Popsugar Must Have Box January 2013 Review

My PopSugar Must Have January 2013 Box is here!

I will admit that I have been “fishing” for spoilers the last few days at the makeuptalk and, as usual, I could not just ignore them, so I looked. While the box contents were not a surprise to me, I think it was much better when I saw everything in detail in person:

The theme of the January Must Have box is focused on health and fitness resolutions as we enter into the New Year plus, on “still finding time to enjoy some warm treats”. 

Here is what I received in the my PopSugar Must Have January Box:

Merrithew Pilates 65” Stability Ball ($38.99) – I got the blue one and included with it is a card with six different exercises. I have wanted to get a stability ball for a while but since I have been using the ones in my gym, I couldn’t justify it. Now I’m going to use this one at home, so I am really happy with this item.

The Remix TimeBomb Watch ($44.95) – I got the hot pink color that seems to be a PopSugar exclusive color (as per the box label) since it is not one of the colors on the Remix Watches website. If I could have chosen a color, I would have liked the lovely baby blue one shown in the insert; or, even the white one that some subscribers have recieved. That said, I haven’t worn a watch in about 10 years and the ones I have worn in the past were a totally different style; but I am actually almost liking this funky-looking hot-pink one, and so does my 4-year old daughter. The LED light is a nice touch.  I may wear it to the gym indeed.

Epicuren Discovery Lip Balm with SPF 15 and Tea Tree Oil ($9.50) – I have not tried this brand. It has a minty scent and, while not my favorite scent for a lip balm, I actually think it would be cooling for the summer months, so saving it for later. I am revising my opinion: about 5 minutes after I applied the balm, the minty flavor disappeared and my lips felt really soft, and they were still soft for a few hours, thus I am probably going to use the balm even now, while it's still cold out.

Popbar Hot Chocolate on a Stick, Milk and Dark Chocolate ($2.99 / each) – I have never seen these before; it is from a company based in NYC that also makes ice-cream on a stick; it does seem like a fun idea and hopefully it’d be yummy too…

Jet-Puffed Vanilla Mallow Bits by Kraft ($6.73) – I am not a fan of marshmallows and haven’t tried this specific brand/type. This is probably my least favorite item from the box. Now that I have it though, I’ll probably use it for decorating whenever I bake brownies or cupcakes.

Extras in this January edition:

3 thinkThin Nutrition Bars: 

Creamy Peanut Butter high protein bar ($1.99)

Crunch Caramel Chocolate Dipped Mixed Nuts bar ($1.99)

Dark Chocolate Coconut Devine bar ($1.69) - This last one is already gone and it was yummy (but I have a soft spot for dark chocolate / coconut combos). I love nutrition bars (LARABAR and LUNA bar ones are my favorite) but I try to avoid the ones with too much sugar. Since I haven’t tried thinkThin so far, I am glad I got to try it. I might be buying some next time, and there is a $1.00 off coupon included in the box. 

A $15 gift certificate to Casetagram, to make cases for your phone or tablet – While I find this a nice addition to the box, I am not sure if I'll use it.

The total value of the box comes to $111.82 (not counting the $15 Casetagram certificate) and that, compared to the $35 I paid for, is definitely a good deal.

My verdict – I like this box and will happily use (or eat) most of the items in it. My favorite items are the stability ball and the Epicuren lip balm.

Do you subscribe to PopSugar Must Have Box? If so, what did you think of the January box? If not, are you tempted to subscribe based on the items included in this box?

If you want to subscribe to Popsugar Must Have Box, use code REFER5 for $5 off your first delivery and, if you wish, you can go through my referral link here.

The First Post and Subscription Boxes

Hello! This is my first post and, as always when embarking on something new, I am excited about the journey, only this time there isn’t necessarily an end in sight. I know one thing though – I will remain true to myself and hopefully, in sharing my honest opinions, I will bring you some useful information on interesting products and services.

Today, I will start my “memoirs” on the subscription-based eCommerce business phenomenon or, as it is most commonly referred to in review blogs, subscription boxes. Just a side note - in the investment and industry analysis space, the space is often referred to as 'subscription {e}Commerce' or simply 'sub com'.

Subscription boxes – beauty, fashion, home, baby & kids, arts & craft, food, Eco / health, lifestyle – to name some of the most popular categories out there, might be the new trend or obsession that has taken the market over the last couple of years. As many of you probably already know, most of the subscriptions are monthly but some are delivered quarterly, and many of the monthly ones give you the option to skip a month. The way it works is the following – you pay a set amount of subscription fee per month (there are a number of subscription plans where typically 3-, 6- and 12-month plans give you a discount over a month-to-month plan) and get a number of curated goodies based on the type of box.

The subscription-based model could be described as a “modern age” deal-of-the-month club, however I’d say it is much more than that. While the deal element is definitely present in most of the subscriptions (as you typically get more in value compared to what you have paid for as a subscription fee), something else also characterizes today's sub com model – and would probably distinguish the truly successful subscription companies going forward. It is the fact that many of the subscription-based businesses market to a highly targeted customer base that is interested in a specific niche and willing to try new, small, independent quality brands or probe high-quality luxury brands before they commit to buying them. Thus, these target customers are not only interested in getting a good deal on the goodies they value, but also on finding products and services that are new, cool, and of high quality; products and services that they can then – hopefully for the subscription companies and the marketing companies alike – go back and buy repeatedly.

Over the past year or so, I have been following this monthly subscription box phenomenon with great interest that had led me to subscribing to a few “boxes” myself. I will be exploring these one at a time. The latest and, to date, the most exciting box I am subscribed to is PopSugar Must Have Box. All of the opinions expressed here are my own and, what I might find exciting, may be plain boring for others - even if so, hopefully it would still be informative.

Do you subscribe to any boxes? If so, what are your favorite ones? What do you think distinguishes those from your less favorite ones? With so many sub boxes offered on the market today, how did you choose the ones to subscribe to?

M.

Disclosure: There is a referral link in my post. I will get referral points if you click and sign up for the PopSugar’s Must Have Box through my link.