3B February 2017 Review (FINAL)

I was kind of on the fence about this subscription. While I love receiving beauty products from Asia every month, the skin care stuff has been 50/50 and they haven't sent any make up in months. However, before I could cancel my service, I got an email that said the company was being bought out and while they reorganize and restructure, all customers' subscriptions are being canceled.

Well...there you go.

Not sure if I'll try to find another one (there is one out there around the same price that tries to include all cruelty free products - in South Korea anyway) or maybe I'll sign up for another snacks service but specific to Korea or Japan. Thoughts?

So here is my final review on the 3B beauty box. I hope you've enjoyed them all!

Wei Beauty Chinese Rose Foaming Cleanser: I think it's been the WEI products that have broken me out the most, or irritated the fuck out of my skin. I'm terrified to even try this so I probably won't. (China-CF)

My Beauty Diary Squalene Restorative Mask: Apparently squalene is a natural lipid that your skin already produces. This mask is supposed to be great for moisture, preventing fine lines, and ease dry patches. Sounds good to me! (Taiwan - ?)

DHC Care Deep Cleansing Oil: I do love cleansing oils. I don't know why. This stuff is great for removing make up, even waterproof, while nourishing the skin with olive oil. I'm in! (Japan - CF but ships to China)

SkinRx Madecera Cream: This has naturally fermented ceramide - seems like the beauty ingredient of the year - to help heal and repair skin. Well okay then! (Korea-CF)

The Face Shop Jeju Volcanic Lava Nose Strips: I don't have blackheads but I love using these things to get all that gunk that clogs up the pores around my nose. And I know that Jeju Island has the most coveted mud for all sorts of beauty products (I've wanted to get the mud mask for a long time but it's always sold out everywhere). So this should be fun! (Korea-NCF)

I didn't bother looking up the value of the samples this month. Just didn't really feel necessary. But I do plan to try 4 of the 5 products in this bag, which is pretty cool.

Good bye, 3B. Hope everything works out for your future!

3B January 2017 Review

The first bag from 3B this year looks pretty boss! It's all about the skin care for January. For those who don't know, 3B is a monthly subscription service. For $15 a month (I'm grandfathered in at $12 for another year, I think) you get 4-5 sample and full sized Asian beauty, skin, and hair products. Check them out here: 3B

I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones.

Also keep in mind that Asian beauty products are a little more elusive with info on Cruelty Free status. There's a lot of conflicting info but if I can find any I'll post it.

Holy cow I got 6 products this month and it's all masks. Score!

23.5N Rice Soothing Gel Mask (the little pot on the left): I'm excited about this because it's supposed to sooth irritated skin. And my face freaked out a few weeks ago from what I think was expired tea tree oil. It's been a little (read: fucking hard core) sensitive since. And I can get 6 uses out of this pot. Sweet. Travel size: $6 (Taiwan -CF)

WEI Beauty Golden Root Purifying Mud Mask (the other little pot that says WEI on it): I love me some mud masks! I'm a little scared of this because I think the WEI product I got last month re-irritated my skin after it recovered from the tea tree oil incident. So I really don't want to use this. We'll see... $42 for 8 pods. One pod: $5 (China -CF)

Hada Labo Anti-Aging Face Mask: I've used this brand's face lotions before with mixed results but since I'm addicted to sheet masks, I'm sure I'll use this. Full size: $4 (Japan -CF)

For Beloved Girl Extreme Moisture Sheet Mask: This one's description looks like it's extra good for dry skin and provides a ton of moisture. Anyone who lives in the Midwest in winter knows moisture is a rare thing until April. Full size: $3 (Taiwan -?)

SkinRX Madecera Express Sheet Mask: This mask has become popular because it uses a naturally fermented form of ceramide which helps the skin absorb products. This mask is also soothing so again, I'm excited to try it. Full size: $6 (Korea -CF)

Maskeraide Weather Warrior Sheet Mask: Who wouldn't want to put a warrior on their face? Wait... Brightening and moisturizing properties - I'm in. Full size: $7 (Korea -CF)

A total value of $31 this month. Not bad for all the products being face masks, which in general, are pretty cheap. Whoop!

