Fab Fit Fun VIP Box Summer 2014 Review

Back to box reviews following a long hiatus! And we get to start with the Fab Fit Fun VIP summer box, which has, in the past, been one of my favorites. Fab Fit Fun is a box curated by Guiliana Rancic and is sent out quarterly. It is $49.99 per quarter and contains health, beauty and fitness lifestyle items. Let’s see what the summer box brought:

Upon first look, there were a lot of items in there!

Sonya Dakar Flash Facial $95: So, while I was initially a little bummed that the crown jewel of the summer FFF box was a skincare product, that was before I gave it a try.  It made an immediate change in my skin, and it works like nothing else I have ever used.  You apply a thin coat to your clean, dry face and then let it sit for a minute, and then you rub it off in a circular motion and then rinse.  Let me tell you, the first time I used it, some nasty stuff came off of my skin.  It basically just melts the dead skin away, and I felt like I noticed a difference immediately.  It says to use everyday, but at a $95 price tag, I think I will maybe do it once a week or so.  Don’t want to get too spoiled.

Pur-lissle pur-protect SPF 30 Daily Moisturizer: $55 I wear an SPF moisturizer on my face everyday, so this is a score. I like their products, and as soon as I run out of my current moisturizer, I will switch to this one. I did try a little squirt, and the texture is nice, especially for it being a 30 SPF, and it has a clean, low-key smell.

Fab Fit Fun Water Infuser bottle: $15  So, I am really loving my Citrus Zinger bottle from last month’s PopSugar box, and I really don’t need two.  I will probably gift this one.  I like the way the chamber for fruit and stuff is down the middle, but I thought the opening was a little weird. The saying on the side says: “Grab life by the exercise balls.” Ummm, ok.

Zoya Nail Polish in “Cole”: $9 This is a great color, kind of like a Creamsicle, and I love Zoya polish for their Vegan (and pregnancy friendly….not that I am, but that is handy) ingredients.  I would totally wear this, except for that the applicator brush is completely jacked up.  even in the picture, you can see the brush against the side of the bottle inside.  It is un-useable.  I am bummed!  I will email FFF and see if they will replace, although that seems like a lot of work when I have about a million bottles of nail polish.  I have heard their service is great though.

Thursday Friday Mini Clutch/Makeup Bag: $35  Ok, so it seems like every single box over the past few months has had a canvas makeup bag.  I am on overload and will gift this one.  It is cute, although the pattern I got is totally not me. $35 seems like a lot to me to spend on a canvas bag that would not even come close to holding all my makeup for a trip. And I am not even that much of a makeup queen, but still, this thing is tiny.  I think my BFF might like it though.  The box also included a $30 coupon card for the Thursday Friday site, which ended up getting pictured below.

KISSTIXX Lip Balm in Sweet and Sour: $6 Apparently you are supposed to give one of these to your makeout partner and then keep one for yourself, creating come sort of taste sensation when you kiss.  Well, while that sounds lovely in theory, as the working parents of a two-year old, if we ever get time to make out, the forethought it takes to simultaneously apply lip balm prior to would probably send us over the edge.  However, lip balm is always a score for me, and these feel nice. I’m keeping them both for myself.

Balanced Guru No Frizz Oil: $25 This one is a dud for me.  I just refuse to put any kind of oil treatment in my hair because it is already so fine and oily that anything like this makes it look like I poured mayonnaise on my head.  I will pass this on to a friend who like hair oils.  It gets great reviews from other, non-greaseball, reviewers, though!

These were some of the extra, sponsored items in this month’s box:

PopChips in BBQ: These were eaten almost immediately.  Everyone in the house loves these.

Skintimate Shave Gel sample: Nice for my swim bag or travel.

Always Xtra Protection Long Daily Liners: Not really my thing, but might make a nice addition to a post-pregancy/new baby gift basket

Slimfast Have Your Cake bar: Also not really my thing, just because of how many chemicals and junk SlimFast puts in their stuff.  Someone will eat it at some point, I’m sure.

All told, the Summer 2014 Fab Fit Fun VIP box had a value of around $250. It was not my favorite box from them, to be sure, but the facial is a great discovery. The value is there, but for some reason, this box just felt really thrown together to me and not “curated” like the Winter and Spring boxes I got the last couple times.  I will look forward to an improvement for their Fall box this year. That is my favorite time of year anyway.

