| Memebox Review | The Iope Super Box

A few weeks ago the one and only Beauty Wolf blogged about a particular sale they were having at Memebox. For anyone who doesn't know, Memebox is an online Korean beauty-box store. I had never heard of them before but decided to purchase the Iope Super Box they had on sale. The Iope Super Box included 6 full sized products, and all for the price of $80 AUD. Most of these products are around $50-$70 each, so savings wise, that's math I can't do without a calculator. It's about $270 actually, but anyway, this is what I received:

Air Cushion XP SPF50 PA+++ No. 21 (refill included) - RRP $48

This is Iope best-selling product, packed with highly concentrated mineral water and beneficial nutrition such as Vitamin B5, E, and P, this air cushion works to cool and moisturise reddened, stimulated skin. It looks and feels like a very luxurious product, it smells heavenly, and I cannot wait to test this out.

Essential Moisture Relief Cream - RRP $87

A light-textured cream suitable for summer, this product soothes, moisturises, and tightens dried-up, worn-out skin. Scent and texture wise, this reminds me a lot of a the Laneige Sleeping Pack (which I will love until the end of time). So not a bad first impression on Iope's part.

Essential Skin Boosting Serum - RRP $84

This serum boosts hydration, preventing any possible dehydration after cleansing. It also works to maintain the right balance on your skin by strengthening the natural healing power and moisture lock-in capability.

Essential Tone & Wrinkle Care Eye Cream - RRP $86

Enriched with shea butter and jojoba oil, this eye cream will fill in fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes and create a protective layer to prevent further sagging and wrinkle formation.

Essential Facial Oil - RRP $90

This thick, yet quickly absorbing facial oil creates a thick, protective later over the skin for a softer, smoother skin texture. Organic argan oil and macadamia oil delivers deep nourishment and hydration to the skin. This reminds me a lot of the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery concentrate, it has the same heady lavender scent. Because I haven't experienced any severe break-outs yet, I think this is a far superior oil to Kiehls'.

Lip & Cheek 01 in Pink Rose - RRP $42

Last but not least, is the dual lip and cheek compact. The colour is quite strong, but it blends out beautifully. I love the packaging of this one, it feels so sleek! It also has a mirror inside!

Overall my experience with Memebox was really good. As much as I despise shipping costs I found the extra $5 very reasonable, and was pleasantly surprised when this box showed up at my door-step exactly two weeks from the purchase date. A lot of my parcels from South Korea can take between three to five weeks to arrive. Even though this wasn't a mystery box I would love to try one in the future. I used to be a Bella Box subscriber, and although I enjoyed receiving mystery boxes, I was never overly impressed with what I received. Memebox is completely different though. Instead of receiving a mix bag you can choose the box you want: hydration, collagen, whitening, body care, brow care…the list goes on. You can also purchase 'superboxes' that usually contain a whole lot of full sized products (like the Iope one) for a little bit more. So if you're a Korean skincare fanatic like me, and you're interested in trying out new products, definitely check out Memebox.com.

Bourjois Colour Boost Chubby Sticks Review

Okay, I really need to stop buying new lip products. My lipstick tray is overflowing, but I still can't seem to restrain myself when I see a good sale. I picked these two up at Priceline when they were having a $10 deal on all Bourjois lip products. Not being a huge fan of neon pinks and oranges, I went with the two darkest shades in the collection:  Red Island (05) and Plum Russian (06).

When I swatched these in store, the first thing I noticed was the colour; these guys are bursting with it. Bourjois were right to label them as colour 'boosting', they really do have quite a vibrant and radiant shine. I personally love the glossy finish as well, while it gives you the pigmentation of a lipstick, it still offers a certain amount of hydration. I found the '10h comfort and hydration' label very doubtful, and wasn't really surprised when it didn't even last a quarter of that time (I have very dry lips though). The gloss only lasts for a few hours on my lips before it needs a touch up, the tint remains for some time though, so sometimes I just apply lip balm on top. 

