ROSE SECRET BOX: KOREAN MYSTERY BEAUTY BOX UNBOXING

ROSE SECRET BOX: KOREAN MYSTERY BEAUTY BOX UNBOXING

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, July 25, 2019

I've got over men alright, but there's one thing I haven't ever got over - the Memebox. Remember it, anyone? Korean beauty box that shipped worldwide? Best beauty box EVER? Came JAM-PACKED with beauty products, all full-sized, and in myriad themes and variants, from Superfood, Wine and Cheese, and Chocolate, to weird ingredients, colour- and scent-themed boxes, and regular monthly boxes. New here, and don't believe a WORD I say? Go here rightaway to check out ALL my Memebox unboxings. I bought more than 50 (60?) of the things in a span of about a year and a half.
The problem is that Memebox RUINED all other beauty boxes for me. I am no longer satisfied with half-baked samples. Don't give me random scrubs. Or pencil liners. Or old shite that won't sell, and you want to shill. Or anything that's not thoughtfully curated, but is haphazardly thrown in a box.
Rose Rose Shop, a Korean beauty retailer who ships worldwide, used to do sampler boxes. But the samples were small, and you also got things like fashion earrings, which I did not want. I did buy the one sampler - see here for my unboxing. Then, they stopped those.
Recently, RRS has been doing Mystery Boxes! This is their second season of doing these - I missed out on the first box. They promise at LEAST seven full-sized products, WITHOUT counting sheet masks. That was a deal-clencher for me. For $35, including FREE worldwide shipping, that's just about $5 per product! Plus, you also get samples and other things.
I ordered mine immediately, and was pleased to find that I got EIGHT full-sized products, including three makeup. In addition to those, I also got a bunch of samples, and four sheet masks. To know exactly what I received, go straight down!

Scroll down for the contents, review, and unboxing of the Rose Secret Box Season 2, a Korean mystery beauty box that ships worldwide.

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Beauty Expert Collection Gold Edition Contents, Unboxing, Review: Ships WW

Beauty Expert Collection Gold Edition Contents, Unboxing, Review: Ships WW

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Beauty Expert's latest edit is their best ever! ONE product in here is far more than the worth of the entire collection, and has me gobsmacked. Everything about each of these brands screams LUXURY, and everything is ideal for this season.
For those who came in late, Beauty Expert ships worldwide - they have seasonal curations of cult must-have beauty products in "collections", in a nice wash bag. Everything is full-sized, and the collections are worth far more than their price-tags, and sell out within seconds, if not minutes, of launching. I have my previous Beauty Expert collections all unboxed here.
The latest is the Gold Edition. Gold obviously stands for luxury, and the moment I heard the name of the edit, I knew we would only see high-end products in here.
This is what Beauty Expert says about this collection:

Discover the power of Gold in this luxurious edit of Gold-infused and Gold-inspired beauty products. We’ve handpicked six premium beauty products that will make you feel instantly more glamorous and glowing with radiance. This capsule collection includes skincare, body care and hair care products, so you can add a touch of Gold to every element of your beauty routine.
With six best-selling beauty products housed in a premium cosmetics bag, the Beauty Expert Collection: The Gold Edition is the perfect way to add a little luxury to your everyday. We’ve also included a special extra addition to help you create a Cleopatra-inspired eye look.

Now, there are six full-sized products in here, and a little extra mini. A total worth of more than £300, and a price-tag of just £99.
The Beauty Expert Collection Gold Edition is available worldwide NOW right here!

Scroll down for the contents of the Beauty Expert Collection Gold Edition.

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Beauty Expert Spa Edition Collection Review, Unboxing

Beauty Expert Spa Edition Collection Review, Unboxing

Winter Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, March 28, 2018

International beauty retailer Beauty Expert - part of the same group that owns LookFantastic - comes out with seasonal beauty collections that are always thoughtfully curated, and contain full-sized luxury products.
You can see their Indulgence Collection here, the Radiance Collection here, the inaugural Rose Edition, here, and the Expert Collection, here. 
The latest curation is the new Spa Edition, containing six full-sized products from luxury brands, with a total worth of £229, though the cost price of the set is just £70.
The set comes in a nice gift bag, and contains everything you need to treat your face and body to some luxurious me-time over the Spring season.

