October 2012 Subscription Boxes

I love this time of year and I also love it when my subscription services theme their fare to the season. It's easier to do with food than make-up and cosmetics, but I really liked all my selections this month. Here ya go with the reviews:

BarkBox

This month had couple of toys, some treats, and some care items. In the pictures above Baloo is enjoying his Moody Pet Humunga Stache ball. It's designed so that if the dog is chewing on the ball, it looks like he has a ridiculous moustache. Baloo was not cooperative and wanted instead to chew on the moustache part so I had to help him a little in the middle picture. He also received a Lollycadoodle wool toy in the shape of a snake made in Nepal, so fancy! As far as treats go, of course Baloo loved the Feelgood Treat Company's Turkey Trail Blazin Bitz. I'm pretty sure Baloo has never met a treat he didn't like, the ladies in the leasing office at my apartment even give him carrots from their lunches sometimes. The care products we received this month were Tropiclean Clean Teeth Gel and Metro Paws Poopy Packs (again). The teeth gel is supposed to help with plaque without the need to brush (which a lot of dogs resist), but Baloo actually has excellent teeth (even his vet is impressed when we visit) so I don't know how much use we'll get out of this. And the poopy packs we've received before and I don't like to see repeats in my subscription services, poor form BarkBox. Especially since the apartment complex provides poop bags anyways! Total Value: $30.11+ exact unknown, some of the items I could not get a price for because they were only available in Canada or for wholesale! Cost: $29.99/mo $5 off with my link!

Birchbox

 I am really happy about this month's Birchbox. It was curated by the people from GOOP (Gweneth Paltrow's website) and it is full of stuff I've been wanting to try. My philosophy is that the subscription services can't help it if you don't like something after you've tried it, but they should at least ensure that the items in the box are worth trying, and I think Birchbox did just that for me this month. I read about the Eve Lom cleanser with special muslin cloths to apply on the blog awhile back and was almost tempted to buy it. The amika hair mask came just in time, I'm currently fresh out of hair mask and I like to apply one once every other week at least. I'm re-discovering a brand of cosmetics I liked in high school: DDF and this month I received their pore minimizer. Jury's still out on this one, but it can't hurt to try. I also received the Chantecaille mascara that everyone keeps saying is the best layering mascara, can't wait to try it this weekend with my Halloween costume! Lastly, I received a Lemon Zest Luna bar that I've tried before in another box and am saving for a soccer day snack. Value: $44.06 Cost: $10/mo

Goodies Box

Another jam-packed goodies box this month. I just cannot get over how cheap this box is! They said this box was trick or treat for adults, and I agree. I received Dang Toasted Coconut Chips (I don't like coconut but these were actually quite tasty), Brownie Brittle in chocolate chip (I tend to not like crispy brownies, but this brittle idea is genius!), Smartfood Selects in cinnamon brown sugar (very light, airy, and tasty), Mayesa drink (not switching off chocolate milk just yet...), Nutella & Go! (I've never had nutella but I'm glad to have tasted it because this was yummy), and lastly Juicefuls (like gushers but less fake looking and tasting). I loved all but the Mayesa this month, excellent work goodies! Value: ? Cost: $7/mo seriously

My Glam Bag

I got some pretty cool stuff in my Glam Bag this month, but I may have to stop this subscription soon because one girl only needs so much mascara and eyeliner. At least the Birchbox tends to have hair products and face/body cleansers mixed in with its makeup. This month I received Pequi Oil Treatment for my hair. So far this seems like an ok serum, definitely not beating out my Kerastase. I also got Mirenesse Lip Bomb Lacquer Stain in a color that is outrageous on me. Way too bold for my taste, but it may go well with my Halloween costume! Next is the Balm Body Builder Mascara. Probably won't get around to trying this with the mascara from Birchbox already in queue. While we're on eyes, I also got Coastal Scents eye shadow in a 4 color palate. I really love purple so I may give the plum color a try. Lastly (still on eyes) I received be a bombshell eye liner. I already have two felt tip eyeliners, but this one is fatter so I'm interested to see how it goes on. Value: $70.31 wowza Cost: $10/mo

As always, let me know if you have any boxes I should be trying!

Be sure to enter my giveaway to win a Nature Box!

Giveaway: Nature Box!