Even though they are about twice the size of a regular lipstick, I actually prefer carrying these around in my bag. Mainly because they're so much easier to find. They do take the effort of a lipstick though. I can't just whip these out of my purse and apply them without the guidance of a mirror, I'll end up with colour all over my face. It's easy to forget how pigmented these are because they melt into your lips like butter. Additionally, the formula is also waterproof and contains a sun protection factor of 15 which I think is great. Not enough lip products these days contain SPF in my opinion, and even our lips need protecting from the sun.

Iope Complete Care CC Cream Review

Iope Complete Care CC Cream in 02, Natural Beige

When I was in Melbourne I managed to pick up my first ever CC cream. I was after the Hera one initially, but after testing it out in store I found it way too moisturising for my liking, so I went with Iope instead, and I’m glad I did! Iope’s Complete Care CC Cream comes in two shades, clear beige (01) for fair pink toned skin, and natural beige (02) for fair ladies (like myself) with yellow tones. As with all CC creams I didn’t expect much coverage from this one (or any at all, really) but I was pleasantly surprised by the results. 

It evens out skin tone, reduces redness around my cheeks and the eczema around my nose and brightens tremendously. It’s not enough to cover dark circles and red spots however, and no amount of building will change that. I like that it doesn’t feel thick or heavy on the skin either, it feels like your skin. It’s also quite moisturising, but doesn’t make my skin look oily until the 3 hour mark, which is when the product starts to break down. So it’s not very long lasting, but a primer would definitely help it last longer. Plus, it has a sun protection factor of 35++. Can’t complain about that.

There is one major thing that really ticks me off about Iope (Laneige are also guilty of this!), they don’t list the full ingredients list on their packaging! For someone who may be allergic or sensitive to certain ingredients this is a huge problem. They do include a pamphlet that takes note of a couple of key ingredients, but how much and in what form?! Gah!

So aside from that, I am pretty impressed with this CC cream. I’m not sure whether I’ll try another one in the near future though. I did start at the top of the market with Iope, so I have a distinct feeling it will only be downhill from here, but if you have a favourite or any you would like to suggest let me know below!

Cure Natural Aqua Gel Review

I haven’t had much luck with exfoliators over the years, but there’s always one product I seem to go back to: Cure’s Natural Aqua Gel. This is a water based exfoliator that is gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin. This product is insanely popular in Japan; apparently one bottle is sold every 12 seconds over there! Crazy! Once you've tried it, you’ll understand why.

Ingredients: water, glycerin, acrylates crosspolymer, dicocodimonium chloride, steartimonium bromide, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, ginkgo biloba leaf powder, rosemary leaf extract, butylene glycol, c10-30 alkyl acrylate. 

As you can see from the ingredients list this product contains no artificial colouring, fragrances, alcohol or preservatives, and contains natural plant extracts from rosemary, ginko and aloe vera. Also, it doesn’t contain any irritants that may trigger or irritate sensitive and acne prone skin. The formula itself is just a clear, thick gel. No harsh beads, no fragrance, or colour. When it comes in contact with your skin it starts to turn to water, and once you start rubbing the product in these squishy grains start forming between your fingers. Hello, dead skin cells! 

This gel is really easy to use, no harsh rubbing or scrubbing is needed and it rinses off without a trace. As far as the appearance of pores and acne are concerned, don’t expect instant improvement. While my skin felt rough beforehand, it feels very smooth after I use this, and a lot brighter too. What I love about these exfoliating gels is that they don’t irritate my acne. Harsh scrubs tend to open up and irritate spots, making it harder for them to heal quickly. Gels allow the skin time to heal, as well as sloughing off the existing dead skin. When I substitute my harsher exfoliators for this twice a week, acne scars and spots seem to heal a lot faster and it doesn’t leave your skin feeling dry and taut.

There is one thing I find mildly annoying: the packaging. After a while the gel seems to harden and block the pump dispenser, so I end up having to unscrew the lid to get the product out, and I end up using up more of the product because of it.

Price of Cure Aqua Gel has skyrocketed since I first begun purchasing it from Yesstyle.com. Once upon a time I could buy it for $30 (sigh, those were the days…), now it retails at around $50 AUD. Luckily the internet is a vast and magical place and I've definitely seen it cheaper.