Scroll down for the contents, unboxing, and review of the Beauty Expert Spa Edition Collection for Winter 2018.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box February 2018 Unboxing, Review

LookFantastic Beauty Box February 2018 Unboxing, Review

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, March 01, 2018

As expected, February's LookFantastic Beauty Box has a Valentine's Day design, with a pink-red-gold colour scheme, and a product booklet featuring red hearts. The box is themed Beauty Rendezvous, and contains products that you would need for your "rendezvous". Tryst, if you like!
There are six products in the box, and the Elle UK magazine for the month is also included. They've recently taken to popping the mag inside the box itself, having increased the size of the beauty box. This actually makes the products inside seem smaller!

Scroll down for my review of the LookFantastic Beauty Box for February 2018.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box January 2018 Unboxing, Review, Contents

LookFantastic Beauty Box January 2018 Unboxing, Review, Contents

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, January 29, 2018

A New Year means taking stock of everything, beauty box subscriptions included. I've decided to keep just the one subscription box this year, and it is the LookFantastic Beauty Box.
Why? For starters, it's just £12 or so per month, since I'm on a long-term subscription. For another, I don't pay upfront; only each month when the box ships out. For a third, there are some nice perks, such as a discount on the amazing Advent Calendar. Fourthly, on an average, the boxes are quite nice, and come with extras such as the Elle Magazine.
So let's take a look at LookFantastic's first beauty box for 2018. They've revamped the box design - a nice periwinkle blue and mint green combo. The product leaflet has also undergone a makeover.

Scroll down for the contents of the LookFantastic Beauty Box January 2018.

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Is The Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar 2017 Worth It? Unboxing, Review, Cost-Breakdown

Is The Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar 2017 Worth It? Unboxing, Review, Cost-Breakdown

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, November 21, 2017

The Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar for 2017 was probably the most widely-awaited beauty advent calendar for Holiday 2017. However, they probably had limited quantities, or underestimated the popularity - it sold out online for the first time in 11 minutes flat! It was restocked online by popular demand at least three more times after that, and sold out each time. This, despite a price-tag of £250!
Harrods was once my absolute favourite store (now it's tied with Harvey Nicks), so I decided that something had to give after I landed in hospital with an anaphylactic reaction. Even so, it sold out online by the time I realised it had launched. I got mine thanks to the lovely Harrods SAs who called me at home to take my order, from the in-store stock.
The ownership may have changed, as also the atmosphere - then-owner Mr Al Fayed himself was standing at the entrance greeting people (including a wide-eyed yours truly) on my first visit, and it is now a lot more blingy and impersonal in the store - BUT their customer care has clearly not changed.

Scroll down for the unboxing and review of the Harrods Beauty Advent Calendar for Holiday 2017 - and the cost-breakdown.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box November 2017 Review, Contents

LookFantastic Beauty Box November 2017 Review, Contents

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, November 20, 2017

LookFantastic's Beauty Box for November 2017 is themed Ready, Set, Glam. The box is a beautiful midnight blue, with stars - very reminiscent of LookFantastic's Beauty in Wonderland Advent Calendar for 2017 (unboxing here).
The box includes the usual Elle UK magazine for the month; this time, there are a couple of perfume samplers along with the magazine.

Scroll down for the review and contents of the LookFantastic Beauty Box for November 2017.

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Feelunique Beauty Advent Calendar 2017 Unboxing, Review

Feelunique Beauty Advent Calendar 2017 Unboxing, Review

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, November 17, 2017

Feelunique's Beauty Advent Calendar for Holiday 2017 is themed "The Season To Shine". It costs £35, contains 12 beauty products, of which six are full-sized, and ships worldwide. Five products in here are makeup, three skincare, three hair care, and the one bath and body product.
The packaging is very pretty, though I had some difficulties getting the products out.

Beauty advent calendars currently available worldwide:

LookFantastic

Beauty Expert

Feelunique

HARRODS

Selfridges Beauty Workshop

Charlotte Tilbury

Decleor

Cowshed

Molton Brown

Susanne Kaufmann
Ciate Beauty
Ciate Nails
BareMinerals

Scroll down for the full unboxing and review of the Feelunique The Season To Shine Beauty Advent Calendar for Holiday 2017.

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Beauty Expert 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar 2017 Unboxing, Review

Beauty Expert 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar 2017 Unboxing, Review

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, November 14, 2017

I cannot get enough of Beauty Advent Calendars this year. For one, there are so many new offerings. For another, existing players have upped their game with bigger and better boxes than before.
Today, I have Beauty Expert's Advent Calendar for 2017 to show you. It is titled the "12 Days of Christmas Collection". Everything in here is FULL-sized! And, the brands chosen are brilliant.

Scroll down for the unboxing and review of the Beauty Expert 12 Days of Christmas Collection Advent Calendar for Holiday 2017.

