Saturday, April 30, 2016

Popsugar Must Have April 2016

Rating: Like It!!!
Cost: $39.95/month

My Popsugar Must Have April box arrived late this month, but I hadn't looked at any spoilers, so this box was a complete surprise! I couldn't wait to see what was inside. And the box was larger than usual, so I was really excited. Popsugar also launched a new mini Popsugar subscription that will contain 2 items each month for $19.95/month. I was hoping both boxes this month would be awesome!


Popsugar always includes an information card explaining everything in the box for the month. The April inspiration was floral, green, natural, sustainable, fresh, and renewal.


The item Popsugar released as a spoiler for this month's box was Chrissy Tiegen's Cravings: Recipes For All the Food You Want to Eat. Retail price $29.99. Some subscribers received signed copies of the cookbooks, but I was not one of the lucky few. This cookbook looks really good and it was the best item in this month's box, in my opinion!


The next item included in the box was Canvas Home Tinware Salt & Pepper Shakers. Retail price $12. These look vintage and are white with blue trim. They match my kitchen perfectly, so these are great! Plus we needed new salt and pepper shakers. We were looking for grinders, but since these match our decor, they will be perfect until we find what we want!


The Next By Nature Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans look yummy! Retail price $3.99. I haven't tried these yet, but I can't wait to. I think these will make a nice pick me up snack at work!


Another item included was Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm. Retail price $48. The packaging on this is so unique and I think I'm going to love this. The packaging was like origami and had details about the product on the inside. I should have taken a picture of it. I can't wait to try this balm to see if it does everything it promises. It has firming, protective, and nourishing ingredients to balance skin and prevent the appearance of wrinkles. I love creams that work, while I sleep!



I also received Noon Design Shop "Lemons" Flour Sack Tea Towel. Retail price $18. This is handmade in the US and made of cotton. These are my favorite types of towels to use to dry dishes and I love the lemon design on this and the bright cheery yellow color!


The final item included was Royal Apothic Field Poppy Conservatories Hand Creme. Retail price $24. It says this creme has notes of fig, tea, jasmine, lily, moss, and leaf, but I wasn't able to smell it without opening it. It sounds like it will smell great, when I am ready to open it. I go through hand creme a lot, so I always love receiving luxe ones I wouldn't normally buy myself. The packaging on this is so pretty!


The special extra included for this month was a $20 gift card for Bloom That. I love fresh flowers in the house, so I'll be using this! I checked out the website and it didn't look like I had many options to choose from in my area, but they were all pretty, so I'm looking forward to trying this website.


The April Popsugar Must Have box included a lot of items I really like and can't wait to try. The box was big and I expected something large inside, but I'm happy with what was included. I love everything and I liked the theme this month. I can't wait to see what we get in May, which is also my Birthday month!!! I hope it's the best month ever!

*This subscription was purchased and financed by me, unless noted otherwise. Posts may contain referral links and I totally appreciate it when you use them!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

My Paper Pumpkin April 2016

Rating: Love It!!!!
Cost: $19.95/month

I received my April Paper Pumpkin earlier in the month, and I was hoping I'd get a chance to make it, before reviewing it, but I haven't yet. I loved this month!


I mentioned last month that Paper Pumpkin was celebrating their anniversary and giving all subscribers an extra stamp set this month. Well, this is it! I love it! It's great for all occasions! And it's much larger than the stamp sets that are normally included in the kits. It was definitely a welcome addition to this month's kit.


The kit this month is a Lovely Little Wreath. I love this and it's very different than anything I've seen included in the past. I was hoping to make it right away, but haven't had the time, unfortunately. I can't wait to see how it turns out.


As usual, Paper Pumpkin includes everything you need to make the project, plus extras. This month looks so fun! You can also use the supplies to create whatever you'd like and there are always different ideas on Pinterest or Instagram.


The stamps included for this month's kit were "Happy Mother's Day", "You're the Loveliest Person I know", and "Happy Spring". I love these! The ink included is Very Vanilla, which will be perfect for the dark chalkboard like paper. So cute! I love how we get such a variety of supplies in these kits.


