Popsugar Must Have March 2014 Review

Popsugar Must Have March 2014

This is how it usually goes for me and my subscription boxes:

Me: Ooooh, I like this box a lot! Let me look at all the previous months and choose whether or not to subscribe!

Then I subscribe.  Beginning months are great! Then the boxes seem to go downhill.  Maybe I get desensitized?  Maybe I just get too greedy?  Who knows.  Months pass.

Me: These boxes are getting lame.  I'm going to cancel my subscription.  

Last box arrives.  

Me: This is great! Maybe I should renew my subscription!

PSMH March 2014

That is how PSMH went this month for me.  It was great! I like this box a lot! It's making me reconsider canceling.  I'm afraid that the April box will be FANTASTIC and I will miss out.  But- I will be strong.  I will stay unsubscribed... until a coupon comes out with a great spoiler attached.  Then all bets are off!

So, for now, this is my last PSMH box.  Prices have gone up, and most of the boxes have not reflected the higher price in their content.  

First Look, PSMH March 2014

This month's box contained:

Real first look

Activeforever Fusion Exercise Ball

Now, with handy dandy straw to inflate it!
ActiveForever Fusion 7.5 inch Exercise Ball

This is a tiny basket-ball sized (7.5 inch) exercise ball.  I have NO IDEA what to use it for!  It comes with a little straw to blow it up, and took all of three seconds to do so.  Now what?

This is from Activeforever and suggested retail is $9.95.

Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps in Lightly Salted

Snapea Crisps- Lightly Salted

These have the texture of cheez doodles- the crunchy puffed up kind- with a subtle veggie (pea) flavor.  They are strangely addictive! My boyfriend said they were weird, but he is not exactly a health-food connoisseur.  If I happen to come across these in a store, and they have the wasabi-ranch flavor, I would probably pick some up.

This is what they look like.  Appetizing?

These sell for about $2 in various grocery stores.  Here is their site.  

Nature's Bakery All Natural Strawberry Fig Bar

Nature's Bakery Fig Bar in Strawberry
Like a grown-up Fig Newton

This was really really good! It's long gone...

You can get a 12-pack of these on Amazon for $7.50.  That means this single bar is worth $0.63.

This month's big ticket item was the spoiler- a blue ikat scarf from Brokedown.  This print was exclusively designed for PSMH, but this type of scarf retails for $72 on Brokedown's site.  I have to say, this scarf is amazing! 

Brokedown Ikat Scarf

I love the colors and the pattern, and it is just so darn soft!  It is very lightweight, and I know I'll be able to wear it through the summer.  Amazing. 

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum

Jurlique Advanced Serum

It's a little unusual to see a non-full-sized item in PSMH, but it does happen.  At least they send sample sizes that are very generous (this is half of the full size) and allow you to test out the product for a decent amount of time.  I also think it's a little weird that they sent us a face serum (oil) last month, and then another one this month! That's ok- I send half of my oil from Nature's Organic (last month's brand) to my sister.  This one might stay with me.  This serum smells very strongly of roses, which I happen to like, and spreads out nicely.  It absorbs pretty fast.

30 mL size on Jurlique's site is $54, making the 15 mL sample worth $27.  

Dogeared Lucky Horseshoe Make a Wish Necklace

Dogeared Lucky Horseshoe Necklace

This is a rather short gold horseshoe charm on tobacco silk thread.  You are supposed to make a wish when you put this on, and then when the silk breaks, your wish will come true.  

Blurry picture of the necklace on me.  It's short.

This is a cute necklace, but Dogeared has things that are much cuter! I would have picked a different design for myself, but it is still a nice idea.  I might use the 30% off code to pick up some gifts!  Everything is pretty reasonably price, which is nice.

This sells for $26 on the Dogeared site.

Baublebar Elephant Ring Tree

Baublebar Elephant Ring Tree

This is adorable! I currently have my rings sitting in a tiny ceramic dish, but I think this will be cute next to my sink at home or on my desk at work (rings do not mix with continual rubber glove usage).  

So cute!

Baublebar has a number of really cute ring trees (that giraffe! omg!) that are all really reasonably priced!  This was a nice addition to this month's PSMH box.

Ring tree, $12 on Baublebar. 

All together

All together, this month's PSMH has an approximate value of $149.48.  This box costs $39.95 per month, but lately they have been sending out discount codes for new subscribers (5 or 10 dollars off) each month.  If you want to try it out, please use my link here.  If one more person signs up with that link, I will get a free box!

No special consideration or compensation was received for this post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. All items mentioned within were paid for by me.

