PopSugar Must Have: May 2016

---

The PopSugar Must Have box is a monthly subscription ($40/month or less if you make a 3, 6, or year long commitment)  that sends subscribers full-size versions of the season's must-have beauty, fashion, home, and fitness products. 

Happy Spritz: Breathe Deeply

I’m absolutely in love with this spray! I’ve literally been spraying it every day all the time. It’s just such a perfect little spray for making me feel more refreshed and relaxed at the same time. I do think it's a little bit overpriced and I'm not sure that I’m going to re-purchase something like this, but I will definitely be looking into these types of products and I'm really excited to scour Pinterest to see if there are DIY options for a spray like this.   

Gaiam: Foldable Yoga Mat

I was so excited about this soon as I saw this in the PopSugar! I am always looking for more yoga mats to try because while I'm not the best at yoga, I think it's something that I definitely need in my life and something that I like doing on occasion. I've always kind of struggled with finding a yoga mat that's best for me because I am a weirdo and my hands sweat like crazy! The only mat I've found so far that works is towel mat from Lululemon which I think is meant for hot yoga but actually works for normal yoga for me because my hands are so crazily sweaty. While this mat is still a little too slick for me and might end up as a gift to my mom, I do love the fact that it’s foldable and can easily fit into a bag! 

Blame Project: Capri Bracelets

I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I like these thin little bracelets! I’m not typically a tassel person but in small quantities I've started to enjoy them thanks to PopSugar. It's not something I would have purchased for myself but they’ve grown on me and love that they are easy to wear on a daily basis.

Spongelle: Spongology Body Buffer

I have really been enjoying using this sponge! It's a lot of fun to have a sponge that doesn't require any extra body wash to use. The smell of sponge is little bit too lotion-y for my taste but still feel like I've gotten a decent number of uses out of it so I'm happy!

Kocostar: Foot Therapy

I always love getting spa treatments in my subscription boxes because they are things that I would never ever buy on my own! Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed with this one. In theory, I love the idea of giving myself a pampering sesh but these were so hard to keep on for the hour and a half that the directions indicated. I was slipping all over the place while walking and one of the wraps even broke at the tip of my foot which basically made it so that I couldn't go anywhere!

Revlon: Volume + Length Magnified Mascara

If you've read my past reviews you’ll know that I typically don’t like receiving mascara in my subscription boxes because my eyelashes are not the best but it comes to holding a curl! (Still on the hunt for the ideal mascara for stubbornly straight eyelashes if you’ve got any tips!) I was impressed with this mascara because it really didn't do much clumping and definitely separated my eyelashes well, however, it didn't hold a curl well so it’ll still end up going in my re-gift pile. Overall though, I do appreciate the fact that it was a full-size mascara which is definitely great value added to the box

Hint Kick: Lemon & Cayenne

JimmyBar: Peanut Butter Clutter Clean Snack Bar

I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the food items this month. The caffeinated water and the bar were both in flavors that I don't love so I gifted them to my boyfriend since it would be wasted on me anyway!

Half Hitch Goods: $10 Gift Card

I always feel the same way about gift cards that I get in subscription boxes. I feel like I need to use them but then whenever I go on the website to use them, I can never find anything I truly want. This one is probably going to see a similar fate as nothing on the website caught my eye. I think I'll save my money despite having the $10 gift card. 

Happy Spritz: 25% off Coupon

I don't typically use the add-on coupons of the products that come with the PopSugar box, however, given my obsession with the Happy Spritz product, I thought I would add this on if not just to remind myself that I have it :) 

Although I didn't love everything in this month I still love receiving subscription boxes like this because I don't try a lot of new products or brands in my own every day life so receiving these products in a box every month kind of forces me to branch out and I enjoy that! Although there are always things that I like and I don't like, I think it's worth it to be able to try new products and new brands to expand my horizons instead of being stuck in the same routine. It's a fun experience for me!  What did you think of your PopSugar? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading :) 

Ipsy Glam Bag: May 2016

---

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that gives subscribers 4-5 sample and full size products for $10 a month. All of the beauty samples also come in a handy little makeup bag. I love that all of Ipsy's products come in these adorable bags because they are insanely useful for holding just about anything!

Smashbox: X-Rated Mascara

I'm pretty sure this is actually the second Smashbox mascara I’ve received from ipsy in my time subscribing to them - which is very frustrating because 1) I don't use mascara much and 2) It's essentially a repeated sample of a product I’ve already indicated I’m not interested in. Frustrating! 

Hikari Cosmetics: Shimmer Bronzer

I have really been loving this Hikari bronzer! Initially when I started using it, I was a little bit thrown off by where exactly to put the product! This product has four different colors in it and each one seems to have a different amount of sparkle to it and is either a more bronze or more blush type color. For me, I found that swirling my brush through all of the colors made it more of a blush shade than a bronzer. What I've been doing instead is using each little quadrant individually as either a blush or bronzer and I like the product much more this way. I previously received a Hikari blush from ipsy and have really liked the product, used it frequently, and still haven't even hit pan on that blush - so I'm definitely excited to continue trying out this brand!