I recently had the opportunity to sample a monthly subscription box focused on food, Nature Box. Now, I’ve been searching for a substitute for my Foodzie Box (that is no longer in distribution) so I was really excited when the people from Nature Box contacted me to sample their product. First, a little background on the Nature Box: They are focused on providing healthy snack alternative. Their rules are: No High Fructose Corn Syrup, No Partially Hydrogenated Oils, No Trans Fats, No Artificial Sweeteners, No Artificial Flavors, and No Artificial Colors. This month the theme was “Health Myth Busters”. They provided a great info card to explain how each of their samples (by the way, when I say samples I mean a large bag full of more than enough goodies to decide if you like what they’re serving) fits into their theme. In this box, the items sampled were: Pistachio Power Clusters, Umami Roasted Nuts, Big Island Pineapple, Toasted Sesame Stix, and Apple orchards Granola. They talked about topics such as glycemic index (the granola is sweetened with agave instead of sugar), good fats (like from the nuts), and natural energy boosters (instead of processed candy bars).

As far as my personal opinion, I was beyond impressed with the pistachio power clusters! I dunno if they gave me any more ‘power’ in my day per se, but they sure were delicious!

 I also enjoyed the Big Island Pineapple. I happened to have just bought the dried pineapple from Peeled, and I think the big island Pineapple is way better, so full of flavor and more moist than fibrous.

The Umami Roasted Nuts were tasty with just a hint of flavor, and the toasted sesame stix were a nice change from pita chips with my hummus.

I have to say that I was majorly turned off by the Apple Orchard Granola. To me, granola is supposed to be crunchy, this granola was soft. As someone with self-professed soggy food issues (I can’t understand French toast or chicken parm, why do you want soggy bread/breadcrumbs?!) this was the only miss for me.

If you’re interested in trying if for yourself, the Nature Box peeps have given me a promo code for you to get 25% off your first month: APPLE25 (please note that the 25% discount is only applicable to the month-to-month subscription. 6 month subscriptions receive 1 month free and 12 month subscriptions receive 3 months free). Oh and the best part? Nature Box donates one meal for every box to feed over 14 million children in America who go hungry. Nothing like helping out kids at home with meeting their basic needs.

 Now for the extra fun news: GIVEAWAY!!!

CLOSED

You all are in luck, Nature Box wants to give one of my readers their own Nature Box to try for free!

Prize: 1 Nature Box (note: this will not be the same box I received and reviewed, but a future box with unknown contents)

How to enter: Join my blog via the google blogger app on the right hand side of the blog and leave a comment on this post.

When to enter: This giveaway begins on Monday, October 29th at 0800 CST and ends on Friday, November 2nd at 1700 CST.

Who can enter: Only those of you residing in the USA can enter as Nature Box only ships to US addresses.

Winner will be chosen using random.org and notified on November 2nd after the close of the giveaway. If no response (hey we need your address to ship you goodies) is received, another winner will be chosen 3 days later and so on and so forth.

One last note from Nature Box: At this time, we are unable to customize our NatureBoxes for specific dietary needs or personal preferences.
Disclaimer: The box I tried was free, but all opinions are my own, they didn’t even ask me to write a post, but I felt the need to let you guys know about this great company (and score you this giveaway)!

Surprise Visitor

Surprise visitors are so fun! Jenn was in Houston for just one night and luckily it was one of the only nights I don't play soccer, perfect! I picked her up and we ate at El Gran Malo in the Heights. I found them on Eater Houston, and it was delicious! Great tacos at a great price. I had the snapper (seared/ pomegranate salsa/ shaved cabbage/ Serrano/ micro-cilantro), pork belly (Mexican coca-cola& lime braised/ roasted/ peanuts/pickled red onion/ local bibb lettuce), and chicken tinga (pumpkin seeds/ shaved cabbage/ lemon/ cilantro) tacos. All were really amazing and arrived at our table maybe 5 minutes after we ordered them. Great service. I also ordered a 'Boobie-rita' that was made with tequila that had been aged in red wine barrels so it turned a light pink color. Really delicious and a fun way to support October breast cancer awareness month! It was really nice to see Jenn because she was in Florida the two times I've been at the Furgione house in NJ recently. Thanks for the holler, girl!

August Subscription Boxes!