3B October 2016 Review

Even though I got this a few weeks ago, I haven't had time to try any of the products. So this post will basically just tell you what I got. For those who don't know, 3B is a monthly subscription service. For $15 (they recently raised their price on the month to month option - goes down to $12 if you sign up for the whole year at once) you get 4-5 sample, sometimes full-sized, Asian beauty, hair, and skin care products. They now have a store front, too. Check them out here: 3B

I purchase this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones.

Todak Todak Pack - Pore Care: I got a different kind in another 3B bag but like I said in my Morgue Drawer post, I didn't really get full use of it. I hope to with this one, especially since my pores are the size of Nebraska. Full size and costs $4. (CF)

Neogence Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion: I'm all about face lotions, man. I love trying new ones, especially the hydrating ones. Just because I have oily skin does NOT mean it's hydrated. And now with winter coming, this will be (I hope) very useful. 180mls is $20 so this 30mls sample should run around $6.50. (?)

Lador Damage Protector Acid Shampoo: Right now I don't have dry and damaged hair. But since I plan to get it mostly all cut off, I'll probably be styling it more often. This shampoo contains argan oil that helps to protect hair against heat damage. Hmmm...This is full size and runs $10. (?)

When 10:00pm Sheet Mask: You all know how much I love me some sheets masks. Seems like this might have that gel or jelly texture that I've used before and is awesome. The people at 3B tested this and claimed their skin felt great the next morning. Challenge Accepted! This is full size and costs $7. (?)

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Deep Cream: Again, I'm all about the moisturizer. This thick lotion seems like it will be perfect as a night cream as we head into winter - not heavy or greasy. I seem to have a lot of luck with EH products so fingers crossed. Full sized 75ml costs $20 so this 10ml sample runs around $2.50 or so. (CF but ships to China)

Over all looks like this bag is worth about $30. Not too bad considering I will probably get good use from everything!

3B April 2016 Review

I'm still on the fence about whether or not I want to keep this subscription. Over a week ago I stared using one of the products I got a few months back and my skin started breaking out. Ugh. Even without the cruelty free issues, I'm not sure the 50/50 odds I'm getting on the skin care  is enough to keep this.

For those who may not know, 3B is a monthly subscription service that provides 4-5 sample sized (sometimes full) Asian beauty products. If you'd like to check them out, go here: 3B

Botanic Farm Mask: I so love sheet masks. Rice is supposed to help purify skin and is good for sensitive skin. So that's cool. Since I'm doing body/face paint for a convention in a couple days, I'll use this afterwards to see if it helps my face recover! Full size value of $2.

Lador Sleeping Clinic Ampoule: This is one of those hair treatments that's supposed to help severely damaged hair. As I don't bleach or color my hair right now, I'm not sure how much it will help. Maybe I'll gift it to someone. This is full size and runs $5 (or $3 on sale at MemeBox)

Benton Honest Cleansing Foam: Again, I'm a little leery of this because the last skin care product broke me out - and I believe this brand also broke me out. But it's usually the creams or serums that do it so hopefully this cleanser won't screw me over. This little sample is maybe worth $1. Full size is $10.

Too Cool for School Egg Mellow Cream: I did try one of the packets already. Nice thick cream and felt really good. I don't know if longer use will break me out but after the first trial, I'm hopeful it'll be fine. Not sure how much came in each little packet but there are 7 of them so you could use them once a day for a week to get an idea of how your skin likes it. Full size, 50g, is about $24.

It's Skin Babyface Eyeshadow: If my research is right, this company IS cruelty free. I have a face power I've been using for a long time that is awesome. So I'm excited for this shadow. And look at that color! These little pans will cost you around $5.

If I give a $3 value to the little packets of face cream, which is probably pretty generous, this month's bag value is about $16. That's kinda skimpy and a little disappointing but it's the first time the value of the bag has been so low. If it happens again, I might get off the 'considering' fence and migrate into full on cancellation land. We'll see...

