Beauteque May 2015 BB Bag Review!

Beauteque has a monthly subscription box that they call the (BB Bag) and it’s always got an unusual collection of Asian beauty makeup and skincare products in it. I think this particular month’s bag might be my favorite BB Bag since they first started subscriptions in January. They have two subscription offerings right now. One is this BB bag which I’m reviewing now but the second is all about masks.

I love Korean skincare (although not so much the makeup) and Beauteque is a fun way to get it delivered every month. They send not only Korean brands but also Taiwanese and Japanese as well, so there’s a pretty wide variety of things that can pop up in a bag. You’ll also get a cute little makeup bag to go with everything. The makeup bags are never the same and for the most part they’re super useful with pockets and everything. This particular one doesn’t have pockets but it’s my favorite shape. I like it when they have a bottom that helps them sit up while you’re digging around in it.

What You Get: At least 7 full size products in a combination of beauty, skincare and lifestyle items with a focus on Asian beauty brands.

May Island Donkey Milk Skin Mask Pack in Mela-Tox and Wrinkle Filler– Okay. So. I love sheet masks. I think that most people who are into Asian beauty have come to appreciate a good sheet mask. I’m definitely among them. I think they’re SO much easier than a wash off or peel off mask and the benefits are better. In my opinion.

Now, in case you’ve been unaware of things, donkey milk is like the new “thing” in skincare. Actually, it’s not new. It’s ancient history- Think Cleopatra bathing in mule milk way back in the day. I have not used anything with donkey milk yet because I somehow managed to dodge all the boxes that contained it. Not on purpose.
These two masks are more fun than the average sheet mask because they contain an extra steps! First there is a cleanser. Rub it in and wash it off. Then there is the Ampoule (that’s a concentrated serum). Apply it to your face. (There doesn’t appear to be ingredients for the ampoule part). Then take out your sheet mask and slap that baby on.
The ingredients for both masks I received are stellar. Like actually VERY good ingredients and there actually is donkey milk (although there’s not much of it). But who cares about donkey milk at this point because the other main ingredients are good AND effective.
The Mela-Tox has a 2% concentration of niacinamide to get rid of your dark spots and then next ingredient is sodium hyaluronate. That means if you want to be moisturized and de-dark spotted, this is the mask for you. Omg, I want more.
The Wrinkle Filler one has no niacinamide but that puts sodium hyaluronate further up on the list and that’s excellent for plumping up your skin. It’s not going to get rid of wrinkles but it will plump it up so some of the finer lines will be eliminated for awhile.
How have I not tried these before?! Love!
Value: $2 each for $4 total (which is ridiculously cheap and I must have more)
The Face Shop Eyelash Curler– I always need to curl my eyelashes. I have tiny pea eyes (thanks, dad) and I need my lashes to curl up so it looks like they’re open. Plus, when I smile, they basically close. Pfft. So, eyelash curlers are necessary. I have one that I already love and use but if it ever breaks, I’ll put this one in rotation because it looks sturdily put together. I currently have lash extensions which are basically the best thing ever (except for the expense). Because of that I don’t need mascara or curlers since they’re already curled and amazing.
Value: $7
Mik@vonk Auto liner in Black– Okay, so I’m not a fan of Asian beauty makeup so the fact that this is actually from Australia makes no difference to me. I think I forgot to mention that sometimes Beauteque will sneak in a non Asian beauty item. I don’t like it but there it is. They don’t claim to only send Asian beauty because they do like to have the option to include items from other places. As long as it’s not China, I don’t really care. However, I am not impressed with this liner. It’s chalky and dry. I would never use it when I have so many better options. If I want to press something hard on my eyeball, trying to get color to show up, I’ll choose something less painful. Erg. This is the only flop in the box and it’s minor so I’m not counting too much against them.
Value: $15 (not worth it!)
It’s Skin Mini Bebe Mist– I love this! It smells SO good. Like actually peachilicious without any aftertaste… Er, aftersmell? Unfortunately, (and this seems to be a recurring problem) I had requested the Shining Apple version and I got the Peach. I don’t care since Peach smells great but while I love the fact that Beauteque gives an opportunity to make a choice, it doesn’t mean much if you don’t follow through with that. So far this is twice that I have not received what I requested.
This product is a moisturizing mist. You can mist it on your face and body. It has water, glycerin, soymilk (?!), and then a whole bunch of fruit extracts for antioxidant value. Nothing bad so I’m totally using this.
Not to mention that it smells so good.
Value: $5
Holika Holika Pig Nose Clear Blackhead Steam Starter– This gel is supposed to help open your pores while emptying them out at the same time.  It’s got kaolin and Morroccon pink clays in it. You massage it for three minutes and then rinse it off. If only I hadn’t just used my super awesome Purederm Cocoa Nose Packs I would have some blackheads to try this on. Did I just wish my pores would get dirty so I could use a new product? Uh, yes, I think I just did.
Value: $10
Nature Republic Bulgarian Rose Essence– This is an essence which means it comes after your toner in your Asian beauty routine. Cleanser, toner, essence, serum, ampoule, eye cream, light moisturizer, heavier moisturizer/BB cream or sunscreen is how I do it.
Sadly, this isn’t made with rosehip oil, which is packed with the antioxidant Vitamin C but it’s made with rosa damascena flower oil. The first few ingredients are water, glycerin, dipropylene glycol, denatured alcohol, glycereth-26 and sodium hyaluronate. I don’t like to see alcohol in the skincare but the benefits of glycerin and sodium hyaluronate may overcome that. Glycerin is an excellent (and yes, cheap) moisturizer and sodium hyaluronate is the deepest penetrating form of hyaluronic acid. Which means your skin is moisturized way deep down. Yep, that’s always good.
Value: $12
Nature Republic by Flower Vivid Tint Bar– I got Strawberry (and that’s what I requested!) and it’s a hot pink. It’s definitely tinted but it’s not glaring or awful. It’s got SPF which is key right now. I’ve sort of migrated my non SPF tints to the back of my drawer because it’s been really sunny out and I’ve been gardening like a madwoman.
This is a nice lip balm, not sticky, a pretty color and a cute package.
VERDICT: This is definitely my favorite bag. I love the curation, the good ingredients represented. The FUN ingredients (donkey milk, people!) and it’s a really nice spread of product. A little makeup, a little skincare and a little lifestyle/beauty tool action. It’s always nice when I love the majority of the box I receive. The only thing I didn’t like is the crappy eyeliner. If it hadn’t been so crappy, I might have liked that, too. (Did I just write that? I should probably backspace that whole sentence but I’m not going to. It’s late.)
If the curation and products continue to be this awesome, I think it’s really going to help perk up the Beauteque BB Bags. It’s not that they’ve ever been bad but just not too exciting. This one, however, made me happy the second I opened it up.
If you’d like to subscribe to They do ship internationally but I’m not sure of the prices that go along with it. If you’re in the US, it’s $3.95 so your bag will be just under $30. The bags are usually worth more than double the purchase price which is nice. Plus these aren’t peasly samples, these are full size products.
It’s late and I think this review might have come out kinda crazy… Hopefully, all my points got across. Haha! Basically, kbeauty is awesome and this bag rocked, you should totally get the next one!