Showing posts with label Store review. Show all posts

Alphabeauty revealed and reviewed


I have been on a no-buy for ages now. There are a few reasons for that but the main one is that I just have a place full of products I need to try and there is no point in stocking up on more if I buy at a rate faster than I can use. I keep myself entertained (shopping wise) by buying stuff for other people (like Mother) and sometimes throwing in a cheap product to try or a few samples into their order. Also sometimes I need to restock on some items. I am always low on sunscreens, facial oils and the like.
Mother needed a sunscreen and I needed an emulsion so I thought this would be a great time to get a Japanese Cosmetics order going. While looking around the internet to see where I could find reasonably priced Japanese products that ship to Europe (surprisingly difficult I must say) I found Alphabeauty. I have know them for a while since they are an Ebay seller and have ordered from them before, but the thing is that their Ebay shop does not ship to Germany. Luckily they also have a separate online shop that does ship here. 
The shop is easy to browse through and has a good selection of products. They seem to stock most of the well known and popular Japanese cosmetics, so don't expect to find very unknown (in the Asian Beauty community outside of Japan) or hard to find items. 
The shipping is cheap too since it is only 4.50$ per order no matter how much you buy until it reaches 50$, then it is free.
The shopping process was hassle free, straightforward and easy. I emailed them a day later about my order and got an answer within 24 hours. The order was set to ship on Monday the 14th and a tracking number was provided for me per email.

It is a little hard to guess when the package actually arrived since there was so many holidays here and the post delayed my shipping notification. But I picked it up on the 4th of January which means it was there probably by the 30th, since internet told me that it was already there on the 2nd. I can only assume that shipping would go even faster if half of the time it took to get here wouldn't have been holidays. I am definitely happy with the shipping speed (especially considering that I have ordered some things before this that have still not arrived).
The package was inside an envelope instead of a box, which really doesn't bother me at all. 
After all, shipping is cheap and nothing got damaged. Everything is wrapped in bubble wrap instead of individually. The only thing that got a little broken was the Ceramide Gel outer packaging. 


The order came without samples which seems to be the norm when ordering from Hong Kong based shops. 

All in all I am quite happy with my order. The prices were not too heavily marked up, shipping is cheap and the package arrived in a timely manner. Considering how hard it is to get Japanese Cosmetics to Germany I am very happy to have discovered this shop.

I would absolutely purchase from them again and next time maybe even throw in some candy into the order!

Sorry for the bad quality. I only took pictures of it on my phone and completely forgot to take another one with my camera

Products I ordered:
Shiseido Hada Senka Q10 Water UV Essence Gel SPF 50 PA++++
Rosette All in 1 Aqua Ceramide Gel
Sana Nameraka Honpo Soy Isoflavone Wrinkle Care Emulsion
Isehan Kiss Me Heroine Long Curl Waterproof Mini Mascara

Which one should I review first?

Stylekorean revealed and reviewed



I have been really slacking with the store reviews lately and I apologise.
It is not that I haven't tried new stores or that I haven't purchased anything, but for some reason I keep forgetting to do so and then ages pass. Well, I decided that I will still review the stores regardless. 

Today I am talking about a newer store that as far as I know is run by the same people that Honestskin was. Only that their prices are often very low due to some pretty steep sales.
Prices are comparable to Roseroseshop levels (a store I still love to use) which is known for very low prices when it comes to Korean cosmetics.
I ordered from Stylekorean on the 26th of June during their opening sale and even though some prices were kind of average others were super cheap, which is why I bought from them in the first place. They shipped out the package the same day in the afternoon, which is super fast of course. Then things slowed down thanks to the Spanish postal system. By the first of July the package was already flying out of Incheon, not to be heard again until it arrived here on the 22nd of July.
I have honestly no idea what the heck they were doing with my stuff for 22 days. 
That shipping time is really not the norm, not even in Spain, but it can happen of course. 


The items were well packaged in a box and wrapped carefully.
To my surprise there was quite a large amount of samples included in the box. 
I even received a Laneige travel set! 
I am not aware that it was part of a promotion (maybe since it was an opening event) or a mistake. Either way I got it for free and that is great. I can not say how they deliver in the sample department in general since I have only ordered from them once, but I seem to be unlucky with samples so it's hard to judge. I have heard, for example, that people always get samples from Yesstyle. Yet I have not received a single one in the five orders I got from them. 
Regardless, Stylekoreans service was fast, and I have really no complaints at all.