3B March 2016 Beauty Box

Okay, yes. I had the wrong month on the last review. For some reason I thought I missed one but apparently, I didn't. So last month was February and THIS month is March.

Glad we cleared that up.

3B is a monthly beauty subscription box. For $12 a month you get 4-5 samples/full sized Asian beauty, hair, skin products. Click on the link to get one for yourself!

Dermal Dream Sea Cucumber mask: You know I love face masks. I'm very excited to try this out. Apparently this brand, and this particular mask, are INFAMOUS in Korea. La dee dah! (sorry can't find a link for it)

Skinfood My Shortcake mascara: I also love trying different mascaras. This one is supposed to thicken, lengthen (soooo dirty...), and darken my lashes. It also dries quickly and is smudgeproof. My oily eyelids accept that challenge! Full size and it goes for about $7 on Amazon.

Secret Key Witch Hazel toner: I've used straight up witch hazel as a toner before so this is cool. But I think there's added fragrance in here because it doesn't smell as...earthy as regular witch hazel. This is full size and runs around $29!

CosRx Blackhead Silk Finger Balls: My word there's a lot of dirty innuendo in this post. These are little hard (hooo boy) cotton pods that go on your fingers. You soak them in hot water for a couple of minutes then "massage the desired area (wow) with the softened pod". And as I post the picture below, I can't help but notice a slight pornographic nature in it. You can get 2-3 uses from each one. A set of 12 (which is what I believe I got) costs around $5.

I can't even...

Just those three products I could find on-line are valued at about $41. Nice! You guys should get this service, too. Then we can all be dirty together.

3B February Beauty Box

At this point, I may have confused myself on which month exactly this recent bag came. I know I missed a review, or at least thought I did. Hopefully by the next month, I'll have this figured out. So for now, let's just pretend this is the March 3B bag!

For those who may not know, 3B is a beauty subscription service. For $12 a month you get 4-5 sample/full size beauty products from Asia (mostly Korea and Japan right now). If you'd like to check them out, head over to: the3bbox.com

(I purchase this with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

Lioele Eyelash Curler: Well, if I curled my lashes ever, this would be an awesome product. It even comes with replacement cushions. How cool is that? But this will have to be regifted. My lashes are already a little curled up so I don't need to squish them any further. Up for grabs! Just let me know. $3.50 value.

Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream: I'm not sure if this is supposed to be used in conjunction with steam or just like a daily moisturizer. But I'm willing to give it a shot! Claims: "Snacil mucin supports natural cell regeneration and replenishes moisture to increase firmness, and bee venom has natural anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral properties. The gel-like essence is also fragrance free! Best recommended for those with sensitive and troubled skin."  50g goes for $12.00 so this 5g tube is about $1.

Leaders Black Aqua Pore Scaling Mask: I love me a good face mask. This one looks like it's got some cleansing and purifying elements to it so I'm excited to try it out. Pore minimizers don't always work but I'm forever hopeful. This is full sized and goes for $22. Whoa.

Etude House Look At My Eyes Cafe Eye Shadow: Isn't that a pretty gold color? Though I'm getting a little sick of the bronze/gold colors that every bag seems to include, this give a nice soft wash of color for those 'no make up' make up days and it can be built up to look brighter. I've already used it a couple of times and I really like it. Depending on what site you go to, this can retail from $3 - $8.

Not that thrilled with the value of this bag but still, paying $12 and getting a little more than double that in products ain't all bad!

3B February Beauty Box

Ooopsie. Got behind again. You can blame Florida. Took a little trip down there with the hubby for some vacation and I had to seriously think about what to pack because I knew the weather was going to be a tit bit nipply the whole time we were there. So I got distracted. Unfortunately, that means I forgot to do a review for January. 

3B is a monthly subscription service of all Asian beauty and skin care products. For $12 a month, you get 4-5 samples (some full size) to try out. Check out their website. www.3bbox.com

(I purchase this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

I've only been able to try a couple things from this month's box.

