Kira Kira Crate – December 2016 Review

 is Japan Crate’s new beauty subscription. It includes 6-8 full-Size beauty items from Japan. $29 per month with free shipping worldwide.

This is the review of their December box.

Everything in this month’s crate.

They included a magazine with translations and tutorials for the products.

Ashirira Sheet Lavender – I’ve always wanted to try foot pads like these.  This is “made from natural tree extracts, it stimulates areas of the body called reflex points so that balance can be restored to the body and toxins removed from it”.  You are supposed to “apply patch to the bottom of the foot or target area before bed.  Remove in the morning or after 6-8 hours.”  I was a little bit hesitant because it says lavender (I don’t like lavender scent), but it actually smelled really good.  It had a pretty strong, sweet floral scent.  The package comes with two packets and two adhesive strips.  (See below picture.)  To apply them, you have to put the adhesive strips on the back of the packets and then put them on your feet.  I like the adhesive design because it made it easy to locate the pouch in the center.  However, the instructions on the information card did not mention it.  It was only in Japanese (which, fortunately, I can kind of read) on the package.  I think it’s pretty easy to figure it out though.

Yogrip Rose & Honey – This is a wash-off mask which contains “damask rose extracts to calm and rehydrate any blotchy and dry patches”.  It also contains “yogurt and honey which have a brightening effect and will leave even the dullest of winter skin more kira kira than ever”.  You’re supposed to “apply on a clean and dry face, squeeze two cherry-sized dollops of cream onto hands, covering the face evenly.  Watch face and rinse clean after five to ten minutes.”  It appears to be a white cream with red particles in it.  It has a floral scent.  It actually dried in about 5 minutes and I felt it getting absorbed into my skin.  After rinsing it off my skin felt smooth.  The package has 50g which is much more than enough for one use.

Contents of the foot pad package.

Assembled foot pad before use.  I didn’t include pictures after use for gruesomeness reasons because they turned brown and oily.  I didn’t feel any changes to my body or feet after use, but I did see changes in the pads, so I guess they worked.

Green Tea Mask – This is a sheet mask from Pure Smile.  Last month they sent the cherry blossom mask from the same line.  This one contains “green tea essence to help calm, soothe, and tone skin while ceramide-3, vitamin E, collagen, and hyaluronic acid moisturize and protect it”.  Green tea has always been one of my favorite ingredients in sheet masks, so I was excited to try this.  The mask came out of the package soaked with essence, and there was some leftover essence.  It had a light alcohol smell.  It definitely didn’t smell like green tea.  Oh well.  The fit was pretty good.  It only felt a bit short on my nose area.  I could feel a bit of cooling effect while it was on.  I left it on for about 30 minutes.  After patting the essence into my skin, it felt smooth and elastic.  This is definitely a mask I’m going to look out for.

Ichigo Milk Soap – These were their spoiler items this month.  Apparently the soap is a very popular item in Japan because the information card says that they’ve sold 11.2 million of them.  It contains milk and strawberry extracts, “are especially good for dry skin”, and “is also a very effective cleanser”.  It’s pretty huge in size (80g).  I would be extremely excited about this if it wasn’t ichigo (strawberry) flavor, but I went ahead and gave it a try.  I like fresh strawberries, but not strawberry flavor, and this one, like most strawberry scented beauty products, smells like artificial strawberry flavor.  It does look very cute with a strawberry on it, and it foams very well.  It does a good job cleansing my makeup-free face, but does not work too well on waterproof makeups.

Ichigo Milk Bath – I will gift this one, so I didn’t open it.  I can’t imagine myself soaking in a strawberry milk bath.  I’m sure some other people will like it.

 

The soap outside the packaging and after lathering.

Monroe Peach Hand Cream – A Korean beauty hand cream!  I did not expect to see a Korean beauty product in Kira Kira Crate, but I have seen this one around.  It comes in a pretty big tube for hand cream (80 mL).  It has a very refreshing peach scent.  It appears to be a thicker cream, but was not sticky when I put it on my skin.  It absorbed very quickly and made my hands feel soft, smooth, and hydrated.  Oh yeah, I love the cute packaging too.

Dear Laura 9 Colors Lip and Cheek Palette – This was another spoiler item this month, and the reason why I resubscribed.  These have a cream texture and I really like all the colors.  I also appreciate that they included a lip brush in the kit.  I think I’ll use the top three colors for my cheeks and the rest for my lips.

Inside of the palette.

Swatches.  I swatched each row of the palette from right to left.  The first two colors can almost be used as highlighters.  All nine colors are soft, not too dramatic, and I love that they are very smooth and surprisingly pigmented.

The information booklet describes some tips for creating different looks using this palette.

Overall, I think this is a good Kira Kira Crate.  It seems like they listened to subscribers’ feedback last month and I could see the improvement in curation in terms of value and including more trendy beauty items in Japan.  I used a $10 off coupon when I subscribed, which made this crate $19.  I think it’s a great price for this box.  However, I’m not sure I would be willing to pay full price for this.

If you’re interested in Kira Kira Crate, .

Purchased.  Affiliate link.  All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.