April Popsugar Must Have Review

The Box: Popsugar Must Have

The Cost: $39.95/month

The Goods: Hand-picked food, fashion, beauty, home, and/or fitness items.

Dabney Lee Dottie Umbrella: ($18)  We have a billion umbrellas but most are janky or ugly.  I'm not complaining about having a new, pretty one!

One Love Organics Gardenia + Tea Body Serum: ($39)  The scent isn't my favorite, but it's subtle enough that I don't really mind it.  It left my skin feeling soft, but a little oilier than regular lotion.

Produce Candles - Rhubarb: ($20)  I know that rhubarb is used in pies, but I actually have no idea what it is.  Well, that's not true, it's also a fantastic smelling candle scent.

Flip & Tumble 24-7 Bag - Blue: ($10.99)  The coolest thing about this packable tote bag is that once it's lived its life to the fullest, you send it back to the manufacturer and they recycle it.  (I had a rather had time repacking it into a little ball, though.)

Potting Shed Creations Garden-in-a-Bag - Basil: ($10)  Based on subscription boxes, it seems basil is the herb of the season.  (Ironic sentence the day after 4/20, no?)

Mott 50 Gift Card: ($25)  There isn't a minimum purchase amount for this but their stuff is fairly pricey, so I doubt that I'll use this.

Total Value: $97.99, not including gift card

I think this is the most practical assortment of items that Popsugar has ever sent out.  I'm seriously obsessed with candles, so any month that includes one is an instant win.

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.

Spring 2015 FabFitFun Review

The Box: FabFitFun VIP

The Cost: $49.99/season

The Goods: Full size, premium beauty, fitness, fashion and wellness products guaranteed to be worth $125 or more.  

Intense Body Blast DVDs: ($27.99)  I honestly don't remember the last time I worked out.  I really need to get back to it.  I really enjoyed pilates when I did it, so I'm hoping I'll like this.

Jules Smith Watercolor Scarf: ($42)  I don't wear scarves often and when I do, it's usually when the weather is much cooler.   I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of this one but I really like the colors of it.

Rifle Paper Co Bon Voyage Coaster Set: ($16)  I love the artwork on these.  There's no such thing as too many coasters, right?

Mirace-Gro Groables - Basil: ($1)  We already have a rather sizeable basil plant but J and I are sort of plant hoarders so we'll never say no to another one.

Orly Cake Pop: ($8)  I adore this milky pink shade.  It's just begging for nail art.

Orly BB Creme: ($15)  I feel so weird when my nails are naked, but maybe this will be good for the times I'm just too lazy to do something creative or dramatic with my nails.

Ofra Brushes - #11 & #20: ($15.95 & $29.95)  I already have several shadow brushes but, really, is there such a thing as too many makeup brushes?  The only odd thing about these is that they smell vaguely of paint.

Palmetto Derma Collagen Booster Restoration Serum: ($48)  I'm always a little hesitant to try serums as my skin is very acne-prone.  This has a lot of good reviews, even from people with acne, so I'm going to give it a shot.

Cosmos Creations - Salted Caramel: ($1.31)  I've had these before.  They're sort of a sweet version of Cheetos...both in texture and in addictiveness. 

Yasi Tattoos: FFF values these at $36 but that seems way excessive.  Also, I'm not sure that I'd want to wear a tattoo that says "swallow."

Hello Fresh Coupon: I've been debating trying Hello Fresh, so maybe this will be the incentive I needed.

Total Value: $205, not including Hello Fresh coupon and the tattoos

It's not an altogether bad box, but I think I liked the Winter box better.  I am excited to see how my skin likes the serum, though.

March Fandom of the Month Club Review - Doctor Who

The Box: Fandom of the Month Club

The Price: $15.99/month

The Goods:  Jewelry themed around a specific fandom every month.

Doctor Who Bracelet:  The bracelet is stamped with "We're all stories in the end."  I absolutely adore this.  It's simple but has meaning even if you're not a Whovian.

Dalek Ring: This is my least favorite piece of the three, but I still quite like it.  The back of it is adjustable - fortunately it actually fits me when it's at it's tightest.  I just wish it were silver.

Tardis Necklace: I wore this a couple days ago and got several compliments on it.  It's a pretty substantial piece; the Tardis is about an inch tall but has quite a bit of weight to it.

FotMC is similar to Loot Crate in that the months will be very hit or miss based on whether or not you like the specific fandom.  Fortunately, she posts spoiler hints on Instagram so you can unsub if you're not into the next month's.

Modcloth Stylish Surprise Dress & Apparel Review

Modcloth recently had another of their Stylish Surprise sales and I managed to snap up a few of the apparel and one of the dresses.  Unfortunately, all of the options have sold out but I still want to show off my haul.

Working Order Skirt - Green: (Originally $39.99, Final Price $11.99)  Man, I want so desperately to love this skirt.  However, my high school's color was green so this just makes me think of  a cheer skirt.  I really like the cut of it, though, so I'm hoping I can convince myself to wear it.

