K-beauty brand I'm Meme is now in Shopee, so I tested five lippies to see if they're good
One of the more amusing side effects of the stay-at-home order is our collective renewed interest in K-dramas and, subsequently, Korean cuisine and K-beauty. The demand for the latter is so that a lot of us are blind buying our Korean products straight from the Land of the Morning Calm.
Not gonna lie, I was swept up by the I’m Meme craze when they officially opened on Shopee Mall. The in-house brand of MBX (formerly known as Memebox) has been around since at least 2018 when I first spotted their blushes on Althea Korea. But they’re going full-force now by setting up their own online store and launching new products with a millennial aesthetic to obsess over. I caved and grabbed a bunch of lip products that I’m sharing with you today!
Let’s start with the thinnest formulas in the bunch, the I’m Mystery Flash Tint (P172 for 1g mini; P541 for 3.1g full size). As someone who can barely finish any lip product, I love the super totable minis! They come with the same curved, leaf-shaped doe foot applicator as the full-sized version, though I’m not sure if the ones in the minis are slightly smaller. Either way, the shape makes for easy access on the contours of the lips. The tint has a tingly sensation upon application and a strawberry candy scent. Those features remind me of the fruit-flavored numbing gel they use at the dentist’s office. (Lol!) I’ll chalk up the tingling to the plumping claims.
The finish is a soft gloss that feels moist but not sticky on the lips. With the tint being on the sheer side, I have to apply twice so that my top lip doesn’t look patchy. The moisture lasts 2 hours, and the color left behind is a matte tint that still looks pretty even. Staining is barely noticeable and reapplication is necessary after meals. Mystery Lychee Soda is a coral-tinged lychee peel shade of red, while Mystery Rose Ade is a strawberry pink-red. Both are at medium intensity and not too bright.
Now, we’re moving on to creamier territory with the I’m Tic Toc Tint Lip Velvet (P631 for 2.5g). I’m generally not a fan of the “click stick” format as I find it icky that you end up with a lot of crusted product leftover on the applicator. But in this case, it actually helps achieve the desired effect. The liquid lipstick inside is creamy and has a sheen to it. But when smoothed on with the fuzzy applicator, the finish diffuses into a powdery matte. There is a faint milky peach candy scent, and it wears comfortably for up to 2.5 hours.
I have Clearly Coral, which is a medium salmon that leaves behind a bright pink stain. The second shade I have, Classy Chili, is a brownish brick red that doesn’t leave behind much of a stain.
Finally, there’s my favorite out of my five buys, the Pep Balm (P361). You get a whopping 15g of lip and cheek color in the cute paint-themed tube, so it’s definitely sulit. As the name indicates, the formula glides or pats on smooth with a hint of waxiness. Pigmentation is buildable. I find it easy to blend and diffuse on the cheeks, and then I use a little bit more on the lips to build opacity. 003 Pause is a rosy medium pink. Its moisture on the lips lasts 2 hours, while I’ve noticed fading on the cheeks after 4 hours of wear. The fading on the cheeks happens gradually and looks very natural.
I’m Meme lippies: Mystery Lychee Soda, Mystery Rose Ade, Clearly Coral, Classy Chili, and Pause
Head on over to Shopee and start browsing as I’m Meme products are still on sale. They’ve also got a cute hand mirror GWP for purchases above P800!
What K-beauty brands are you currently carting on Shopee?
