Mission Cute May Box Review

I'd like to start this post by saying that I was sent this box complimentary for review, but that it does not affect my opinion in any way. The views expressed in this post are my own.

I was so happy to find MissionCute in my mailbox this month. This box is really unique in that they support small businesses and local artisans instead of large companies. They also support non profit organizations and each month donate 50% of their profits to a new one. MissionCute picks out some really cute stuff, check out this month's box below.

For May they chose to support The Eli Home which helps to support child abuse victims and give them the resources they need.

These adorable earrings are handmade in Texas. These were the first thing that caught my eye, I love them. They're by PeachTreeLane and you can check them out on Etsy.

I like the simplicity of these cocktail napkins by P. Press Papers. They're cute, but not overwhelming. You can check out some of their other products here. These add a cute flair to your table.

I love how old school these I <3 You Mom pencils feel. If you check out The Carbon Crusader you'll find lots of fun and cheeky pencils and some other supplies. They also do custom engraved pencils.

I was glad to see a lip balm in here since my lips have been crazy chapped lately and nothing seems to be helping. The grapefruit scent/taste is mild but I really like it. The JustNeem company uses African Neem which is great for healing and protecting. I really like this lip balm and I'm checking out some of their other products for my boyfriend who has sensitive skin and eczema.

I see hair ties like these Boho Bands everywhere, but I have such thick hair I've been skeptical to try them. These are pretty durable! Since my hair is thick I put this to the ultimate test and did my hair in a bun and it worked! They're thick so they don't leave marks in your hair like regular elastics do. Plus they have some Frozen ones in their store right now :D Get 20% off your first purchase with code BOHO.









I think this is a really great box. You get really cute stuff that supports not only great causes, but also small businesses and artisans. It's only $29 per month and you can sign up here. I definitely recommend this box!

Guest Post: Graze Box Review

I've been seeing Graze box around lately and I was so pleased to see that my friend Mason had tried it out. A big thank you to him for writing my first guest review! He's also got a coupon code for you to try out Graze for free!

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 It’s no secret that subscription boxes are nifty little parcels that will certainly turn your Mondays into ‘Fundays,’ from toiletries and bath bombs to novelties and fashion. I haven’t considered signing up for these frequent packages until recently, when I discovered an organic snack box from a little company based in New Jersey called Graze.

Graze was founded by a few friends who’d grown tired of crisps and candy who wanted a healthier way to snack; fast forward a few years and those friends had crafted over ninety delicious snacks for your consumption. With snacks that not only use the freshest of ingredients, but are portion controlled, nutritious and if needed, vegan, celiac and lactose friendly, you’re guaranteed to find something you love amongst the library of fruits, seeds and nuts, savouries and sweets.

I originally signed up after seeing an advertisement from their Facebook page that caught my interest; with so much going on in my life within the past weeks, I’d completely forgotten about it until my first graze box arrived in the mail today; the wonderful thing about the box aside from its completely environmentally friendly and biodegradable compound is that it fits right into standard mailboxes. With my graze box came a nifty little pamphlet made of recyclable paper welcoming me and giving me a little insight to my first box. On the reverse side of the pamphlet were the individual nutritional facts for the snacks I’d received specifically within the box. Each snack also comes vacuum-sealed to ensure quality and absolute freshness!

With my first box, I received ‘walnut and vanilla truffle’ which contains walnuts, fudge pieces, sultana raisins and vanilla infused pumpkin seeds. Next to this was ‘cracking black pepper cashews’ which contains black pepper cashews, roasted unsalted cashews and redskin peanuts. Third was the savoury ‘my thai’ which contains baked soy bites with a sweet chilli sauce which in comparison tastes like a milder shrimp cocktail sauce. Lastly and most deliciously of the box, in my opinion, were the ‘apple and cinnamon flapjacks’ which are rustic, rolled oat flapjacks with apples and cinnamon. Similar to oat and cereal bars, these flapjacks were moist and scrumptious and came as a trio.

After receiving your first box, you’re able and encouraged to log on to Graze.com and rate your snacks; these ratings will help improve the consistency or lack thereof (depending on your rating) of their presence in future boxes. Your ratings will range from Love to Like to Try and to Trash; a love rating will frequent the snack while the like rating will have it sent occasionally. Try is primarily for items you’ve not yet received that would be appreciated, while trash is for items you’d prefer not to receive again due to perhaps an allergy or a general dislike. No hard feelings! To start, all four items I’d received in my box earned a delightful love and I would not mind seeing these friendly faces in the future, especially those tantalising flapjacks, which to my pleasure, come in a variety of flavours.