Mellow Cosmetics: Creamy Matte Lipstick in Nude

I always love receiving lip products in my subscription boxes! I find it to be the best way to try out new shades and find what colors work best for my skin tone! I've been really into nude lipsticks over the past couple of months and was really excited to try this new lipstick. So far, it has applied really smoothly and has a great pink-ish nude tone. My only gripe is that it slides off the lips too easily and as a result, doesn’t have very good staying power - especially for a matte lipstick. I'm not even sure I would consider it a truly matte lipstick as it’s more of a cream finish than anything else.

Hanalei: Lip Treatment

This lip treatment comes across to me as just a very moist, glossy balm and I really couldn't differentiate it from any other balms I already own. The sample itself was on the small side and it seemed like there was a huge air bubble in it so I hardly got any product in the sample! I really would have loved to try more of the product to see if the lips treatment made any difference on my lips, but I didn’t feel like I received enough product to thoroughly test it out! 

Avenue: Micellar Lotion Cleanser and Makeup Remover

I was definitely most excited to try out this cleanser because this is the first time I've ever tried any type of micellar product (seriously, what even is micellar?!). I typically use make up removing wipes to remove my daily make up but sometimes these wipes can be a little bit harsh and still do not efficiently take off some of my make up! I used this product to take off some of my more stubborn eye make up and was highly impressed! I’ll definitely be taking a look at more micellar based products in the future. 

This one was just a middle of the line ipsy bag for me. There were a couple of products that I'm really excited about integrating into my make-up routine – but overall I think the bag’s customization could've been better. Both the good and bad of ipsy is that if you can go online and see all of the products that were available for each month and see what other people received that you didn't receive. Every time I look at these products, I wish I could have self-selected the products that I wanted to receive it my ipsy bag instead of having them choose what they think I want! Oh well, hopefully, I’ll have better luck with the products in my bag next month. What did you think of your ipsy bag? Are there any other beauty subscriptions you think I should try? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

PopSugar Must Have: April 2016

---

The PopSugar Must Have box is a monthly subscription ($40/month or less if you make a 3, 6, or year long commitment)  that sends subscribers full-size versions of the season's must-have beauty, fashion, home, and fitness products.

Canvas Home: Salt & Pepper Shakers - $12

I have to admit, I have never felt the need for salt and pepper shakers and after receiving these, I still feel the same way. I don’t really put extra salt or pepper on my food (although I put ketchup on everything whoops) so these are probably going to sit around in my kitchen unused. Plus, I really don’t love the design of these - eek - this one’s a dud for me. 

Chrissy Teigen: Cravings, Recipes For All the Food You Want to Eat - $29.99

I love how honest Chrissy Teigen always is so ever since the spoiler came out that her recipe book would be in this month’s PopSugar, I’ve been very excited to try it out! This pick is definitely the star of this month’s box IMHO.

Noon Design Shop: "Lemons" Flour Sack Tea Towel - $18

True story: I have never owned an official tea towel in my life. Normally, I'm using old cut up sheets for rags and literally any towel I find for my kitchen. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even sure exactly what I should be using a tea towel for? Enough on my towel illiteracy - this tea towel has a little bit of a sticky/squishy feel which will work nicely to pick up messes in the kitchen so I'm excited to put it to use at my new apartment! 

Farmacy: Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm - $48

I’m not sure exactly what to call this - a balm, an oil, a gel type thing? - but regardless, it is awesome! I was a little skeptical at first since it looks like a gel in the pot but it turns into a a very smooth oil on the skin that completely absorbs by morning. I was pleasantly surprised by this and have been using it in place of my typical night cream!

Royal Apothem: Field Poppy Conservatories Hand Creme - $24

I was super excited about this product because I love lotions that are marketed as hand cremes since they tend to go onto the skin a lot more smoothly. First off - this product is huge as far as hand cremes go - as big as a tube of toothpaste! The huge con for me, however, is that it smells like Axe which brings me back to middle school hallway days - not a fun memory to revisit. 

Bloom That $20 Gift Card

When I first received this, I thought “hey, this is perfect because Mother’s Day is just around the corner!” but as I browsed the Bloom That website, it was a little disappointing. There wasn’t a ton to chose from and with the flowers + the shipping added up, it became too overpriced for me (even with the $20 gift card!). I ended up looking for a more local vendor to send flowers to my mother - at a much better value. 

Next By Nature: Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans - $3.99

Unfortunately, this item was missing from my box!! This is the first time that anything has been missing from my PopSugar box and I was a little disappointed! On the bright side, however, I contacted PopSugar’s customer service right away and they responded quickly by apologizing and saying they would send over the product - no questions asked - so A+ for customer service so far! 

This is the first time I’ve received a PopSugar box that I wasn’t absolutely thrilled with. Between the axe lotion, the missing espresso beans and the so-so shakers, it was kind of a dud box for me. For me, its only saving grace was the Chrissy Teigen book! What did you think of your PopSugar box? 

Thanks for reading ♥