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!

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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.”

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!

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!

October 2014 Subscription Boxes

Bestowed

Bestowed is a monthly subscription box that is filled with mostly healthy snacks, and other healthy living items.

Peeled Cinnamon Apple Clusters ($5.49).  A little disappointing since we just got these in the August box.  This was a bigger bag with “4” servings, but while they taste good they are not filling at all.  I ate the whole thing in one sitting and was still starving.  Probably a good snack for kids though.
Little Miracles ($2.50).  I actually really enjoyed this energy drink, but was disappointed that it’s not a US product and therefore not available any way except by ordering online (expensive).
Glee Gum ($0.29).  I liked the watermelon flavor and the idea of a “healthy” gum, but the flavor only lasted for about 3 minutes.
Fiber Love Bars (About $o.90 each for the sample size).  I got the cinnamon raisin and peanut butter chocolate.  They claimed to taste like cookies but they really just taste my fiber bars.  I much prefer Clif bars for texture, though the flavor was fine.
Crunchmaster Crackers ($0.75).  I actually did enjoy these crackers.  There were only 7 in this bag (half a serving size) and they were a bit salty, but I liked the flavor and ate them with some mozzarella cheese.
Hooray Puree Spinach ($5.00).  I don’t think I’ve ever used pureed spinach in my life, so I don’t really plan to use this.  I always have fresh spinach around, and would puree that if need be.
Numi Organic Tea (two tea bags, $0.65 each).  I haven’t tried this yet but I’m hoping it will be good – I got the chocolate mint flavor, which seems unusual for tea.  I enjoy tea but usually use loose leaf if I can.

I calculated this box to be worth $17.13, which is definitely better than the last two boxes but still not even worth as much as they charge for it.  That fact, combined with the fact that I didn’t even enjoy all of the items, convinced me to cancel my subscription.  Goodbye, Bestowed!

Loot Crate Review – October 2014

My friend gets the subscription box Loot Crate, which is full of great geeky stuff every month.  I haven’t done a post about it yet, so I figured now would be a good time.  He got his October box early (apparently there had been a mistake and they shipped some of the boxes early), so if you subscribe this may be new to you.  The theme this month was Fear, something which neither of us were super excited about – but the box turned out to be better than we thought!

The book this month came with the old fashioned red and blue 3D glasses – and the front cover and some of the pages inside were done in the old 3D style.

Exciting this month was the fact that a t-shirt was included.  The design is hilariously awesome.  My friend stated that he both “wanted to wear it all the time and yet never wanted to wear it.”  It’s particularly funny for him because he’s highly allergic to cats, while I love them.