With a subscription to Graze, members are able to determine the frequency of their graze boxes; you can be a part of the ‘tasting club’ with a new box due to arrive bi-weekly or an occasional grazer and have a box sent once a month. In between, you may rush or postpone your boxes as early as weekly to as late as months, in case you’re low on funds or have other commitments. You may also cancel and resume future deliveries at any time with no charge or penalty.

The entirety of the content of your graze boxes are not only made of recyclable material but are 100% environmentally friendly and biodegradable; after your box has been emptied, keep it for a wonderful craft idea, some light storage or feel free to toss the components into your appropriate recycling compartments.

In addition, grazers are given ‘friend codes’ which are able to be shared limitlessly and every time someone signs up using your friend code, they get their first and fifth boxes absolutely free and you get a credit of $1 (one dollar) per person signed up using your code. That credit can be put toward future boxes or even donated to the give-back program in Uganda. Graze’s give-back program teaches the community how to grow, maintain and harvest fruit from their own orchards. It also provides graduates a sustainable source of income, whereas they’re given the means to grow food for themselves, their families and to sell at local markets.

Now, I know you’re wondering how much a subscription to Graze will cost you. I’m pleased to inform you that it barely costs you anything! Your subscription would be $6 per box and like I said previously, they can be as frequent or as infrequent as you want and can be cancelled at any time with zero recourse or penalty!

If you’re still skeptical, then mosey on down to Graze.com and sign up using my friend code: MASONS7NB to get your first (and fifth, should you choose to continue) box for free and give it a try today. I firmly believe you will not be disappointed.

Graze is an innovative, delicious and nutritious new way to snack that’s not only perfectly portioned, but completely guilt-free as well. With a company that’s so intent on providing quality, healthy snacks at reasonable prices, in environmentally friendly packaging and gives back to the community, there’s no going wrong when becoming a grazer.

March 2014 Julep Maven Box

This month's Julep Maven Box was the Riviera Collection with warm and tropical hues to thaw us out of this frozen Winter. My Bombshell Box had two gorgeous polishes and a great lipgloss, plus candy like Julep often does.

This month's gorgeous colors are both rich cremes. Monaco is a richly bright, deep blue with very slight purple undertones. Lilou is a light pastel egg yolk yellow. It is very similar to Bea from a previous month. I think these two would be very pretty marbled. I'm only a little disappointed to receive such a similar color, especially since I barely wear yellows. It's still a very pretty addition to my collection.

 And now for this gorgeous gloss. I was originally a little nervous to be getting a gloss this month. So many glosses promise to be smooth and not sticky and yet all you get is goo.

The color I received was Awestruck. It's a lovely slightly mauve pink and is very flattering. I think it could work on many skin tones especially since it is a little on the sheer side.

What I'm really in love with though is the texture. This gloss goes on smoothly and stays gorgeous. My lips felt soft and smooth and not sticky at all. I was shocked to be honest. It has a superfine glitter that comes off more as a sheen and not sparkly. They've also added their hydrating, anti aging Power Cell Complex. You can get 25% off the glosses through March 31st using code: GLOSS25.

Sign up for your box today!

FabFitFun Spring Box Spoilers!

Two items from the Spring FabFitFun box have already been revealed. The first is a Cult Gaia Turbands valued between $38-135.

 

 Photo courtesy of the Zoe Report

The second is a full size vial of Kai perfume oil valued at $48. I'm excited because this means that the box is going to be an amazing value!

  

 Photo courtesy of FabFitFun

Between these two products it's a minimum value of  $86, with an estimated $175+ value overall. Check it out and Join FabFitFun Today!

Love with Food February 2014

Love with Food is one of my favorite boxes to receive. It's as low as $8/box and every box donates a meal to a child in need. It's also a really great way to discover new and different food options. I also like that they include a list of everything you receive so you can know more about the products. They also provide a shop on their site so that if you love something, it's easy to find.

This is another subscription box that knows how to pack a lot of goodies into one small box. No room is wasted here!