Products I ordered:
Nature Republic Snail solution trial kit
The face shop Honey citron tea moisture hand cream
Innisfree Olive real essential oil Ex
Innisfree Olive green real skin
Tonymoly Nutra energy 100 hours cream
The saem Natural tox Pumpkin Mask Sheet
Nature Republic Real Nature Mask Sheet
Missha Brown Rice Powder Wash 

Samples I got:
5x Missha BB cream sample
Laneige perfect renew trial kit


I would absolutely order from them again. Especially during some of the amazing sales they have.
Have you ordered from Stylekorean and how was your experience?

Which product should I review first?

Jolse revealed and reviewed

Jolse haul and shop review

I haven't written a store review in a long time. Partly because I actually haven't purchased off of new stores and partly because the few I did purchase from I somehow forgot to review.
I hope that in the next few weeks I can at least write about two new stores for you all.
Today I will talk about Jolse. I have heard lots of good things about them for the past few years. 
I honestly don't know why I never got anything there but sometimes things just kind of happen.
Jolse is actually well known for sending a lot of samples with their orders, something I appreciate very much.
Even though I have seen plenty of pictures of all the samples they send out I never really believed it until a friend of mine kept showing me how much she got with her purchase.
I finally did order something with them when I needed two items that were indeed cheapest at Jolse and thought it might be a good opportunity to try their store out.

Jolse haul and shop review
Their page is easy to use and they offer free shipping with a tracking number for 2.50$.
I ordered two items in their shop on the 26.3 and they send it out on the 27.3, it arrived on the 10.4.
That is eleven working days and pretty fast I have to say.
I am also happy with the way the products were packaged. Neat and secure.
And of course there is the plus of all the samples!
From what I can tell they usually add oil blotting papers, a pore strip and a sheet mask in addition to loose samples.

Jolse haul and shop review samples
Very excited to try out Bbogeul Moisture Cream!
Everything went smoothly and without hassle. Prices are good, shipping is fast and samples are abundant. I think this is definitely a shop to consider and I will absolutely re purchase from them again!

My Dessert Box revealed and reviewed

http://us.memebox.com/47-my-dessert-box#.VHIoysmDnKc

I have had a few meh boxes recently and have been disappointed with Memeboxes curation as well. After these past few months of unexcitment from the Memeverse I was nervous to receive this box with the fear of having wasted my money once more.
When I got the box it was quite heavy which to me is always a good sign.
I did not squeal when I opened it like I have done before but I didn’t sigh and shut it immediately either.


The first product that caught my attention was the largest one in the box.
It is the Skin juice Ampoule which is quite gigantic to be honest.
Besides being the least fluffy of all the products contained I don’t really understand why it is in the box.
It doesn’t look cute or have anything to do with desserts.
I am not sure what the ingredients are but it gives the impression of being a solid ampoule, nothing spectacular but decent nonetheless.
It smells like those orange flavored vitamins which dissolve in water.
A smell that I personally don’t like but some of you might enjoy it.
It is watery in texture and absorbs fast.
I am not sure how I feel about it since I don't know what is in it or how it would perform on my face, but I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt and hope it is great!

I doubt that the bottle of ampoule would fit into this scenario...
The next thing I noticed was this little soap, I assume it is supposed to be cute but in my opinion it looks tacky and cheap.
I have seen some spectacular soaps around and this is not one of them.
I can understand the inclusion of it in the box since it is supposed to look like a Japanese pastry.
If the packaging wouldn’t be so cheap looking the whole soap would look much better.
It smells medicinal which is something that I didn’t expect.

The little yellow box caught my attention due to it’s tiny size and cute packaging.
It is a Pore stick by Shara Shara.


I am not sure what I am supposed to do with a pore stick yet, but both the box and the stick itself look very adorable.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t smell like delicious lemon tea, like the name makes us believe, but bathroom cleanser.
For you German peeps out there it smells like a mix of Scheuermilch and Gallseife.
I am still unsure if this stick is used to hide pores, remove/clean them out or remove/prevent sebum.
The text on the box is not in English and my goggling hasn’t really enlightened me much.
I might not know what it is for exactly but at least I understand why it was included in the box.

