There was a bit of online controversy over this box, since the promo image and description implied that the products would be coffee based, but the actual curation took a more broad view of “cafe” and included products like tea, sweets, and other things you’d buy at a coffee shop. Caffeine is great for waking up tired skin as well as tired minds, so I was actually a little disappointed to not receive a ton of coffee-based products. But when I opened the box and looked at what I got, I liked all the products so much I was glad I’d purchased it.

I forgot to take a picture of the products together, because my head is still about to explode of sinusitus.

Memebox is a Korean Beauty mystery box. They generally release new boxes each week; some are themed and others miscellaneous products. All items are Korean, usually lesser-known brands. Boxes range in price (starting usually at $23 USD) and standard shipping (which takes a couple of weeks) is $6.99 USD per box ordered (so if you order two boxes, it’s $13.98 for shipping). Boxes are usually pre-ordered to be shipped at a later date, although they do have some ready to ship now.

Memebox products come packaged in a sturdy pink cardboard box with crumpled tissue paper for padding. The box then comes in either a pink bubblewrap mailer or a shipping box if multiple boxes are shipping at once. The products are usually arranged neatly and are often sealed by the manufacturer.

Vella Fresh Creamy Soap (100mL)
“This whip cream-textured cleanser is enriched with a deeply hydrating and soothing formula: donkey milk, 3 kinds of honey complex, and 4 kinds of floral extracts. Its highly concentrated and minutely fine creamy bubbles thoroughly cleanse away all skin impurities and excess sebum while making sure to soothe, protect, and moisturize the skin so that its pH balance isn’t broken during cleansing.”

I don’t have acid testing strips to determine the pH of this product, so I’ll have to take the description on faith that it’s optimized for my skin. It’s a really rich foaming cleanser that feels super-moisturizing. Donkey milk is supposed to be richer and more beneficial than cow or even goat milk, and it seems to be the next cool thing in Asian skin care. I’ve seen several donkey milk or camel milk products recently, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they start making their way over to Western products in the next few years.

Tonymoly Latte Art Cappuccino Cream-In Scrub (95g)
“Enriched with milk protein, caffeine, coffee extracts, and acetyl hexapeptide-8, this massaging-type facial scrub works to effectively remove all skin impurities, deliver nutrition, and firm up the elasticity all in one. This product is especially recommended for rough, darkened skin conditions suffering from dryness and white flakes.”

Mmmmm, this scrub smells like a cappuccino. Acetyl hexapeptide-8 is a compound that claims to relax facial muscles, which would diminish the look of fine lines. I just can’t believe that anything applied topically in a cosmetic can really have that much of an effect on muscle relaxation; even topically-applied Botox doesn’t do too much. But while it won’t slacken my facial muscles or do much for my deepening frown lines, it’s a nice, thick, gel-textured gentle exfoliant scrub. It turns white as it emulsifies as a sign that it’s time to wash it off. And how cute is that packaging? It’s going to be one of those packages I save and decant other creams into because I love it so much.

Holika Holika Dessert Time Lip Balm
Fruit scented and sheer, this lip balm is selected randomly from a choice of three colors/flavors.

I got the Plum Pink cupcake, which is a darker sheer pink with a cherry scent (shouldn’t it be Cherry Pink then?). I’m not a huge fan of lipglosses that I have to touch with my fingers, because then I feel sticky and it tends to get under my nails, especially as the gloss gets used up and I have to dig for it. But other than that, this is a cute, functional product that provides a sheer tint of color and decent lip hydration. The cupcake packaging is a little too twee for me, but I’ve lost bigger things in my purse.

Cleomee Anti-Wrinkle Donkey Lotion (250mL)
“Consisting of donkey milk, hyaluronic acid, ceramide, glycerin, vitamin E, and EGF complex, this formula delivers rich nutrition and replenishment deep down into your skin.”

Memebox tells me this retails for $83. I cannot even believe that. I mean, I know Memebox inflates prices, but that seems insane. This is a really nice, rich lotion though, so what a deal to get it in this box! Perfect for my winter itchies and dry, desert skin arms.

Pure Smile Mask Sheet (x1)
“The Green Tea mask sheet contains abundant green tea extracts for maintaining the skin’s moisture/oil balance and its firmness.”

It just wouldn’t be a Memebox without a Pure Smile mask sheet! I haven’t used this one yet, but I like Pure Smile sheet masks, and green tea is wonderfully soothing to skin.

Binu Cook Ice Cream Scoop Cacao Body Soap
“This 100% natural, hand-made soap bar will cleanse away all excess oil, sebum, and dead skin cells from your face and body, and leaves the skin feeling nice and supple.”

There was no way for me to photograph this to make it look less like a scoop of poo. But it smells like mmmmm, chocolate, and when seen up close looks more like a scoop of ice cream. I’ll probably give this away, though, because I just don’t use bar soaps as often as I use liquid soaps. It’s not so much the mildly unhygienic aspect of them as it is the fact that I have very thin hair that falls out easily, so my bathroom is a den of hairballs. Any bar soap gets covered in hair easily (washing my face tends to pull out hairs along my hairline), and then it just feels gross to use the soap because I can’t get the hairs out of it. So yeah, liquid/foam soaps for me.

Overall this was a great box! I would have liked more caffeine products, but these are all nice items that I’m excited to use.

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All links and codes on this page are affiliate links, for which I receive commission. All products featured in this review were purchased by me. Box graphic by Memebox, all other pictures taken by me.