Unboxing April 2016 TofuCrate Sampler Box!

disclaimer: this box was sent to me for review purposes. all opinions are my own and unbiased

TofuCrate is the latest Asian Beauty Subscription service out there ~ they just launched their site and I received their sampler trial kit from them for review purposes. I am very grateful to TofuCrate for their generosity in sending me this box! What is TofuCrate?

TofuCrate is an independent subscription box service, mainly focusing on Asian beauty and skincare products. Receive up to 7 products per month at your doorstep. Boxes start at $10 and are hand-picked by experts to deliver an intriguing box that keeps you coming back for more.

They have a mini, junior and senior monthly boxes that are also discounted if you sign up for more than one month. The sampler crate is not part of their subscription service ~ it is a trial kit and you can purchase it here for $10.00

Mini: 3-5 different beauty products, ranging from makeup, skincare, and more! Weighs between 0.5-1 lbs. Comes with free samples. $15.00/month
Junior: 5-7 different beauty products, ranging from makeup, skincare, and more! Weighs between 1-1.5 lbs. Comes with free samples $20.00/month
Senior: 7-10 different beauty products, ranging from makeup, skincare, and more! Weighs between 1.5-2 lbs. Includes one non-beauty surprise gift! Comes with free samples $27.00/month

My sampler kit came in a cardboard box, nothing fancy, except the inside! I love this ~ I don’t know what it means, but this is a personal touch.

TofuCrate Sampler Kit Contents

Informational Card

There are a variety of mini sample foils

Innisfree Eco Science Wrinkle Spot Essence & Recover Spot Essence
Tonymoly BCD Nation BB Cream
Tonymoly Intense Care Dual Effect Sleeping Pack
Dr Jart+ Light Up Face V7 Radiance Serum (pretty excited about this sample!)
Milky Dress Premium Brightening Pack and Wrinkle Care
the Saem Urban Eco Harakeke Firming Seed Cream

Etude House Collagen Eye Patch I’ve used these before and I will repeat my original review here/ Retail Value $1.30

These patches have lots of essence. When you remove them from the package, they are encased in a little plastic case, open it (be careful not to spill the excess essence) and then remove the patches. They have a little mesh covering over them, which you will need to remove before placing these on your eyes. I take the extra essence and dab on my face (waste not, want not!) These are nice, hydrating patches and they are made with 1% collagen, vitamin A (retinol), vitamin E (tocopherol) and Green Tea Extracts to help revitalize, brighten skin, reduce puffiness around your eye area.

Description: What it is: A hypoallergenic hydrating and intensifying elasticity eye sheet soaked with collagen essence made of natural fiber and botanicals. What it does: Hydrate & intensify elasticity of skin around eyes like baby’s skin. Brighten and care darkened eyes with essence containing collagen and vitamin. Tighten skin around eyes by intensifying sheet made of special natural fiber.

Ingredients: water, butylene glycol, glycerin, PEG-75, PEG/PPG-17/6 copolymer, alcohol, hydrolyzed collagen (1%), citrus paradisi (grapefruit) fruit extract, xanthan gum, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, carbomer, triethanolamine, disodium EDTA, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, sodium hyaluronate, tocopherol (vitamin E), retinol (vitamin A), polysorbate-20, phenoxyethanol, fragrance cosDNA.com analysis

image source

Mediheal Collagen Impact Essential Mask I’ve used Mediheal masks before and they are full of essence and their sheets are very silky. This has collagen derived from marine algae, so don’t worry about the piggies! Collagen helps keep your face firm, supply and improves skin elasticity. This is a highly moisturizing mask as it not only contains collagen, but natto gum, vitamin E, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate and wheat amino acids. RV $1.80

Description: A collagen-packed hypoallergenic facial sheet mask. Features a silky Cellulose sheet made of 100% pure cotton concentrated with essence. Contains marine collagen marine elastin & Vitamin E. Helps revitalize fatigued skin while enhancing skin elasticity.Boosts moisture retention & soothes irritated skin. Stimulates skin renewal & fills in wrinkles. Skin appears firmer softer smoother plumper & younger looking

Ingredients: water, butylene glycol, glycerin, PEG/PPG-17/6 copolymer, dipropylene glycol, hydrolyzed elastin, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) water, hydrolyzed collagen, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, natto gum, triethanolamine, carbomer, methylparaben, disodium EDTA, phenoxyetanol, dipotassium glycyrrhizate, fragrance, propylparaben, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, sodium hyaluronate, tocopheryl acetate, ethylhexylglycerin, hydroxyethylcellulose, wheat amino acids cosDNA.com analysis

Tonymoly Gold 24K Mask This is a wash off mask foil and it contains 100ppm of pure gold. According to the photos, this mask is colored gold (hello, C-3PO!). Ingredients of note

