Popsugar Must Have Box: January 2014

I’ve been battling some ridiculous cold that won’t seem to die, so I’m a bit behind in my box blogging.  So ignore my sniffling and coughing and we’ll get into the January 2014 Popsugar Must Have Box.  For info on Popsugar subscriptions along with some coupon codes jump down below.

Malin + Goetz Detox Face Mask (Retail: $40.00)
Category: Must Have Beauty
Verdict: Hit!
I love trying out face masks so these are always a win for me.  This one is described as a “five-minute foaming gel” that “uses antioxidants and vitamins to gently cleanse pores while sealing in hydration and brightening your complexion.”  I’m intrigued by the foaming gel and the antioxidants.  Once my skin has recovered from the constant abuse of tissues I’ll give this one a shot.

The Juice Generation Book (Retail: $9.59)
Category: Must Have Food
Verdict:  Miss
Okay, so to start with I cannot drink cold vegetables.  I will gladly eat salads and all kinds of veggie dishes, but juiced vegetables are horrific for me.  No matter how much you try to bury the taste of that kale underneath lovely apples and oranges I still taste it.  I would much rather just have a nice kale salad and a glass of apple juice, thanks.  I’ve actually been trying to add fruit smoothies into my regular workday breakfast rotation so there might be  one or two recipes I can use, but for the most part this book is a miss.  I like the idea of a get healthy type food item for January, but a cookbook focusing on fruits and veggie dishes would have had a much broader appeal.  This also came with a coupon for 30% off a Juice generation six-pack.  This whole item feels very fad-like and unappealing and I was pretty disappointed.

Jack + Lucy Tech Gloves (Retail: $??? Estimate $20.00)
Category: Must Have Fashion
Verdict:  Hit!
I can’t find a link for these gloves, so I’ll have to estimate the cost.  They are grey tech gloves that allow you to use your smartphones and touch screen devices without having to remove the gloves.  I don’t own a pair of these so I’m happy to have them, but I ‘m not sure how much use they will get.  I use fingerless gloves because I constantly have to get on and off buses and subways.  Throughout the day I’m digging for passes and change and when I use regular gloves I always lose one of them.  I’m going to save these tech gloves for the super cold Polar Vortex days where my fingerless gloves are just not going to cut it.

Rifle Paper Co. 2014 Flip Around the World Desk Calendar (Retail: $12.00)
Category: Must Have Home
Verdict:  Miss/Hit for Style
To start the artwork on this is lovely and the cities theme is pretty unisex.  If I’d gotten this in December it would have been a hit, but by January I already have a plethora of calendars and I imagine I’m not the only one.  I think a better option for “kicking off the new year” in the home category might have been a fun or interesting organizational item.  This was also packaged with a 10% off code for the Rifle Paper Co.  They had a bunch of things I’d love to purchase but most were sold out.  I’m hoping they come back in stock before the code expires.

Pipsnacks White Truffle Pipcorn (Retail: $6.00)
Category: Must Have Food
Verdict:  Miss
Now I like popcorn a lot.  I have an air popper and I really enjoyed the popcorn treat in December.  But it seems a little bit silly to have popcorn again so soon after they just included it.  And these are tiny little popcorn bits and the flavor on them is fairly subtle.  Since January tends to be the healthy food type month, I would have preferred to see maybe some granola or dried fruit.  I think that would have been far more suitable and less repetitive.

Revlon by Marchesa Box O’ Files (Retail: $4.99)
Category: Must Have Beauty
Verdict:  Hit!
I know these are on the cheap side and that they have been floating around various outlets as freebies, but I still love them.  They are a boxed set of tiny files and they have an adorable pattern.  They fit perfectly in my manicure kit and I’ll get a ton of use from them.  I’d happily buy these.

Overall:
Mostly a Miss

With my discount for purchasing multiple months in advance I paid 33.88 for this box and it had an estimated retail value of $92.92.  Unfortunately, this box felt very lackluster and I didn’t get a sense of fun or inspiration from it.  This, more than any Popsugar box I’ve received felt more like advertising and more like “what products can we get for free” rather than a curated box of really cool stuff.  Now the mask alone already covers what I paid for the box, so I’ve gotten my value, but this box just left me wanting.

What did you think?  Was this box practical or just practically boring?

The Backstory

Popsugar is a women’s lifestyle subscription that delivers a monthly box of fun, full-size products hand-selected by Popsugar editors.

In addition to Popsugar’s monthly must have boxes, they have some seasonal special edition boxes that contain uber luxe items.  The price tag on these boxes is higher, but the products you receive are high end.

Popsugar Pricing:
Monthly – $39.95
3 Months – $109.85
6 Months – $214.70
12 Months – $404.40

Coupon Codes:  REFER5 = $5 off sitewide
POPSUGAR10 = $10 off a 3 month subscription

Author: Writer Preziosi

Once upon a time, long, long ago, Lisa attended Syracuse University where she studied singing in a giant castle surrounded by ice and snow. After she earned her music degree, she headed to the island of Manhattan, down to the West Village, to a place called the New School. There, she earned another degree in the great art of writing stories for children. She currently works on that same island trying to help real people, while making up stories about imaginary ones. Her first book, “The Ice Maiden’s Tale,” a fairy tale adventure, was released on May 30, 2017 and is up for sale on Amazon. View all posts by Writer Preziosi