Aside from the Beanitos I'm sure I'm going to love everything in this box, but I'm going to try it all. I love the idea of the snack olives in a sealed bag. I love green olives and this is an awesome on the go. The dark chocolate blueberries also seem like a great snack to keep in my purse for when my sweet tooth kicks in. Also those TCHO chocolates look amazing. They're made with coffee and I am all about that. On the same not those Gavottes crepe dentelle are intriguing. I've never heard of such a thing, but thin layers of crepe and chocolate are perfect in my book. Plus honey graham sticks and chocolate chip biscotti, it's like they're trying to fatten me up! It's a good thing I have quite the sweet tooth!

I love that they have coupons in their boxes as well since it's great for repurchases or trying new stuff. I also love that they added in a bag clip for my snacks. As I said before this is definitely one of my favorite boxes and I highly recommend checking them out.

February 2014 Julep Maven Box

I was really happy with this month's Julep Maven Box, not only did I get my two polishes and beauty product, but there was a bonus polish as well! This is one of the few months that I remembered to log into my Julep account on the 20th to scope out the selection. I was super tempted to do the biggest upgrade since the polishes this month were all gorgeous! I'm attempting to be low buy right now, so I didn't, but this box didn't disappoint.

 This month Julep introduced their new Eye Sheen Liquid Eyeshadows. I thought this would be like some cream eye shadows I have tried in the past, but they are totally different. These are truly liquid and I used a very stiff flat brush to apply it, but you can use your fingers. The pigment is very rich and I had great color density with just one thin layer. It does feel a little funny while you're applying it and as it dries. I kept my eyes closed while it dried because I was afraid of it creasing. Julep included a look card on how to use some of the colors together, but I only got the one so I tried combining it with some other products I already have. My color was warm fig shimmer which is a plummy brown and is really gorgeous on, I think it would work well on any skin tone and it is extremely flattering. It held up really well and didn't crease through the day. It did start to fade along the upper edge by the end of the day (I used no primer to test it.) The following day I tried it with one of my Makeup Forever Aqua Shadow pencils as a highlight in the inner corner and they played well together. I hope the Julep expands their color range with these. I think these would be awesome for more talented makeup artists who create those amazing works of art like liner art.

 On to the nail colors! The photos just don't do them justice. I really loved this month's shades. Can we just talk about the fact that until this month I kept complaining that the Swatch Me was on the top and I had to use q-tips to swatch them... and then this month I figured out that the top pops off... I'm human, I make mistakes.

So first up is Judi! It looks a little bright in the photo, but they call it an English Violet Creme and I would say that's pretty close. This is one of the few Julep polishes I would recommend at least two coats on to achieve the true color. One coat looks fine, but isn't quite as deep as the bottle color.

Next up is Kristen! Julep describes this as a deep sea teal. It's a really gorgeous deep teal color with a silvery microglitter. The picture truly doesn't do it any justice.

The bonus color is Love. I couldn't even find it on the Julep site and I think it may have been for Mavens only. It's a gorgeous glitter shade with microfine pink and champagne gold. I think this would be great alone or over another color. It's just such a happy little glitter polish and I absolutely love it!

Want to get your own Julep Maven Box? Sign up here and take the style quiz!

January 2014 KlutchClub Women's Box

Every month when I open my KlutchClub Box I think how much I'd like the people who pack it to reorganize my house. It amazes me how much they fit in there!

 It doesn't look like much until you start unpacking it!

 

This month's box featured some products seen in previous boxes. 

I'm super excited about the Good Boy Organicsaurus snacks! They came in a previous box and I love them and there are two bags this time. They are light and crunchy and great if you're a grazer like I am.They're somewhere between a Cheeto and Goldfish, so yummy, but still fairly healthy. 

I'm curious about the RealBeanz coffee since it's made with coconut water, which I cannot stomach. I don't know why, but I have a really hard time drinking coconut water. 

The Premier Protein Crisp bar was like a thin mint cookie in protein bar form. Really good, slightly crispy and great for holding me over.

The Numi Savory Teas are interesting to me. I know that many people drink broth, but I am not a fan. I don't even like most soup, I know I'm super picky. I almost wonder if I could use this to cook with instead of drinking. 

The Nektar Honey Crystals are an awesome idea. I sometimes take tea in my honey, but it is difficult if you're trying to drink tea on the go or at work and don't want to carry a honey bottle on you. These are just like sugar packets, but are real honey. Super innovative and convenient. This is something I would definitely buy for my boyfriend who almost exclusively uses honey in his tea and has taken to drinking tea more often.

DetoxRx Cell-U-Firm... oh why couldn't they have just mailed me a tub of this?! I have to admit I'm not sure it will work, but am skeptical of what one small sample can do. Now if they'd let me soak in a vat of the stuff...