Since October is already here, I guess I best get to posting about my August subscription boxes! I only had 4 boxes this month, but it was a high quality month! Here are my goodies:

Birchbox

This month's theme was 'Beauty School' since everyone is headed back to school. There was a pamphlet with all the beauty school essentials and details on why you would need them as well as the usual goodies. So this month included a Schick razor, Oscar Blandi Conditioner, DDF facial cleanser, Noir long wear eyeliner, and Juicy Couture perfume. I have tried the razor before and it makes my skin super itchy and angry so I'm gonna pass that off to someone else, the conditioner was lovely, but not as good as some others I've tried, the facial cleanser was great and smelled lovely, the eyeliner I found to be difficult to use because I prefer liquid, and the perfume was actually quite lovely. I may even buy some! Total value: $40.12! Cost: $9.17 (with 1 year subscription) $10 month to month

My Glam Bag

This month was pretty good. I liked the Circus neon orange nail polish, but of course I already own neon orange :( The eclos serum and cream smell nice and apply cleanly, but I haven't been using them regularly (I just can't get that into wrinkle removers when I'm only 27). The Demeter clean skin rollerball perfume was ok, very light scent that I could barely smell. The eye glitter was not my style, way too over the top. Total value: $36.77 Cost: $10

BarkBox

A pretty fun BarkBox this month! Baloo got a Flying fish toy that you fling through the air, he had fun shredding that one. The Milkbone trail mix he inhaled, but I don't think I would purchase that because it's a bunch of little pieces, almost like a mini meal. The Nature's Miracle spray sounds like a good idea, but I never have an instance where Baloo smells and he doesn't get a bath (hello, he sleeps in my bed!). there was something this month that I've never seen before (quite impressive): moose antler as a chew bone. They are from Acadia Antlers and they use only naturally shed antlers from moose of Maine (so they're a bit expensive). I bought some extras for Baloo, Stella, and Bernoulli. The big winner was the Elvis peanut butter, banana, and bacon dog treats from Bocce Bakery! I even bought more and brought some to Bernoulli when I visited in October!!! Such clever flavors (think PB&J or truffle mac n cheese) and make from simple ingredients (the Elvis are oat flour, peanut butter, bananas, and turkey bacon). WIN! Total Value: $34.46 Cost: $22/mo for 3 month plan $29 for month to month plan

Must Have Box

Wow, this box had a lot of good stuff this month. I have a serious addiction to Pretzel Crisps already, no need to re-introduce us, we're old friends. The Unbreakable wine glasses are great because everyone who knows me knows that I hate glassware. Plastic for me all the time! The diffuser had me skeptical at first, I usually find the ones displayed in other people's bathrooms to be really offensive (smell-wise), but the scent here was quite pleasant and I still have it in my bathroom today (it's lasted two months and it is only halfway evaporated). The butt exercise video I have yet to try, I like to do my exercises while watching fun tv shows, not wasting my time doing an exercise video. The facial cleansing oil and exfoliater I find difficult to use. The cleanser needs to be applied via a cotton pad and I think that it wastes a lot of the cleanser that way. The exfoliater is like rubbing sand on your face, difficult to operate and really rough on the skin. I have no info on where to buy all this stuff, but I'm pretty sure the total value is over the $35 I paid!

A pretty good month! I have cancelled the Must Have box because it was so expensive ($35/mo). It was a great value, but just more than I wanted to spend on a subscription box.



Monthly Subscriptions

I added another subscription for May, Glam Bag, and am still getting my Birchbox and my Foodzie box (at least until June). Here are all the goodies I received this month:

New Glam Bag:

I looooved the Studio Gear lipstick! Really a perfect color match for me which is a miracle. The brushes and Philosophy perfume were nice as well. I will definitely never use those nail sticker things.

Gossip Girl Inspired Birchbox:

I love the Dior mascara, very lush! The Miracle Skin Transformer stuff seems like putting makeup all over my body and in Houston that means I'm going to be sweating makeup off all day, gross. The Dior perfume smelled like old lady and the Shu Uemura cleansing oil is nice, but not enough of a cleanser for post-soccer hair.

Foodzie Box:

This Foodzie box was a bust for me. The only items I ate were the hazelnuts and the soda, and neither of them were spectacular. The raw cookie was gross (but Baloo still ate it), the marionberry fruit de pate was ok but weird, and the sausage was completely molded over and smelled like butt. I wouldn't even let Baloo taste it- went straight in the trash. I think June will be my last month of this box. I don't think it's holding its worth since they made it bigger and more expensive.

Branch Water Tavern

So I follow lots of foodie business in Houston and I heard awhile back that a restaurant in Houston, Branch Water Tavern, had been named to have one of the top 10 desserts in the country by GQ magazine, not exactly a foodie magazine but still a national publication. Kind of a big deal. Their sticky toffee pudding was said to be ahhhhhmazing and I had to try it! Well, it's taken me forever to get there, but I finally went to brunch with my friend, Ryan, and got to try it! Well worth the wait my friends! It is a mini bundt-shaped cake with pistachio ice cream, topped with pistachio brittle. It's served warm and everything pretty much melts in your mouth. Put it on your Houston to-taste list! Here are pics from my brunch selection and the toffee pudding (click the GQ link to see a much better pic of the pudding):

Enjoy!

