Review: January Pop Sugar Must Have

I received my January Pop Sugar Must Have box today and I was pleasantly surprised. I had read the spoilers and was initially disappointed, but after receiving it today I feel better about it.

Pop Sugar Must Have is a monthly subscription service where you pay ~$35/mo and you receive "Hand-selected items in beauty, fashion, home, fitness, and food, Full-size products and premium items worth over $100."

You can sign up for a month to month subscription, or a 3 month, 6 month or 1 year subscription will save you a little bit of money:

• Monthly 35/mo
• 3 months for $95
• 6 months for $190
• 12 months for $380 (1 month free)

If you sign up for more than one month, once your subscription period ends your subscription will continue as a month to month subscription unless you cancel. There are always codes for at least $5 off a subscription but sometimes there are better deals to be had as well so always check for coupon codes. If you sign up through my blog please use my referral link :) http://popsu.gr/EAI

I must have really bad luck because similar to Hammock Pack, I loved all the prior boxes but when I got my first box in December I was disappointed. However, I did end up really enjoying the December box so I spoke too soon! Here's what the January box looked like:

Here's what was inside:

Merrithew Stability Ball and code for 50% off instructional DVD (Retail $38.99): My husband and I already have one of these and don't use it, but maybe this will be my motivation to use it! I checked out the DVD's and found two that would total $10, still debating if I'll purchase or just try and find free stuff online

The Remix Timebomb Watch (Retail Value $44.95): This has a pretty large face but I'm glad I got the white color because I was hoping to maybe wear it to work and white will be much more versatile.

Epicuren Discovery Lip Balm .25 fl oz ($9.50 on amazon):Contains SPF 15 as well as tea tree oil and aloe vera

Pop bar Hot Chocolate on a Stick (1) Milk Chocolate and (1) Dark Chocolate $2.99 each, retail value $5.98: I received a similar item for Christmas from my boss, I'm curious to see how these compare:

Jet-Puffed Vanilla Mallow Bits (found these for $1.50 at an online grocer): I LOVE marshmallows in my hot chocolate so I'm excited to try these but I do wish they had gone with a higher end marshmallow since I know even at my local grocery store you can purchase gourmet flavored hand made marshmallows.

Bonus Items; Think Thin Bars, $1.00 off two Think Thin Bars and $15 voucher to www.casetagram.com and some Stability Ball Exercises; I was pretty excited about the casetagram voucher but unfortunately when I visited their site they don't have an option for my tablet and I don't have a smart phone so this may be a gift for someone. The Think Thin Bars will be good snacks to keep at work and I appreciate the info card with some sample exercises for the Stability Ball

After typing this all out I'm realizing that this box had quite a bit in it! The retail value was clearly there, I calculate about $101 without the "bonus items" which is pretty good. February is the last month of my three month subscriptions so that will be when I decide if I want continue month to month or cancel...my 30th birthday is in April so maybe I'll stick around until then depending on February

Review: January Hammock Pack-Sailing

I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hammock Pack, a newer monthly subscription service that started in June 2012. From their website:

"Every month, you’ll receive a surprise pack filled with everything you need to take a much-needed getaway without even leaving your home. Whether it’s as simple as a movie night or mementos from that exotic vacation you can’t find the time to take. So relax and let a little “me time” come to you"

You can sign up for one month, three months or a full year subscription, each currently costs the same which is $25 + $5 shipping, for a monthly cost of $30. Payments are made through paypal and you are billed each month, and boxes are shipped mid-month.

I signed up for the three month subscription after looking at and loving all the prior boxes. Unfortunately I wasn't completely in love with the January pack. Here's how it was packaged:

Here's what was inside:

K. Batty Design & Stationary Shop, Two AHOY! note cards: These are really cute, and since they are blank instead I can see using them as cute thank you cards in the summer or just a quick note to a friend. I found these in the sellers Etsy shop $10 for a package of 15, or $1.50 each.