Gold is an skincare ingredient that has a lack of scientific research behind it , but according to fans of gold in skincare, it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Snail Secretion Filtrate will increase skin elasticity and increase firmness,while helping repair skin from blemishes, reducing acne and working to lighten hyper-pigmentation scarring.
Caviar extract contain nutrients and antioxidants, such as omaga-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which help prevent inflammation and stimulate cellular renewal and collagen production. It also contains antioxidants, such as Vitamin A and E, which combat free radicals and help reverse the damage, such as hyper-pigmentation. It also helps improve your skin’s elasticity as it contains potassium and selenium and finally is a fantastic moisturizer that reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Honey has antibacterial properties, that can speed up healing in your skin ~ think acne, rashes, cuts ~ and prevent additional infection. The wonderful texture of honey will keep moisture close to your skin, which makes for a glowing and radiant complexion. Not only does honey keep moisture in your skin, but it is humectant, which means it attracts moisture too. Honey is also an antioxidant, which means it helps repair and combat any damage caused by free radicals and prevents premature wrinkling.

You just apply the mask on your face, leave on for 15-20 minutes and rinse off. RV .50 cents

Ingredients: water, glycerin, butylene glycol, cetyl ethylhexanoate, trehalose, cetearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, gold (100ppm), snail secretion filtrate, honey extract, caviar extract, polysorbate 60, dimethicone, PEG-100 stearate, carbomer, tromethamin, sodium hyaluronate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, chlorphenesin, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexylglycerin, iron oxides (CI 77489), mica (CI 77019), titanium dioxide (CI 77891), fragrance cosDNA.com analysis

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask This is a light gel cream and because this has a rose fragrance in it, I cannot use it ~ however, I know that a lot of people love this sleeping pack. If you are new to Asian skincare, a sleeping pack or mask is the last step in your nighttime routine. You do not use it alone ~ you apply over all of your other skincare products (serums, ampoules, lotions, creams, what have you). This “top coat” of skincare will lock in all of the other ingredients and provide additional nutrients and moisturizing benefits overnight. Sample size 15mL RV $5.14

Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract is a BHA (beta hydroxy acid) which helps exfoliate skin by removing dead skin cells, contains salicylic acid, to help combat acne. It is also high in anti-oxidants, which tone and reduce inflammation as well as being an astringent, to control oil. Salicylic acid is fat soluble, so it can really get to the oil that is inside your pores.
Beta-Glucan is a compound that is naturally derived from mushrooms, oats, yeast and grains. It helps stimulate the production of collagen, speeds up wound healing, soothes and calms skin due to its anti-irritant and strong anti-inflammatory properties, moisturizes, locks in natural moisture, anti-aging and anti-wrinkle due to its anti-oxidant properties and also helps repair your moisture barrier.
Glycerin ~ This ingredient moisturizes and hydrates the skin, leaving your face feeling smooth and soft.
Arginine ~ This is an amino acid that promotes healing and detoxes your skin. It also helps guard against the formation of wrinkles and loss of skin firmness.

Description: Recharge dehydrated skin overnight with the Water Sleeping Mask from LANEIGE. Highly concentrated ionized mineral water and Moisture Wrap™ deliver intensive doses of moisture to stressed, parched skin. The aromatic sleep scent of orange flower, rose and sandalwood relaxes and rejuvenates while Hunza apricot and evening primrose extracts brighten and purify fatigued skin. The result: skin looks and feels radiant, refreshed. Wake up to soft, glowing skin with Water Sleeping Mask.

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Cyclohexasiloxane, Trehalose, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Fruit Extract, Beta-Glucan, Castanea Sativa (Chestnut) Seed Extract, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract, Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA, Salicornia Herbacea Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycogen, Glutamic Acid, Dimethicone, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Lysine HCl, Magnesium Sulfate, Mannitol, Manganese Sulfate, Serine, Sucrose, Stearyl Behenate, Citrulline, Alanine, Arginine, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Zinc Sulfate, Caprylyl Glycol, Threonine, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Polysorbate 20, Propanediol, PCA, Histidine HCl, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Blue 1 (CI 42090) cosDNA.com analysis

So supposedly the sampler box is going to be a “taste” of their subscription service boxes. The retail value of the products included, excluding the extra foil samples, was under $9.00. It looks like the sampler kit would not have free shipping associated with it automatically, so I would have rather received a couple of more products, even if they were deluxe samples, like the Tonymoly 24K Mask, and not had the box ~ that would have saved on shipping. If you purchase this at TofuCrate, this is $10.00, but I have promo codes below, so you can save some more money. This could be a much better sampler if they shipped the products in a small chiffon bag and added a couple of deluxe sized samples. I would have like to see what their actual subscription boxes contain, as I am not sure this is a good representation of their services. As they are brand new, they do have room to grow and improve ~ I will be watching them to see how they grow! Again, many thanks to TofuCrate in giving me this opportunity to review their products.

Did you get any of the boxes from TofuCrate? What did you think of the products?