Which Box Is Best?

There are literally hundreds of subscription boxes out there right now. It seems like the subscription box thing is the hot item of the moment. I have succumbed to the mania by subscribing to several different boxes that I think are catered to my likings. There are many, many categories of these subscription boxes. There are beauty boxes, boxes for new mothers, craft boxes, children's boxes, food boxes, organic boxes, etc. I tend to go for the ones that offer beauty products.

My question today is, which box is best? So far I have found that the one I enjoy most and look forward to getting is Popsugar's Must Have Bag.  I have yet to be disappointed with the many treasures I have found when I opened the box. I guess my second favorite is Cravebox. I am always pleased with Cravebox, but I wish it would be a little more regular. One thing I do like about Cravebox is that it does have a Facebook so the subscribers can chitchat about the goings on at Cravebox, as well as getting updates on shipping and contents from the Admins of Cravebox. The reason I like these two boxes so well is because they include mostly full-size products.

Now my question to you is, which box do you like best? Post in the comments below if you have a favorite! 

Birchbox 2012

After waiting only a few weeks, I got added to the subscription box known as Birchbox. I have read on many websites that Birchbox is a favorite of some. I guess I have been spoiled by the full-size products from Cravebox and Popsugar or the luxury products that I receive from Sample Society, but I was not impressed with Birchbox.

I received my first box a few days ago and was a bit disappointed when I first looked in the box. First, the wrapping on the items had come loose, so it was not a very good presentation especially with the bow that was supposed to be around something just laying to the side. The other three boxes I subscribe to are always so neatly packaged. I tried to put my prejudice of the sloppily packaged items aside and look at the contents with a clear mind.

I was not impressed with the size of the samples, for one thing. The Viva La Juicy by Couture was tiny. I have actually already received two of these same samples for free. I do like the smell of it and I will use it, but in my opinion it doesn't stack up to the deluxe sized samples of perfume that I have gotten from Sample Society. 

Next, there was a tiny little bar of some sort. I had to pick it up to read what it was. I found out that it is an Uber bar and the flavor is Apple Turnover. I had never heard of this bar so I googled it and found out that the cost is about $25 for a box of 15. This looks like about half the size of what appears to be a full-size bar. I will pass it on to my children, however, because I am currently on a strict weight loss diet and this has way too many fat grams for me to eat right now. I hope they enjoy it because at $25/15 I will probably not be buying any!

There was a card which appeared to have q-tips attached to it. I looked closer and the q-tips had clear middles which seemed to have liquid inside. These turned out to be Beauty Fixation Makeup Remover. Apparently you break one end and use the other end to remove makeup. These are relatively inexpensive as I found them online at $5 for 24 count. The card in the box had three attached.

The next item was a bright red tube that read "Stainiac". This is a lip and cheek tint. Supposedly it is not as bright as it looks, but I haven't tried it yet. It is supposed to stain your lips and cheeks and be long-wearing, so I don't really want to try it when I am going somewhere as I'm afraid it will be too red. Perhaps I will try it before bed tonight and hopefully if it's too dark it will wear off before morning, either that or my husband will think I'm sexy. ;P

The last item is my favorite (I think, I have yet to try it). It is Sumita Brow Base and at first I was unclear as to the purpose of this product. I was pleased to find that this is a smoother for eyebrows, but it also doubles as an eyeshadow primer. It will be great if it keeps my eyeshadow looking fresh all day. We will see. It retails for $11, so I guess you could say that this one product was worth the $10 I paid for the box.

I also found that for every box you pay for, you get 10 points at the Birchbox website and 100 points translates into $10 to spend on their site. So, to sum things up, I'm not super excited about this first box. I will give them another go next month, but if I still feel the same I will probably cancel and give someone else a chance to get their Birchbox.

Popsugar Must Have Bag July 2012

After many days of anticipation, I have finally received my Popsugar Must Have Bag for July 2012. I was very excited to see how big the box was sitting on my porch when I got home this afternoon. I am also a member of Sample Society and Cravebox, and I must say that the size of this box compared to the others I subscribe to was very exciting to me.

I immediately opened the box to see what fun treasures I had inside. The first item I saw was a very nice canvas bag with Popsugar Summer 2012 on the front. I absolutely love the color and I'm sure this bag will replace my current beach bag.

Inside the bag were several full sized items all individually wrapped in gray tissue paper, which looked nice against the pink color paper in the box. 

First, I unwrapped two small boxes that turned out to be Ilia lipcolor. One is a lipstick and the other is a tinted lip conditioner. The lipstick color is In My Room, which is a light coral color. The tinted lip conditioner is called Bang, Bang, which looks bright red, but since it is not lipstick and a lip conditioner, maybe it won't be so bright once I put it on.

Next, I moved on to find two more small boxes. Inside this wrapped delight I found two RGB nail polish colors. One is a beige color and the other is seafoam green, which is great because I didn't have either of these colors in my current nail polish collection.

Since I am currently on a diet the next items were especially special to me. I unwrapped the next delight to find two Kind bars. Yummy! I can't wait to try them. They seem to be good for me, too, which is a definite plus. The flavors I got are Madagascar Vanilla Almond and Cashew & Ginger Spice.

Finally, my favorite items were the bath and body products. I unwrapped the last two items to find Body Drench lotion and body scrub. The lotion is Pomegranate Crush and the body scrub is Raspberry Gelee. They both smell delicious and I can't wait to try them!

So, how does this slightly more expensive subscription box stack up? Here are the prices of the actual products that I found on the internet:

Ilia lipstick:  $24

Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner: $24

Body Drench body scrub: $12

Body Drench body lotion: $16

2 RGB nail polishes: $32

2 Kind bars: $2.98

Total value in box: $110.98

*I have not included the canvas bag because I couldn't find a price, but I would expect to pay around $20 for this bag if I bought it in a store.

I paid $35 for this box and I think this is a great value! I will definitely order the August box. Do you want to order a box, too? Sign up HERE 

The Next Greatest Thing

Recently, I have discovered the next greatest thing, receiving a present in the mail with lots of surprises inside! Yes, these are called Subscription Boxes and there are MANY choices out there. You pay a small amount (usually $10-$15/month) and you will receive a box filled with several new products. A new subscription service that is due to come out this month for the first time is Popsugar Must Have. Apparently, while other subscription boxes send maybe 1 full sized product but mostly samples, Popsugar says to expect full size products.

I have signed up for this as usually the first box is really good. It is a little pricier than the others at $35 a month if you pay by the month, but it looks like it has promise to have heftier surprises than other boxes. If you would like to try it, click HERE. If you click and sign up, I will get credit for you on my account. It is a month-to-month subscription, so if you are not happy with it, just cancel after the first month.

Happy Shopping!