The Missha Speedy Solution Eye Gel patch was okay. Weird texture - they felt more like gel than an essence like most patches do. Don't think they did anything for my under eye but they felt cool. Go for $2.50. I also got through the CosRx Snail Essence serum packets. My skin didn't look or feel different at all so it was just a big waste of time. Full bottle goes for about $18.

The Dry Foot Pack from PetitFee looks interesting. Not really sure how it will work but could be fun. The company website doesn't show you can order it but on eBay is goes anywhere from $3-$5. The little jar is Botanic Farms Grain Ferment Cleansing Sherbet. It's more of a waxy solid that melts with the heat of your body. Their site shows it goes for $30. The glass bottle in the back, full size, is a 3W Clinic Collagen Whitening Essence. Usually 'whitening' means to brighten the skin or lighten acne scars or old blemishes, not actually change the color of your skin. I'm excited to try it! On 3W's website, this goes for $25 (but you can find it cheaper elsewhere).

I don't have a great opinion on this month because I only had a chance to try 2 of the items and they weren't that great. I might love the rest but I'll have to let you know!

3B December 2015 Beauty Box

3B is a monthly subscription service of Asian beauty products. For $12 a month you get 4-5 samples/full sized products from Asia. It's a great way to discover so many cool things coming from Korea, Japan, and more. Check them out at https://the3bbox.com/  (I purchase this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones).

Everything this month (with one exception) is skin care. Which is cool with me! I always like to try new stuff, even if I seem to have some bad luck with break outs with new products.

It's Skin Prestige BB Cream - though this BB cream might have a little bit of a yellow undertone, this stuff is awesome. It's very thin and light - which I prefer - and blends out so well but it seems I need to use more because of it's consistency. I've tried it twice and am very sad it's such a small sample! 50 mls goes for about $17.

Etude House Wonder Pore Freshener - reading the description on this I think it's supposed to be a post cleansing toner. But it also claims to clean out your pores with peppermint extract. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a little scared by this one. You can get 8.5 oz on Amazon for $13.

Secret Key Lemon D-Toc Peeling gel - I believe this is full sized! love peeling masks but I'm confused by the description because it says to massage it into the skin then rinse off. So....do I peel or rinse? I need an adult! Found this on Amazon for about $13.

TonyMoly Sheet Mask - I've tried this wine one before from Meme Box. It didn't seem to do anything extra or beneficial but maybe with another try I'll notice something. If not, who cares? Sheet masks are fun! These run between $2-$4.

Boutique Bebe Hair Salon Vita Clinic Ampoule - I'm excited to try this. Never tried a deep conditioner that you put on BEFORE you get in the shower. You can use it on dry or damp hair then rinse it out after 20 minutes. Could be great for winter! This sample size goes for $2.

I'm excited for all this stuff (even the mask that didn't do anything before). I really enjoy this monthly subscription because I get to discover so many new and exciting products!

3B November 2015 Beauty Box

I believe I talked about a couple of the products I got in the October bag over in my PDs, MEHs, and GFYs post. But other than those couple of things, I can't remember what else I got. I think it was all skin care products but...

Oh, at this point who cares? Let's just get on with November! For those who don't know, 3B is a monthly beauty subscription service that sends 4-5 samples (sometimes full sized) products from Asia for $12 a month. Check them out for yourself: https://the3bbox.com/  (I purchase this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

Since this came a week or so ago, I've had time to try these products out for a bit.

The Ra & Gowoori is just a basic skin cream but with SPF of 50. It doesn't really whiten your skin. I love the feel of it though. It's thicker than what I normally use (Neutrogena) but it absorbs very quickly and I don't look greasy at all.
The bottles in the middle are a cleansing oil by Etude House (left) and toner by Secret Key (right). I always wanted to try a cleansing oil and so far, I'm diggin' it. It helps clean off makeup without drying your skin. The toner smells way too much like alcohol so all that moisture you're saving with the oil might be there to protect against the toner!
A'Pieu tea tree spot patches - I've only used them twice and I can't really tell if they work. I'll keep trying.
Ugh, the dreaded Hada Labo skin gel cream. But again, like I've said in the past, this sample size is working well. Something just gets lost in the translation (see what I did there?) to full size and it becomes useless. Well, I'll use this up then go to something else!

