Popsugar Must Have: October 2014

If you are Popsugar subscriber, you may already know why my October box review is so late. Popsugar updated their website, creating much chaos with billing and subscriptions. This resulted in many longtime subscribers getting our boxes super late.

This lovely guy arrived on my doorstep on October 31^st – just narrowly hitting that “October” deadline. Let’s see what my super late box included.

Happy Socks Animal Socks (Suggested Retail: $12)
Category: Must Have Fashion
Description: “As the days get cooler, keep your feet warm and cozy with these fun leopard-print Happy Socks.”
Verdict: Gift
Socks with a fun print are always welcome in the Fall. This time of year I start analyzing my boxes for items that will be great Christmas gifts while simultaneously trying to quiet that voice that screams to keep all the pretties for myself. I’ve got someone in mind who I think these will work great for so this is going to the Christmas Gift Stash.

butter LONDON Wink Eye Pencil in Earl Gray (Suggested Retail: $18)
Category: Must Have Beauty
Description: “Make your eyes stand out with this blendable WINK Eye Pencil – it’s the ultimate beauty tool to achieve an effortless look. This gray is great for a smoky eye.”
Verdict: Love!
I’ve been wanting to try butter LONDON’s makeup for a long time, so I was happy to see their eyeliner included. I got even more excited when I swatched it and discovered it was a beautiful shimmery smoky grey. I think this is a fabulous shade for the holidays. If you’re super pale like me, a lot of black liners are just too much of a contrast and can give you a sort of Walking Dead vibe. This is a great alternative when you want a dramatic eye but don’t want to look washed out.

Isaac Jacobs International Acrylic Frame (Suggested Retail: $36.00)
Category: Must Have Home
Description: “
Verdict: Love!
I’m not normally too excited for picture frames since I don’t have much space in my apartment and I already have plenty of frames, but I love the design of this. It’s an acrylic rectangle that is held together with magnets and keeps the picture encased inside. I’m going to be keeping this for myself and using it on my desk. I think it will look great with some cute quotes inside.

Mine Design Chalkboard Candle (Suggested Retail: $24.00)
Category: Must Have Home
Description: “Reusable and rewritable, this chalkboard soy candle lets you put a personal spin on your average wick.”
Verdict: Love/Gift
Candles tend to go in my gift pile, just because lots of people I know love them, but this one is just too cute. This is another item I really want to keep for my desk. I can write stuff like “Keep writing, jackass” to remind me to get off Pinterest and work on my novels. You can get all DIY with this and use chalkboard paint on your existing candles to get the same effect. I’m leaning toward hoarding this item for myself, but goodness may win out and it could end up in someone’s Xmas stocking.

Dean & Deluca Pumpkin Spice Malt Balls (Retail: $5.75)
Category: Must Have Food
Description: “Made with real pumpkin spices and dipped in dark chocolate, these gourmet malt balls capture the flavor of fall.”
Verdict: On the Fence
I like the idea of these and including a Fall flavored treat was smart, but I just didn’t care for the actual taste of them. I love pumpkin flavored things and pumpkin spices but these just weren’t quite tasty enough for me.

Nailed Kit Halloween Decals (Suggested Retail: $8.00)
Category: Must Have Beauty
Description: “It’s fun to get in the Halloween spirit with these nontoxic easy-to-apply nail-art decals designed exclusively for POPSUGAR Must Have.”
Verdict: Miss/Potential Hit
As you know I got my October box super late, so I didn’t have time to actually use these. It’s quite a shame because if I’d received them earlier in the month they would have been a hit. It’s also nice that they were designed especially for Popsugar. I’ve tucked them into my polish case and will pull them out next Halloween.

SPECIAL EXTRA

K. Hall Designs Shoreline Shea Butter/Olive Oil Bar Soap (Retail: $10.00)
Description: “This soap is enhanced with shea butter and olive oil to moisturize and refresh your skin. This item we love is sponsored by Progresso.”
Verdict: Gift
This is a really nice special extra and the soap gives off a fresh scent. I currently have a stack of soap bars to go through so I think I’ll add this as a little extra to someone’s Christmas Gift.

OVERALL:

Hit!

This box cost me $42.75 and I received $113.75 worth of product along with a $40 coupon for The Blue Jean Bar’s Box.  Except for the lackluster pumpkin balls, I really liked everything in the box. The only  downside was that it came too late for me to utilize the Halloween item.

Along with many other subscribers, I struggled this month with Popsugar and their customer service. I kept getting emails that I hadn’t updated my CC info, even though I had. I reached out to customer service about the continued emails and that my box hadn’t shipped yet and I received no replies. My box eventually showed up at the very last moment, but that’s just not an acceptable level of customer service. Based on Popsugar’s Facebook page, the customer service issues were not isolated incidents.

Because of these customer service issues and an incredibly lackluster Neiman Marcus box (review coming very soon) I have not jumped on Popsugar’s latest offering of Limited Edition Holiday Boxes. I loved last year’s holiday box, but I’m not sure I’m willing to gamble $100 on Popsugar right now. I’m currently waiting for a spoiler in order to make up my mind.

Did your October box arrive on time? Are you considering the Popsugar Holiday LE boxes?

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 site wide
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