FabFitFun Summer 2017 Subscription Box

 This is my fourth FabFitFun box!  Still loving it.

FabFitFun comes quarterly and is $50 for full size items.  Plus you get access to all their online exercise videos; there's a good variety.  I like that this box comes only 4 times a year.

 BKR: Little - 500 ML Glass Water Bottle

I've been wanting to get another glass water bottle that was smaller than my 20-24 oz bottles!  I don't know if many others are excited for this, but I am.  Lugging my bigger glass bottle to dance is heavy and a bit of a chore, so this is awesome.  It's well made.  I actually like that the lid screws off and you drink directly from the bottle.  Okay, short, gross story, but a couple years ago I kept getting sick, and even though I wash my bottles often, I noticed the lid had hidden corrosion and gunk.  Threw that lid away and I stopped getting sick.  So I only buy water bottles without fancy lids or straws.  In short, this bottle is perfect, and it survived the wash.

For this box we got 2 choice items, based on hobbies and likes.

The first choice item was based on hobbies: Cooking, art, traveling.  You choose one, not knowing exactly what it is, and if you want to get another mysterious item you can pay $10 for each addition.  I choose travel.

The Cooking item was a Himalayan Pink Salt Kit coming with a grater, wood stand, and a block of Himalayan Pink Salt.  In hindsight I wish I choose this.

The Art item was a Ready, Set, Create! Art Kit! by Amy Tangerine with a canvas, brushes, acrylic paints, and an alphabet stencil.  REALLY glad I didn't get this.  From a forum I was reading people were pretty upset, as this looks tailored for elementary kids.

And the Travel item:

 Understated Leather: On The Road Again Travel Set.

I'm meh about this.

Only those traveling outside the Country will have use for the passport holder, and as I use a protective sleeve that blocks RFID chip signals my passport wont fit.  The luggage tag looks well made, I love rose gold, but the "Hands Off" turns me off.  So immature. If they would have written just about anything I would have loved it.  My Mom suggested using the passport cover to organize travel receipts, which is a good idea.

 The next choice option was between Sport and Beauty.  I choose sport.

The beauty item was Dry Shampoo.  So glad I didn't do that.

And the Sport item:

 Way Of Will: 03 Soothe and Cool Message Oil

I love this!  Really happy to try this out.  I need to get back into strength training, so this will help.  That one week when I walked about 60 miles--man I hurt all over--would have loved this message oil.  It smells so good.  This will come in handy.

 Cargo Cosmetics: Cargo_HD Picture Perfect Highlight in Bronze

I actually don't have highlight powder, so once again another good item to try out.  My makeup routine is really basic: foundation, blush, mascara, lip gloss, and occasionally some eye shadow.  I'll have to watch some videos to make sure I'm using it right, but this will be good.  Looks really nice.

 Juice Beauty: Smoothing Eye Concentrate

I'm at that age where eye creams are a must.  I'll never go the Botox route, preferring to age naturally, and I am noticing lines around my eyes.  I've been using other products, so it will be nice to try out Juice Beauty, which I've heard a lot of good things.

 EAU Thermale Avene: Ultra-Light Hydrating Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50+

I know I need to use face sunscreen more, and it's hard finding a brand I like that doesn't make my skin oily.  This is travel size, but I'm glad for that.

 Kris Nations: Mystic Bar Necklace

Not happy with the quality.  My Mom got the turquoise, which I believe is actually died howlite.  The chain feels fragile. My Mom has been making bar necklaces in preparation of our ETSY store opening again in a week or two, and the chain she uses is high quality, strong, and the stones are natural.  We go to the Gem Faire, so I'm spoiled in that I know what high quality gems and semi-precious stones are supposed to look like.  I won't be wearing this.  It's not worth $58.  The little bottle is cute.

 Michael Stars: Ruana

I love this.  Another great item.  There were three variations: White/Blue, White/Black, and Cream/Orange/Purple.  I love the color I got.

 The split down the lower half lets you wear it like a scarf, Sarong, or Robe/Shawl.  It's long, which is nice.  It's fun seeing a new take on the scarf.

 This Vital Proteins Marine Collagen is a sample, bonus item.

 The information paper.  There's more than just talking about each item, there's tips and mini articles.  I like this format and the details provided.

 FabFitFun has good workouts online you can stream, included with your subscription, which is really cool.  There's a lot here.  Really nice perk.

 My add-on items.  Additional items you can get at a discount.  The rose mist was $5 each.  The fit book was $5.  The Spongelle and exercise bands were $7.  The lotion and gel duo was my biggest splurge at $18 for both, but the ingredients are all natural, which I like.

I love the box art.  So cute.

July 2014 POPSUGAR Must Have Box Review with Spoilers

POPSUGAR Must Have is a monthly subscription lifestyle box for gals.  The cost is $39.95 a month, free shipping, but it's cheaper when you subscribe with a 3, 6, or 12 months subscription.  On any month you can receive goodies for home, a book, fitness, snack, makeup, pampering, fashion, etc.  You never know what you're going to get, only that it will be fun and worth around $100, give or take a little.

Coupon code REFER5 saves you $5!

 The big reveal!!

