Popsugar Must Have - March 2014

Popsugar is $39.95 a month, including shipping. Depending on your state, there may be sales tax. I purchased this subscription myself. If you use the link, you can help me get a free box!
Overall Popsugar is one of my favorite subscription boxes. Especially months like this one. Not necessarily items I would purchase for myself but everything will get used. That is my goal in a subscription box.

Dogeared Lucky Horseshoe Make a Wish Necklace This is so cute! It’s on a string that has a clasp like a regular necklace. You are supposed to make a wish and put the necklace on and wear it until the string breaks. I’ve heard these strings can last ages though, and besides I don’t want to lose the little horse shoe so I may find a gold chain for this.

ActiveForever Fusion Exercise Ball My last exercise ball from PopSugar was confiscated by a cute little 3 year old girl. She shares my house so I see it sometimes. Once in a while I’m even allowed to use it. So another exercise ball was welcome. And this one easily inflates and deflates with a straw like piece that it came with. This should be great for travel. Apparently there are exercises to use it with on the PopSugar blog but I haven’t gotten that far as the cute little pink ball has gone to join it’s bigger sibling in the toys. I do like the feel of the ball and will keep trying to use it!

Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps These weren't exactly new to me since I've tried the Trader Joe's version many times. These were really good. A nice crunchy and salty snack.

Nature's Bakery strawberry fig bar  Speaking of things I frequently buy at Trader Joe's. I have a 3 year old  fig bar connoisseur. These didn't get her approval because they also had strawberry in them. I however really enjoyed them. The only drawback is that this is two servings.  It's not as filling as it should be for the calories. But into the treat pile for sure.

Bauble Bar elephant ring tree This might be my favorite item in the box! It's adorable and looks perfect in the guest bathroom. He doesn't have any rings on him but he's still fun to look at.

Brokedown  blue Ikat scarf This is a close second for favorite item in this box. I love the color. And now I'm off to figure out how to wear all these scarves I've gotten recently!

PopSugar Must Have - October 2013

The last box PopSugar Must Have before the price increase goes into effect November 4th. If you are a current subscriber you can upgrade to a 3 month, 6 months or 1 year subscription to lock in the lower price. I pay for these boxes but if you use my referral link I can earn a free one!

NYX liquid eyeliner in black - I haven't used liquid eyeliner since the 80s so I wasn't thrilled with this being in the box. But I figured I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did. It takes me a little time to apply it but it looks pretty good. I know it's not a luxury brand but it is a full size item!

I don't wear much eye shadow but even when I do these colors are not me. However they look like they were hand picked for my sister. So guess who got an early Christmas present :-) Last I heard, she loved them.

I wish I could figure out a better way to photograph nail polish. I've never tried Julep because a subscription that's all nail polish just isn't for me. But this color is a pretty blue and the Julep topcoat that everyone raves about are a fun try.

October is breast cancer awareness month so I always expect something pink. And it's the one time I can accept it without argument. The Gorjana Charity Ball Bead bracelet is very reminiscent of the string bracelets little girls make for each other. On my small wrists it worked but I know many people had a tough time getting this to fit. The biggest shocker for me was the price tag. Apparently this retails for $45! I guess you have to remember most of the money goes to a good cause.

Jane Tran bobby pins - these are pretty darker colors, from a purpley to green. And they stay in my hair!
The Wet Brush - I tried using this brush to help work conditioner through my long and thick hair and it sort of works. Turns out my little 3 year old likes it even more. She has decided it's her bath hair brush. And I can't argue, it works like a charm!

The Crispery Halloween Crisp cake - I held this in my hand so you could see how huge this thing was. Think of a rice crispy but a bit heavier on the marshmallow. It was soft but not sickeningly sweet. I'd love to get more of these but I hear shipping from this company is pricey.

Stitch Fix gift card/credit - I've been wanting to try Stitch Fix but didn't want to gamble the 20 bucks. You lose the styling fee if you don't keep anything. So this was the perfect chance for me to try risk free. Turns out my concern was unfounded. I ended up keeping two items and they others fit well, they just weren't my taste. I'll probably try again after the holidays.

The Can't Cook Book by Jessica Seinfeld - Well I actually can cook. But sometimes a visual aid is helpful, so I kept this book. It has some good recipes and great step by step instructions on some cooking basics that I admit I still haven't mastered.

Overall a good box and a good value. Not things I would have bought myself but I enjoyed all the items.

PopSugar Must Have - August 2013

I still get excited about PopSugar every month. Even the months that had some things I wasn't able to use, there was at least a couple things to be excited about. It's a nice variety.

I've thought about trying Nature Box so this was nice to find in the box. The apples are pretty good. No added sugar so they are only the slightest bit sweet.