Toot Sweet Caramels, package of four caramels: I thought this was cute packaging and I did try a caramel and they are really good. Retail value $1.25

Everlasting Eden Bath Salts "Tranquil Waters": This is a 4oz container and the sellers Etsy site indicates "Refreshing and energizing mineral dead sea baths salts. Made with Eucalyptus Mint Essence Oils, and organic herbal peppermint." I found that the seller sold a three pack of these for $14.99, so I'm placing the retail value at approximately $5.00. 

White Apple Threads Anchor Tote Bag: Everything came packaged in this tote bag, which is noted as eco-friendly and a percentage of each sale goes to charity. While this is cute, I can only see using it as a beach bag (which I have tons of) or a grocery bag (which I also have plenty of), so that's the only reason this item isn't a hit with me. I couldn't find an accurate retail value on this, but there was a custom bag with a photo image that was $10, so I'm guessing it may be slightly less. 

Salt of the Earth Bakery; The Cookie, package of 2 cookies; This package contained two cookies which have Maldon Sea Salt Sprinkled on top. I'm a HUGE cookie/sweets fan, so of course I already tried one of these. Unfortunately I don't care for the salt and couldn't finish the one that I tried.

And here's everything together:

One thing I do love about this subscription is that many of the items are from Etsy or small businesses and I think that putting them in a Hammock Pack is a great way to get their name out and I love that these aren't items you would necessarily be able to run to the store and pick up, since they aren't local. 

Based on what I could find, the total retail value of these items is lower than the other boxes I subscribe to and unfortunately for this particular box, the items aren't ones that I'm too interested in but I still have high hopes for February and March. 

I should be receiving the Pop Sugar Must Have's January Box tomorrow, I've already read the spoilers and was kind of disappointed so I'm anxious to see what I think when I have the actual items in hand.

As a side note, I've started a "score card" on my desk top to compare my monthly subscriptions, because ultimately I only want one or two. 

Here are the subscriptions I currently have and will be comparing in February when I have at least two boxes from the first three, and one Yuzen box.

Pop Sugar Must Haves ; December- January

SeasonsBox; January-March

Hammock Pack; January- March

Yuzen- Quarterly starting with February

Review: SeasonsBox- January Soft & Cozy Box

Today I received my first SeasonsBox and it is lovely! For those of you who don't know, SeasonsBox is a newer monthly subscription service and I think it has some features that really make it stand out from the others. Here's the basics:

• You can sign up for a one time purchase or gift ($34.90)or sign up for 3, 6 or 12 month subscriptions to see some savings. If you sign up by 1/31/2013 they are offering an amazing deal on the 12 month subscription, just $250 which works out to about $20.83/per month, the normal cost for 12 months is $349 or $29.08/month
• You get to preview the items before purchasing, so before I bought my January box I already knew what I was getting. I LOVE this feature, although it can be nice to be surprised, I like knowing in advance so there's not the "fear" of hating everything
• Shipping is super fast because they are currently using FedEx. My box shipped on Monday and arrived Wednesday
• I've heard through other blogs that SeasonsBox sends out a preview before each month and if that month doesn't suit you, you can e-mail them and ask to "skip" that month, they will then add that month to the back end of your subscription. I haven't confirmed if that information is correct, and it seems unlikely that I'd not like their items, but if this is an option I think it's a great feature.

I signed up for the three month subscription so I'll be getting January, February and March Boxes. Here's how it came packaged, there was also a card on top of the items which outlined what each item was and why they included it. Love that everything was individually packaged and so much attention to detail.

Here's what was inside:

Kitira Hand Woven Scarf; So cozy and so glad I got the neutral color, planning to wear it this week!

Vance Kitira Hand Poured Cathedral Candle in Bamboo Bliss: Upon first smell this reminds me of fresh linen/fresh cotton, but it may smell differently when burning.

