FabFitFun Summer 2014 Review

Fabfitfun Summer 2014

Yes, yes, I know this is a month late.  But, I figured that since it is a quarterly subscription, and the next one won't be out until September, posting it at the tail end of July is acceptable.

My life has been pretty chaotic this month! I think I mentioned it in the previous post, but in addition to moving, attending a week-long conference, and visiting my niece, my actual science work has been going REALLY well, so I've been putting in a lot of lab hours trying to push this project as far as I can before I have to start teaching again.

The upside to posting late reviews, is that I have had a chance to thoroughly test out all the products!

Fabfitfun Summer 2014

This was my second Fabfitfun VIP box, and I subscribed to this and the Nina Garcia quarterly to take the place of PopSugar Must Have.  I must say, looking at the boxes that have come out since I cancelled PSMH, I am very happy I put that $40/month toward something else!

Fabfitfun tries to send products from various categories- beauty, food, fitness, etc.

PopChips Sea Salt and Vinegar Potato Popped Chip Snack

I like Popchips.  I've received them before, and even those these arrived smushed (more on the smushed box in a moment) they were tasty.  I love me some salt and vinegar in the summer!  I'm not really a snacker, but if I've been working hard and sweating up a tsunami, I crave sour salty things.

One bag, approximately $1.30

Balanced Guru No Frizz Oil
Organic Sesame and Lemongrass Balancing Oil

I was pleased to see that this hair oil survived the arduous journey to my new house in MiddleOfNowhere, RI, safely.  I was also please to see that it is a full-sized product! I was not that pleased at all with the scent.  Normally, I love lemongrass scents, but there was something else in this (the sesame carrier oil, maybe?) that made me wrinkle my nose.  Fortunately, I already have a hair oil that I love (Orofluido).  I had a friend over for dinner and made her (yes, I totally forced her to) take a bunch of my extra products and samples home, and this was one of the things she went home with.  I haven't heard back if she likes it or not!

Full size, $13

It seems like the summer boxes across a lot of brands all included canvas clutches!  I'm not complaining, I have a million things in my purse but I justify having them all because everything is organized into 5 or 6 little pouches like this.  More variety just means I can rotate them more... or stuff more clutches into my bag....

Thursday Friday Away Mini Clutch in Jeweled, Turquoise

I probably would have chosen a different print from them, but this also isn't the worst variety that was sent out.  

$35, and they included a coupon for the site

Up next is one of the big-ticked spoiled items for this quarter.

Sonya Dakar NutraSphere Flash Facial

This is a facial treatment that applies exactly like white school glue would.  Seriously.  You spread it on clean, dry skin, and let it sit for a few minutes.  When you gently rub it off with water, it balls up just like Elmer's glue would.  They say that is your skin being exfoliated away, but it probably is just the dried product.  I am still convinced this is glue.  Whatever it is, it makes my face feel very nice and smooth after I use it.

This is full-sized and retails for about $95!  Woah. My face is so fancy.

Continuing the trend of Overpriced Spoiled Items That You Rub On Your Face...

Pur~lisse Pur~Protect Essential Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

I have finally embraced how pale I am, and so I have given up on trying to change that.  Therefore, I slather myself in sunscreen every morning.  This includes my face.  Normally, I use Supergoop, but that is more of a sunscreen than a face lotion.  This Pur~lisse has the benefit of being more of a face lotion, with a bonus of SPF.  It absorbs fast, has very little scent, and I can apply my makeup with minimal lag time.  It's pretty solid.  I wouldn't pay full price for it, though!  It's only 50 mL!

You can see my tube was banged up in transit and has some smudge marks on it from other things in the box.

Full size, $55.  Now my face is REALLY fancy.

Moving to the "fit" portion of this quarter...

Fabfitfun branded Water Infuser Bottle

These water bottles have been popping up in sub boxes all over the place in the last year!  It took until NOW for me to get one, though!  Everything here unscrews, so you can load fruits and whatever else into the middle portion, which has holes in it, to flavor your water.  The top screws onto the whole thing so the edge you drink from isn't exposed to the world.

I have really been enjoying this.  I have tried a number of combinations, but I think my favorite was raspberries, mint, cucumber, and lime.  I just put a wedge (or 2 berries, or 2 leaves) into the infuser part and add water.  It has definitely upped my fluid intake, which is always a good thing.

