The 3b Beauty Box: Do you need it?

So there are a lot of beauty boxes out there right now, and several catering specifically to the Asian beauty trend. I have been very cautious about these as I actually DON’T want to end up with a big pile of products I don’t need (I hate clutter), and I also know my skin very well so I only want to buy things that will work well for it.

I went with 3b because I liked their approach more than any of the other boxes. The price is AMAZING at $12 a month, first off (I’d pay twice as much for this box and not bat an eyelid), but that wouldn’t go far if the contents weren’t great. But they are, and the curation is extremely thoughtful – that really shows.

So is this a good box for a beginner to Asian beauty? I think so – in fact, it’s ideal. This box contains 4 steps of a 10-step skincare routine, and if you’re going from soap and water to these, you’re going to see major results fast – which is super exciting!

[Pic via 3b Facebook]

The November box contained one full-sized product and four samples, which is the formula all 3b boxes currently follow. The large item was a sunscreen, which was the one step in my current routine that I was missing, so I was thrilled to get it. It’s Ra & Gowoori’s Whitening UV Sun Cream SPF 50+/PA++, which has a mild, pleasant fragrance and is non-sticky after application (yay!). It’s actually the first Korean sunblock I’ve actually used, so I can’t compare it to any except American brands, which always smell like I’m going to the beach and leave me feeling like I rolled in gook. Yuck. If you wanna check some ingredients, CosDNA has the skinny on that. It retails for roughly $10, which is also a fair price (I’ve looked at sunscreens $30+ and left them behind because seriously, who the eff wants to pay that for sunscreen).

The four samples are Hada Labo’s Plumping Skin Gel Cream (which already looks like a promising replacement candidate for my beloved Mizon Starfish Cream), which is Japanese and can be found at drugstores as well as Ulta, Secret Key’s Starting Treatment Essence, Etude House Real Art Cleansing OIl Moisture (Way to make that name overly long, Etude House), and A’Pieu Nonco’s Tea Tree Spot Patch. I’m not breaking down hard reviews on any of these because I got the box yesterday, but if I feel any of them are worthy of a full on review I will do one. Let me know if you have questions about any of these products, where they go in a routine or why you would want to use them!

3b also promises that full-size versions of their products will be for sale via their website soon, so don’t despair if you get this and don’t know where to find the sunscreen, for instance (beyond eBay it’s a tough find). I’m looking forward to that as I think what they are doing so far is really promising. Looking forward to my December box already!