Dermalogica pre cleanse and cleansing gel - I'm curious to try these but I'm using up my current face cleanser first. The pre cleanse really just seems like a make up remover. Not that that's a bad thing. 

May designs weekly agenda - best thing about this is no dates. If I skip a week I can still just use the next week. It's got lots of space to write in. 

Lulah body wash in peony - I was relieved when I opened this. Despite the fact that it's called peony, the scent is not overwhelmingly floral. It's a pretty light scent. 

Bentgo lunch carrier - I can't just call it a lunch box because it's cooler than that. So cool that I traded for another for my husband. And they are dishwasher safe! I've been drooling over bento recipes to get the best use of this. It also has its own utensils.

This is the Gorjana & Griffin necklace that was the special anniversary gift. I don't know that the box would have been complete without it do I haven't set it apart here. It is a very pretty necklace but more delicate than the teaser pictures looked. 

Lunares apple bowl. It's food safe. And a good thing to since my 3 year old has claimed it as her own. It fits the right amount of dried Os.

I'll use everything so this box is a big success for me!

PopSugar Must Have - June 2013

PopSugar is still one of my favorite boxes. It's also the most expensive one I get so I guess that works out! June's box was a pretty good fit for me.

Popcorn, Indiana fit popcorn - As you can probably see, I got the onion dijon flavor. I really like the flavor of this. unfortunately each time I've eaten a handful I've managed to get a piece stuck in my tooth. But I guess that's the popcorn risk :-) Great snack for a salty fix.

Project Quench The Thirsty Wintergreen Mints -These are from Project 7 and they benefit an organization dedicated to getting clean water to places around the world. And they taste pretty good!

Revenge Wears Prada - I didn't read Devil Wears Prada but I enjoyed the movie. This will go in to my To Be Read pile.

Addicted to Sweat - it's a chair workout DVD so I'm curious. But I haven't had the chance to check it out. I guess it's a favorite of Madonna.

Juice Beauty Stem Cell Repair Moisturizer - fruit stem cells to reduce fine lines. It actually smells citrusy! And it feels great going on. They also slipped in a bounus CC cream sample in two shades.

Gorjana & Griffin Zuma Scarf - I'm hesitant to call this a scarf. It's big enough to be a wrap or a beach cover up. And it's not to heavy for that use. I keep wanting to be a scarf person but if that doesn't work out I can still use this.

PopSugar Must Have box is one of my splurges and this month was well worth it!

PopSugar Must Have - May 2013

This box was the best PopSugar box in a while! Almost all stuff I can use! This one is $35 a month but you may get hit with tax depending on your state (I do in IL.) If you want to check it out my referral link is PopSugar 

The first thing out of the box was this great sun hat. Its a Kooringal Giselle Mid Brim Hat. I was just about to buy a new one since my other one flops in my face now. This one has a stiffer brim so it stays out of my eyes but it's flexible enough to fold.

I love small to medium tote bags. I'm not thrilled with the logo being on it but at least it's fairly small. It's basically a smaller version of those reusable shopping bags. It seems pretty sturdy.

I can't think of the last time I had a margarita. We picked up some tequila the other day so we will give these a try. A side note, one of the bottles leaked into the bubble wrap. The bubble wrap protected everything else but the box was sticky. I emailed PopSugar and they actually sent me a whole new set! Great customer service! I photographed the other side of the box so you can't see the stickiness. The box also includes some sort of salt for rimming the glass. The Modern Margarita

I know Mindy Kaling is really popular but I must admit I've never seen her show. Questions I Ask When I Want to Talk About Myself Deck is a deck of cards with a clever subject and questions on each card to jump start conversation. They might be worth a good laugh.

I was in love with my Original Beautyblender and Blendercleanser, but then the blender went to visit my daughters toy box, never to be seen again. I then got and Eco Tools version in another box and loved that even more. I don't want to go back now so I'll probably end up trading this. If you want it, email me! I have another bottle of the cleaner so I have tried it and it's pretty good at cleaning the Eco Tools sponge as well.

I'm not big on lipstick but the Pacifica Natural Color Quench Lip Tint is more like a tinted lip balm. This color is a little darker than I would buy but I love the feel so I'll at least use this tube, and maybe find another in a more appropriate color. This is guava berry.

The Way Better Snacks Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips were delicious. The only drawback for them was they arrived in the same month as some bean based ones in my Goodies box that were even more amazing. I would definitely buy these chips if I saw them. Yum!

Also included in this month box was a $30 coupon for Charm & Chain. I didn't get to the web site fast enough so a lot was sold out when I checked. Fortunately it's good for awhile yet so I'll check back. I don't like to spend more for these coupons so I'll only use it if something nice is there for about $30. So I don't count this toward the value of the box. Other than that, this was a really good box. It looks like PopSugar is back on track!