That explains everything!
The little pink box looked promising to me, unsure of what kind of ice cream wonders might be contained in it.
The blush looked a little less cute then the box but who knows maybe it is a really really good blush! I haven’t tested it yet but I hope to read some reviews on it before I do.
I actually  have too many blushes and haven’t used a pink one in about 3 years.
I am curious about the dome shape so maybe I will try it out anyway in the future.

Now onto my two favorites of the box!
I immediately recognized the It’s Skin Cookies and Cream pot.
I have been into It’s skin products for a few years, not really owning many of their products due to few reviews and little money.
I have been eying that cream for a while but since I prefer hand creams in tubes and the fact that I need to use up the ones I have at the moment first made me leave this one on my wishlist only.
To Johnnys happiness I received the Mint flavored one.
He really loves Mint choc chip flavored ice cream but never buys it since I am not a fan.

Johnnys dream come true!
The one time he did, it took him an entire month to finish the jar!
The cream has a very cute packaging box and jar, and there is ingredients in English huzaaahh!
When I opened it, I was shocked since it looked half empty.
Even Johnny commented on how much I used in 5 minutes!

Does not look freshly opened to me
I can only assume that It’s Skin decided, for some strange reason, to make a pot much larger than the contents :(
Otherwise I can not explain why it would come only filled half way since there was a seal sticker on the box.
It looks just like mint chocolate chip cream and smells like it too! The texture is creamy yet the cream is quite light and sinks in fast while still moisturizing. It has a cooling effect and the scent lingers for a few hours in a very subtle way that you can only smell if put it directly to your nose.
I really liked this so far and so did mint choc chip fanatic Johnny Clyde!

Even though this last product was my favorite off the bunch it was also the least desserty.
Yep, even less than an ampoule in a glass jar!
This Petite Prince themed gel cream has very pretty packaging. 
It is the kind that would speak to me and I might possibly try to purchase it for Johnny.
There is honestly no reason for it to be inside this box since neither the theme, the packaging nor the ingredients reflected anything dessert like.

Rose = dessert, clearly!
After a quick read of the (English!) ingredients I have determined that it has a surprisingly large amount of good ones and that this might be a nice quality gel.
It has a weird texture since it is almost like jello but melts into the skin immediately when rubbed in. Johnny really liked this even though he doesn’t like gels if they are too gelly.
He said it is really wet but in a nice way and I have to agree.
Besides the fact that I disagree with the choice of putting it into this box I am happy to have received it since Johnny is currently looking for a good moisturizer and he seems to have taken to this one already!



All in all this box was good in terms of content but questionable if you consider the type of products it is suppose to contain.
I was expecting a box filled with dessert themed items, and to be honest there is plenty in the Korean beauty market!
Even though this box was not a disappointment per se, it did not restore my faith in Memebox itself.



 Memebox is currently having a Black Friday sale with a lot of restocked boxes and some pretty good deals in their store.


$5 coupon code on $30 or more: P2BJ9H
AFFILIATE-3072-Z2LSR-ABPC $5 off on orders above $100
AFFILIATE-0243-5D7MP-OLHQ $10 off on orders above $150
Free shipping on orders above $70 from Memeshop: FREESHIPPING

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliated links and codes. That fact does not alter my review or opinion in any matter For more information read my Disclaimer page.

Koreadepart revealed and reviewed aka the Haul of Doom!

The never ending wait!
Ordering this parcel was such a ginormous ordeal!
My suspicion is that this package was cursed and I can't believe that it was even worse than my Testerkorea experience!
I have to say that it was not really Koreadeparts fault, well a little bit but mostly the post.
I ordered this package for the sole reason of getting some decently priced Chosungah 22 products. Included in this package were also two items that were supposed to be reviewed for Octobers Halloween extravaganza.
Needless to say, they never arrived in time.

Look at them! *gasp*
I ordered from Koreadepart before, it was December 2013 and the parcel was sent to Spain.
It arrived in a timely order and had a few samples as well.
Nothing special happened so I was completely fine ordering from them again.
I find the shipping cost a bit steep but since the other items were on sale and difficult to find I was Ok with it.
I ordered on the 19th of August and the package didn't arrive until the 29th of October.
Yep, you read that right!
It took 2 and a half plus a lot of worries and heart ache to get this order to my house.
Lets not forget the money of course, this turned out to be my most expensive order yet!