Birchbox March 2014 Review

Birchbox March 2014 Review

Well, it's March.  I set the clocks forward and went out without a jacket yesterday.  Birchbox showed up, and I have some little crocuses popping out of the piles of salt and sand next to my driveway.  It's starting to look like spring!

Birchbox March 2014

As usual, my Birchbox shows up before boxes have updated on their site.  It's a total surprise, and that is fine with me.

First look, March 2014 Birchbox

This month's theme is, "getting more out of everything."  Ok? Sure.

BB Find: Jergens BB Body Perfecting Skin Cream (light)

This is a Birchbox Find: a drugstore product that BB includes in your box, usually along with a coupon.  

Jergens claims that this BB cream for your body will hydrate, illuminate, even, firm, and correct your skin tone.  It comes in two shades, one for light skin and one for medium and deep tones.

It smells good, it is light and warm.  I usually use a tinted lotion on my legs if I wear a skirt or dress (so I don't blind people with my ultra-pasty-ness), and I don't think that this will take its place.  It might even things out with continual use, and continual use of any lotion will keep you hydrated, but I'm just too pale.  

This is a 1 fl.oz. sample, and the full size (7.5 fl.oz.) sells for about $10 at most drugstores.  Sample worth $1.33

GrandCentral Beauty S.M.A.R.T. Skin Perfecting Serum + Primer

I can kinda see how this fits into BB's theme this month.  This all-in-one serum and primer is supposed to hydrate, smooth, act as an anti-aging serum, prime, fill lines, even redness, wipe your butt, etc..

The thing I like most about it, is that it smells like lilacs!  So nice!  It absorbed into my skin really, really quickly, and I ended up using more than I normally would with a comparable product.  My skin does feel pretty smooth, though.  You know what? I like it.  I'll definitely use this!  I haven't tried it under makeup yet, but I am sure it won't be any worse than using no primer at all.

Full-size (50 mL) is $68 on the company's website, making the 6 mL sample worth $8.16.

Supergoop City Sunscreen Serum

I have a full size of this, courtesy of PSMH, and I like it.  I haven't really worn any extra sunscreen lately, just what is in my foundation/BB cream.  But, spring is coming up and hopefully the weather will be brighter and sunnier, and I'll have to start wearing this under my makeup once again.  It's a nice sunscreen, and I definitely recommend it- but I wouldn't go out and spend all that money on it, myself.  If you are sensitive to a lot of chemical sunscreens out there, it might be worth it to try to find a sample.  It has decent ingredients and is very light on the skin.

Full size (50 mL) is $42 on the Supergoop site. 10 mL sample is worth $8.40.

Keims Hair Care- Peppermint & Macadamia Cleanshine Energizing Shampoo

While I haven't tried this shampoo yet, I'm not sure if I am looking forward to it.  There aren't any mineral oils, silicones, or parabens in this formula, and peppermint is always a good shampoo scent.  It doesn't smell overpowering to me, but who knows how it will behave when it's all lathered up.  However, it WILL lather up- the second ingredient is sodium laureth sulfate.  That's too bad; I don't use sulfate-based shampoos on my hair.  My haircolor lasts longer if I don't, and I have found my hair to be less dry after switching to sulfate-free products.

This is fairly affordable, 250 mL for $9.50 on the BB site.  Sample is 50 mL, worth $1.90.

Inika Eyeliner in Green Lagoon

I liked the Inika eyeshadow I received in BB a few months ago, and this color is perfect for complementing that shade!  I really, really like the sharpener in the cap!  I tend to do my makeup in the car, and sometimes I forget to bring my eyeliners in for sharpening and they get too dull to use.

Inika Eyeliner in Green Lagoon

The color on the pencil end cap is exactly the color it shows up on the skin.  The pencil is not too hard, and not too soft.  It's a lighter metallic color, though, so it doesn't pack as much of a punch, even though the pigmentation is pretty good.  Bonus: This is an Organic, Eco-Friendly brand.

Full size, retails for $29 on Inika's site, and $20 on Birchbox.

Total: $39.79

This was a better box than the others I've gotten lately!  I will probably end up giving away the shampoo (because I won't use it) and the sunscreen (because I have a full size), but I like the eyeliner, primer, and lotion.  Factor in the points (10 points = 1$ per review), and this was a decent box.  The points always make it worth it, though!

Birchbox costs $10 per month, and you can sign up using my referral link here.  I'll get 50 BB points per sign up.  For every 100 points you accumulate, you get $10 to spend in the BB site.  Each month BB sends you 4-6 (mostly) sample-sized products.  There is a personalization quiz and a lot of box variations that go out every month.  You cannot skip a month.

All items in this post were paid for by me and all thoughts and opinions are my own.  No special consideration or compensation was received for this post.  This post contains a referal link; see above for details.