June 2015 Popsugar Must Have

My June 2015 Popsugar Box finally arrived!
I originally had ordered because of this spoiler image from Popsugar


Being that I am a total sucker for yoga stuff, coconut items, outdoors and everything Summer Themed, so this was a no brainer. 

The summer boxes are generally my very favorite ones and items that are used regularly in my life like the turkish towels from last year, came from Popsugar. 

If you're not sure what Popsugar is, it's a subscription box that ships out monthly. For $39.95 a month you get a curated box of lifestyle items, which includes beauty, home, fitness, and accessories. The boxes generally have a theme, and are also seasonal themed.  There are also deals if you buy 3 months worth of boxes at a time, or 6 months worth. If that sounds interesting to you, here is a link to get your own box. (Note, this is a referral link) Make sure that you use the code MUSTHAVE5 to get your $5 off of your very first box!


Now on to the June 2015 box: 

I was pleasantly surprised when the second spoiler came out and it was these sunglasses, by Quay Australia. 
Wayfarer style is my new favorite and my current pair is so scratched up that I can hardly see out of them, and my back-up pair had the arm snap off! So for me, this was truely a great surprise since I was going to buy a new pair of this style of sunglasses anyways, and now there is no need to.

When the surprise boxes line up with real life things I was going to purchase anyways as a replacement it makes me very very happy.

I think they were having trouble selling these boxes because of that fashion design box that turned out to be kind of a flop unfortunately. Generally they don't usually do such a generous coupon code AND also tell you a second spoiler like that.




The box shipped to me from New York, so I got mine fairly late in the game which is a bummer. Spoilers have been floating around for a couple of weeks now, so the surprise aspect was not really there for me, but that's okay! Looking up the box actually made me more excited for what was coming in the mail.

Because of the coupon code floating around for the free wallet with any subscription, I do have an extra item in my box.

The contents breakdown:

• Judy Blume "In The Unlikely Event" - $16.77 on Amazon 
• Pacifica Enlighten Eyeshadow Palette - $14 from Pacifica
• Spongelle Boxed Flowers in Papaya Yazu - $16 from Spongelle
• Qauy Australia Mandate Sunglasses - $45 on Qauy Australia
• Yogitoes Organic Hband headband - $4 on Yogitoes
• SuperCandy in Berry Gummy and Tart Gummy - $30/6 packs on SnapInfusion, $5/pack so $10 worth in this box. 
• Sweet and Spark $30 Gift Code 

• Bonus in my box from the Coupon Code: Soriel Wallet $49 (you can currently find these on Ebay for $20, so the value is fairly fluid)
• Total Box Value: 135.77  w/o the free gift. With the free gift, around $155.77-$185.77 depending upon where you buy the clutch. 

All in all this box is a win for me. I loved Judy Blume books as a teenager, so this will be perfect to read. I've been needing a headband for at night, but it's totally one of those things that I keep forgetting to buy. The gummy candy is a fun addition, although Vitamin infused items can make me sick so I have to be careful. The spongelle is a fun item that would have never occured to me, the sunglasses were really needed, and the eyeshadow palette is perfect because I just used up all of my Stila Lame' which was a bright yellow just like this one. 

Anyone else just now get their boxes? I'm hoping July shows up a little bit sooner than this one did.

Speaking of July, they have released a spoiler and it looks intriguing! Also, they are giving away 10 Sephora GiftCards worth $100 each to 10 lucky subscribers. here is a link to get your own box. (Note, this is a referral link) Make sure that you use the code MUSTHAVE5 to get your $5 off of your very first box!



Happy Summer and thanks for reading!
XoXo
 

PopSugar Must Have June Spoilers!

It's PopSugar Must Have time again! This is for the regular monthly subscription box, not the Limited Edition Summer one.
 If you're not familiar with what PopSugar Must Have is, it's a monthly subscription service that costs $39.95/month but you get lots of goodies that the editors pick out as their favorites each month. They also have a plan that's $109 for 3 months, and then a 6 month plan as well. If I could afford to do the year one, I would!
If you're interested in seeing other boxes, here are my other posts showing unboxings.  

The June boxes have shipped, but some sneaky people already have figured out what is in the boxes due to sleuthing around. Let's take a peek, shall we?
Subscription boxes are actually more fun to me when the contents are not a secret.

The items are as follows:
The One and Only by Emily Griffin  ($16.52)
One Potato Two Potato Chips in Hawaiian BBQ ($2)
Native Union $15 Gift Card
Lollies Hair Ties in Basics ($8)
You Smell Wet Wipes ($5)
Sachajuan Shiny Citrus Body Lotion ($24)
Turkish-T Beach Towel ($32)

I think this box looks great! It's summery and fun and still useful at the same time. The products are all new to me, and getting a new book to read is always awesome.