Julep Maven Review- January 2014

 Julep Maven Box was another one that was waiting for me when we returned from our holiday travels! They always ship super early in the month, or in this case, even before. Julep Maven is a monthly nail lacquer and beauty product box that is $19.95 per month. You can always get your first box free (just pay $4 shpping) with the code FREEBOX. Each box always includes two nail polish colors and a beauty item, as well as occasional bonus items. Julep lets you know what your choices for the month are before shipping, so you can always switch it up, or even upgrade to the full collection for an additional $30. Julep has the widest variety of colors I have ever seen along with fun topcoats and finishes. Here are the goods for January:

There was a little extra in there this month, and I could not for the life of me figure out what it was. Here are the details:

TA-DA! Quick Dry Drops: ($14) These will come in super handy! I am so impatient when it comes to letting my nails dry, especially when I am dying to put socks back on my freezing feet after I do my toes. These actually smell quite nice and promise to keep drying time to only a few minutes, as well as help your cuticles with Vitamin E.

Ummm… Little Orange Sponges: ($?) Ok, so I initially thought these were mini buffers, but they are not. Did anyone else get these?  What are they for? I can’t find them on the Julep site, but I am sure they are for something wonderful that I am now missing out on.

My polish colors this month were from the Boho Glam profile, which is the one I typically select. The colors are:

Hannah: ($14) A pale sage color with a creme finish. Pale greens are basically my favorite colors in the world. I am putting this on my toes pronto, even if I plan on keeping them under layers of socks and slippers until the snow melts.

Noelle: ($14) Julep describes this color as sandy beach silk with a glitter finish. I describe it as a lovely neutral with a twist. Gorgeous.

Overall, the value of the Julep January box was $42 dollars for the $19.95 price tag, plus the value of the mystery sponges. Not too shabby. Also, in every Julep box, there is always a little card with a fun quote or fact on it. This month’s is hanging on my bathroom mirror as my constant reminder:

ipsy Review December 2013 Glam Bag

ipsy came yesterday, and I love me some ipsy! Ipsy Glam Bag is a monthly subscription that includes three to five sample- and full-sized beauty products. It always comes in a cute little makeup bag and has a theme. Not everyone gets the same items; the products are chosen based on a questionnaire you fill out, so many of the items are based on your own style. The theme for the December ipsy Glam Bag was Celebration. Here are the goods:

I loved this month’s bag. It is a shiny little black number that looks like patent leather. What was on the inside was pretty cool, too.  Here are the details:

Nicka K New York Nail Color in Classic Taupe: ($4.99)This is a new nail polish brand to me, but I love the color. Nicka K nail color is free of all the nasty nail polish chemicals and comes in a super cool bottle. Love it.

Pop Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eye Shadow Trio in Naturally Bare: ($7.50) When you buy from Pop Beauty, their eye shadow palettes come in a set of ten for $24, so this price is an estimate based on that. These are great colors, totally what I wear on a daily basis. I have gotten a bunch of great natural shadow palettes lately. It will definitely be a long time before I need to purchase eye shadow. These can be used wet or dry.

NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in Celene: ($4.00) Ok, the Celene color is a pale gold, and I am not really sure what to do with that color. I really don’t wear lipstick and am more of a gloss/balm girl, but I can be talked into a swipe of a nice, natural pink lipstick every so often. The pale gold is another story, though. I would be more likely to put this color on my eyes than my lips.

The One Stick by Be a Bombshell in Girl Crush: ($16) I totally love this color, and this kind of thing is really useful to throw in your purse to use to freshen up on the fly. It can be used on eyelids, lips or cheeks, so if need a little color on the go, this could be your saving grace. The natural pink of the Girl Crush color is something I will totally use on lips and cheeks. I will have to try it on the ol’ eyelids and see what it looks like.

Andrea Strip Lashes: ($3.99) There have been a lot of false lashes in boxes lately, and they are just not my thing. I will throw these in our Halloween box and surely they will get used as part of a costume at some point. Extra points if it is my husband that ends up wearing them.

All told, the December ipsy Glam Bag had a value of around $36 for the $10 price tag. That is a great value, and while a couple of the items are not quite my thing, I really liked others. I also love that there are so many full-sized items. Ipsy always delivers.