Pop Sugar Must Have - April 2013

Pop Sugar Must Have is still one of my favorite boxes. Though April's box was a little lackluster. It felt like it just needed one more item to pull the whole thing together. I'm not sure what that "one thing" was that was missing though...

 First off, you can't go wrong with chocolate! I've tried some amazing new chocolates since I've started getting subscription boxes but I've never had one with Quinoa in it! I love Quinoa and dark chocolate so why not? This was a nice full size bar so I can share :-)

 I don't think I've ever tried perfume oil in any brand. I've heard it's supposed to be more concentrated. This is in a bottle with a roller ball so at least I won't spill it :-) It has a really nice scent to it. It's not overly floral so it's one I will actually use!

 This bracelet came in a cute brown draw string bag. It's adjustable by pulling the ends apart. I love the turquoise color!

 I don't use blotting sheets that often so I'm not sure what the difference is between day and night ones. But I'll give them a shot. They seem less powdery that others I've tried so maybe that has something to do with it...

The Green Garmento bag is actually blue. Sorry for the weird colored picture. This bag can be used as a dry cleaning drop off/pick up bag, a garment bag or a duffel bag. I admit it's kind of neat. I'm not so keen on the giant PopSugar logo on the front. But at least the bag itself isn't bright pink! :-)

Overall a good not great box for April 2013.

PopSugar Must Have Box - March 2013

I still get excited about my PopSugar Must Have box so I keep getting it.

Ooh a variety pack of Fashion tape! I could have used this a few months ago. :-) This sample pack is the tape in various shapes and sizes. I know that I'll be able to use this at some point. Of course, now that I have it, I haven't needed it!

Many days the only make up I wear is mascara but I've never been picky about the brand. This Buxom mascara may have spoiled me. This is amazing, thank goodness it's full size!

I'm not thrilled by more nail polish. I already have more than I'll ever use. Fortunately I don't get it very often in the PopSugar box. That being said, these are great colors! I'm not sure I would use them together as packaged but individually they are really nice. The picture doesn't do them justice, it's so hard to photograph nail polish colors!

I seem to be getting lots of detergent lately in my subscription boxes. This is the first for delicates. I don't have many delicates but I'll definitely give this a try. It's got a nice mild scent to it. I'd also like to mention that it was well packaged for shipping. They had taped the cap into place and no leakage!

I've worn this necklace twice and gotten compliments both times. It's not something I would have bought for myself but I really like it. It's got a nice long chain and looks especially nice when wearing a plain shirt.

I didn't really need another corkscrew but how can you say no to this face!? It's very clever. It has a corkscrew, foil cutter and bottle opener all tucked into the body.

I've needed one of these things for years and just never got around to getting one. I don't know how long lasting this is though. It's basically a block of material similar to a nail file, but a little more serious. I had some good luck with it on a sweater I have mistreated for years. But it also crumbled a little bit on the end that was in my hand. We'll see how it holds up.
Another pretty good box from PopSugar. Useful items I didn't necessarily know I needed.

Pop Sugar Must Have Box - February 2013

Pop Sugars Must Have Box is like getting a present from a friend each month. They are usually things I wouldn't purchase for myself but things I enjoy once I have them. And isn't that the point of a subscription box?

I just couldn't get a good picture of the first item. This was the "big" item this month and also the big controversy on the boards. It's a spa cover up. Reminiscent of those towels with velcro at the top but a much nicer and softer material. Apparently the problem was that a percentage of PopSugar subscribers didn't fit into Brokedown's image of "one size fits all." Fortunately it fits me ok. I'm not going to wear it in public but it covers the essentials. And actually around my waste will make a great swim suite cover! 

 The Sweethearts were meant to be cute. But I hate these things but I was able to give them away. I've never photographed underwear before. But that's what the Hanky Panky label is covering. This was also an issue for some because they are sized as One Size but we all know that doesn't really mean fits all. I don't think I would have bought these on their own but I like these. Still debating if I'll use the coupon to get more.

This stuff is awesome! And whoever thought up the design to fit the little toothbrush like thing on the bottle is a genius. I cleaned a ring for my sis that she claimed was never cleaned :-) It actually shined with very little effort.

 I've been saying I should read a Nicholas Sparks book. I guess this one is the one I'll read.

 The hit of the box in my house was these chocolate covered cacao nibs. Yum! My daughter loves the pretty box and all three of us (yes she is already a dark chocolate lover) love the little chocolate pieces inside. A nice little burst of chocolate and you only need to eat a couple to satisfy a craving for chocolate.

I for one was happy with this box. And can't wait for March!