 Each box comes with a nice pamphlet.

 Beach Hat, Michael Stars, valued at $48.

I love this hat!  The front is a little sloppy, so I may need to undue the leather and fix the stitching, which is a shame.  The style is cute.  This item came in two colors, selected randomly.  I would have loved the other color, because it's more casual, but this is cute, too.

 Ziggy Salad Servers, French Bull, valued at $12.

A very cute way to dazzle any salad, and I love making salads, so this will be fun. 

 Sunscreen and lotion, Sun Bum, valued at $20.

This is a really cool duo.  One is the sunscreen in an SPF 30, and Cool Down is a hydrating lotion for when you're done playing in the sun.  Love the smell.

 Chevron Straws, ACME Party Box Company, valued at $7.

Chevron is totally in, and these straws celebrate the fact in really cute colors.  They're old-fahioned paper straws, which is kinda weird, but I think that's because I'm young and spoiled with plastic.  My Dad said he use to use paper straws all the time, and that you have to drink your drink really fast.  Heh, this will be interesting.  Really cute for a party, and this will be fun to try.

 Jump Rope with Soft Grip Handles, TKO, valued at $13.

I've been wanting a jump rope!  Almost bought one a couple months ago, and I love the color and style.

 Toasted Coconut Chips, Dang Foods, valued at $3.

These are so good!  I ate them in no time flat.

Special Extra from Revlon

Bold Lacquer Length & Volume Mascara, Revlon.

I just started using a mascara last month, and I always go 3 months per tube, but this will be nice to try.  A $1 off coupon also came with this mascara.  Love the packaging.

November's 2013 POPSUGAR Must Have Box Review

 I got my second POPSUGAR box last weekend.  With Veterans Day I was afraid I'd get it on Tuesday, but it was delivered Saturday morning!  I was out and about so my box came with me, and I opened it up in the car :0)

This month I went Spoiler free and it was So Hard!

(I visit the Makeup Talk forum, MUT)

POPSUGAR is a monthly subscription lifestyle box for gals.  The cost is $39.95 a month, free shipping, but it's cheaper when you subscribe with a 3, 6, or 12 months subscription.

On any month you can receive goodies for home, a book, fitness, snack, makeup, pampering, fashion, etc.  You never know what you're going to get, only that it will be fun and worth around $100, give or take a little.

You can subscribe here.

I was lucky to subscribe with a 3-month plan pre-price increase and $5 off coupon, so I only paid $30 for this box!!

An overall view of what's in the box.

 Michael Stars Folk Art Wrap!  Valued at $42.  (It works as a scarf as well).  I LOVE this.  I don't wear too many scarfs, and they're all knits anyway, so this is a nice change.  And I love the pattern.  I love squars, shapes, and lines.  My brother Robbie says it's very northern Argentina in style, which makes it even more cool.  As he said, "That scarf's legit!"

 Pretty cool when you see the price tag on an item, and its retail price is higher then what you paid for the box!

 The Naughty candle by Illume, valued at $15.75.  This smells so nice.  The notes are "Exotic Spice, Precious Woods, and White Musk.  The box was also giving out the "Nice" candles, which has a "Vanilla, Sugar, Coconut" scent.  That sounds fantastic as well.  Each box received one or the other, and which one you get is completely by chance.  I love the one I got :0) 

 Roland Pine Shea Butter Soap, from the Soap and Paper Factory, valued at $8.  I typically don't use bar soaps, mainly using gel, but this is so nice.  I love the smell of pine.  So Christmas.  Makes me want to travel to the mountains.  The scent is nice and soft, and doesn't linger on my skin, which I like.  It's like a woodsy aromatherapy for the shower.

 Strawberry & Blackcurrant Cream Preserves, by Maison de Monaco, valued at $6.  Created from a classic French recipe, these preserves contain 70% fruit and less sugar then typically used in jams.  I had this on my pancakes yesterday.  So good.  The primary flavor is Strawberry, which is my favorite. 

 Bare Fruit Apple Chips, sea salt caramel, valued at $3.49.  Besides chocolate, apple chips are my favorite snack, so I was excited to try these.  They're really good :0)

 Canvas Wine Tote by Land's End, valued $14.50.  I don't drink, I don't have friends who drink, so I'm trying to figure out what to do with this.  Carry my water bottle?  That seems silly.  The "downer" in the box, but everything's a surprise, so that's the nature of subscription boxes.

Absolute! Nail Polish Remover Pads, valued at $2.99.  I haven't used these yet, but I will soon.  I've been coloring my nails a lot lately.  Very handy.  This was another random item because there's 4 scents you can receive: Lavender, Spring Fresh, Peach, and Lemon.

Overall I'm very happy with this box.  Very Autumn like with a candle, scarf, and preserves. Already I'm using and enjoying these items.  The value for this box is $92.73, but my personal value (because I really don't know what to do with that wine tote) is $78.23.  Still more then what I paid for the box!  They included a $30 off Canvas Pop code that appeared to be a gift card with a unique code, but the code isn't unique, and the site is super expensive, so I know I won't be using it.  If you include the Canvas Pop code the value would be $122.73, but I don't feel that's the true value of the box.