Probably the saddest episode in cartoon history!
It was shipped on the 21st and I thought everything was going well.
What a fool I was!
By the 29th I realized something was wrong.
I called the post office about a million times and every single person gave me a different answer.
All I knew was that my package was in customs and I was not getting the notification I needed to pick it up.
After calling for two weeks every other day, the package was of course sent back.
I wrote Koreadepart that the parcel was being sent back because of some postal issues and that I can not get my shipping money back since the sender would have to talk to the post to get the costs refunded, since I, as the receiver had no rights to the package yet.
They answered fast but told me that I can either pay for shipping again or get the money refunded, sans shipping cost of course.
After a bit of back and forth they agreed to give me a 50% discount for my shipping cost.
By that time I agreed like a fool being so tired of this drama and decided to go for EMS so I can get this over with fast.
 
Oh boy, was I wrong again!
I asked Koreadepart to write certain things on the customs form so it wouldn’t get stuck there again, I had suspicions that whatever they wrote on the form was the reason I was not getting my package. First they refused and then they agreed to write nothing at all and send it again.
I did not ask for that of course, since I know that like that it will get stuck in customs for sure.
By the time I received the email it was already too late and the parcel was sent.
After 3 days it got stuck in customs again!

https://www.tumblr.com/search/futurama dog

I called since after waiting a whole week I was still not receiving my pick up paper.
For another week I had issues with the postal service people telling me different stories each time I called.
Finally I talked to a lovely lady who actually helped me when I was all panicky since I was about to leave on a holiday.
I knew that if I wouldn’t get it before leaving, my package would be sent back again.
The day before I left I got the pick up number at 2 pm and had to rush to the customs office which is one and a half hours away from my house.
So instead of packing and dying my hair I had to spent 3 hours in a train, 2 hours in customs and had to pay money on top of it since apparently shipping money has to be taxed too.
Well you can imagine I was not happy!

This whole ordeal was very exhausting and draining to me.
I am broke and very introverted, so spending money for skincare already makes me feel guilty enough, but spending 40$ for shipping (more than the products themselves) is not something I can really justify.
Besides the fact that talking to people on the phone, complaining to companies and strangers is very hard for me.
It gives me anxiety and in the end I just pay or hang up even if I feel I am being treated wrongly.

http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/fajaraseoul/anxiety/sylvesterGif.gif

As the cherry on top, Koreadepart used my pseudonym instead of my real name, which very probably lead to the paper never reaching me.
To be honest, my apartment number was on the box and the post man could have just dropped it in anyways.
So I don’t really know whose fault it was. 
You can imagine that when the parcel arrived I was not very exited about the contents.

Yey :(
On top of that I received a wrongly advertised item.
I ordered Wonder milk and got Celeb milk.
At least Koreadepart handled this situation well!
They answered me very fast and offered me three solutions to this.
I chose to get the right item sent to me free of charge.
Lets hope it arrives!

Everything was well packaged

I have to say that besides everything being well packaged one of my product boxes got dented and a little dirty, which is no big deal, but as a Blogger I want my product boxes to be pristine!

On the bright side, I received a decent amount of samples, even though it is more or less the amount Koreadepart usually gives out.
I got a sheet mask, which a lot of people seem to get as samples regularly, but this was actually my first time.
The other sample sachets were nicely coordinate by pastel shades, possibly a coincidence, and one of them was by a high end brand.
I also received a deluxe sample, which I always appreciate.
Unfortunately, I was not very pumped about samples anymore, it would have taken a bunch of deluxe samples and other trinkets to make me feel like they did an effort to pay me back after this whole trouble.

I always like some color coordination!
I won’t be ordering from Koreadepart for now.
Not because it is a bad store but simply because I feel like if they or the post make a mistake they should treat their customers better until they are completely satisfied with the ordering process.
I have had other issues with online companies, be it their fault or someone elses, if they treat me with respect and try to make up for what happened I will not hold any bad feelings.
Things can go wrong and I understand that very well.
I ran an Etsy shop for years, and even if it might have been on a  smaller scale the principles are still the same.
If your customers aren’t happy they wont return.


