Jini Beauty is a bimonthly Korean skincare subscription that curates its boxes around four different skintypes: Oily/Acne, Normal/Combination, Dry/Mature, and Troubled/Sensitive. Each box contains 6-8 full size products and deluxe samples, two sheet masks, and complimentary samples. This is a review of the January/February box for Troubled/Sensitive skin.
Jini Beauty – Sensitive/Troubled Skin
$44.95 per box, with free shipping within the US. Shipping is $8 to Canada.
Jini Beauty offers 6-month and 12-month prepay plans, with a slight discount per box.
There are also new features to their online shop! Now you can purchase a 1T (one-time) box for $29.95 (regular size) or $49.95 (deluxe size). This is not part of the bimonthly subscription, so it’s great for testing the waters before committing, or if you’re a current subscriber who wants to try out a new skintype!
AND, current subscribers can purchase Add-Ons that will be included in their next box! You can choose from past inclusions for any skintype, so if you’d like to try something you saw in someone else’s box, or if you need a refill on something you loved in your own box, this is a great option. Jini Beauty graciously offered to let me try this service complimentary this month, so read on if you’d like to see what I picked for my Add-Ons!
Jini Beauty includes an information card in every box. It describes all of the main ingredients for each product, and gives instructions on use, which is helpful because the on-product labeling tends to be in Korean. I love that the card also tells you when to use the item in your routine. Korean skincare routines are notorious for having many steps, so it can sometimes be confusing when to use a new product. This makes it crystal clear so your routine can be as effective as possible!
Innisfree Oat Mild Moisture Cleanser – $9.99
This cleanser contains oat to help balance moisture and soothe dry, irritated, and sensitive skin. I have to say, I don’t usually have high hopes for cleansers, but I loved this one! My skin is not only extremely dry, it dries out very quickly. As in, the distance from my shower to my bathroom sink (where my toner is) will dry my face out. This actually didn’t leave my skin dry afterward! I could even get dressed before applying moisturizer and my skin didn’t feel like death, which is unheard of for me. It does a great job of cleansing – removed all my makeup and any left me feeling clean – but the kicker for me is it doesn’t over dry my face. I’m not a huge fan of the scent, but it rinses away and doesn’t linger so it’s not a problem for me at all.
SKINFOOD Balsamic Oil Peeling Mild Gel – $0.85
Yay, peeling gel! I’ve been looking for a good one that is still mild enough for my sensitive skin. This gel contains 30% balsamic vinegar made from a premium, 25-year-old Italian wine! There really is a slight wine/grape-y fragrance to it, which I find quite pleasant. It also contains olive oil for moisture. Peeling gels are applied to clean, dry skin, and gently exfoliate away dead skin cells. It’s kind of gross, but also kind of therapeutic, to see the skin cells pill up into tiny white balls that you then rinse away. My skin felt hydrated and smoother, and looked a little glow-ier. This is also great as a prep for a mask or other serums, since it gets rid of dead skin and allows the next product to take better effect.
ETUDE HOUSE AC Clean Up Pink Powder Mask – $1.77
This mask contains vitamin E beads for gentle exfoliation, and pink calamine powder to absorb oil and soothe skin while providing anti-bacterial (aka anti-acne!) effects. It’s a baby pink color, and has an herbal, slightly spicy scent. Like any other powder/clay based mask, it was quite drying and left my skin a little gritty afterward. The product spread onto my face thinly, and reminded me a lot of Origins’s Retexturizing Mask, which I prefer because it’s a bit thicker. I don’t have too much acne and my skin isn’t very oily, so I might not be the greatest judge for this product, but I could certainly see myself using this as a spot treatment for any problem areas.
Secret Key Honey Bees AC Control Mist – $12.99
This face mist contains bee venom and propolis, and works to “control excessive sebum, improve skin texture, calm redness and inflammation, and replenish the skin’s moisture supply.” That’s a lot of promise for a face spray! This one is a little thicker and tackier than most mists I’ve tried, but I also find it more moisturizing. I probably wouldn’t reach for it in the summer, but for the drier winter months it’s a great option. The spritz isn’t as fine as I expected, but it sprays evenly and covers a large area.
Peripera Milk Moist Lip Balm – $3.18
This adorable lip balm contains milk extract for moisture and vitamin D. Subscribers could have received this in strawberry milk (above) or peach milk. I’m not sure what peach milk smells like, but the strawberry was lovely: more like a creamy strawberry-flavored candy. It’s very balmy, and moisturized my chapped lips so well! It comes out of the tube a little stiff, but once it’s warmed up on your skin it becomes very smooth and hydrating. The balm starts out clear, but eventually turned into a subtle, glowy-pink color on me that I found very flattering and slightly glossy. Great scent, cute color, and moisturizing – a total win for me!
Lab Egg Pore Mask – $1.81
This natural pulp sheet mask contains egg white, peppermint, and iris extract to cleanse and tighten your pores. While I couldn’t smell anything, I could definitely feel the peppermint – this mask was very cooling on my face for the entire 20 minutes I left it on. The essence seemed a little thicker to me than normal, which is consistent with most egg products I’ve tried. I didn’t notice a big difference in my pores, but my skin did feel hydrated. Alcohol was listed quite high in the ingredients list, which I’m not fond of since it dries my skin out, but in this case it didn’t seem to cause any problems.
