Popsugar Must Have July 2014 Unboxing

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

My August Popsugar arrived yesterday. I hadn't even gotten the shipping notification for it yet so it was a nice surprise, but it magnifies the fact that I haven't gotten around to reviewing my July box yet. Doh! So here is my July review....finally!

 The Popsugar Must Have Box is $39.95 per month. If you do a year's subscription, you can get it down to $35.79 per month. You can get $5 off a box by using the coupon code REFER5 -- click here if you'd like to subscribe to Popsugar.

Here's what it looked  like upon arrival.

This is pretty awesome! Definitely one of the best Popsugar boxes I've ever gotten! And I think everything in it is ideal for summer!

So, first off, I was definitely surprised to see a nice big summer hat in my little Popsugar box. And I'm sure the folks at Popsugar were counting on that reaction. This beach hat is foldable and that makes it very packable. I've been the idiot holding a giant beach hat next to my suitcase, so this is very welcome here. It's from Michael Stars and it retails for $48.

The Ziggy salad server from French Bull is next - very cute and colorful. Perfect for serving salad at your summer picnics and barbeques. They retail for $12 and they're charming!

I've been getting lots of little sunscreens in subscription boxes for the summer, but Popsugar stepped it up a notch with a nice big tube if Sum Bum SPF 30 sunscreen and a matching tube of Sum Bum after sun Cool Down lotion.They retail for $20 for the pair and will be very useful.

 

Just in case you think your beach body needs some help, they also included a jump rope with soft grip handles from TKO. I love the idea of jump ropes because they're easy to pack and can provide a fantastic cardio workout. I actually have several jump ropes, and on occasion, I'll pack one in my suitcase for a trip.....but do I ever use it? Um, no.  Once I used one for about a minute or two in my hotel room, but that's it. I hang my head in shame for my patheticness. Anyway, this jump rope retails for $13. If you can get off your ass and use it, I applaud you. :)

The food in this box was gone within 10 minutes of taking the picture. Dang Toasted Coconut Chips. Yum! I love coconut. My only complaint is that there was barely any  in this bag. It's like that big bag of potato chips with only 15 chips in it. Oh well. They were good. Retail is $3.

I've seen a lot of subscription boxes including paper straws at the moment and while they are pretty and more environmental than plastic straws, they seem a little over-the-top to me and not worth the price. Pretty as they are - seriously, would you pay $7 for these 24 disposable paper straws? I wouldn't.

And the final thing in the box is a bonus item from Revlon. Their Bold Lacquer mascara in blackest black. Revlon seems to be pimping this mascara out all over the place and I  also got it in this month's Beauty Box 5. You can buy it pretty much anywhere for $7.99. I get a lot of mascaras in subscription boxes and I never really notice much of a difference. As long as it doesn't get all clumpy, I really don't care if it's supposed to lengthen or volumize or whatever. They make my lashes darker and fuller -- and pretty much all of them do that. I'm not picky so I don't bother spending much on mascara.

All in all, I loved this box! Yay summer! Who wouldn't love opening the box to see that hat! At $110.99, as usual, the value is great for the purchase price. Honestly, if I could only get one subscription box, this is the one I'd pick. And by the way,  Popsugar just announced their Special Edition Fall Style Box -- it's $100 plus tax and will ship by August 31st. I already ordered mine!

Popsugar June 2014 Unboxing

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Oh I love Popsugar! I always get super excited when I come home from work and one is waiting for me. The Popsugar Must Have Box is $39.95 per month. If you do a year's subscription, you can get it down to $35.79 per month. You can get $5 off a box by using the coupon code REFER5 -- click here if you'd like to subscribe to Popsugar.

So here's what the June box looked like when it arrived - it was a little squished, but as it turns out, no harm done on the inside.

And here's a first look inside.

The first thing that you absolutely can't miss is a nice big hardcover book. It's The One & Only by Emily Giffin and it's billed as a great summer read. I saw this prominently displayed at Barnes & Noble and I've heard it's a page turner, so I'm pretty happy about this -- especially because I probably wouldn't have discovered it on my own. The only reason I noticed it in Barnes & Noble is because it was in my Popsugar box. Amazon has this book right now for $16.52.

 

Next up are You Smell Fragrant Luxury Wet Wipes -- lemon scented. I'm kind of wondering how wet wipes can be luxury. I don't know about these because I don't generally use wet wipes, but who knows, maybe a couple in my purse will come in handy. These have a value of $5.

Popsugar seems to be into Turkish towels. Some people have been really raving about them, but for me, the jury is still out.  This is the second one I've received from Popsugar, but I haven't tried out either yet. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but terry cloth just works so well -- but I guess you wouldn't use a terry cloth towel as a wrap at night. This is the Turkish-T towel in blue and white stripes. These go for $32.

There's a nice big bottle of Sachajuan Shiny Citrus Body Lotion. This smells really good -- what's not to love about body lotion. This retails for $24.

 

Okay now this is my favorite thing in the box -- a set of 3 Lollies hair ties. My hair is very long and thick and hair ties always slide. So annoying. These are made of braided bathing suit material and that seems to make a difference. They don't slide down my hair, and if you wear one on your wrist, it looks like you're wearing a bracelet. LOVE THEM! This set of 3 runs for $8.

And the last thing in my box is this month's food item. These were gone within 15 minutes of opening the box. One Potato Two Potato Kettle Potato Chips in Hawaiian BBQ. They were salty with a hint of sweet and that's pretty addictive. This 2 oz bag is $0.99.

