July 2015 Mishibox

   So I signed up for Mishibox in a drunken internet-fest one night. Not that I regret it, really, I just needed to be drunk to convince myself to take the final step and actually go for a subscription box. Its a weird thing to have anxiety about, the simple act of getting a cancel-at-any-time subscription to skincare/makeup/whatever, but for me taking that first plunge was kinda like going on a date for the first time.

Internal Monologue: "Is this the right thing to do? Maybe I should wait it out, get to know the box a little better (Mishibox is a new box, could go any direction), and save myself the pain of rejection lost money of getting a subscription that I really didn't like."

   Sometimes I really overthink things, guys.

But I did it. I signed up for my first subscription box and it is the little newcomer Korean beauty box called Mishibox. My first box shipped on July 21st as promised and arrived in my mailbox on July 23rd.

Behold! Mishibox!

The box arrived in good condition. It is nice sturdy cardboard and the sticker holding it closed was intact.

The unveiling.

On top of the products in the box, Mishibox included the traditional information card listing descriptions, directions, and pricing. In the typical review of beautyboxes that I've seen, people go through and compare the listed price to the cheapest price they can find it. and then add it all up to determine the approximate value of the box. This gets a bit more complicated with Korean beauty products, as often the cheapest listed prices you can find don't include shipping. You may be able to find a product for only $2 on RoseRoseShop, but it will be at least $9 shipping just to get it here. Given that bit of oddness, I'm going to skip over listing the prices because that is way too much work for a blog that doesn't pay me. I'm just interested in determining if I find this box valuable to me and if I want to keep subscribing in the future.

Product #1: Kwailnara Touch Therapy Cacao Pore Clear Nose Sheet

So I hate pore strips. They stretch out your pores while only temporarily removing sebaceous filaments and can do a whole world of damage to your face. That being said, there are a lot of people who love pore strips so I can't hate on Mishibox for one item. Its a dud for me, but one little sheet isn't a huge loss.

Product #2: MJ Care Essence Mask

I received the snail mask out of several options. Snail is the classic K-beauty standard, so I'm happy to get this one!

Product #3: Missha The Style Lip & Eye Makeup Remover

Can I just say I am overjoyed that I got the green tea version? Even though it is 10ml smaller, my skin loves green tea so I call this a win. I was actually completely out of eye/lip makeup remover, and I had just bought Kat von D's liquid lipstick so I really freakin' needed this. Big name brand, useful product.

 Product: #4: Confume Argan Gold Hair Pack

This is one I'm torn over. Argan oil hair mask should be a win because I have long hair that gets dry ends quite easily, but the problem is I started doing a form of "low-poo" haircare a few months ago and I limit my silicones. This hair mask does have silicones that require a clarifying shampoo to remove, so build up can be a problem. However, my hair does like a small quantity of silicones and my main conditioner does not contain silicone. So I'll be able to use this sparingly! It is a deluxe size sample, so just enough for me to use once a month or so.

Product #5: Kwailnara Hand Essence

My hand lotion version is blueberry, but it isn't actually blueberry scented. It is more a very light floral fragrance. Looking at the ingredients, it is a fairly generic hand cream with a bit of blueberry extract added. It came out moderately thick (I was surprised because someone else said they found it thin. Maybe theirs was just warmer, my air conditioning is on pretty high right now). Its a good size to throw in an overnight bag or sit beside the computer. Not super moisturizing like my shea butter insanity lotion I use in the winter, but a decent light hit for summer.

All my individual pictures of the lip balm failed for some reason

Product #6: It's Skin Macaron Lip Balm

I think green-apple is the worst flavor lip balm to get, even though this one is surprisingly not horrid. The taste is mild enough that it is just a little whisp of apple that isn't gross or overpowering. It is a good light bit of moisture. I can't believe I'm saying this about a green-apple flavored thing: I think I'm going to use this regularly. And it is shaped like a macaron. That is definitely the best part about this lip balm: it is cute as fuck.

Final Thoughts:

  I don't hate this box, but I can see why some people might be disappointed with it. In the world of subscription boxes, Korean beautyboxes tend to be very much skincare and makeup focused rather than hair/body simply due to the interests of the fanbase. This box isn't set out to just be skincare oriented, but I think swinging a bit more in that direction might be to Mishibox's benefit. Don't include another hair product for a few boxes, and keep body lotions to really special or unique ones.

 Another issue I heard from people is a lack of variety in brands: Kwailnara shows up twice and Confume is a sub-brand of Kwailnara. I did like the split of known/unknown with two big popular brands (Missha & It's Skin) and the rest being ones I hadn't heard of, but I would be okay with getting more of the big brands if need be as well.

What I would like to see in Mishibox:

• An interesting cleanser
• An oil cleanser from a brand that isn't one of the biggies, a balm cleanser from any brand that isn't Banila, a powder or cream cleanser (pH balanced if possible!) (Edit: Oh hey, Mishibox mentioned that a cleanser is on the list for one of the future upcoming Mishiboxes. Not the next one, but it won't be too far off!)
• A useful tool
• Konjac sponge, good powder brush, etc
• Sleeping pack
• A sleeping pack that isn't Innisfree, Mizon, or Too Cool For School. Pretty much a sleeping pack that isn't the one EVERYONE and their mom uses
• Luxury brands
• I know this is asking a lot, but I would really like to see Sulwashoo or SUM37 samples in there. I'd even be okay with a few foil packets of it (I know, heresy!) as long as the rest of the box was larger (but of course cheaper) products.
• An optional "mask set" add on
• Give us the option of adding on extra masks. For a flat rate, say $7 or so, you get an extra couple of sheet random sheet masks. Have a few extra bucks this month leftover from the paycheck? Add on a Random Mask Set to your Mishibox!

Mishibox is new, so they're still getting their footing and looking for feedback. I'm going to stick with them for a few more months to see where it goes. The stand-out winner of this box for me was the Missha makeup remover, and the loser was the pore strip. Anyone else have any ideas for Mishibox? Opinions?

If you want to try Mishibox, I found out that they're doing referral codes where you'll get $5 off for your first purchase in the store (not for a mishibox sub, just the store) when you sign up with my code (and I get points to redeem for store discounts once I get enough) so use my code when you make the leap and do the dirty deed of getting a Mishibox: http://r.sloyalty.com/r/unEF9K3oN1ng