Warm and Fuzzy Coat - Pink: (Originally $119.99, Final Price $35.99)  I didn't really dig this coat until I put it on.  It's incredibly warm and the cut is actually really cute.  It's not my favorite coat ever, but I'll get plenty of wear out of it when the weather gets cooler again.

Touch of Something Delicate Top - Peach: (Originally $44.99, Final Price $13.99)  If this were black I'd be all over it, but this is just not my color.

Breezy Night Stroll Dress - Plum: (Originally $49.99, Final Price $14.99)  I squealed when I pulled this out of my box.  I've been debating buying the blue version of this dress but the fact that this one is purple is like a dream come true.

I paid $65 total and got well over that in value - $76.96 based on the final sales prices or $254.96 in original retail.  I am slightly annoyed that three of the items were sold at prices less than what I paid for the Surprises.  That said, I'll wear 3/4 pieces so I'm pretty pleased.  I also still have 4 Apparel pieces in transit to me and can't wait to see what I got.

March Loot Crate Review - Covert

The Box: Loot Crate

The Price: $13.37 plus shipping

The Goods: 6-8 items perfect for a geek or gamer with a total value of $40+.

March's theme was Covert.  The box evidently is some sort of minigame - J completed it, but I'm not sure what it entailed. 

Blink Time Watch: ($8) This watch is solid black until you press a button on the face to display the time.  I'm not a fan of silicone watches, but J seemed to like it.

Loot Crate Paracord Bracelet: These bracelets are cool but I honestly hope J never unravels it.  I know that he'll want me to reassemble it if he does.

Spy Mad Libs: ($1.99)

Replica Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Lanyard: Neither J nor I have watched Agents of SHIELD but I've heard nothing but good things about the show.

Orphan Black #1: ($3.99)  I love all the comics with LC exclusive covers they send.  I'm still working through season 1 of Orphan Black, but I'm hooked.

Field Notes Notebooks: ($6.63)  All we need now is a pen with UV reactive ink or something!

Super Emo Bondy Shirt:  This is equal parts adorable, sad, and funny.  

Yes, this is J's subscription but *I* really liked this theme.  I used to love pretending to be a spy as a kid and this brought back all the nostalgia feels.

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.

March Bulu Box Review

The Box: Bulu Box (Regular)

The Cost: $10/month (less with a longer subscription)

The Goods: Choose between Weight Loss or Regular options and you'll get 4-5 health and nutrition product samples. You can also earn points to spend in their shop by reviewing the samples you receive.

Vivioptal Multi Vitamins: ($2.06)  This is the obligatory non-veg-friendly item.  Also, non-negotiable sample?  Do people try to negotiate samples?

Rawxies - Lemon Poppyseed: ($.99)  Raw snacks just really aren't my thing.  This wasn't awful, but I didn't especially want to eat all of it.

Beanfields Bean & Rice Chips - Ranch: ($1.25)  This is my favorite of all the Bean & Rice chips I've tried, but it still has a funky after taste.

Procera XTF: ($7)  One dose of these is 4 pills.  4!  Even though I could probably use some mental clarity, these seem like they have enough caffeine to mostly just make me jittery.

E-hydrate: ($1 each)  I've finally accepted that water flavoring powders and liquids just aren't for me.  (I'll stick to fresh fruits.)  Fortunately, J's obsessed with anything that makes water not taste like water so these will get used by him.

Unbeatable Greens - Coconut Acai: ($5) This was apparently designed specifically with crossfitters in mind.  I'm definitely not a crossfitter, but this flavor seems to get great reviews.

Total Value: $20.30

This officially ends my Bulu Box subscription!  I'm definitely not their target customer since I have dietary restrictions and I don't, oh, you know, work out.  That said, I think I'd choose to resubscribe to Runnerbox over Bulu Box personally.

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link.

Spring 2015 Walmart Beauty Box Review

The Box: Walmart Beauty

The Price: $5 every quarter

The Goods: Drugstore beauty products that are appropriate for the season and for your beauty profile.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Boosters Facial Cleanser: ($.42)  Since I mostly deal with dry skin in the winter, I feel like this probably would've been better in my last box.

Lady Gaga Fame: ($.40)  It always surprises me when I like a celebrity fragrance, but I kind of like this one.  I don't like it enough that I'd buy a bottle of it, but I'll wear the sample at least.

Dove Go Fresh Body Wash: ($.45)  Body wash is one of those things that I either am completely out of or completely drowning in.  I'll stash this somewhere in hopes that the "travel" aspect of the size will be useful sometime soon. ;)

Schwarzkopf essence ULTIME Omega Repair Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner: ($.88 each)  I've seen Schwarzkopf's got2Be brand in stores for years but I feel like I haven't seen their own brand here until recently.  I have no idea how to pronounce their name, but the products smell great.

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara: ($6.82)  I've never been impressed with cosmetics that claim to make lashes grow.  I'm pretty stuck on Urban Decay Perversion, anyway.

There were also several coupons included, as well as a foil packet sample I seem to have already lost.

Total Value: $9.43ish

Disclosure: This post contains referral and/or affiliate links