What's your favorite item?
If you're interested in signing up, here's my link! 

Popsugar Summer 2014 Unboxing

Hi everyone!  It's PopSugar Must Have unboxing time again! If you're not familiar with what PopSugar Must Have is, it's a monthly subscription service that costs $35/month but you get lots of goodies that the editors pick out as their favorites each month. They also have a plan that's $109 for 3 months, and then a 6 month plan as well. If I could afford to do the year one, I would!
If you're interested in seeing other boxes, here are my other posts showing unboxings. 
This box is a limited edition one, which they do quarterly I believe. To be honest, I would say that while the limited edition boxes are nice, I wish I had used the money from my 3 limited edition boxes and just gotten regular boxes with the same amount. The regular box seems just as awesome, and that way it would be more boxes.
If you're interested in signing up, here's my link!

My Popsugar Special Edition Summer 2014 box arrived in the mail today, so that means that you all get to see what came in it. (if you haven't already, since there are super slueth bloggers out there who already have photos up of everything)

The box is always this really great black box with a PopSugar sticker on the lid.
It's fairly large, definitely the largest out of any subscription services. This months box weighed 6.1lbs which is a little crazy. 

Opening the box, we have everything wrapped really nicely in white tissue paper, and then the little card that shows everything in the box and explains what it all is.

Now to the unboxing!

The box was really full this month.

Inside are the following items:
Tarte Cheek Stain ($30)
Tarte Power Pigment ($24)
SACHAJUAN Ocean Mist Texturizing Spray ($28)
Soixante Neuf Turquoise Horn Pendant Necklace ($155)
Eliunt Extra Virgin Olive Oil (one bottle): ($17.49)
Samudra X Bikini Bird Exclusive Love Aloha Amour Bag ($60)
Sisters of Los Angeles Rocks Glasses: ($45)

The Tarte set I got is in the color Exposed. They showed a coral color in the spoiler, which would have been much more "summery", so I am a little sad we didn't get that instead. Also, the Horn Necklace was just on a discount retailer site for $78, so I wouldn't really count the price as $155. I also would never, ever pay that much money for this necklace as the chain feels really inexpensive. It just feels like Jewelmint Jewelry, not anything "high end" at all.
The olive oil is super random and I wish they had included something else instead. A lotion, or a drink mix, or a book would have been better.
The Sisters glasses are very well made and super cute, but again sort of random. I think if you already have tons of glasses like me, these would be cute as makeup brush holders/makeup holders instead. The bright colors and city screenprints seem like they would be great for a vanity.
Technically we did get our $100 back in value, but to me, the personal value of this box is about $50. I would never pay more than that in a store for this box.
I'm not super excited about the items, honestly the regular box items are more exciting looking to me personally.
The pouch is really really beautiful though and easily my favorite thing. The fabric is really gorgeous, and it's extremely well made. I'm also really excited to try the Sea Spray even though due to boxes, I have about 5 bottles of the stuff! So between the pouch and the Tarte items, at least the two things I like make up for the price of the box. 

Thankfully the necklace came in turquoise, so it's wearable. The only thing is, I feel like we got seconds for the items because mine came in a bag that has messed up screenprinting on it. The name is missing letters and blurred. The weird shadowing on the bag is from my camera, the bag itself is not discolored.





Here are swatches of the tarte products on my NW15 skintone. I'm super pale, so these show up just fine on me as more of a nude pink. However, the blush almost veers into sunburned skin territory because of the pink color it is.
The blush/cheek tint stick is on the left, and the lip pencil is on the right.
The lip pencil is much much darker and not really a color I'm thrilled about. I would have rather have had a pink color.

Both have decent formulas but honestly feel a little weird on the skin.

 Here's another swatch on the back of my wrist which is not as tan as my hand is.
The cheek tint is on top, and the lip pencil on bottom.

I think the colors look better on darker skin, since on my super pale wrist which matches my face, the colors almost look like I have a weird rash. Not a huge fan of that look at all.
The cheek tint formula is very very sticky. It's probably okay if you have lotion on your face already, but on dry skin it was not nice feeling. I will play around with these and am excited to have them, but the color is a little meh feeling for me.

The verdict? This box is nice, but I don't feel like it was really "special". I just feel like it's the same as a normal monthly box almost. I'll use everything though and the style of the box is very me. The random boxes are like a total lottery though, so that's just how it goes. I think PopSugar definitely picks out really nice items, but sometimes things are vastly overpriced from the retailers themselves.