Estimated retail $15

Ok, so I lied when I said I had tried everything.  I did NOT try these Kisstixx lip balms.  Firstly, the package arrived totally open in my shipping box.  Secondly, I do NOT like chocolate, and I dislike chocolate flavorings even more.

Kisstixxs SPF 15 Lip Balms in Chocolate and Strawberry

The idea behind these is that you apply one flavor, your kissing partner applies the other, and then you kiss and make a nice combo flavor between the two of you.  Sure.  Ok.  It sounds like this would have been a cute idea if I were still a teenager, but alas, I have not been one for almost a decade.

I might use the strawberry one if I somehow lose all my currently open SPF chapsticks.  Until then, they will sit in my box of items to gift.  If I had gotten the pina colada/ strawberry daiquiri version, or the raspberry/lemonade version, I would have been a little more excited.  I could put one flavor on my top lip and the other on the bottom lip and smush.  But, that is not to be.

Full size (featured on the show, Shark Tank) $5.99

Oh, coral nail polish!  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Zoya Nail Polish in Maya

This is a nice summery color, and Zoya is a great brand.  The polish is on the sheer-er side, and I would almost call it a jelly... but not quite.  It is half-way between a cream and a jelly (a crelly).  It's pretty!  I like it a lot, and I'm glad they sent this nice tropical color.

Zoya polish, $8


There was a little bit of drama online because of the next three items.  FFF included them as "sponsored" items, so technically they shouldn't be included in the value of the box.  If they hadn't been included, everyone would have been happy.  Because they were, however, people tend to say it makes the box look like it is "cheaper" and "lower quality."  Whatevs.  "Free" stuff is free stuff.

Always Liners, Skintimate Shave Gel in Raspberry Rain, and Slim Fast Have Your Cake (Vanilla) Bar

Side note, that SlimFast bar wasn't that bad.  Melted from shipping, but not bad.

Fabfitfun Summer 2014

All together, this box had a value of $228.29.  More importantly, I like it way more than I thought I would when I peeked at the full box spoilers.

Fabfitfun VIP is $49.99 per season, but they usually have $5 off coupon codes floating around for your first month.  Many thanks to the person who signed up using my link! I got a few dollars off of this quarter's box, and I hope you liked it as much as I did!

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.  This post contains referral links.

Fabfitfun VIP Spring 2014

Fabfitfun VIP box, Spring 2014

Because I canceled Popsugar Must Have, I decided I should try out some different boxes, starting with Fabfitfun VIP.

Hello, FFF!

FFF is a quarterly box, so it comes once per year.  Obviously, I HAD to get the spring box becasue PSMH ran out in March for me, and I didn't want to wait until June to get my first quarter of this!

FFF Spring 2014, first look

There were some spoilers, so I knew two of the items that were coming to me.  When I opened up the box, I was immediately overwhelmed by eucalyptus and peppermint! It smelled so good, and I couldn't wait to dig in.

Turband from Cult Gaia 

This was the first item that was spoiled this month by FFF.  The pattern varied from person to person, and I happened to get this springy floral.

The turband has a sturdy wire running along its length, so you can style it however you want!  This is super far out of my comfort zone, but I did play around with it a little bit.  It might be nice for the summer at the beach.

I had to filter this; I wasn't wearing any makeup.

This is probably how I will be wearing the turband.  It didn't look quite right as a headband (under my hair), and I didn't want to do the bunny-ear thing Cult Gaia shows on their website.

These retail for anywhere from $38 to $150 on the company's website.  I couldn't find my exact print, so we will call it $38 to be conservative.

Level Naturals Shower Bombs

This is what was making my box smell so good!  This is a set of four shower bombs from Level Naturals, and they have menthol, eucalyptus, and tea tree oil in them.  They have sodium bicarbonate and citric acid in a cornstarch base, so they might fizz a little bit as they dissolve.  

I used one and it made my shower smell so good! I'd so much rather get shower bombs than bath bombs, as I never soak in the tub.  It grosses me out.

I wish I could afford to use one of these every time I shower! It made it an even more relaxing experience, and I think with the scent of these particular bombs, it would be great if you have some sinus congestion.

Pack of 4, $7.99 on the Level Naturals site.

Dermasuri Deep Exfoliating Mitt

To continue the spa trend of this box, I got a deep exfoliating mitt from Dermasuri.  I haven't tried it yet, but it is a thin material (which will dry fast), and will act like an exfoliator when you use it to scrub your skin in the shower.

