POPSUGAR Must Have Box - July 2013

POPSUGAR MUST HAVE JULY 2013 BOX

Woohoo! Cookie has a new sub to share! So, I had been hearing amazing things about the recent POPSUGAR Must Have boxes, and I had a chance to peruse through the goodies, and I must say, I was super impressed! So much so that I decided Aw, sure, why not and jumped in to try one myself!

For those of you who haven't heard about POPSUGAR's Must Have box, it's a home, fashion and beauty monthly subscription box created by Lisa Sugar the Founder and Editor in Chief of POPSUGAR. POPSUGAR had been having great success with their monthly Must Have articles, so they decided to curate a box including those chosen items to share with all of their fans! At the moment, there are 4  subscription plans available to choose from:

• Monthly for $35/month
• 3 Months for $95  ($10 discount)
• 6 Months for $190  ($20 discount)
• 1 Year for $380  ($40 discount) 
• (ALL FREE SHIPPING)

        
Curious to see what interesting Must Have picks there are in this month's box? Let's look!...

"The dog days of Summer are upon us, and just because we may be searching for any way to beat the heat doesn't mean our fashion, beauty or entertaining routines have to suffer. This month, we're sharing an accessory that will complement any outfit, a beauty product doing triple-duty, a refreshing beverage we can't get enough of, and more. Plus, try out a snack we absolutely cannot stop eating. Enjoy!" 

Lisa Sugar, POPSUGAR FOUNDER & EDITOR IN CHIEF

How fun for summer! To the fabulous goodies we go...

 Must Have Beauty

SUPERGOOP! SPF 30 ANTI-AGING CITY SUNSCREEN SERUM

 "It's the middle of Summer, and while our tans may be coming along nicely, it's still crucial to keep ourselves protected against sun damage. Supergoop! is a superhero of sunscreen that goes beyond protection to repair and moisturize your skin. 

This sunscreen serum also has amazing added anti-aging benefits. The vitamins E and B5 reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Amazing." - from July POPSUGAR Must Have card

I love love love that this fab product is a multitasker, however, it just isn't for me. I really never spend too long in the sun, as I burn so very easily. 30 SPF is actually on the low end for me. If I'm going to be spending any time in the sun at all, I'll put on a higher SPF, because frankly, my ridiculously pale complexion NEEDS it. The formula is very nice and light though, a little works in and goes a long way. It is listed as fragrance free, but as most sunscreens, it does have that sunscreen smell, so if you're not a fan of it, this product may not work for you. It does also leave a light shine on the skin, so if you were to put makeup over it, it would probably be best to use low-shine foundations or BB creams and a mattifying powder to set. 

NCLA POLISH

in As If!

"Colorful nails are a must this season and pastel purple is our pick for July. The great thing about pastels is they work all year long and add a bit of ladylike color to your look.

Try NCLA's As If! on either your fingers or toes before slipping into your Summer sandals and hitting the town" - From July POPSUGAR Must Have card

Can I just say I adore the name? As If! Ugh, so adorable! So confusing used in a sentence, yet so adorable. This is one of those polishes that doesn't quite look amazing in the bottle but you fall in love with it once you put it on. My first reaction when I saw the bottle was...hmmm...looks like pale purple putty. Well, it does! Not that I already HAVE a pale purple putty polish (say that 5 times fast) in my stash, but well, what can I say, it's not like I can control my first reactions. YOU try that sometime....yeah see...doesn't work, does it? ::smiles:: Regardless, I then did my little swatch mani and here we are:

I LOVE my pale purple putty polish! It really is quite gorgeous.

It's like the polish up and said: Psh, you don't think you'll like me? Ha! As If! 

Sorry...I had to.

My poor nails, I'll never be able to get them all one length, they keep breaking! Not because they're brittle or wear. I keep accidentally banging them into something or catching them on something. I swear, I'm not accident-prone. My nails just have a current death wish I do believe. My cuticles are much much happier so far though, so this weekend I am going to do some serious work on my nails and get them to behave themselves and shape up! (no pun intended...OK maybe a little pun intended). 

This polish was very easy to work with. The formula was a teensy bit on the thick side, but nothing that you can't handle if you take your time when brushing it on, working with a thin layer at a time. I found that I only needed two layers (shown in pic) to reach opacity, since only one layer was a teensy bit streaky. I had no issues with bubbling or pooling, but as I said, I took my time. The brush was also a good size and easy to use. This is my first NCLA polish and I look forward to trying more from the brand!

