Stitch Fix Review – March 2015

It’s my favorite mail day – Stitch Fix!  Stitch Fix is a subscription box service that has you fill out a style profile survey, and then they send you 5 clothing items to try on – you decide what to keep and what to send back!  I had Julie as my stylist again, and this time around I requested shirts and cardigans for work.  Here’s what I got:

Pixley Abrianna waffle knit cardigan – $48.00

Out of the box I really loved this – mostly for the color.  It’s a great color and different than anything else that I have.  When I tried it on I really liked the style too – it has these “sort of” pockets that are created by the way the sweater drapes.  The only drawback was the fact that the sleeves were just a little tight.  Ultimately though I loved it and decided I would put up with the tight sleeves!  Verdict:  Kept.

Stridebox Review – February 2015

I got my first Stridebox in February, which is a subscription box designed especially for runners.  It can include all sorts of goodies and equipment, and I was looking forward to seeing what was inside!  The cost is $15 a month.

I think the “biggest” item in this box was a pair of touchscreen gloves.  I will say that these weren’t super useful to me.  My husband had just gotten me really nice touchscreen gloves for Christmas that are wonderful.  I wore these a couple of times, including for a 10k race.  They are fine, your typical cheap glove material, but the touchscreen aspect didn’t work that well.  Kind of a dud for me.

Also included was a Picky Bar, which is an energy bar.  I got the flavor Cookie Doughphness.  I was a bit surprised at the texture – I expected it to be like a clif bar but it was way more chewy.  However, it tasted really good!  And I can be very picky (no pun intended!) with this sort of thing.

Subscription Boxes – February 2015

Ipsy

Ipsy is a make-up bag subscription with 5 items per month for $10.  You also get a bag every month.

Cargo Cosmetics mini lip gloss (~$8.00)- Lip gloss is probably the #1 thing I like to get, and while this one was fine consistency-wise, I didn’t love the color.  It was way too pale a pink and just looked bad with my pale skin.
Composition No. 1 Parfum Oil ($15.00)- this is the teeniest tiniest sample because this stuff is expensive, but I thought it smelled really nice – kind of sweet and strong.
Luxie Beauty Large Angled Face Brush ($8.00) – this is great for putting on blush.  It’s amazing what a difference a good brush can make, and I’m happy to add this to my collection!
ModelCo Blush ($18) – This is my first blush from Ipsy, so that was nice . It’s a good shade and I’m pleased! I got the peach bellini shade. It will work well for my theater shows.
Tini Beauty Eye Shadow ($5.00) – This is nice, but the only issue is I’ve gotten something pretty much the same (neutral colored eye shadow) in every Ipsy bag.  So I didn’t really need this, though it’s something I’ll use eventually.

All in all I came up with a value of $54, which is by far the best for any Ipsy bag I’ve gotten.  The bag itself is cute, and every item in it is something that I would like and use (if only the lip gloss was a better shade!).  This month was a win for sure!

Subscription Boxes – January 2015

Ipsy

Ipsy is a make-up bag subscription with 5 items per month for $10.  You also get a bag every month.

Coastal Scents Liquid Eyeliner ($2.95)- I didn’t open this one yet because I have plenty of eyeliner.  I’d like to try and trade it for something else.
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer ($9.70) – I don’t really know exactly what a foundation primer does, but I tried it and it seemed nice enough.
Hey Honey Exfoliating Mask ($7.00)- I haven’t used this yet either, but I look forward to it!
Mojito Lip Balm ($12.00)- I liked this a lot.  It makes lips shiny, had a nice flavor, and felt good on my lips that are all chapped from the cold.
Pacifica Coconut eye shadow ($4.67)- This was a fine, neutral eye shadow.  I just feel like I’ve gotten a neutral eye shadow in every Ipsy bag, so I don’t know that I need more.

All told I’m coming up with a value of $36.32, which is great!  Although I’m not super excited about any of the products in it, but that’s just based on my own preferences.  The mojito lip balm is probably my favorite.

Loot Crate

The theme for this month’s Loot Crate , a subscription box of geeky goods, was “rewind.”

Stitch Fix Review – January 2015

My third stitch fix came in the mail!  I kept requesting the same stylist, Julie, because she really listened to what I wanted and has done a good job so far.  And I’ve been lucky that they always give me her!  I’ve been reading a lot of other Stitch Fix reviews on blogs, and it’s been fun.  Please note that I am not a model at all.  So in the pictures you will basically see the same three poses, and I won’t be going out in the snow or anything for a better backdrop!