How did anyone else who got this feel?

PopSugar Must Have Summer 2014

PopSugar is one of my favorite subscriptions, but it is a little spendy, so I tend to just save up and get the "Special Edition" Boxes instead. This limited edition box is $100, with Free Shipping.

They just announced the release of their Summer 2014 Limited Edition Bag, and even though I was not going to get it at first because I really should save up money, the teasers got me.
(This is from the PopSugar Pinterest Account, and they have all rights to this image.)





I'm a sucker for anything Beachy, and tropical, and this just got me. I'm guessing some sort of  olive oil body treament, a beach hair spray, jewelry? Everything looks beachy and awesome.

Here's the link to their Pinterest that shows the inspiration:  http://www.pinterest.com/popsugarmh/inspiration-summer/

The colors are just so pretty  & I cannot wait to find out what is in this box!

Are you going to check it out? Is anyone else excited about this box like I am? Comment below and let me know.

If you are interested, here's a link to buy one of your very own! 

Edited To Add: They have released the first Spoiler! If you are interested in seeing what it is, here's my post talking about it! 

PopSugar Must Have September

Okay so I know my last review of the PopSugar box was a little harsh, but I honestly was not super impressed with their first box.
Someone on MakeupTalk posted a code to get Septembers box for $18, so I ended up doing that because I KNEW that they would at least have that much product in the box.

Normally they run $35 a month, and the box can be anything. It's more of a lifestyle box than a beauty box. The PopSugar Team picks out their favorite products and sends out a box of goodies to subscribers!
So you can get food, makeup, household items, pretty much anything that the editors deem as a "Must Have" for the season.

Since it was for September, they chose the beginning of Fall as the theme! The box it comes in is a pretty large sized white box. I don't know if you can tell, but if you look closely in the photo there, the box is about the same size as my footstool is. These are way larger than your average sub box! 
Opening the box, there is a card with the description of the theme, the month it's for, and the products on the back. Then you open it up, and there's a black tulle type bag with more goodies in it! I like that they use those bags, because you can reuse them for gifts wrap, or just around the house to hold random items.

 Here's a peak showing the black bag, the card, and some of the products!
The first thing I saw was some Sweet Potato chips. Truth be told, I'll probably end up giving them away because I just really am not a fan of sweet potatoes. I've tried them over and over and they just do not taste good to me.
So this was probably the one item in the whole box that I was not super stoked on getting. That said I can just give them to a family member, so it's not that bad.

 I took everything out of the bag and put it in there so you can see how much stuff they pack in these boxes!
Starting with the sweet potato chips and going clockwise, we have a notepad from Rifle Paper Company,  a cookie from PopUp Pantry, Salted Caramels from beckysblissfulbakery.com, Say Yes to Cucumbers makeup removal wipes, Benefits Cabana Glama, Kitch hairties, and then a Brokedown Scarf! As you can see, that's a lot of stuff!

 The scarf is GORGEOUS. It's got a beautiful fringework pattern and the color is a nice warm grey that will be perfect for fall. It's a really large size, it's big enough that you could also use it on the back of a couch or chair for decoration/cover. The scarf alone is worth $84 at BrokeDown Clothing.com

 Next there was more stuff hiding underneath!
Here's a close up of the products.
The caramels come with a card explaining them. There's also a discount card to Tracie Martyn's skincare line, for $25 off. That was probably the worst item in the box, because it was just a random coupon code card, and the whole line is just really really expensive. I don't know about you, but I don't personally have an extra $400 to spend on face serum! $25 off when it's that price point is like a drop in the bucket. However, also in the box is the book Perks of Being a Wallflower and tucked inside the book is a voucher for two free movie tickets to see it in the theater! That was unexpected and really awesome. I already have the book from when it came out in 1999, but I'll pass this copy on to a friend.

 Here you can see the pop up pantry cookie, the benefit set, the hair ties and another extra! A Must Have Popsugar themed little zip up bag for your purse. The bag is really nicely made, it is even lined! Super impressed with that.
The Benefit set is super nice. I love the Hula bronzer and have the full size of it which I use daily, so this was an awesome surprise. The Posie tint is a really nice pink color and I prefer the minis of those types of items because it's easier for me to use them up that way.
The eyeshadows are all in the neutrals I wear daily, and the Primer is way too dark for me, but it still works on my eyelids. All in all, super stoked!