Sukitz... well then... This is supposed to be a high energy lollipop that gives you the  same jolt of energy as an energy drink would. I'll have to see how this measures up to my daily coffee.

Everything else was considered extra gifts and I'm guessing are just random filler gifts in each box from whatever is left over. All of these items were in previous boxes. My variety included Almost Nuts chocolate covered roasted soy nuts as well as some herbal and mineral supplements. 

KlutchClub always has a great variety of products and a fairly high value for the cost. There are always great deals and I recommend trying out at least one and seeing what you think. Join KlutchClub

     

January NatureBox

So as you may have noticed I reduced my NatureBox subscription down to once every 3 months. NatureBox is really nice and flexible and will let you take a break from your subscription if you ever need and it's hassle free. Their customer service is really superb. I decided once a month was too much for me and I couldn't get through the snacks fast enough since it's just me eating them. I think I'm going to start logging into my account to choose my snacks though since I like that they send me things I wouldn't normally get, but some months I'm getting things I just don't eat.

This month was a mix of hit and miss. Check out the photos below!

Ranch Sunflower Kernels: I've mentioned before I don't love shelled sunflower seeds. I like the shells, it's part of my sunflower seed eating experience. Weird, I know. But my boyfriend seems to like these a lot so they won't go to waste.

Seaweed Rice Pops: Where do I start with these... I don't like seaweed for it's taste or texture so I've been hesitant on trying these. I have a feeling Greg will be eating these too, but I will give them a fair chance.

Mango Almond Bites: This is where this box caught my attention! I love sweets and I love crunchy snacks so this is a good alternative for me.

Homestyle Cheddar Mix: This seems like a healthy version of Chex Mix and looks pretty good!

Fuji Apple Slices: I wholeheartedly thought I would love these. The texture is just a bit weird and chewy. It almost feels like stale, chewy cardboard texture. There has to be a way to re-purpose these, because the taste is awesome. Somehow they just don't live up to the pineapple slices from Summer.

Le Métier de Beauté January

This month's Le Métier de Beauté is all about a clean start with their Dual Action Makeup Remover. It's a bi-layer makeup remover meant for taking off both lipstick and eye products. I've used it a few times this week and it does work very well. It doesn't leave the skin feeling oily which is nice, but you can feel just the slightest residue, much less than some others I've tried.

It's a generously sized bottle and retails for $32, but this makes it the smallest value box yet. However this is a very practical product that I know I can use regularly.

New Year's Resolutions!

A New Year and new resolutions!

Here's what I am aiming for this year:
1) I want to be better about pre-planning meals and packing lunches. I now have Sundays off, so I'll be able to grocery shop and prep work for the week. I want to spend less money on ordering food and I want to eat healthier. I got a food scale for Christmas and that is definitely going to help.
2) I want to get up earlier every morning. I am not a morning person whatsoever and I often get up, throw on my clothes and run out the door.
3) Getting up earlier will allow me to fit in some early workouts. I currently work out 2-4 times a week, but I want to get about 30 minutes in each morning.
4) I also want to get up earlier because I want to do my makeup on a more regular basis. I always do it when I'm going out, but I haven't been doing it daily because I usually wake up late.
5) I want to start shopping my closet a LOT more! I often think I have nothing to wear and what it really is is my laziness to pre plan. I plan on going through my clothes, shoes, accessories, and products and donate what I don't use. I also need to really reorganize everything I own to make it easier to use everything I have.

Overall I want to do a lot of planning and organizing. Like everyone else I do want to tone up a bit, but this has been an ongoing goal and I have been working on it. I want 2014 to be a really great year and hope it's wonderful for all of you too!

January Julep Maven Box

Are you ready for the new year? I am. I'm excited to see where it takes me. This month's bombshell box has just the right feel for new years. The color collection is called Boudoir and it has that feel with soft colors and satin satin finishes. 

Also check out the new box color for the new year! I love it, it's very fun.

My box came with Ta Da quick dry drops and the colors Mae and Margot.

Mae is a satin finish grey toned lavender that is simply stunning. It's a very pretty subdued color that just feels vintage.

Margot is a light gold color with micro glitter, like Mae it's a more subdued color. It's like the quieter sister of last month's brighter gold Andrea. 

 

There are also 2 little orange blocks that look like firm sponges, but I don't know what they are for sure, maybe they're buffing files. I tried finding them on the Julep website, but no luck.