Must Have Fashion

BAUBLEBAR ROSE DOUBLE CURB CHAIN

"We are all about rose gold right now. It's classic but also right on trend for the season. This necklace can transition from your daytime garden party right into a night out on the town. 

Use it to dress up a simple t-shirt or add a sophisticated touch to your favorite dress..." - From July POPSUGAR Must Have card

I'm not usually a heavy and/or gold jewelry kind o' gal, but I decided to give this necklace a whirl, so here are my two tryouts:

Daytime:

I wore this to work the yesterday! The blouse is from Forever21 and the sweater is from Target. What I like about this look is that you can SEE the necklace, but it's not in your face, so it's a nicely toned down heavy jewelry accent. It matched my buttons on my blouse, so it blends. Also, since it's a gold-tone jewelry, it softens against the pale gold of the fabric.

Nighttime:

For nighttime I went with something a little more contrasting. (Yes, I own a lot of teal-blue articles of clothing!) I bought this blouse yeeeeears ago at Banana Republic, and I thought the cut and design of the front works perfectly for this necklace. The necklace just lays right along the direction of the seam. I'd probably pair this with some white slacks, or possibly even gold/black brocade, and a small dull gold clutch.

Although the necklace has a length adjuster, I don't feel it's quite right for me, either shortened or lengthened. The pictures show the necklace at the longest possible length and as you can, it's not too terrible long. It hangs beautifully on small petite delicate necks, but I'm afraid my neck is not quite small and petite! Also, I tend to stay away from larger, bulkier necklaces (unless they're a tad longer) as they tend to make my neck look larger as well. I did like the color though, which is surprising since I typically stay away from golds and lean more towards silvers. The rose gold is very charming though and definitely softens the look and gives it a feminine air. I also had the idea that this might be an adorable headband! It has that cute Grecian look. You could easily pop it on, put the clasp under the back of your hair and stick some bobby-pins in to secure it! I probably won't be keeping the necklace however, as I think it would look much more stunning on some friends of mine who have gorgeously tiny necks and love gold jewelry!

Must Have Home

TOVOLO KING CUBE ICE TRAY

"....These Tovolo ice cube trays are a staple for any freezer. They make the perfect two-inch cubes, which are easy to remove and pop into your drink.

The larger cubes melt slower, so your drink will stay cold longer, whether it's a refreshing sip on a hot day or a well-made cocktail to close out the night. The tray is also dishwasher-safe and BPA-free." - From July POPSUGAR Must Have card

I love this product! Another wonderful example of a product you'd never think twice to look at or even buy, for that matter, but when a sub sends it you then realize how fantastic it is! Where have you been all my life Tovolo King Cube Tray! The ice cubes are seriously gigantic. What I love about the size is that it makes it super easy to be able to place something INSIDE the cube! I've seen some awesome hostess ideas doing that sort of thing, such as putting a pretty bright little flower inside, or food such as lemon peel, bits of strawberry or some mint leaves...I've even seen party favors like fake diamond rings for an engagement party frozen inside the ice cubes! My Hubby just loves them, he's already made himself a Crown and Coke and popped one of the ice cubes in! Because of their size, it takes forever to melt, so your drink stays nice and cool for a long time. I love that the tray is rubbery and flexible, that way it's very easy to pull the cube out without having to crack them by bending or banging the tray. You simply peel tray off the edge and it pops right out! These also are a good size for a nice little treat for the kids. You can make juice pops, fruit purees, gelatin pops, etc. (TIP! - Before you stick the popsicle sticks in, put a sheet of aluminum foil flat on top of the tray, THEN stick the sticks through the foil, that way it'll keep them standing straight up! All you have to do is peel off the foil when it's done and voila!). These cute trays come in a variety of colors, as you can see I received the bright red, but they also have a gorgeous fuschia, royal purple and blue that I've got my eye on. I definitely think this was one of the best products in this month's Must Have box!






Must Have Food

MIGHTY LEAF ICED TEA
in Ginger Peach

"Summer is synonymous with iced tea for us, so we knew we had to find the perfect flavors to send in our July POPSUGAR Must Have Box. 