Products I ordered:
Shara Shara Oz pumpkin hand cream
Chosungah Wondermilk
Chosungah Viva Pep Souffle Triple Kit
Skinfood Charcoal Gonyak Cleansing Puff
Etude House Silky Cotton Pad

Samples:
Etude House Baby Choux base in green
Etude House Nutrifull Shea Butter cream 2x
O Hui The First Cell Source
Beyond Aqua Bloom Moisture cream
The Face Shop Mango Seed Glow Date prep Butter
Lioele Sunscreen
AC Care Essence Mask in Red Solution
 
What was your most traumatizing online shopping experiences?

Halloween Memebox revealed and reviewed


Oh Halloween I love you so!
Together with Carnival you are my favorite holiday.
Dressing up is something I enjoy so much I can’t even wait for one of these days to come around and do it whenever I feel like it.
Otherwise all my weird clothes would just lay in a corner and slowly rot until I actually have a fitting event to wear them to.
Besides dressing up in all kinds of ghoulish and weird outfits, I have a variety of other obsessions. Cosmetics is one of them.
I love putting many potions on my face and occasionally using tools to make myself look more or less like me.
Possibly like a dead me, or the kind of me who fell straight out of a silent film.

Edwardian Swimsuit while casually hiking on a mountain in the Provence
When Memebox announced the release of a Halloween box I literally stopped breathing, ordered the Box and promptly resumed breathing again when I realized that I would not survive if I wouldn't start before the Box arrives in October.
It is now October and I have to say breathing is going well and I did not have to fight with the post office to get this box as per usual.
When I was handed the box by my postman I was quite scared.
Not the good kind of scared like when you watch a horror film but the kind of scared you are when you think you might have thrown your money out the window.
The box was light, too light to have anything in there, really.

It arrived in the small Memeboxe
I opened it slowly, half in disappointment and half in hopes something would come jumping at me. Tiny bats anyone?
Unfortunately, nothing jumped at me, instead I was greeted by some very strange looking liptoos. Yeah, Tattoos for the lips!


Next up were some trashy looking fake tattoos.
The ones I got are practically only suitable for 5 year old fans of Ed Hardy.
I saw that there were different types of styles handed out though.
Ladymoonlight got different kinds of crosses which I think I could have actually used.
The next thing I noticed was that I got a lot of products by the same brand, Revecen.
I don’t really know how I feel about this.
I think Memeboxes should offer a wider variety of brands to try unless you buy a specific brand box.
There was a pack of lashes in the box that look decent.
I haven’t used fake lashes for years and I don’t really know if they are any good but they come with glue and I definitely have use for them.


I was happy to see that they also included white face paint, just that same morning I searched for some in my local drugstore just to be appalled at the prices.
I am in need of white paint for this years Halloween costumes, so I proceeded to immediately try it out.
The white is very buildable, it can be applied sheer for a more pale and natural finish or used thickly for a very white face.

One layer to the left and three layers to the right
It didn’t break Johnny out even though he has somewhat sensitive skin.
It is not greasy but rather dry in texture and you definitely need to prep the skin really well before using it since it accentuates dry skin and flakes. I think this is a very decent multitasking face paint that is specially suited for those people who hate grease paint.
By the same brand there is also a black gel liner. It can be used as an eyeshadow when dry and a liner when wet.
The purple pot is another face paint which seems creamier than the white one and can be used in a lot of different ways as well.
It is a very pretty purple and I am already scheming on how to use it.
The best part of the box was definitely the lip tint!
This tint is described as looking like blood and that it does indeed.

So Bloody!
It is a liquid lipstick similar to Chanels.
It is a deep dark brown red, very rich in color with a touch of coagulation!
I used it straight away and I have to say that it is very lovely! The shade is gorgeous and feels very nice on the lips.
All in all most of the products are useful to create Halloween looks.
Nothing too weird or fancy but more everyday style looks that lean to the darker side.