Total value of the box is $86.51. It's certainly not the best value I've gotten from Popsugar, but it's still good. I'm totally thrilled about the hair ties and I'm happy about the book. I'm keeping an open mind about the wet wipes and the Turkish towel. The body lotion smells great although I do have to admit that I have a ton of body lotion and don't really need anymore -- I may see if I can trade that.

Popsugar May 2014 Unboxing

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

I came home from work today and was delighted to discover that my May Popsugar Must Have box had arrived! I wasn't even expecting it yet. I actually didn't get the email from Popsugar telling me it was on it's way until after 9 PM this evening. That made it an even bigger surprise today.

Popsugar is a monthly lifestyle subscription box, and it costs $39.99 per month if you are on a month-to-month plan -- a little cheaper if you buy several months or a year at a time. So far, Popsugar is my favorite. I look forward to opening this box all month!You can subscribe to Popsugar by clicking here.

So here's what the box looks like upon arrival:

And here's what I found inside the tissue paper:

Probably the first thing I saw and the biggest thing in the box was this month's food selection. They always have some kind of food in here -- sometimes more than one thing, and it's almost always good. This month is no exception. They sent Skinny Sticks in Multi-Grain Sweet Onion. Of course I opened them almost immediately. I was only going to have a couple, but I found myself reaching back into the bag several times.....uh oh, these are definitely addictive! They're both sweet and savory, and who doesn't like that?! I was also impressed by how heavy the bag is. In addition, the ingredients are all natural -- no chemicals anywhere, and I especially like that the ingredients are non-GMO. We need a lot more of that. Monsanto can go suck on their genetically modified crap. Anyway, Popsugar says the retail value of these are $4.

 

The next thing I noticed in the box was a sleep mask. Really?! Meh. It's the Kerry Cassill Eye Mask made of soft voile cotton exclusively for Popsugar. The retail value on these is $24 -- and that sounds completely ridiculous. This is the kind of thing I'd expect to get for free in an airline amenity bag. But before I completely bash this, when my boyfriend saw it, he grabbed it and immediately called dibs. He often has trouble sleeping and usually uses a sleep mask that we got in (surprise surprise) an airline amenity kit. He says this one is much softer and nicer than the one he uses. But we won't know for sure how much better it works for him until tomorrow. He just hand washed it to get the new smell out of it. Still, $24 is ridiculous -- they can't be serious about that price. It's worth maybe $5 tops.

Next, I see a workout DVD -- cuz apparently, it's 1995 again. It's Tone It Up by the women from Bravo's Toned Up. I cannot remember the last time I worked out to a DVD. I know there are a few people who still do it, but I don't. This DVD features two 30-minute workouts. I'm unimpressed. Maybe.....just  maybe....I'll put it into my blu-ray player and see if it interests me at all. Yeah, I got rid of my DVD player ages ago. I haven't bought a DVD in a very long time. The retail value on this DVD is $15. At least that sounds reasonable. If you like working out to the same recorded workout over and over again, $15 doesn't break the bank and could even be worth it if it's a good workout -- and it's way cheaper than a gym membership or the elliptical machine that I bought (and yes, I actually use it every day.) But it should at least be a blu-ray...  DVDs are only standard definition and we all have HD TVs now.

Next, there's a water bottle. I'm up to my ears in water bottles, and honestly, I do not need another one. This one, however, does come with a bit of a twist....literally. It's the Citrus Zinger by Zing Anything and it has a juicer on the end that's meant for you to infuse your water with citrus. That's kind of cool. And I'm glad to see that this bottle is BPA free. Still, I don't need another water bottle, and I don't foresee this one getting any use. So...bummer. It has a retail of $17. Nah...I would not pay that for this -- maybe $7 or $8, and only if I actually needed another water bottle. Water bottles are the kind of thing that companies give out free as promotions -- that's why I have so many of them. So...meh.

  
I was a little excited when I saw the next item. St. Tropez Dispenser Perfume by Smell Bent. It's a nice size bottle (1.7 FL OZ) with a retail value of $45. At that price, this is the "big ticket" item in the box. It's nice that it's perfume and not eau de toilette. They describe it as an "intoxicating blend of jasmine absolute and coconut aromas." Sounded great, but when I sprayed a little on my wrist, I wished I hadn't. It's not terrible, but it just doesn't do it for me. I love coconut, and that's why I thought I'd love this, but I don't. I tried to wash it off, but it's still pretty strong. I guess that means it's pretty potent and you won't need much....but it's just not for me.

Up next is a nail polish -- "Pool Boy" Nail Laquer by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. It's a densly pigmented quick-drying polish. I like the color  -- I wouldn't mind  having this on my fingers or toes. It's nice to know that this polish is cruelty free and 100% vegan -- whatever that means. I haven't met a nail polish that's not full of chemicals yet...but so be it. This retails for $10, and that's fairly reasonable.

The last thing in my box is the vbeaute Lip Spread Anti-Age Tinting Lip Gloss. This won't be in everyone's box. Popsugar sent this out to everyone who ordered the Special Edition Resort Box as an apology for the shipping being delayed on that box. While I really appreciate that they gave me something extra, I'm sorry to report that it arrived damaged. There's a tiny whole at the top of the tube and it has oozed out a bit. I'll have to contact Popsugar. I hear they're pretty good about replacing damaged stuff. Anyway, when it's not all oozy and gross, this retails for $19.

The overall value of this box is $134 (including the lip gloss) if you believe the suggested retail values, but I've gotta say, I'm underwhelmed. I'm not all that excited about a single thing in here. Weirdly enough, the sad little sleep mask is probably the thing that will get the most use in my household -- and not even by me. Oh well. Better luck next month. Popsugar is usually so much better than this.