Chuao Chocolate

I consider myself to be somewhat of a connoisseur of chocolate, and by that I mean I eat a lot of chocolate. I have my favorite cocoas for baking with and my favorite melting chocolate and chocolate chips for different applications. But I think I may have found my new favorite chocolate bar for straight up eating: the Chuao Chocolate Firecracker bar. My former favorite was the Wonka bar made of milk chocolate and graham cracker chunks, which may seem strange but I love those suckers. This one has pop rocks, chipotle, and sea salt in dark chocolate. So yummy and exciting! Get you some!

This is the Signature Box, all of which are super yummy!

Enjoy!


*I am not being paid to say this. I in fact paid quite a good deal for these yummies, but they're worth it!

April 2012 Birchbox

I've received my 'natural wonders' themed April Birchbox and it was a pretty good one. Check out the goodies:

Juice Beauty Moisturizer. I've used this a couple of times and you should only use a thin layer. Otherwise, you get a lotion film on your face and it rubs off. So, I'm assuming this means it doesn't absorb into the skin well, which makes it pretty pointless as a moisturizer.

2oz=$28 so 0.17oz=$2.38

Mini Zoya Nail Polish in Bevin. I really love this color for Spring and currently have it on my toes! Zoya polishes are great because they started the 'three free' movement with the no formaldehyde, tuolene, and dibutyl phthalate formula. Full size=$8 so mini is about $4

Say Yes to Blueberries Brightening Facial Towelettes. I actually already had this exact product sitting in my bathroom when I received my box. They're great for when you are just needing to clean makeup off your face late at night or just need a quick freshening between work and drinks! I actually buy mine through the Say Yes To website because they have so many other great products I use and they give great discounts. If you follow the link you can get 35% off! Regular priced $2.99

Erno Laszlo Active pHelityl soap. I used this soap once and my face felt squeeky clean. I've since read up on the 'Laszlo splashing technique' and I plan on trying that next time I use the soap. Just seems like soap to me. 6oz=$40 so 0.5oz=$3.33

Harvey Prince Yogini Purfume. So I've already received this in my December 2011 Birchbox and it was a disappointment then. Definitely a Boo! on this product.

50mL=$50 so About 1mL=$1.10

Grand Value total is $13.80. Not the best Birchbox, but still more value than the $10 I paid. Can't wait for May!

March 2012 Foodzie Box

Just a quick peek into the March Foodzie box this time. I've decided to keep up with the Foodzie box until I've been doing it a year (in June) since it is so expensive $29.95/mo and I don't really need it (but it's so fun!). This month I chose the Brooklyn Box where all items were from Brooklyn businesses. Here are my goodies:

I literally loved everything in this box. I'm already obsessed with the peeled company and all their products (I often pay the ridiculous $2 for a package of dried apples at Starbucks), the ovenly peanuts were Old Bay flavored!!!! (hello I'm from Maryland, Old Bay is at the top of my condiments list and can often be found in my purse), the chocolate items were both yum, and the granola was filled with different seeds and nuts and no fruit (my favorite kind has no fruit). The only so-so item were the crackers, but they were pretty good with some cheese. Love me some Foodzie!

March 2012 Birchbox

Another big winner from Birchbox! Love these items, I even made a full size purchase this month to score one of the items! Check it out:

 Also: this box was curated by the editor of Teen Vogue, Eva Chen. You should follow her tumblr, she's awesome!

Kate Spade Twirl fragrance: so excited to see this, I've been wanting to sample this since it came out and it's just as lovely as everything Kate Spade (I'm a bit obsessed with the brand) 3.4oz=$80 so 0.05oz=$0.12

Essie Luxeffects Nail Polish: Still haven't tried this yet because I try to limit my use of sparkly nail polish (it's a devil to take off), but I love Essie so I'm sure this will come in handy in the future! $8

Twistband Hair Tie: another one of these suckers. I have already received one in black that I never use so this wasn't that exciting. Maybe I'll try them out soon, but I don't like to mess around with my ponytail for sports and I already have ties that I love. 6=$10 so 1=$1.67

Kérastase Elixir Ultime: this is another magical hair oil that can be used before or after blow drying to give your hair a silky, healthy shine. I loved this so much that I bought the full size! 125mL=$54 so 5mL=$2.16

Tarte LipSurgence lip tint in lucky: this was my favorite item and it was full size! I like that the color is not strong at all with one layer, but can achieve a bold lip look with a few layers. It is also a bit pepperminty so that is way better than the weird lipstick smell. $24

Total value: $35.95

Holy moly, good deal!

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