The Mighty Leaf tea is quick and easy to brew for your next barbecue or simple alfresco dining moment. Enjoy the naturally sweet flavor, which is sugar-free and delicious." - From July POPSUGAR Must Have card

It's actually been forever since I've had flavored tea. I don't drink sodas and I stopped drinking sweet tea about 6 months ago. I mainly stick to milk, water and some delicious aloe honey water that's sweetened with cane sugar, so this was a delightful refreshing change! This box came with 4 tea bags:

The bags are HUGE, they're definitely not the size of your average tea bag. They're made to flavor an entire pitcher, not just a cup! POPSUGAR sent out a variety of flavors, I received the Ginger Peach which I thought was delicious. I'm a Southern Gal, so of course, I sweetened mine (with Stevia, of course, gotta watch my figure, d'arling!) but before I did, I tried it out unsweetened and I have to say, it's not bad at all! I steeped it on the longer side since I really love a rich flavor and deep aroma. It had a very very small bitter edge, which surprised me since most unsweetened teas are a lot more bitter than that. However, the peach flavor did lighten it up and smooth it out. Sweetened, well, it's just plain delicious and I adore it!

Here's my little pitcher that my Hubby and I went through very quickly. What's that you say? Why YES, my glass IS sporting one of the Tovolo King Cube ice cubes! Thank you for noticing! It kept my drink super cold and icy through 3 drinks, mmmmm, good.

HANNAMAX DARK CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP ALL NATURAL CRUNCHY COOKIE CHIPS

"It was love at first bite with these crispy cookies. We seriously fell for every single flavor we tried and were excited to team up with HannahMax to share this new flavor. 

What could be better than double the chocolate? Finding reasons to indulge is simple - the hard part is figuring out how to stop!" - From July POPSUGAR Must Have card

First of all, is that not the longest product name you ever did see? ::giggles:: and no, I didn't make a mistake and type chocolate twice, it's dark chocolate....chocolate chip! Secondly.....OH MY....MY MY MY MY. These cookie chips are to DIE for. If you're a chocoholic like me you seriously can't get enough of these delicious morsels. 

Come to mama. 

How scrumdiddlyuptious looking are those? I was sad though, because in shipping the cookies must have gotten crunched (the crunchy cookies got crunched!) because the only whole ones I could find were these three! ::gasp:: and two of them STILL aren't whole! (no, I didn't take a bite, hush). That certainly didn't stop me though, I dumped the bag into a bowl and used a spoon...the chocolate was too delicious to not have....drat, come to think of it, I could have just added milk and gone cereal-style. Oh well....These little cookies were crisp, crunchy and sweet with just the right amount of dark chocolate bite to them.

If you haven't tried these yet, I demand that you go and search these out because they are phenomenal and they will make your day. I always say: Give a woman some chocolate and she can conquer the world.....take away her chocolate and you'd better RUN.

WORTH AND PURCHASE
     

Supergoop! SPF 30 Anti-Aging City Sunscreen Serum:  $42

NCLA Polish in As If!:  $16

BaubleBar Rose Double Curb Chain:  $28

Tovolo King Cube Ice Tray:  $8.50*  (*On amazon.com, price may vary)

Mighty Leaf Ice Tea in Ginger Peach:  $6.25

HannahMax Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip (1 2oz. bag):  $1.99


Total Paid for Box:  $30*

Total Worth of Box:  $102.74


Wow! That is definitely an incredible purchase to me. Especially considering everything is pretty much full-size (except possibly the cookies, they're snack-size). *I used a promo code to discount $5 off. 

FINALE

When I first saw the contents of this box on makeuptalk.com, I thought hmmmm, I dunno....it doesn't look anywhere near as good as the previous months. I do believe I've ended up loving this box anyhow! The Supergoop! I probably won't be keeping, nor the BaubleBar since it's not quite my style or as flattering as I'd like, but the ice cube tray and the delicious goodies made for a fun first box for me! I'm very curious to see what else POPSUGAR will have in store for it's subscribers during the next few months and I'm especially looking forward to August's as they're saying it will be their Anniversary month box! If you're interested in trying out POPSUGAR, unfortunately August is already sold out, but you can sign up for September at this time! 

If you'd like, you can sign up using my referral code, just click HERE.

During the sign up process, be sure to use the code REFER5 to get a one-time $5 off coupon for your first box!

I hope you enjoyed my first POPSUGAR Must Have Box review, and that everyone having an awesome summer so far!

Happy Makeuping!

     

Love, Cookie