$19.99 on Dermasuri's website.

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray

Excellent! I keep trying to find a nice dry shampoo, and I have seen good reviews of this one.  I am going to use it tonight (if you dry shampoo the night before, it has more time to soak in and do its oil-absorbing job) so I can avoid washing my hair in this unseasonably cold weather.  Seriously, why is it 20 degrees this late into March?

UPDATE:  This smells like lemons and I love it.  It did not make my hair all white and powdery, it added volume, and it absorbed all my grease super fast.  Consider me a convert!  

$25 on Oscar Blandi's site

Marrithew Mini Stability Ball and DVD

Does this seem familiar?  Yes? It's because I got a pink mini stability ball in March's PSMH!  Same thing! Same straw to blow it up, and same little plug to make sure the air stays put.  However, FFF included a DVD with their mini ball.  That is so much better than PSMH!  Now I will know how to use this, and won't have to spend my time googling, "mini ball workouts".  Besides, that sounds like a search that might give me some weird, weird results.

The 7.5" ball sells for $11.99 on the Merrithew site, and their DVDs go for about $12.71, for a total of $24.70.  

The Better Chip Spinach & Kale with Sea Salt

I'm glad this box showed up when it did- I was hungry and there wasn't anything in the fridge that I wanted to eat.  So, I popped these open.  They were good.  They tasted like corn chips with a tiny hint of greens.  Sort of like eating spinach dip with tortilla chips, but less fattening and not quite as satisfying.

Also, there were like 9 chips in the whole bag.

Yeah, that's what 1 oz of chips looks like.  Not a lot!  I was a little sad.

I couldn't find a value for these online, so I'll go with the FFF suggested retail of $1.99.  I would like to try the jalapeño version!

Cover FX SPF 30 Protection Primer

The goodies just don't end!  FFF included a full size of SPF 30 primer from Cover FX in this month's box.

No color, and blends in completely with a silicone-y smooth feeling

This reminds me of Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer, but that is probably because of the texture and color and appearance and everything else.  It is silicone-based and rubs in clear.  It gives you that slick feeling, if that is something you like on your face before putting on makeup.  I have a few versions of silicone primer, and I never end up using any of them.  I'm not really a fan.  I do like that this is SPF 30, but there is NO WAY you would be able to apply enough of this to get the full SPF benefit from it.  You would have to apply too much, and you wouldn't be able to put anything over it- your foundation would literally slide off of your face.

This sells for $38 at Sephora.

Kai Perfume Oil

Last up, the other spoiler item for this season.  It is Kai Perfume Oil, which is a rollerball and smells like gardenias.

The company says that this will smell different on everyone, but I'm pretty sure that's false.  It will smell like gardenias on everyone, just with subtle variations that come from the oils mixing with the person's personal chemistry.  If you don't like gardenias or floral perfumes, don't hold out hope that this will smell like musky amber on you.  It just won't happen.

I happen to like this, but not for every day. 

$48 at Nordstrom.

All together! FFF Spring 2014

All together, this box had a value of $203.67!  Nice!

Most of these items are things that I wouldn't have bought myself; either because they aren't my normal style, or because they are out of my price range for a non-essential item.  Do I need a scrubby shower mitt? No, but I like that I have one now! 

Fabfitfun VIP is $49.99 per season, but they usually have $5 off coupon codes floating around for your first month.  It is curated by Giuliana Rancic (and the FFF team) if that means anything to you.  It seems from this box, and the ones before it, that this subscription is mostly luxury items.  Nothing you NEED, but everything you may WANT (and talk yourself out of!).

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.

Subscription Box Spoilers, March 2014

Hello everyone!

There are some good spoilers and deals out there for subscription boxes right now.

Popsugar Must Have is featuring this pretty scarf in their March box, AND you can use IKAT10 as a code to get $10 off.  This makes your box $30! 

Golden Tote selection time!  I picked the $149 tote with:

Elephant Dress

Not-so-Basic Button Down in Black and White

Are you getting anything this month?

Ipsy spoilers have started rolling in!

BareMinerals Double Trouble

Spoiler 1 shows this gloss and lipstick- subscribers will get 1 of the two.

FabFitFun  has two spoilers out for their spring box!  Use code SPRING5 to save $5 off of the $50 price tag.

Kai Perfume Oil (gardenia)

Turband from Cult Gaia

This post contains referral links.