SCINIC Snail Matrix Essence Mask – $2.32
Wow, this snail matrix mask contains all sorts of good ingredients, including snail filtrate, hydrolyzed collagen, ginseng root extract, and royal jelly extract – all of which are hydrating and soothing on skin! The sheet itself is also super thin (0.2 mm) and hypoallergenic for extra breathability. It had a decent fit on my face and didn’t slide around too much. There was a cooling sensation as I left it on, and there was a clean, pleasant fragrance. Again, I wasn’t too happy to see alcohol listed as the third ingredient, and after I removed it, my face was red and irritated for a day afterward. I’m not 100% sure it was the alcohol, but I’m normally okay with snail essence and something in this mask made my skin unhappy, so I’m betting it was the alcohol content.
A.H.C. The Real Eye Cream for Face (Season 4) – $10.83
I’m not sure what the “season 4” means, but I’m pretty sure it’s the latest season! This eye cream is made with fermented collagen, natural moisturization factor (is that a real thing?), goami extract, snail filtrate, ceramide complex, and 14 types of peptides. You can apply it to your eye area, or you can use it as a spot treatment for any area on your face where you have (or might develop) wrinkles. I don’t have wrinkles yet so I can’t speak to the anti-wrinkle aspect, but I do think it made my under eyes a little dewier. This product isn’t very hydrating for an eye cream, but I think this would be good as a daytime eye cream or as a base for under makeup, when you don’t want something too heavy or greasy. The fragrance in this cream is quite strong – it reminds me of a perfume I used to wear. It goes away eventually, but it does take a while, and I could see it giving people a headache if they didn’t like it.
THE SAEM Urban Eco Harakeke Toner and Emulsion EX – $0.49
I thought these two little green bottles were bonus samples at first, but they’re listed on the information card. Harakeke, the main ingredient, is a flax native to New Zealand that helps reduce oil, redness, and puffiness, in addition to being antimicrobial. The texture of the toner is that of a thick gel, almost like a jelly, which made it nearly impossible to get out of that tiny bottle. The good thing is that it only took a little to cover my face, and it left my skin tacky for quite some time. The emulsion was easier, and was pleasantly smooth over the toner. I feel like these products complemented each other well, so I appreciate that Jini gave me samples of both. They have a fresh, watery fragrance that I found very refreshing.
A’PIEU Luster-Lightning BB Cream
CosRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid
I have not tried these foil packets yet, which were included as bonus samples. I’m usually hesitant about sample BB creams since they might not match my skin tone well, but I’m looking forward to trying the blackhead power liquid. CosRX is a great brand that has a reputation of being clinically sound, so I’m always glad to see more of their products.
Now for the add-ons! These are not considered part of the subscription box. If you go to the Shop tab in the Jini Beauty website, you will find all available add-on products divided up by skintype. You can choose products from any skintype – you aren’t limited to the type you subscribe to!
Velvizo Marine Spa Vital Mask Control Soothing – $3.00
This is a sheet mask that contains aloe vera, witch hazel, and chamomile. I reviewed this mask in the October/November box and liked it a lot for its calming properties. It’s quite hard to find online, so when Sunny (the founder of Jini Beauty) recommended it to me as an add-on, I jumped at the chance to get another one!
IT’S SKIN Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Serum – $15.00
This serum is an add-on from the Dry/Mature skintype category. I wanted something super hydrating (winter weather destroys my skin), so I checked out the Dry/Mature skintype add-ons and found this product. I’d previously reviewed It’s Skin’s Aloe Relaxing Emulsion in the October/November box and had a good impression, so I had high hopes for this one. Even though it’s a slightly higher price, there is actually less product in this bottle (40 mL, versus the 150 mL aloe emulsion). However, this one comes with a pump that makes it significantly easier (and more hygienic!) to dispense the serum. I also found it much more moisturizing than the aloe. While I still need to use heavier creams and moisturizers after this step, there is a big difference if I leave out the hyaluronic acid serum!
Overall, I think this was a decent box. The value is a bit low at $44.23 (Jini’s boxes usually come out a little higher than the cost), and not all of the products were applicable to me personally (i.e. the Etude House anti-acne mask and the anti-wrinkle eye cream). But as with every Jini box, I had a lot of fun trying out the variety of products. I appreciate that I got products that I don’t normally use in my routine, like the peeling gel, the mist, and the eye cream – it allows me to try new things while still being mindful of my sensitive skin. There is also enough of each product (even the deluxe samples) for you to really get a feel for it. I love that I was introduced to a great new cleanser and lip balm!
I think their add-on program is so convenient and I appreciate the opportunity to get to test it out. I have products from past boxes that I totally fell in love with but can’t find anywhere (Acwell Aquazene Effector, I’m looking at you!), so I will definitely be adding them on to future boxes.
PR sample. All opinions are my own, and no compensation was received for this review. This post contains affiliate links.