The cookie lasted me a day, same with the caramels! The caramels were really softy and fresh, with that good salty subtle taste. The cookie tasted like a homemade snickerdoodle and it was really good!

Pop-Up Pantry is a service that delivers a gourmet meal to your door. Included in this months box was a code for a free meal, which is really nice! It's also a subscription service, so you do have to cancel after using the code, which is  musthave9 

I have to say, this box was totally worth the $18 I spent on it. The makeup kit alone costs that and everything else was like a really awesome bonus. It felt like I was opening a box of goodies I had ordered online somewhere because there was just SO MUCH in this box!
I ended up signing up for a 3 month subscription because there was a coupon code that knocked the price down to the price of 2 months worth. After seeing how awesome this September box was, I cannot wait to get Oct, Nov and Dec!
If you're interested in getting your own subscription to this, here's a link to their site: the code OPRAH is currently giving $10 off of your first month. October is already sold out, and November is flying out like hot cakes, so make sure you check it out and sign up if you are interested! They are sure to be great boxes from what I have seen so far.

PopSugar Must Have July

I signed up for the PopSugar Must Have bag out of curiousity.
It's a $35 a month bag, so it's not inexpensive like some of the others. But it promises higher end products, the theme changes every month, and it's a variety of things from food to lifestyle products that the editors of PopSugar deem as "Must Haves" for that particular month.

It comes in a larger box, easily the largest of all my monthly subs. Opening it, there's a card talking about the theme, welcoming you, and telling what's in it.

Everything is wrapped in pink tissue with PopSugar on it!

The first thing I pulled out was this awesome tote bag. It's canvas and has the PopSugar logo on it, along with the wave and tree logo.
It's very summery and cute.
The brand of the bag is Especial Canvas Totes.


This particular design was created specially for PopSugars box, but they a bunch of other cute ones. The link gives a discount code, for $25 a bag, or 2/$20. So I would say this bag is worth about $25.

Next we have all the bundles of things wrapped up in more tissue!

I have to say, they did include quite a lot of products.

Originally the price value of this bag was quoted at $150, but they ended up taking that off of the site.

Unwrapping everything we have from the top left, RGB nail polish in Doll, RGB polish in Mint, .12 oz. Ilia Tinted lip conditioner in "Bang Bang",  .12 oz Ilia lip stick in "In My Room", 8 oz Body Drench Lotion in Pomegranate Crush, 6 oz. Body Drench Raspberry Gelee Body Scrub, a Kind granola bar in Madagascar Vanilla Almond, and another Kind granola bar in Ginger Spice.

Here are what the products look like unboxed! (click on the photo to make it larger!)

The lipstick on the top left is "In My Room", then the darker box is the one in "Bang Bang", Mint is the bottom right nail polish, and Doll is the bottom left.

All in all, I am happy with these colors. I feel like the nail polishes are on trend, and I don't have those colors already. At first I was kind of disappointed because they're not "fun" colors, but really they match just about everything and are perfect for summer or fall.

Here's a swatch of the lip products on my hand. The top one is the lipstick in "In My Room". It's more of a coral color, pretty sheer but not a bad color.

The Lip Conditioner in Bang Bang was more like a cherry chapstick almost on my skintone. It's very sheer red, which I actually am really happy about because I don't like opaque red lipsticks, or super bright ones. I'm more into subtle lip products.




The price breakdown of this box is:

1. .40 oz. RGB Nail Polish in "Minty". value $16.00
2. .40 oz. RGB Nail Polish in "Doll". value $16.00
3. 8 oz. Body Drench Pomegranate Crush Body Lotion. value $14.00
4. 6 oz. Body Drench Raspberry Gelee Body Scrub. value $12.00
5. .12 oz Ilia lip stick in "In My Room". value $24.00
6. .12 oz. Ilia Tinted lip conditioner in "Bang Bang". value $24.00
7. 1.4 oz. Kind Nuts and Spices Madagascar Vanilla Almond bar. value $1.49 
8. 1.4 oz. Kind Nuts and Spices Cashew & Ginger Spice bar. value $1.4
9.  The PopSugar canvas bag, approx. $25. 

 The total value of this bag as I have calculated it appears to be about $134. 

This is still less than what the original press release stated. They also offered a money back guarantee if you did not love the contents of your box. For me, I waited too long and they did not grant it to me. I was not super impressed with this box, because even though everything is full size, the products were not that amazing to me. However, I think it was a great first box! 

If you're interested in signing up, here's a link to their site! Currently, the code OPRAH should get you $10 off of your first months box when you sign up for the monthly plan.  

If you sign up, let me know! I would love to know others thoughts on this subscription.