Humphrey Streak Print Dress – $88.00

I had asked for another long sleeved dress, since I liked the one in my last fix but it didn’t fit right.  This one was really cute, a little different, and would be perfect to wear casually or for work.  Only problem was the price – $88 for a dress!  That’s so much!  Ultimately though, I liked it far better than anything else in my fix, so I decided to go for it.  What really pushed it over the edge for me was the fact that it was both machine washable and able to be tumble dried.  Verdict:  Keep.

Subscription Boxes – December 2014

Bulu Box

Bulu Box is a subscription box that sends you samples of health, nutrition, and weight loss products.

Funnbar Protein Candy Chews – I loved the idea of this product, but the taste was just awful.  It left an aftertaste in my mouth that didn’t seem to go away for hours.
Berry Sleepy – a sleep aid that is supposed to work in 30 minutes, but it didn’t seem as effective to me as my usual melatonin.
Zestra Essential Arousal Oils – I could see this definitely working for some people.  It definitely made this area more.. sensitive… but it was a bit much for me.
Justin’s Peanut Butter – I’m not a huge peanut butter fan, but this one was really good.  I’d buy it again.  It had a natural taste, which I enjoy.
Sport Tea – I haven’t tried this one yet, but I hope it tastes good.  The idea of extra energy is nice, and I do enjoy tea.

This box had a better variety of items than the past one, but I’ve currently put my Bulu Box subscription on hiatus.  I like it, but it’s definitely not worth $10 a month to me.  When I got the groupon it was a great deal, with each box costing less than $5.  For just samples I can’t see spending more on it, and I’m not sure you can get a discount more than once.  If I find a way to get it cheaper again I will be back!

Nadine West Review

What is Nadine West?  It’s a new subscription box service that sends clothing and jewelry.  I wouldn’t compare it to Stitch Fix, because you only get one shirt a month (as well as two jewelry pieces), but it sounds fun and more affordable.  Most of their pieces are $25 or less.  But the best part is that there’s no service fee.  Everything is free – they send you the package, you try it on, decide whether or not you want to keep anything, and send back what you don’t like.  So you literally have nothing to lose!

That’s why I’m going to keep getting Nadine West, even though my first package was a huge disappointment. I’d read other reviews online that looked good, so I still have hope.  But here’s a look at what I got.

Shirt (I returned the order form so I don’t have exact names or prices, but I know it was around $24.95).

I took one look at this and thought “no way.”  On your style profile you can check off what colors you like, and light pink is most definitely not one of them for me.  I am so not a light pink person.  Plus, with the fringe it kind of looks more like a rug.  When I put it on it was even worse, which is why you don’t have a picture of me wearing it.  It had a really weird shape in that it seemed like it wasn’t long enough, but it was really wide.  And it was totally see through, so you’d have to put a tank top on underneath.  I didn’t feel like doing that so no picture!

November 2014 subscription boxes

Bulu Box

Bulu Box is a subscription box that sends you samples of health, nutrition, and weight loss products.

Rutaesomn Sleep Aid – I got this in my last box too, so I think there might have been a mistake.  Luckily, I liked it last time!
Supreme Protein bar (strawberry banana) – I was excited to see a full sized bar in the box – unfortunately, I thought this tasted awful.  So dense, I just couldn’t finish it.
Sweet Wheat – supposed to be the pill form of a superfood, providing nutrients and energy.  My problem with samples like this is that you can’t really tell if it works or not from taking it one day.
Probium Probiotics – a dietary supplement to help digestion.  This was a couple of pills, so same problem as above.
Simple Being Simple Diet – another dietary supplement.  I’m not a fan of these.
Clean Series Veggie Protein – protein powder that I can hopefully give a try in a smoothie sometime soon – or the package also suggests mixing it with almond milk.

Overall I wasn’t thrilled with this box.  I hate the dietary supplements because they’re pretty much useless – you can’t tell if they work from taking them one day, and there’s no flavor or anything to get used to.  I’m hoping my next box will have less pills and more other things.

Ipsy

Ipsy is a make-up bag subscription with 5 items per month for $10.  You also get a bag every month – this one was sparkly to go with the glitter theme!