I'm so happy with the April Paper Pumpkin and can't wait to make the project! I love all the projects we've created the past few months. I decided to take a break from Paper Pumpkin for awhile because the summer months get very busy for me, but I'll probably subscribe to this again in the Fall or Winter to have something fun to look forward to each month!

*This subscription was purchased and financed by me, unless noted otherwise. Posts may contain referral links and I totally appreciate it when you use them!

Love with Food Tasting Box April 2016

Rating: Like It!!!
Cost: $10/month

I received my April Love with Food much earlier in the month, but am just getting the time to review it. I'm always excited to see what new snacks we get each month.


There are always so many snacks crammed into the small box.


Love with Food always includes an information card explaining all the snacks for the month.


This month we received Coconut Oil Kettle Cooked Potato Chips by Boulder Canyon. I haven't tried these yet, but they sound yummy! I'm a fan of plain salted chips, so I was very happy to see this wasn't a different flavor.


The next item was Fruit Snacks by Go Organically. This was the first thing my daughter grabbed out of the box to try. She did share one with me, so I got to try them. They tasted like most of the fruit snacks we've received in these boxes. She really liked them!


The other item from the box that I haven't had a chance to try yet was Black Rice Crackers by Laiki. I'm not sure what to think about these. I've never had black rice, so I'm not even sure what to expect. Hopefully we like them!


My daughter ate the Blueberry Acai Flax Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze by Munk Pack. She didn't finish it though, so I'm not sure she liked it. She loves blueberries, but I think this has a thick consistency that she wasn't fond of. I thought the packaging was cute! And we do like these types of pouches for quick snacks!


We also received Green Tea Latte Candy by Bali's Best. This tasted just like green tea and I really enjoyed it! Yummy!


The next item included was Chocolate Chip Biscotti by Biscotti Di Suzy. I'm not a fan of biscotti, so my daughter ate this one. She seemed to like it.


I thought my favorite snack in this box would be the Gluten-Free Waffle by Honey Stinger. I thought it'd be crispy and light, but it didn't taste very fresh to me. It wasn't as flaky and crispy as I would have preferred. My daughter wasn't crazy about it either. We didn't finish eating this one.


The final item we received was Banana Bar by Nutryttiva. My daughter was excited to try this and when I opened it, I wasn't sure about it. I didn't expect it to be black, but it is just made of bananas and lime juice, so it makes sense. She took one bite and said she didn't want it. I tried it and it wasn't for me either. I think I'd just rather eat a fresh banana!


The April Love with Food box wasn't as amazing as it usually is. This month we didn't find a lot of new snacks that we loved. It's still fun to sample snacks we wouldn't try. Hopefully next month will be another great month of snacks!

*This subscription was purchased and financed by me, unless noted otherwise. Posts may contain referral links and I totally appreciate it when you use them!

Birchbox April 2016

Rating: Like It!!!
Cost: $10/month

I received my April Birchbox earlier in the month, but am just getting around to reviewing it. I loved the box design this month by Rifle Paper Co. Love Love Love!


Here is a peek at the inside.


Birchbox always includes an information card explaining the samples received each month.


The sample I chose this month was Au Naturale Mini Face Palette in Lively. I was so excited to try this. The packaging is small, but this will be great for travel or to throw in my purse and have everything I need in on tiny compact. I loved the neutral ivory eye shadow and it went on smooth and didn't irritate my eyes at all. It had just the right amount of shimmer too. I really liked this! The palermo blusher was also great. It blended in nicely and was a great orange/pink shade that went well with my pale skin. The sangria lipstick didn't work for my skin tone. It was too bright and too purple for my taste. All the products blended in smoothly and I liked how they felt on my skin.



The next sample I received was Amika Silken Up Dry Conditioner. I love Amika products, so I was excited to try this. I love how these products smell! And this worked great to condition my hair and give it some volume. I'm always happy to receive Amika products as samples!


