PinkSeoul Plus is a bi-monthly Korean beauty subscription box curated to your skin type. They focus on customized, full-sized, and curated products that are designed to guide you in your K-beauty journey of discovery. You can also shop their online store for more K-beauty goodies!
PinkSeoul offers two subscription types:
- The PinkSeoul Box is $39.95 every two months with a retail value of over $60.
- The PinkSeoul Plus Box, recommended for subscribers age 35+, is $49.95 every two months with a retail value of over $80.
- These two boxes are shipped bi-monthly and each box contains at least 4 full-sized items plus an accessory item.
This review is of the Sensitive Skin Type PinkSeoul Plus Box, which costs $49.95 every two months.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first box!
CODE: MSA10
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
First Impressions
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Everything comes neatly packaged and wrapped with tissue paper, sealed with a sticker. Prior to purchasing a subscription, PinkSeoul will ask you several customization questions. Some products are more appropriate/recommended for a particular skin type, so be sure to figure out your skin type (I can't believe how long I thought I had oily skin!). Also, PinkSeoul has now switched to electronic info sheets, sent to your email when your box ships. I always get a little excited when I rip the tissue paper/sticker to see what comes in my box - the extra step with the packaging really adds to the overall experience.
This month we also got some extra sheet masks as a promotion for the company Finanli. This is by far my favorite type of marketing I've ever seen included in a subscription box- props to PinkSeoul for that.
The Breakdown – What’s Inside The Box
Medi Flower Peony Blossom Hand Cream, 650 g - buy a set of 5 for $9.99
Am I the best at remembering to apply hand creams? No. Will I be mad when I see hand creams show up in a subscription box when I have a thousand and one half-empty tubes strewn across my apartment? Also no. This is made with beta glucan and peony blossom to nourish your hands while leaving them smelling faintly of florals, and I appreciated there was no greasy residue left behind.
Etude House Baking Powder Pore Scrub, 200 g - Retail Value $12
I honestly refuse to use scrubs on my face on principle (and because my sensitive skin has taught me that it is, in fact, in charge and I don't actually want to trigger a rosacea flare that will last for two weeks or more). Luckily, our skin is our body's biggest organ, so there is still plenty of surface area for me to try this scrub out. It has a very fine grit that reminds me of a popular microdermabrasion scrub I've tried in the past, and it definitely left smoother, softer skin behind- and would have been too strong for my sensitive skin. It's made with baking soda and menthol, and this seems like it would be really effective for body acne or areas that get congested easily.
Medi Flower Aronyx D-Panthenol Ampoule, 50 mL - Retail Value $13.84
I’ve tried the sleeping mask from this line and liked it, and I had an equally enjoyable experience with this hydrating ampoule. Along with panthenol, it’s formulated with glycerin, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid, and it was a great hydrating layer underneath heavier serums.
Ample:N Hyaluron Shot Emulsion, 130 mL - Retail Value $27
This is made with hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and adenosine, and it’s designed to be an in incredibly lightweight moisturizer (or just a hydrating layer underneath a heavier cream). The texture honestly reminds me of a thicker, milky toner, so I was surprised I should use this near the end of my routine instead of at the beginning of it.
Ample:N Hyaluron Shot Eye Cream, 30 mL - Retail Value $29
This eye cream is made with those same good-for-your-skin ingredients as the emulsion, and I liked how this was moisturizing without being too heavy on the delicate skin around my eyes.
Nature Republic California Aloe Daily Sun Block SPF 50+, 57 mL - Retail Value $11.99
I actually am allergic to some of the chemical filters used in sunscreens, so it has been a journey figuring out which sunscreens are safe and which ones aren't. This one from Nature Republic uses the filters Homosalate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, and Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane. Homosalate is a filter used more commonly in the US, but the other two are filters used predominantly in Korean sunscreens (their filters are probably one of the reasons their sunscreens are such a dream to apply). Thankfully, I haven't had issues with this yet, and it absorbs into my skin quickly without leaving a white cast. While the Nature Republic does have the full ingredients printed in English on the box, it's in smaller font and I didn't see it at first glance. I sent an email to PinkSeoul customer service to see if they could help me with the ingredients list, and they responded quickly with both the full ingredients list and the sunscreen filters identified specifically. I really appreciated it!
JMsolution Active Jellyfish Vital Mask - Retail Value $1.24
I am a big fan of the sheet masks JMsolution makes, so I am always happy to see them in a subscription box. If the name of the mask didn't clue you in, this sheet mask does indeed have jellyfish extract. I think it would have been better for the serum of this mask to have been paired with a hydrogel or biocellulose material, but I still found this to be really hydrating to my skin (I think the five different forms of hyaluronic acid helped with that, too).
Holika Holika Skin Rescuer Collagen Mask Sheet - Retail Value $4.12
Holika Holika is a popular K-Beauty brand, and while I've tried their products before, I haven't tried this particular mask. I liked it! It was well saturated with collagen-infused essence, and the soft mask material fit my face really well. I removed it after about 30 minutes, and it didn't leave a sticky residue behind the way some sheet masks occasionally do.
Value – Was This Box Worth It?
The Cost: $49.95 bi-monthly + free US shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first box!
CODE: MSA10
Value Breakdown:
- Mediflower: N/A
- Etude House: $12
- Aronyx: $13.84
- Ample:N Emulsion: $27
- Ample:N Eye Cream: $29
- Nature Republic: $11.99
- JM Solution: $1.24
- Holika Holika: $4.12
Everything in this box except the hand cream added up to $99.19, which is literally pennies shy of being double the cost of the box. If I knew the value of the hand cream, I am sure we would be well over it.
Key Takeaways
This month's box from PinkSeoul had a lot of hydrating products, paired with an exfoliating scrub and a sunscreen to protect our skin. All of the brands sent this month were ones I recognized, but none other than the JMsolution sheet mask were products I had tried before. I thought it was a well-rounded box, and appreciated the prompt response I received when I reached out to customer service. If you like receiving full-size products and discovering K-Beauty products, then this is a subscription box you should seriously consider checking out - I always have fun every two months when this arrives at my door.
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add PinkSeoul to your subscription list or wishlist!
Other Things You Should Know
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? No, your first box will be a PinkSeoul PLUS welcome box (valued at $100+).
Good to Know: Your first box will ship within 5 business days and subsequent boxes will ship by the 25th of every other month.
What do you think of the PinkSeoul Plus box? Do you prefer monthly or bi-monthly beauty boxes?
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