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.
The Breakdown – What’s Inside The Box
Each box will come with an "accessory" or bonus item. This month I received these two bracelets.
Tia’m Vitamin B5 Toner, 180 mL - Retail Value $13.49
I love a good hydrating toner, I just wish more brands packaged them to be mists. Is that just me, or does anyone else prefer to spritz their hydrating toners onto their face rather than pat it or wipe it with a damp cotton pad? Formula-wise this is made with panthenol, hydrolyzed collagen, peptides, and hyaluronic acid. I definitely found it to be hydrating, and I also think my skin would like it if I was dealing with irritation or sensitivity based on how quickly my skin seemed to soak it up.
Skinfood Pineapple Peeling Gel, 100 mL - Retail Value $12
I've never seen a peeling gel offered by a western beauty brand, and while they stay on trend with K-Beauty products being fun and innovative, I've never personally fallen in love with them. As you massage the gel into your skin the formula will ball up, and the balling up is gently exfoliating dead skin cells (if a brand tells you all of the balled up material is dead skin, that's a lie). This is made with cellulose, apple, pineapple, aloe, and purslane extract, and the fruit extracts have some chemical exfoliants to help with the process. One great thing about peeling gels is they are a lot more mild than other chemical exfoliants- if you struggle with sensitivity with harsher products, this may be for you.
JM Solution Marine Luminous Pearl Sun Stick, 0.74 oz - Retail Value $18
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Sunscreen sticks are definitely having a moment, if my Instagram feed is any indication. The Shiseido one seems to be the most popular mainstream sun stick I’ve been seeing, but I applaud PinkSeoul for including a product that feels timely in this month’s box. This sun stick uses chemical sun filters and multiple weights of hyaluronic acid to protect your skin and keep it hydrated. I’m unfortunately actually allergic to chemical sunscreen filters so I’ll be passing this along to a friend, but since its from the JM Solution brand I have no doubts this is a pretty great sunscreen.
Sweeteen Tartcherry Cica Soothing Gel, 100 mL - Retail Value $8
I’ve never heard of bitter cherry as a skincare ingredient, but I’ve definitely heard of cica (Centella Asiatica). This is formulated with multiple derivatives of cica (asiaticoside, asiatic acid, and madecassic acid), multiple weights of hyaluronic acid, and ceramide NP. I really threw caution to the wind and applied this like a regular moisturizer underneath my sunscreen without thinking if the gel texture would cause issues. I didn’t experience any pilling, thankfully, but I think moving forward I will be using this gentle, calming gel in the evenings or as a leave-on after doing an exfoliating treatment.
Benton Snail Bee Ultimate Eye Cream, 0.35 oz - Retail Value $22
The snail bee serum from Benton is one of the first K-Beauty products I remember trying and thinking “wow, this is so creative.” This was six or so years ago, and if there were any Western brands using snail secretion and bee venom in their products I certainly had never heard of it (and highly doubt that it happened). I’ve used the snail bee serum and the sheet mask from this line, but had no idea they made an eye cream too. I was a little nervous to try this out, I’m not going to lie—the skin around your eyes is extra sensitive, and this has some potent stuff formulated inside of it. Along with snail and bee venom we also have collagen, probiotics, niacinamide, adenosine, peptides, ceramides, and 17 different amino acids. I love the concept of this eye cream, but I think it is made for skin more hardier than mine—when I used this I did feel a slight tingle, and since it’s so close to my eyes I didn’t want to push through and keep using it.`
Ample:N Centel Calming Shot Mask - Retail Value $3.99
While my skin wasn’t going through any particular troubles when I used this mask, I could see it being just what the aesthetician ordered if I was dealing with a rosacea flare. The sheet mask material is a cotton gauze which deviates from what you typically see with sheet masks, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable material to wear. Centella Asiatica is the star ingredient here, and that’s an ingredient my skin is always happy to soak right up.
JM Solution Active Golden Caviar Nourishing Mask - Retail Value $3
I’ve used many a JM Solution sheet mask, and they have never missed—I am always happy to see them pop up in a box because I know my skin is in for a treat. This mask was absolutely packed with essence; it’s the kind of mask I personally like to refer to as “juicy” and some may dislike because it may drip down to your neck. That never bothers me because I know my neck can benefit from the skincare benefits the serum offers from ingredients like caviar extract and Chinese skullcap. A fun think I wasn’t expecting with this mask is it actually had little gold dots throughout the mask. I think that’s from the mica and not the actual gold that’s also listed in the ingredients, but it was fun nonetheless and the mask overall was deeply hydrating to my skin.
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:
- Bracelets: N/A
- Ti'am: $13.49
- Skinfood: $12
- JM Solution Sun Stick: $18
- Sweeteen: $8
- Benton: $22
- Ample:N: $3.99
- JM Solution Mask: $3
Everything in this box except the bracelets added up to $80.48, which is a hair over $30 more than the cost of the box.
Key Takeaways
This month's box from PinkSeoul was another solid performer. I was happy to see brands that I really like like JM Solution and Benton, and this month's box touched all of the bases for almost a full routine: sunscreen, eye cream, exfoliant, soothing moisturizer, hydrating toner. The peeling gel and sunscreen weren't good picks for me personally due to my personal preferences and weird allergies, but I can still appreciate the brands they come from and the overall curation of the box. 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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