitching and complaining endlessly about the foil samples in your box/bag then maybe you should do us all a favor and cancel it and get something that better suits your needs....or better yet, take a moment to calculate it's value, think of how fortunate you are to not "need" this sample, and begin making a donation bag of your own to compile these type of unwanted samples from your subscription boxes and donate them to someone who really would appreciate and see them for what they are worth!  Ask any battered woman in a shelter if she would enjoy this sample and I'm sure she would say yes.


So there you have my defense of the humble foil packet!  I am currently waiting on both an Ipsy and a Birchbox subscription and should I get any more of these reduced packaging/better for the environment samples I will be the first to give them the opportunity to show how great they are...and will continue to sing their praises!!!  Have I changed your mind?  Will you join me?

If you are interested in signing up for a Birchbox monthly subscription for only $10/month  please use my referral code
http://birch.ly/19Kh6mz

and for Ipsy, also only $10/month  please use http://www.ipsy.com/r/1n0o

Is a monthly subscritption box right for you? and a review of the four I currently subscribe to.

Up until a couple months ago I had NO idea just how many different types of monthly subscription boxes there are out there!  Seriously...if you can think of a hobby or interest, there is probably a business that is already catering to your needs!  Just last week when I was looking to see if there were other 'better' boxes than the ones I already subscribe to I came across a Face Book page called Monthly Subscription Boxes.  This page has a compiled list of ones to get you started simply by clicking on their 'about' section.

It is my opinion that the types of boxes that I subscribe to can benefit many people who can spare $10-25/month.  Keep in mind I can't really comment on those boxes that fall into the $200-$300 range because that is out of my price range. Oh let's be honest...I'm not even willing to give up $35 for a single subscription...yet.  :)

My first and original "box" is geared towards crafting and is the Simon Says Stamp monthly card making kit.  Up until a few months ago, I was of the opinion that craft subscription boxes were stupid and a real waste of money!  So why the change?  Well, I used to think that I could put together a much nicer box, for less, by using coupons and shopping my local craft stores.  This is partially true.  I can, but only to a point.  Once I began looking at the kits offered in the past I quickly noticed that some items were really cute and were completely exclusive to Simon Says Stamp.  Also, since they are such a large online retailer, they do carry all the latest and greatest stuff and by doing a monthly kit I was able to sample bits and pieces of it at a fraction of the cost of getting all the full sized packages myself.  I compared the cost of this kit and the amount of product you got with other similar services online, and decided this one was right for me.

Simon Says Stamp Card Monthly card kit  (over DIY or Others)
PROS
* you get a complete kit mailed to your door each month  for $25 (shipping is included)
* more often than not, you get a full sized, exclusive stamp set
* each kit come with a sample sheet of ideas to get you started as well you can also get the email with more ideas and even videos for free
* you save $5 off the normal price of the kit and you are guaranteed one before sell out
* the products are current and coordinate easily with each other (and sometimes other kits!)
*** this one is huge- there is no contract or minimum number of months to sign up for AND
*** you can opt out/skip a month for any reason without penalty!
CONS
* not a huge deal, but unlike some other services there is just one kit, there are no special add on's and if you want to purchase something from their regular online store it doesn't ship with the kit (to save on shipping)

The second box I get is BIRCHBOX.
I get the women's sample box, which is a mix of 4-5 beauty, healthcare, makeup, and some lifestyle items selected around a theme each month. These samples can be either luxury trial sizes- full sized items, and come from both well known and emerging brands.  What I like most about this subscription is that the items are loosely based on a beauty profile I filled out, and match my skin tone and preferences pretty closely!  I also love that I get to try things I normally wouldn't purchase.  Here is what my box looked liked for November 2013.

PROS
* very affordable at only $10.00/month and includes FREE shipping!
* each box is packaged like a gift and it really feels like a present when you are opening it!
* the box itself is sturdy enough to be reused, as well as the tissue (usually PINK!)
*  in addition to the box, there are plenty of face book and you tube videos with sneak peaks and talk of the products, how to use them as well as give aways
* in addition to the box there are also some extras like coupons offered to you
* my experience is that you get several full sized products/or luxury full sized items making the value of the box exceed what you paid for it!
* there is a great points system for referring friends, and rating products which you can use towards purchases
CONS
* it's a monthly subscription with no opting out, but you can quit your subscription at any time
* if you already have lots of makeup and beauty items this may get repetitive for you (I don't so I love it!)

If you would like to try this you can use my referral link
http://birch.ly/19Kh6mz



My third subscription is to IPSY
 Ipsy is also a monthly beauty and cosmetic type subscription and is often compared to Birchbox.  It too offers you 4-5 products each month, and has a theme that makes it a nice touch.  My experience so far is that Ipsy offers more higher end products which makes me feel like I am getting more bang for my buck while  Birchbox offers more affordable items.  Therefore I am more likely to actually purchase Birchbox's full sized items because they are more suited to my budget.

PROS
* another very affordable subscription at only $10/month which includes FREE shipping!
* each package comes in a metallic PINK bubble mailer!
* each month the samples come in a cute, reusable cosmetic bag!!
* in addition to the bag and contents there are often coupons included
* the items are usually larger than other companies (like birchbox) and have a higher value
* there is more cosmetic items in Ipsy
CONS
* You can not opt out of a month
* the waitlist can be long when you first sign up (2 1/2 months in my case)

If you would like to subscribe to Ipsy please feel free to use my referral code
http://www.ipsy.com/r/1n0o

The final subscription I get was a gift from Neil.  It is call Unmentionably Cheeky!  This is subscription for panties, and you get two pairs sent to you each month.   As they say on their website they are a "delighful delivery of fun, flirty, and feminine" panties each month and I agree completely!  The panties are made exclusively for them, and so far I have really enjoyed their selections and styles.  So often online shopping is difficult for plus sized girls, but this company is doing it right let me tell you!!!    I especially like that they are trendy enough that I can mix and match these with other lingerie items and camis that I  have already, and with two pairs arriving each month it is just enough to keep my supply of fancy, sexy underthings fresh and exciting!!  Here are the two pairs I received for the month of November.

PROS
* currently have a code FALL13 so it only costs $6 (and FREE shipping)
* comes in discreet, black packaging
* EXCLUSIVE trendy styles and colors each month
* the lace they use is soft and doesn't itch!!!
* the sizing is spot on!
* your partner will love this one too (wink wink)
* they do not charge extra for plus size!
* you can change the size you want at any time
* 100% garenteed!
* you can cancel any time
CONS
* I honestly can't think of any