POPSUGAR – October 2014

Have you ever been crawling across a desert, tortured by thirst and famine, tricked by mirages, with all hope lost? Neither have we, but that’s what it felt like for the entire month of October while we were waiting for our PopSugar Must Have boxes to finally arrive. We’ve said this a few times, but we love the PopSugar box. It’s one of our favorites. And all around us were bloggers posting about how great their boxes were. We remained taunted by the mailmen each day that the box didn’t arrive.

I might sound dramatic, but that’s what happens when you’re a subscription box blogger and your favorite box has shipment issues. Lauren and I were among the “lucky” few who received their box 3 weeks late (an eternity in the sub box world). According to PopSugar, there were only a handful of us who had delayed shipping, but chances are good they were just covering their fashionable butts because the internet has been in a collective sad uproar wondering where our goods were all month.

When our respective boxes finally arrived, we were… uh… less than ecstatic. Every sub box, no matter how magical and perfect, earns one flop every once in a while. This is PopSugar’s.

Jill: I can’t speak for Lauren, but when I tore that puppy open I was still holding out hope for a decent box. Maybe some of the boxes were different, and mine contained really cool things instead of the spoilers. Maybe unicorns really do exist. We’re going to tag team this post because we have different opinions (though not really on this one).

Lauren: By the time the box came, I already knew what was inside of it and so I didn’t tear into it as enthusiastically as I normally would. This is absolutely my favorite box I receive and this box was like getting socks for Christmas. Literally. Because we got socks.

 NAILED KIT HALLOWEEN DECALS – $8

Jill: Nail decals are a cool idea. Sending Halloween decals when you’re having shipping problems and no one gets their box until a couple days before Halloween is not a cool idea. I would have been totally happy with some decals that were just a nice design and not so holiday-specific (because half of them are jack-0-lanterns and spiderwebs).

Lauren: Super annoyed about the nail art kit. I am getting married this week (I KNOW, I’M GETTING MARRIED) and so I don’t have time to wear the Halloween nails before I have to go Bride Nails so it’s a bummer that I likely will either save these until next year or throw them away because I am moving and I don’t know if I am going to haul around an incredibly seasonal specific set of nail decals.

MINE DESIGN CHALKBOARD CANDLE – $24

Jill: Ehhhh. I have no need to write on my candles. I guess I’d prefer to have a candle over, say, spiderweb nail decals, but it doesn’t need to have a gimmick. It just needs to smell really good. Which, I am glad to report, this candle does. It’s a soy candle too, so it should last a while.

Lauren: I have no opinions about this. I like getting candles because they make good gifts but I don’t understand this one. Unless you are a pro artist, it might be hard to draw anything that looks neat on this candle. I know that chalkboards are “in” right now (because I have a ton of them at my wedding. Did you know I’m getting married?) but you don’t need a chalkboard for everything. It’s how I feel about 3D movies. Not everything needs to be in 3D, Hollywood. Calm down.

K HALL DESIGNS SHORELINE SHEA BUTTER/OLIVE OIL BAR SOAP – $10

Jill: This is one of the only items in the box that I am glad was included. It is also marked on the box insert as a “special extra”. If the box didn’t include this “special extra” I would have liked the box significantly less. The insert also denotes that this soap is sponsored by Progresso, which is confusing. The soap has no smell, but I really like oil soap. So it’ll be used.

Lauren: I have essentially decided to stop buying soap for myself because I get so many bars of soap and different body washes in my boxes and this month was no exception. I think it’s weird that it’s sponsored by Progresso but it definitely feels like the nicest item in the box. It’s substantial and will last awhile. And it smells good!

DEAN & DELUCA PUMPKIN SPICE MALT BALLS – $5.50

Jill: Look. I have no problem with the pumpkin spice malt balls, even if I won’t eat them myself. I have a problem that this is included in a box that has no big ticket item. Its almost like adding insult to injury. Just another throwaway item that I don’t really want, which is basically what this box is comprised of. If the malt balls were added to a box that had some nice gloves or an actual picture frame (more on that in a moment), that would be a slightly different story. But no, these malt balls are just there and they’ll be given away.

Lauren: This is one of the reasons I was not looking forward to this month’s box. The idea of Pumpkin Spice Maltballs disgusted me so much that I got them out of the house as soon as possible and pawned them off on my co-worker Marc who loves pumpkin things. I gave them away so fast that I didn’t even bother to ask Matt if he wanted them. It turned out he did. Oops. I asked Marc to describe them and he said that at first they have a non-taste- similar to wax you get for your braces but once you chew on them for a bit they do taste good. I will trust Marc on this one.

ISAAC JACOBS INTERNATIONAL ACRYLIC FRAME – $36

Jill: Ugh, this frame. It’s thick plastic and held together by a magnet. It’s basically something I would have found at the Dollar Store in college and been like, “I guess this’ll do.” The fact that this is the big ticket item in this box is really weird. I am planning on putting a picture of myself in it, wrapping it up, and giving it to a friend of mine for Christmas as a joke.

Lauren: This is the item I was most excited about in this box. I want to give it to Matt with a picture of my beauty for his new desk at work. He is less than thrilled to have a personal item on his desk at work but I asked him why he hated me so much and so now he is going to take it to work. I may never really know, though. The frame is substantial and with the magnets it is easy to change out pictures. Matt may switch out my picture with one of Pikachu but I do what I can.

HAPPY SOCKS ANIMAL SOCKS – $12

Jill: Oh look, a pair of socks. This is the epitome of overpriced goods, as there is nothing special about this pair of socks. Target sells better ones for a fraction of the price. They’re not quite soft, they’re average in weight, and they will slightly warm my feet more than if I wasn’t wearing them. I don’t really have much else to say other than this box has officially become the box of stocking stuffers that I never asked for.

Lauren: Neat… Socks. Thanks…

BUTTER LONDON WINK EYE PENCIL – $18

Jill: This is the one item that I will regift to my sister (who is a makeup extraordinaire, much like our Lauren) without feeling a little guilty about it. It’s a legitimately nice eyeliner. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to carry the balance of the rest of this horrid box (sorry, PopSugar).

Lauren: I forgot that I received this item until right now. It’s a nice charcoal/grey liner but nothing spectacular. However, subscription boxes are known for always sending black eyeliner so POPSUGAR is mixing it up with a different colored, full-sized eyeliner so that is nice. I will likely use this!

So there we have it. PopSugar’s October 2014 box, AKA the Box of Unwanted Christmas Gifts. We are both really looking forward to how awesome the November box will look compared to this one. We hope it comes at a decent time and doesn’t come with like, Thanksgiving decorations the week after Thanksgiving. We’ll see.

xo,

Jill & Lauren

To join the fun and subscribe to the PopSugar Must Have monthly box for $39.95, click here!  We both pay for this subscription box because we love it. Normally.