 

 

PopSugar Must Have Review December 2013

The PopSugar Must Have December Box has received a lot of mixed reviews thus far, with some people seeming pretty unhappy with it. While it wasn’t necessarily my favorite PopSugar Must Have box, I actually thought everything was pretty nice, and even the stuff I didn’t initially love, I realized I would get use out of. Here are the goods:

This box was full of holiday cheer and everything was pretty fun. Here are the details:

Govino Go Anywhere Champagne Flutes: ($12.95) This is a set of four disposable champagne flutes from Govino. While I understand why some people weren’t happy with them being plastic and disposable, I think we will get use out of them, but I think it will be during the summer. We take picnics to jazz in the park a lot of summer Sundays, and these are perfect. I can’t really see using them more than once like they say you can, but we shall see. I didn’t think these were amazing, but we will use them.

Whoa, snack-city for this PopSugar box.

CC Made Caramel Corn: This is a great size to add to a gift basket, which is probably what I will do with it. After the peppermint pretzel incident from the Special Edition Box, I need to lay off the snacks for a bit.

Ghiradelli Squares: (2 packs) ($4.25 each) These were fine, and I actually put them out at our cocktail party, so I got use out of them right away. The Pumpkin Spice flavor is to die for. These were listed on the information card as an extra, although I thought it was a little weird that there were two packages of them. Chocolate is good, and so I accept these and will do my best to give most of them away.

Mixt Studio Holiday Gifting Set: ($9) This is a package of three different kinds of wrapping paper with string and tags to finish the packages. I think this is super handy and pretty, and I will be wrapping a few presents with it this week. i thought this was a cool addition for the holidays.

NCLA Peppermint Lane Nail Wraps: ($16) Nail wraps are not my thing, but I already know who is getting these as a gift. We are doing a small-gift gift exchange with my husband’s family, and I am going to put together a little nail set for Mike’s brother’s girlfriend. These will be perfect to add to that.

Modelco Fibre Lashxtend Black Mascara: ($20) I have a ton of mascara, and as I have mentioned a million times, am currently totally hooked on It’s So Big mascara by Elizabeth Mott. This will go in the makeup box for gifting or putting into the Bag-o-Beauty for girls’ trip. I’m sure those classy ladies will throw down to see who gets a full size mascara out of there.

Lulu Frost for PopSugar bracelet: ($110) This was another item in the box that had a lot of mixed reviews. I really like it and will wear it. While I would not pay $110 for it retail, I think it is edgy and pretty at the same time and am excited to wear it. Lulu Frost items are typically pretty spendy, so I think  that is part of what they figure into the price. I like that it is a special edition for PopSugar, and I like the antique coloring to the gold chain. This was my favorite thing in the box.

All told, this PopSugar Must Have box had a value of around $180 for the $39.95 pricetag. I liked the holiday cheer, loved the bracelet, and thought it was pretty good, though not my favorite PopSugar box. Looking forward to what they have in store for 2014.  You can always get $5 off of your first PopSugar Box by using the promo code REFER5.

Julep Maven Review- Boho Glam Box December 2013

So, as much as I was trying to quit Julep because it was just too much nail polish for this once-every-two-weeks toenail polish girl, I am really starting to love it.  The packaging is always great, the nail colors are original and fun, and the extras are awesome to keep or give as gifts. Plus, now that I am using Julep to collect the nail polishes for the gift bags for my annual girls’ getaway, it has a whole new purpose! Julep rocks!

Julep is a monthly box that is $19.99 and always features at least two nail polish colors, as well as other beauty items. It always comes early in the month. Here are the goods for December:

This month, I got the Boho Glam box in the mail, although, I am a little confused because I elected to receive the It Girl box for this month. When I looked in my account online, there was no mention of the December Boho Glam box, and the It Girl box says it is still pending. Did I miss something? Did I get an extra box by mistake? I’m not sure, but this is a great box, too. I will contact them to find out what the deal is, but in the meantime, here are the details:

The two polishes I got are:

Joelle: ($11.20 sale price) A silver glitter polish.

Dianna: ($11.20 sale price) A dusty teal creme polish

I love both of these colors, but will probably add them to my stash for girls’ trip. And now for the extras:

Julep Sweep Eyeshadow Palette in Neutrals: ($19.20 sale price)This is a great palette for everyday wear. It is actually really similar to the Urban Decay Naked palette I use on a regular basis, so this one may get relegated to my gym bag. It is nice to have doubles of your daily items so that you are always packed to go to the gym without having to search for anything.  That helps me get my butt out the door and into the pool or spin class.

Julep also included two twist bands ($4.80) this month, along with a 40% off coupon for your entire purchase at Julep.com. That is a great deal.

All told, the Julep box value was more than twice the cost, and the colors and items are great. I am loving me some Julep right now.

 

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