The reason I was disappointed was because I was hoping for products like the Elizavecca Spider Cleansing foam or even any of the Witch's pouch products.
I was sad that none of the items in this box had interesting or spooky packaging or even funny names. There is so many fun and creepy items on the Memebox site that I believe this box could have been filled with a better variety of products.
It felt a little one sided and unimaginative to me.
At least I can use most of these items and even needed one of them.
I will soon review some of the products and I uploaded a tutorial using the face paint this week.

I present to you Johnny the Somnambulist!
If you are still in the Holiday mood, ( I certainly am!) Memebox still has some Pumpkin pie boxes in stock.
I like pumpkin in skin care a lot and I am very curious to what goodies they included this time.

My Cute Wishlist 2 revealed and reviewed


I was so sad when the Cute Wishlist 1 was sold out!
I am completely obsessed with cute packaging and products, and have been buying them as long as I can remember.
When Memebox announced that they will release more Cute styled boxes I was incredibly excited and when My Cute Wishlist 2 was released I bought it faster than I could blink!
The only problem was this, the box was sent out and I knew that many people would get this box faster than me and unbox it online.
There was no way I wanted to be spoiled for this just like I was with the Sweet Shop box.

Not this time!
So there was really only one thing to do, stop being online.
Which I did.
I haven’t been on social media for about 2 weeks now.
I regret nothing!
I almost avoided being spoiled until Memebox sent me an email asking me how I like my Sally's box lip patch.
Thanks Memebox for wondering if I like your products, but please wait at least two weeks for me to actually receive it!
The spoiler wasn't too bad though since I really wanted to try a Sally's box product and it was just one item anyway.

The small box made me nervous
When I opened the box I noticed the delicious smell of grapes slowly wafting towards me, that made me incredibly excited.
The second thing I noticed was a Sally's box pamphlet with a very pretty design and made me curious to which Sally's box item was included.
As you see I have a terrible memory and already forgot about the Memebox email.

So many pretties!
Next I noticed the Magic dessert cream cleanser.
I really wanted to try this product since I saw it in a previous unboxing on Unfade what Fades, so I am very excited that it was included.
It smells incredibly good and it was the reason why the box smelled of grapes.
I got the berry flavored one in my box which is great since Johnny loves berries.
When I showed it to him he completely freaked out and demanded to stick his finger into the jar immediately.
I don't really know why since I told him it is not edible.
After sending him off to wash his hands I let him touch the cream that was stuck to the lid.
He squealed when he did so, saying it feels very weird in a good way, just like mousse.
It is very creamy and light and smells very edible.
When mixed with water it becomes even more creamy, not really foamy but kind of.
It is quite difficult to describe.
When washed off, the skin felt very soft and hydrated and didn’t smell of berries at all.

My attention was quickly caught by an minimalistic sleek yet attractive little piggy.
I was very happy to see that the jar inside had the same design.
It is a collagen sleeping pack (huzzah for sleeping packs!) that has the strangest wiggliest texture.

So wiggly!
It smells just like Sprite and is very fun to use.
When applied, the product practically melts onto your skin and feels very moist and fresh.
It looks like it might have some major hydrating powers, which I can't wait to test.
The first ingredient is hydrolyzed collagen which I believe is supposed to be very hydrating.

After playing around with the piggy mask, I looked which blush shade I received in this box.
It wasn't the lavender shade unfortunately, since that exact one has been on my to buy list for over a year.
Maybe that is good though, since I already own 2 lavender blushes.
The packaging is super cute of course, but I don't know how the blusher performs since I haven't used it yet.


There is also a very pretty looking hand cream in this box.
It is in a tube which makes me quite happy since I really dislike hand creams in jars.
Besides being pretty it also feels good.
It is a standard light Korean type hand cream that is neither rich nor watery.
It doesn't leave a film on my hands which is very important to me.
The cream actually feels similar to the hand cream I received in my Oriental medicine box, which has been my hand cream of choice since.
I can't really figure out the smell yet, it smells like Lolita Lempicka and also latex gloves.
I smelled it four times when freshly applied and got both of the smells each time.
First I thought, ahh Lolita Lempicka, then latex gloves...
After four sniffs the smell was completely gone.
I will report back what the deal is with this mysterious cream but so far it hasn't been unpleasant in the least.
Even if it might sound so.

Lastly there was a very boring looking lip balm pot.