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LookFantastic Advent Calendar 2017 Unboxing, GOOF-UP, Comparisons + Review

LookFantastic Advent Calendar 2017 Unboxing, GOOF-UP, Comparisons + Review

Videos Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, November 10, 2017

The reason my unboxing of the LookFantastic Beauty in Wonderland Advent Calendar for Holiday 2017 is at least three weeks later than expected is that I was hospitalised with an acute anaphylactic reaction - to goodness knows what; we can only do an allergy test after all the medications stop. This was on top of a foot injury. Basically, I woke up one morning with severe urticaria and couldn't move half my joints including my neck, and I ended up being pumped with steroids, which in turn gave me bad acne. I missed my Mum's birthday on October 27, while in hospital. That's what I call bad luck.
But the contents of the LookFantastic Beauty Advent Calendar for 2017 - and the packaging - are absolute, 100% good luck. Apart from one freak goof-up, this calendar is the best I've seen so far this year, as you will see below. I also want to show you the amazing attention to detail they've paid to the packaging.

GET THE LOOKFANTASTIC BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDAR FOR 2018 HERE.

Other beauty advent calendars currently available worldwide:

LookFantastic

Beauty Expert

Feelunique

HARRODS

Selfridges Beauty Workshop
NYX

Charlotte Tilbury

Decleor

Cowshed

Molton Brown

Susanne Kaufmann
Ciate Beauty
Ciate Nails
BareMinerals

Scroll down for the unboxing and review of the LookFantastic Beauty in Wonderland Advent Calendar for 2017,  and comparison with 2016 and 2015.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box September 2017 Review, Unboxing

LookFantastic Beauty Box September 2017 Review, Unboxing

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, September 19, 2017

September 2017's LookFantastic Beauty Box is their birthday edit - it's their third anniversary. Birthday boxes always have to be special, and I expected this to be the best of the year from them. Also, next month marks the start of their Christmas countdown, and also the shipping of their Beauty Advent Calendar (see previous LF Advent Calendar reviews here and here). Needless to say, there was a lot of excitement about this box.

Scroll down for the unboxing of the LookFantastic Beauty Box for September 2017.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box August 2017 Review, Unboxing

LookFantastic Beauty Box August 2017 Review, Unboxing

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The theme "Global Glamour" indicates that the August 2017 LookFantastic Beauty Box contains travel essentials that will keep you looking good through your vacation. Being more of a skincare box, I didn't really expect an eyeshadow quad or a mini lipstick, but I knew there would be a good variety of minis I could stash into my suitcase.
The box is mint-green with a world map outlined. It contains the month's Elle UK issue and the in-house magazine.

Scroll down to check out what I received in the LookFantastic Beauty Box for August 2017.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box July 2017 Review

LookFantastic Beauty Box July 2017 Review

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, July 28, 2017

Given that the most exciting item in the LookFantastic Beauty Box for July 2017 arrived all smashed up, I decided not to do a video unboxing. This box contained an excellent curation of products, but was spoilt entirely by the vagaries of the postal system. Ah well, the perils of shipping makeup.
The July 2017 LookFantastic Beauty Box is themed Pretty In Paradise. The box is stunning, and comes with the Elle UK magazine for this month, as well as the in-house booklet.

Scroll down for the contents of the LookFantastic Beauty Box July 2017.

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No Make No Life Beauty Box July 2017 Review, Unboxing

No Make No Life Beauty Box July 2017 Review, Unboxing

Videos Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The sixth edition of the No Make No Life Beauty Box from Japan is here; it contains five full-sized products, of which only one is a makeup item this month. No biggie; I prefer receiving skincare these days.
For those who came in late, NMNL is a monthly beauty subscription from Japan that costs just $29.99 a month, INCLUSIVE of international shipping charges! It costs even less when you go in for a longer subscription.

Scroll down for the review and unboxing of the No Make No Life Beauty Box for July 2017.

No Makeup No Life Beauty Box June 2017 Unboxing

No Makeup No Life Beauty Box June 2017 Unboxing

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, June 16, 2017

The No Makeup No Life Beauty Box from Japan has quickly shot up to the top of my favourite subscription boxes. At just $29.99 INCLUDING worldwide delivery, with everything inside full-sized, what's not to love about this beauty box?
As I expand my Asian Beauty journey from Korea to Japan, this box is aiding me in discovering some brilliant cosmetics. It reminds me of Memebox in their heyday back in 2014, before they bit off far more than they could chew and decided that the world consisted of just the one country.
The theme for the June 2017 NMNL box is "2-in-1 beauty products". I expected a lip and cheek tint, obviously.

