This is my very first Box Subscription review! There will be many more.
OK, so I am a little late to the “Box Subscription” craze, but OH.MY.GOD! I love the concept, and who doesn’t like getting surprise boxes of neat stuff for WAY less than retail price? It is like my birthday every time I get one – except I’m not a year older! SWEET. You see, I’m not a normal girl – I hate shopping. I don’t mean that I hate buying stuff, I mean that I don’t care for driving in L.A. traffic, fighting crowds, the frustration of trying to find what I’m looking for and having to get all dolled-up to go the damn mall. FORGET IT. Online shopping is the only shopping I do now for the most part, and box subscriptions are the absolute perfect thing for me because even virtual shopping can be a time consuming chore, and I am often reluctant to try new things. One of the main reasons I am so drawn to this concept is because it exposes me to products I wouldn’t necessarily choose for myself, or may not even know about at all, AND if I don’t like something, I can gift it to someone I know that would! It’s a total win-win. I know re-gifting sounds a little asshol-ish, but it’s not like I’m just pawning off crap no one wants, this is quality stuff. FYI, I will happily take any items you don’t want. Gimme. 🙂 Plus, there are also forums now for ‘swapping’ box items so that you can minimize your stash of unwanted items. All boxes are curated (often times to your specified taste and style) so all the work is done FOR you! Wheee!
I’ve only just entered this mystical and wonderful world, and I’m as giddy as a kid on Christmas Eve! I am already utterly addicted. I’m thinking of setting up a lawn chair on my front porch since I am now subscribed to 17 boxes (no shit) and get so excited waiting for them all. I am also now on a first-name-basis with my postman – he will definitely be getting a Christmas bonus from me this year. Or possibly a re-gifted box. Haha.
How Do You Find and Choose a Box Description?
First, you figure out what kind of box you want. I started by looking at book club-themed subscriptions since reading is my favorite pastime, but quickly got side-tracked because there are so many cool boxes. It is a little overwhelming, but Pinterest (of course) is the best place IMHO to get a good overall look at everything with the option to quickly ‘pin’ your favorites, or the ones you are interested in, and to find reviews and photos of past boxes. You can view my box subscription pin board here. If you are anything like me, I guarantee once you start, you won’t stop looking for hours. HOURS. The choices are endless – makeup products (full and sample size), books, bath products, food, games, collectibles, gardening stuff, survival gear, fishing tackle, art supplies, clothes, shoes, jewelry, decor, artisan goods – the list goes on and on, and new boxes are appearing all the time. I got a good chuckle out of the plethora of “that time of the month” boxes that feature a supply of tampons/maxi-pads and FOOD. LOL!
POPSUGAR Must Have Box Subscription, April 2016!
Most of the subscriptions follow the same general operation, but a few of them have special perks like free shipping, the ability to choose your options (I like being surprised better), or free return shipping on items you don’t like. POPSUGAR is a mixed-box curated for women that includes beauty/style products, decor, snacks and other fun lifestyle items – and is one of the most popular subscriptions. Here is how the POPSUGAR Must Have Box works:
Choose between:
- 1 month plan – $39.95; Autorenews (until you cancel) at $39.95 per month + free shipping
- 3 month plan (save $10.00) – $109.85; Autorenews (until you cancel) at $39.95 per month after the 3rd month + free shipping
- 6 month plan (save $25.00) – $214.70; Autorenews (until you cancel) at $39.95 per month after the 6th month + free shipping
I chose the 3 month plan, and my credit card was charged $113.24 (including tax and a welcome coupon for $5 off my first box) which comes out to be $37.75 a month. Their website boasts that in each box, there will be at least $100 worth of products. Not every box service has such a high value like this, so I was curious. Well, I just received my April 2016 box, and I love EVERY SINGLE ITEM IN THE BOX! The total retail value for the items in this month’s box is $156! For me, that is $118 in free stuff! So yeah, I’m seriously impressed and totally ‘get’ now why it is so popular. See below for photos, the price breakdown and my comments about each.
How the pretty pink box arrived – oh the anticipation!
Nicely packed and branded.
All the cool stuff unwrapped! I love looking at all of it laid out like this. Even if you aren’t a blogger or photographer, I highly recommend taking a photo of all the goodies you get in each box so you can remember how much fun it was and what you got!
The inserts they provide are really professional and nice.
The insert includes the price each item retails for, and a brief description. This is actually a part of the allure for me – I like having info on my stuff.
Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Lotion $48 – This looks like a high quality beauty product to me, and not something I’ve ever heard of. I’m in my mid-forties and the wrinkles are starting, so I am excited to try it! I should have started a firming face product like this a long time ago, but I just didn’t want to spend the money on it.
Canvas Home Tinware Salt and Pepper Shakers $12 – These are cute and simple little shakers with a faux vintage touch added. My old shakers had seen better days, and what a bonus that they match my blue Rachel Ray teapot!
Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings Recipe Book $29.99 – Not only do I love to try new scrumptious-looking recipes, but I absolutely adore cookbooks with beautiful photography! This is my favorite thing in the box!
Noon Design Shop “Lemons” Flour Sack Tea Towel $18 – At first this didn’t really appeal to me, but after placing it in my kitchen and using it, I’m now a fan. I might get the whole collection.
In my kitchen…
Royal Apothic Field Poppy Conservatories Hand Creme $24 – I am super picky about the smell and feel of lotions. This creme has a really nice and pleasant scent – flowery but not too overwhelming. It doesn’t feel greasy to me and soaks in quickly. My man is very sensitive to particular scents, and I have had to stop using certain products before because of it, so I did an experiment and didn’t tell him when I put it on. I walked past him carrying some laundry and he *immediately* told me I smelled good and reached out to pull me over to him. This is always a BIG plus for many reasons. 😉
Next By Nature Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans $3.99 – Um, it’s like they KNOW ME. This is one of my favorite foods in the world, and necessary for my survival. I eat dark chocolate every day. It’s good for you!
Bloom That $20 Gift Card – This is more than half the cost of the box by itself! I always thought flowers were a waste of money, but as I’ve gotten older, and now spend a large chunk of my time working at home, this will be a real treat! It could also come in handy for Mother’s Day!
So that concludes CrazyDogMama’s first box review, how did I do? Anything you want to know that I didn’t cover?
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