What is Next (WIN)? January 2017 Unboxing

This is my second month of subscribing to WIN? Beauty Kit. WIN is an Asian skincare subscription service ($14/month). Let's get right to the unboxing!

January's bag is a pastel toned floral print, I like it but it reminds me very much of last month's bag (not nearly as cute as the ones I've seen online from past months). Once again the bag is larger than the standard make-up bag, and thicker too.

       
         I was intrigued immediately upon opening the bag; there was an awkward looking, brightly colored sponge looking thing I had never seen anything before! First item out of the bag is the Missha Bubble Maker & Face Sponge. Apparently you put your face wash on this tool (it's a little mesh bag containing a few sponges strung together) and make a lather, then you take the lather from the tool with your hands and wash your face. I'm going to give it a try but I feel like this is  1) a really pointless tool that will likely result in more product being used than necessary even though it's probably supposed to do the opposite, 2) another step in the cleansing process,  and 3) something that needs to be kept clean. Boooooooo.

       
The second product this month is the Etude House True Relief Moist Emulsion (15 ml). The product card says it is alcohol and fragrance free so, yay! Although Etude House's marketing doesn't really hit my demographic I have completely fallen in love with their Honey Cera line and the Age Defense Essential Softener. The True Relief packaging and design reminds me of these in that it feels a little more mature than many of their product lines. I battle with dry, flaky skin so will mos def be giving this emulsion a try soon. Next up we have a Welcos Aqua Jeju Natural Green tea Mask (20 ml). Jeju is so hawt right now. If you're unfamiliar with the area, Jeju is the name of a province and the largest city on Jejudo Island in South Korea. A variety of masks were sent out, the one I received was the green tea version.

The fourth item in the January WIN beauty kit is SkinFood's Black Sugar Perfect Essential Scrub 2x (20 ml). I am currently using and just repurchased the Black Sugar Perfect First Serum 2x Light and I love love love it but haven't tried anything else in their Black Sugar line. Looks like a decent amount of product in the little pot, may actually be able to evaluate it's effectiveness! The last item in the bag is the 3W Clinic Exfoliating Soap (150 g). Two different types were sent out, Charcoal and Jahwangsu Rosehip. I was sent the Rosehip. Bar soap... Bar... soap. Bar soap? Really? Gross. I haven't used bar soaps for anything since around 1996 or so. And although I don't use bar soap, had it been charcoal I may have shaved it into individual use pieces for the shower or gym. As is, it's rose bar soap and I have no time in my life for something like that.

Awesomely informative WIN product card:

       
       The What is Next? (WIN) Beauty Kit January 2017 bag included 5 items:  Missha Bubble Maker & Face Sponge ($3.29 value),  Etude House True Relief Moist Emulsion ($1.99 value), Welcos Aqua Jeju Natural Green tea Mask ($.77 value), SkinFood's Black Sugar Perfect Essential Scrub 2x ($1.59 value), and 3W Clinic Exfoliating Soap in Jahwangsu Rosehip ($5.93 value) for a total sample value of $13.57, cost of bag = $14.  All in all I am underwhelmed by this month's bag. The value of the bag is less than it cost, and though that is not what I put the most weight on when rating a bag it still sticks out, especially when compared to other subscription sample services. I'm disappointed in the bar soap, lack-luster about the facial sponge that isn't supposed to touch your face, and I have far better face masks in my collection. The scrub and the emulsion will both be used, but slightly larger sizes would have been much more appreciated.

This was my second and final WIN? Beauty Kit for the following reasons: lowest value to cost ratio of any of my subscriptions, not a large range of brands (low to mid level, nothing high-end), "full-sizes" were items like sheet masks and bar soap, small sample sizes, limited website - no description of past bag's products in case you lose your product card,   no customization or profile, I subscribe to another Asian skincare sample bag (3B) that costs less and has far more value to me.

With that being said, signing up and cancelling was easy. If WIN? changes their service up a bit, I would try it again.

-Link to What is Next Beauty Kit website: winbeautykit.com