Scroll down for the unboxing of the No Makeup No Life Beauty Box for June 2017.

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LookFantastic Beauty Box June 2017 Unboxing

LookFantastic Beauty Box June 2017 Unboxing

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, June 13, 2017

I shot a video of this unboxing over the weekend, only to find that the results were way too dark in this sunless, rainy weather. Turns out it's the Sony Handycam's fault, while my Canon DSLR is a far better choice for videos under poor lighting conditions. Lesson learnt.
LookFantastic's June 2017 beauty box is the Wanderlust edition - obviously containing travel essentials. The box design is one of the prettiest till date. Size has gone up as well, and now the box itself accommodates the Elle UK magazine for the month.

Scroll down for the contents of the LookFantastic Beauty Box for June 2017.

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Spring Beauty Haul + GWP Bag From Bath & Unwind

Spring Beauty Haul + GWP Bag From Bath & Unwind

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Bath & Unwind is a hand-curated beauty retailer that ships worldwide. Regardless of the name, they stock all beauty products from makeup to wellness, and not just bath and body products.
They now have a Spring Beauty Bag - a generous 15-piece gift with purchase when you spend £150 on site. I picked just the seven products, and ended up getting another four products free with them, in addition to the Spring Beauty Bag. Scroll down for my haul video.

Here's my Spring beauty haul, and GWP goody bag, from Bath & Unwind. 

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LookFantastic Get The Glow Beauty Box May 2017 Review

LookFantastic Get The Glow Beauty Box May 2017 Review

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, May 18, 2017

My attempt at redesigning this blog continues; I now have even deeper dark circles! Pageviews have tanked (because I've clearly messed something up badly), so I would appreciate all the shares I can get, as I fill in with another quick post.
The LookFantastic Beauty Box for May 2017 is the Get The Glow Edition. I knew there would be at least one fake tan in there. You know it is Summer when you begin to receive fake tan products in beauty boxes. Nothing wrong - it's just that I have a lifetime supply. Possibly for two generations, even!
This month's box features a very pretty shaded pink design, and the Elle UK Magazine for May is also included.

Scroll down for the review and unboxing of the LookFantastic Beauty Box for May 2017. 

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No Makeup No Life Beauty Box May 2017

No Makeup No Life Beauty Box May 2017

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, May 16, 2017

This is a quick, short post - I am in the process of redesigning this blog, all by myself, which is why things are messy and slow right now. Which is also why blogging itself has taken a backseat. Feedback on the current layout is welcome.
Last month, I introduced you to the No Makeup No Life beauty box from Japan - the entire thing costs $29.99, inclusive of worldwide delivery, with longer subscriptions bringing you some savings.
Their May 2017 box is themed "beauty must-haves", and is makeup-centric. This month's box arrived in very good condition, after last month's box turned up flattened. Everything in the NMNL box is always full-sized

Scroll down for the review and contents of the May 2017 No Makeup No Life Beauty Box from Japan.

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No Makeup No Life Beauty Box From Japan: April 2017 Review, Unboxing

No Makeup No Life Beauty Box From Japan: April 2017 Review, Unboxing

Unboxing Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, April 21, 2017

Remember Memebox? They used to send out a bunch of full-sized Korean beauty products for around $35-ish, including worldwide shipping, before everything went kaput.
Ever since I read The Japanese Skincare Revolution: How to Have the Most Beautiful Skin of Your Life by Chizu Saeki (READ IT NOW!), I've been obsessed with J-beauty (and K-beauty).
Japanese beauty subscription No Makeup No Life reminds me of Memebox in its halcyon days. For starters, the products are full-sized. For another, the box, inclusive of worldwide shipping, costs $29.99 a month. Thirdly, like Memebox, the contents veer towards skincare. Just the way I like. Also, the product card (a booklet here) comes in English, so you are not perplexed by the Japanese labels. Finally, they reveal the entire contents of the box beforehand. No surprises, nasty or otherwise, to be had.
I have the April 2017 NMNL beauty box to show you. It is themed "Skincare Essentials".
The external box arrived so battered - mutilated - in the post that I could be forgiven for assuming that the Mother of All Bombs and the Father of All Bombs faced each other in mortal combat within the box. This did not - thankfully - take away from the contents, except for a minor leak and a soggy product booklet, about which I have just informed customer service.

Scroll down for the review of the April 2017 No Makeup No Life Beauty Box, a Japanese monthly subscription that ships worldwide.

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