I was quite underwhelmed when I saw it in the box.
I mean the packaging isn't cute so why is it in here?
Well, when opened there was a cute swirl design with 2 different shades of green, since I received it in lime.
Following the theme of the other items this gloss smells incredibly good!
Like really really good!
When I opened it I couldn't stop sniffing the jar, and a lot of wonderful childhood feelings started rushing into my brains.
I can't really spot the smell, I guess a mix of the kind of lime candy that doesn't actually smell like lime and grape candy.
Either way, it is candy and it is delectable.

He was probably wearing this lip balm!
When I stuck my finger in the pot I was a taken aback by the texture, it was melty and smooth, the kind of soft you can't actually feel.
I put it on my lips and it felt incredibly nice.
It was very buttery but even better than actual butter (yes I  have put butter on my lips on one desperate balm free day).
The balm smells and feels amazing on the lips and gives a subtle and pretty hint of shine without any color.
This became my on the go lip balm immediately!
Johnny promptly kiss approved it as well, which can be very important if you are addicted to balms.

All in all I am very happy with this box.
I am even a little sad that I didn't buy the Cute Wishlist 3, but mostly happy since I have super fun products to play around with now.
Pretty and exciting with a touch of weird, that is how all my cosmetics should be and now I have a few more for my collection!

Sweetshop scentbox revealed and reviewed

To be honest I didn’t think this was going to be a good box when I bought it.
Why did I get it anyway?
I probably hated my gut that day and didn’t want to listen to it.
Well that is only partly true, I am a sucker for candy, baked goods and sweet smells, so I got sucked into the deep dark hole of Sweet Shop themed anything!
Also the box was really cheap, especially with the Memepoints I had laying around.

Instagram, unfortunately spoiled this box for me.
I really hate knowing what I get in a Memebox so I don’t read any Blog posts of unboxings if I have a particular box coming up.
Apparently Instagram is not a safe place though, and I foolishly didn’t notice.

memebox Sweetshop scentbox
My Memebox impersonating Batman
Not only was I less excited about this box because of the initial gut feeling, but also the unboxings of previous scent boxes, which were less than exciting and the Instagram spoil.
On top of that when I opened the box no whiff of delicious smellyness came floating towards me like the milk box and no explosion of cute and pastelly colors blinded my eyes.
I have to say I was disappointed!
 
memebox Sweetshop scentbox
Where is the explosion?
 So do I like this box or not?

Well, if you have ever gotten a Memebox you might know that there is this mysterious phenomenon called “unexciting-but-still-somehow-awesome-box”.
It is not a widely know or documented occurrence but it happens.
It basically means that you get a box which on the surface feels and looks underwhelming and boring but turns out to be better than expected.

memebox Sweetshop scentbox

In this case I had to try some of the products before noticing.

I don’t really have any body or hair products.
Ok I lie, I have tons of hair products!
Just not very good ones, so I am always looking for something that I can smear on my hair and be impressed.
Having waist length hair also means that I use a lot of products and am constantly running low on hair supplies.
The thing is, since I don’t know any great hair products, buying them is utterly unexciting and I can never be bothered.

My hair can never be too big or too long!
So this box contains one shampoo and a body scrub.
As described above, these are very boring products to me and nothing to get my heart pumping.
The first smelling test didn’t go well either since none of them smell like desserts to me.

Until I took a shower.

The shampoo was first, it smells like childhood!
This fake plastic berry scent that used to be popular in Venezuela when I was a kid but I haven’t really smelled for years, is quite pleasant to my nostrils.
Besides that, the shampoo cleans well, lathers like no other and is super light weight on my hair.
That sounds pretty good to me.

berry shampoo
Bubbles!
When I first smelled the body scrub I didn’t really know what to think about the smell.
It is sort of sweet but in a very perfumey way, and I don’t like strong smells at all.
In the shower it wasn’t strong though.
It is also a sugary scrub that isn’t too big and in my opinion has perfectly sized granules for a body scrub. It is also suspended in oily creaminess instead of soap which makes it feel like you are in a spa and hydrates your skin into a super soft surface.
That sounds pretty good to me as well!