Whispering Willow Whipped Shea Butter in Tea Tree Scent: This is a very unique scent, it reminds me of what it smells like in a spa and I think it would be great to use at night when getting ready for bed. Perfect timing for the awful headache I've had all day today! I found their website here: http://www.whisperingwillow.net/collections/lotion/products/whipped-shea-butter-tea-tree

Unearth Malee Thai Herbal Steam Bath Tea: This is a really neat concept, inside the package you'll find two large "tea bags" that you steep in your tub for a relaxing bath. Even cooler, the packaging is printed on seeded paper and can be planted so you can enjoy wildflowers! I couldn't find a direct site for this company, but found it sold here: http://www.artisancraftedbodycare.com/unearth-malee-organic-bath-tea.aspx

Perfumessense Organic "Breathe" Shower & Bath Bomb: This is used by either placing in a bath, or by placing on the shelf or floor of your shower out of direct steam. According to their Etsy shop, when used in the shower and out of direct stream of water, this should last for three showers. These are sold on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/118280791/breathe-shower-bath-bombs-3-pack

So that's everything, as I use everything I'll provide updates on my thoughts on each product :) If you sign up, they do have a referral program, here's my link: http://curebit.com/x/CZ0zf

Stay tuned, coming this month still are reviews on Pop Sugar Must Haves and Hammock Pack and next month I'll be adding Yuzen to the list!

**1/23/2013 Update**
I'm LOVING the contents of this box! I've worn the scarf twice, once to work and once on the weekend, the neutral color makes it perfect for either setting and it's so cozy. The candle is currently burning perfectly with no dripping and continues to smell similar to a fresh linen/cotton scent. The shea butter has come in handy every night before bed when trying to relax and I used it as a massage lotion on my husbands neck after a long day at work. I tried the bath tea but unfortunately our tub isn't amazingly good at keeping water or staying hot, so I'll save the other for a better tub. A word of caution, just like drinking tea it did change the color of the water and left a little residue so don't be like me and clean the tub then take a bath, you'll just end up having to clean again! Lastly, I used the bath bomb as a shower bomb and after some strategic placement I did enjoy this and may be purchasing more!

Influenster -Palmolive Fresh Infusions

I recently signed up for Influenster after seeing a video review a couple months back. For those of you who don't know, Influenster is a "social influence" website where you can review products, stores etc. As you complete activities your Influenster score changes to reflect your influence in the community. There are expert badges, these are areas of expertise such as Fashion, Beauty, Fitness and you can only be an expert in four areas. There are lifestage badges which are related to where you are in your life (ie. mom, cat lover, etc) and you can get as many of these as you fall into. There are also "VoxBoxes" which is a package of a product/products that Influenster sends you for free for the purpose of reviewing products. Every VoxBox has a different theme and you are selected based on your badges and scores. You'll get an e-mail saying that you pre-qualify but need to complete a survey, if you're a good fit you'll get an e-mail letting you know that a VoxBox is on its way. Once you have the box there are Brand Challenges, Reviews etc that you need to complete, some are mandatory and some are bonuses and you can win extra prizes.


Once I signed up I started filling out surveys and reviewing products. I'll admit, I did a lot in just a few days. Within a few weeks I got an e-mail telling me that I'd pre-qualified for their Dish Soap program. The e-mail was in my spam folder but luckily I found it! I filled out the survey and a few weeks later received an e-mail telling me that a VoxBox was on the way! Woohoo!

I received the Palmolive Fresh Infusions VoxBox which contained three full size bottles of Palmolive Fresh Infusions Dish Soap. The box was also supposed to contain $1.50 off coupons for the dish soap but unfortunately my box didn't have any. Here's what I got:

I really like organizing and cleaning so this box is right up my alley. The scents are Lemon Thyme, White Ginger Tea and Lime Basil. I think I like the Lemon Thyme the best because it just smells so fresh and I'm partial to Lemon scents, but they all smell great!

One thing I've noticed is that this creates A LOT of suds compared to other dish soap I've used, I'm not sure why that is. This would be great if you fill up your sink and let the dishes soak.We use the dishwasher a lot but wash a lot of our pots/pans and more delicate items by hand so the HUGE amount of suds when hand washing can be annoying, so use sparingly. 

 If you're interested in purchasing these, they are available at Walmart. For more information on these you can also visit the Palmolive site at http://bit.ly/VMwX1V or for reviews from the Influenster community check out: http://bit.ly/101WrXn