I can't find prices on these things (at least, not in English anywhere) but I'm pretty sure I got my money's worth this month!

3B September 2015 Beauty Box

Another beauty subscription I get is 3B: Beauty Beyond Borders. It's all Asian beauty products (mostly Korean) and goes for $12 per month. You get 4-5 sample/full sized items that aren't so east to come by in the US. But it's a great way to try them out and then if you fall in love, you can find them on-line! (I know 3B is working on a store front of their own which makes shopping for these things SO much easier) 

https://the3bbox.com/

I haven't tried the Leaders Mediu Snail Therapy hand cream yet (apparently snail essence is the latest trend in skin care...eww) as I have a couple others I need to work through first. But this looks full size, which runs around $8.

I've tried the Secret Key Honey Bee's spot control and yeah, that shit works. I worry its mostly alcohol (because that's what it smells like) but it dried up a giant zit I had within 36 hours. This is also full size, I think, and that costs anywhere between $10-$22 (depending on where you purchase it).

I've been using the RiRe Luxe Lash Essence for 3-4 days so I can't really tell if it's doing anything yet. You put it on at night and I guess it works its magic then. It's a clear fluid but it dries kind of sticky and hard, like a gel would. So if you don't like that, you probably won't like this. It's full size and goes for $16.

The Yu-Be skin scream smells like straight up menthol. Ugh. I'd heard a lot of great things about this product so you can imagine my disappointment. Because who the hell wants to walk around smelling like Halls or VapoRub? It does feel nice on the skin, though! Could make a nice stimulating foot cream so I'll let you know. This is definitely a small sample but the full size runs $16.

Overall I'm really happy with this month!

3B Review - June 2015

This is only my second month of receiving the 3B Beauty Box (technically it comes in a pretty purple pouch but I nitpick) and I'm loving it. For those of you who may not know, and I don't see a lot of info or reviews on this, 3B is a monthly subscription service where you receive 4-5 samples - sometimes deluxe, sometimes full sized products - for $12. All the products come from Asia, mostly Korea. I pay for this with my own money and all reviews are my honest opinions!

I'm unclear on the total value of this bag because not all the samples are marked with amounts (i.e. ml, g, oz, etc.). But the makeup wipes and the blusher look full size and those two are worth about $12 so the bag is paid for with them!

The Skinfood Aloe Soothing Body Wash looks promising. I'm still working my way through a bottle of body wash from Bath and Body Works plus I have another one waiting in the wings so I'm not sure when I'll get to this. I might take it traveling. Yeah...that's it! Much easier and less messy than a bar of soap.

The It's Skin Mangowhite Lip & Eye Remover Tissue: I don't really want anything to REMOVE my lips and eyes but I think they mean 'lip and eye MAKEUP remover'. I'm almost done with some  wipes I got a while back so when I finish those, I'm definitely opening these babies up. I love make-up wipes. SOOOOO convenient!

The Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream: In the swatch it might look a little on the yellow side but it seems to have enough cool tone underneath that it works great on me. It blends in so well that it almost looks like I don't have any product on my face. When I first tried it, I didn't set it with powder until later in the day. It does feel tacky until you do that (at least on my skin) and I used a Neutrogena face powder which worked great. I don't like heavy foundation or need a lot of coverage so BB and CC creams are really nice for me. I might be purchasing a full size of this in the future.

The A'Pieu Finger Blusher sounds so dirty, doesn't it? But it's a cream blush that you first put on your finger then smooth it out across your cheeks. The consistency is a cross between a mousse and liquid and it blends like a fucking DREAM! I got a soft peach color that looks so natural on me. I probably won't have to buy it again because I don't think I can get through this whole tube in my lifetime. It doesn't take much to get a nice soft color though I bet you can build it up to appear brighter if you want. They do have more colors...hmmm....

That's it. So far I'm in love with this service, and not just because I have some weird obsession with Asian culture. SHUT UP! This is a nice way to try out beauty and skin care products from across the 'other' pond. Why not check out 3B for yourself?