I also received Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask. It's odd I received 2 conditioner samples this month and I would have liked to receive something different in place of this one. It worked well to condition and soften my hair. It didn't weigh my hair down, like some leave in conditioners do. It also had a subtle scent that was pleasant and not overpowering.


I'm always happy to sample a new mask, so this Derma E Purifying 2-in-1 Charcoal Mask was a welcome addition to this month's box. It dried really quickly and felt like other clay masks I've tried. This mask exfoliates and purges pores. It left my face feeling very soft and clean too!


The final sample I received was Marcelle 3-in-1 Micellar Solution. This product is a toner and makeup remover that is gentle for sensitive skin and has complexion calming ingredients. I love multi tasking products that save on time, so I was excited to try this. Plus I'm always looking for good toners and makeup removers that don't leave residue on my face. It says to apply this with a cotton ball to remove makeup and you don't need to rinse. I usually like to rinse these products off, even though you don't have to, but this felt great on my skin. It removed all my makeup including eye liner and mascara and didn't leave my face feeling icky. My face felt clean and smooth and moisturized, and the product didn't feel heavy on my skin. I really liked this!


I liked most of the products in my April Birchbox, so this was a good month! This will be my last month, because I'm taking a break for awhile. I'm not sure if I'll re-subscribe in the future or not. I just have way too many beauty products to use. I really love all the samples I've accumulated. They're great for traveling! And I've discovered some amazing products that I now use all the time. I definitely recommend Birchbox to anyone that wants to try out a lot of different beauty products to find out what works for you.

*This subscription was purchased and financed by me, unless noted otherwise. Posts may contain referral links and I totally appreciate it when you use them!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

My Paper Pumpkin March 2016

Rating: Love It!!!!
Cost: $19.95/month

I received My Paper Pumpkin for the month of March, and I couldn't wait to see what was inside! This is the last of my 3 month subscription, so I was hoping it would be a good month. My daughter gets excited about these boxes and loves helping me complete the projects.


This month the box was a different color than normal. They are normally red. I liked the spring change!

When I opened up the box the first thing I saw was a paper insert...with some very exciting news! Paper Pumpkin turned 3 and also shipped their One Millionth Box!!! They are celebrating by sending a special gift next month in April. The gift will be in addition to the regular kit for the month and will be an exclusive stamp set called "All About Everything". Well...you know how I said this was my last month?!? Well, it's not now, because if course I don't want to miss out on that stamp set, so I'll be getting a few more months of My Paper Pumpkin. I can't wait to see the exclusive stamp set next month!!!



The March kit provided everything you need to make "Pocketful of Cheer". It had a graduation theme and included supplies to make 8 gift cards and 8 gift card envelopes. There are 2 different styles of gift cards in fun spring floral designs of blue and green. I love these! I'll definitely use these, if not for graduations, for birthdays and other occasions.



Here is a list of everything included:
-Pocketful of Cheer Photopolymer Stamp Set
-Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Spot Ink
-8 card bases (4 large, 4 small)
-4 double sided gift card pockets
-4 double sided belly bands
-2 sheets of printed die cuts
-1 sheet of printed stickers
-25 green adhesive pearls
-3 yds of green and white baker's twine
-25 adhesive strips
-20 adhesive dots
-15 dimensionals


The stamps included this month say "Happy Happy", "Just for you", "Oh, Baby", and "Hooray Grad". The picture stamps included a balloon, flowers, heart, and grad cap. These are very versatile, so I know I will use them. I have noticed we get quite a few small flower and heart stamps in these kits though. Hopefully next month there will be some more variety. The ink color included was Bermuda Bay, which is a pretty blue color that matches the printed paper. 


I'm very happy with My Paper Pumpkin this month and will definitely be making these with my daughter! I'm so excited for April now too, and can't wait to see the exclusive stamp set. I wonder if it will be full size or small, like the ones normally included in these kits. It'd be amazing if it was a full size kit, but I'm betting it will be more like the sets we usually get in these kits. But I'm always excited about any extra item!


*This subscription was purchased and financed by me, unless noted otherwise. Posts may contain referral links and I totally appreciate it when you use them!