After doing a "40 hours without skincare" experiment I decided to try one of the Choosy masks as part of getting my skin back to its regular shape.
Well it was an experience!
The mask did indeed smell like candy and was incredibly weird to use.
If you know me a little, you might already guess that weird equals good in my book!
Do they work?
Yes they do!
But I will review all of my Choosy lipmasks in detail.

choosy-lipmask

I have not played with the Hope Girl Balm tint yet but it does indeed smell sweet and fruity.
This concludes my little anecdotal stream of thought about the products I have tried from this box.

So all in all, even though I was quite reluctant to like this box, I enjoyed 90% of the products contained already.
They are all good quality and useful products I don’t own yet or need.

I guess it is just like getting really warm socks as a gift. You might not get excited in the moment but you will love them every second of wearing time during the winter!

Here are some coupon codes for you.
Yes I know I am an enabler, but what can I do? I love surprise cosmetic boxes!!!

Beauty Blogger meet up and Poland haul

When I asked Ladymoonlight from Unfade what Fades if she can recommend some Polish products to me, I found out that I was going to visit the same city where she lives.
Delighted we decided to meet up for some extensive beauty and make up shopping.
This is my first time meeting a fellow Beauty Blogger and it was lots of fun!

Enjoying delicious chilled Chocolate with raspberries
We had an absolutely delicious chocolate drink from a famous polish confectioner, E. Wedel (now curiously owned by Korean company Lotte) and took the opportunity to swap some of our Asian cosmetics with each other.
I got samples and full sized items all in a very pretty Memebox, which wasn’t that super bright shade of in your face pink that I love (kidding it is the worst to photograph!)
I can’t wait to try all of these goodies out!

Tried out the Anti-Trouble mist and almost poisoned Johnny Clyde with it on accident
We then proceeded to peruse Make-up and drug stores.
We found the gorgeous Revlon Parfumerie Nail polish in Pink Pineapple which I have been looking for since I read her review on Unfade what Fades.
Just like the name it smells gorgeously like pineapples.
I hope they come up with more shades since I actually quite like the polish only find the shade selection a little small.

Ladymoonlight took me to Inglot for the first time.
I heard that it is a make up candy land and indeed it is.
Of course I didn't take any photos since I was too busy being overwhelmed with all the stuff they had. It is kind of like a mixture of Mac and Make-up store so you can paint yourself the picture.
After trying to find a grey or lavender lipstick I stumbled upon the most gorgeous shade of red eyeliner.
I have been using Burgundy eye liners for years now but I always wanted to try red.
I must say it looked just like blood and I had to have it!

The most beautiful bloody red!
The rest of the things I got from both at Superpharm and Hebe.
Hebe is the best though!
I loved the way it looked, almost like a higher end cosmetics store (at least here in Europe) it had a lot of different European drugstore brands and also some Korean items!

My favorite Shower gel, already stocked up in France though
I was so happy to go there and shop for some Korean stuff in person.
They had Purederm, Lomilomi, I Want and another brand I forgot the name of (because it was so expensive, that’s why!).
Once again I forgot to take photographs, sometimes all that beauty is simply too much for me!
We must have lifted up and read the labels of every single Korean product we found in Hebe, just how I like it!
They have a wide variety of masks of all kind and for some reason about 10 different types of make up removing wipes.
I wanted to buy everything but with a lot of will power I only bought about half of the store.


All in all the day was super fun!
I loved being able to shop with someone else (and in person!) and talk about beauty things.
I really hope I can do something like this again, and meet Ladymoonlight another time as well.

Purchased:
Purederm Exfoliating Foot mask
Purederm Collagen eye zone mask
Purederm Spot reducer gel patches
I Want Stem cell by plants Travel set
Lomolomi Acerola Sheet mask
Delia Dairy Fun Bath salts in caramel apple
Eveline SOS Cherry Lip balm SPF 20
Tolpa Dermo Face Lipido eye cream
Pharmaceris Night Cream with Mandelic acid 5%
Pharmaceris Ultra Sensilium for sensitive skin
Pharmaceris Multi -Soothing cream for dry skin and rosacea
Green Pharmacy Soothing vanishing cream
Inglot eye liner gel in red
Revlon Parfumerie polish in Pink Pineapple

Is there anyhthing you would like me to review first?
Have you encountered wonderful skin care in unexpected places?

And now if you excuse me, I need to go rejoice in my pile of goodies!
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