PopSugar's FIRST EVER Must Have Bag - Worth it?

IT'S HERE! IT'S HEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!  Ok, I will calm down now. But I was so excited to get my first PopSugar Must Have bag today. It's not just MY first Must Have bag, it's THE first Must Have bag.  I love the PopSugar site and when they announced they were joining the ranks of the monthly subscription box services, I eagerly signed up.  

The website is pretty vague. Would PopSugar's service focus on beauty? On lifestyle items? Both? I scoured the web for teasers and more info, but there was nothing except re-posts of the company's press releases. Oh, the mystery! The excitement! And now, here it is. I think I freaked out my postman today when I eagerly ripped out my demurely-packaged Must Have box from his hands.   Eep. Remind me to tip him at Christmas :S

TA-DA!!!! I know. Nothing special, but it's what's INSIDE that counts most, right?

Hmmmmmm....I kept looking in the bag to see if I had missed anything.

I kind of feel like I'm on a game show and I'm hearing them play that cheesy "Wa-waaaaaaaaaah" sound indicating that I just lost out on some fabulous prize.  Am I being too harsh? Do I have unrealistic expectations?

First bags are generally known to be the best ones. It's like a first date. You only get one chance to make a really, really good first impression. I was kicking myself for missing out on Glossybox's ahhhh-mazing first box in May, so I didn't want to miss out this time. Did the Must Have bag live up to the hype?  Here's the breakdown:

POPSUGAR MUST HAVE FIRST BAG

$24.00  Ilia Lipstick in In My Room

$24.00  Ilia Lip Conditioner in Bang Bang

$16.00  RGB nail polish - in Minty

$16.00  RGB nail polish - in Doll

$6.00 Body Drench Raspberry gelee body scrub 

$7.00 Body Drench Pomegranate lotion 

$2.00 each x 2- KIND bars

Popsugar beach bag

TOTAL VALUE: $95 + tote bag, let's be generous and give the bag itself a $15 value

$110 vale for $35 (including shipping). Not bad at all.....buuuuuuuuuuuuuut - Subscribers were originally promised $150 worth of product on website. Since the July bag sold out, PopSugar has changed the website and reduced the promised value of the bag from $150 to $100. Sneaky, sneaky!

Do I stay or do I go?  Is PopSugar's bag really a Must Have? To put it bluntly, not really. But I'm going to be optimistic and give PopSugar a couple of more months to win me over before making any final decisions.

Your fledgling beauty blogger, 

Sam <3 

Source Material: The Beauty Subscription Box

So now that I've decided to launch this project,  where do I start? For source material and products without a lot of commitment, we're going with beauty subscription boxes. Not only is it like giving yourself a gift every month, you get to sample lots of different products for a nominal fee.

The explosion of beauty box subscriptions has left many, including me, which one to choose?  And so part of the Beauty Base Zero Project will be to try and review some of the most popular services, sample the samples and review the results.  In alphabetical order:

Beauty Army $12 per month will get you 6 samples of your choosing. In March of 2012 Beauty Army introduced a new referral program where you can earn one free box for every three friends you refer, up to four free boxes. 

Beauty Box 5 - Beauty Box 5 sends out 4-5 beauty samples each month. A subscription starts at $12 per month (shipping is included) with discounts if you purchase a quarterly or yearly subscription. 

Beautyfix - $49.99 per quarter and you get to choose the 8 products that are shipped to you. Shipping is included with the purchase price.

Birchbox - $10 per month will get you a box full of beauty samples

GlossyBox – With service in over 15 countries in Europe, Glossybox has come across the pond. Launched in May, a Glossybox subscription runs $21 per month. 

Julep Maven - $19.99 per month gets you $40+ worth of nail polish and mani/pedi products from Julep, a Seattle-based nail salon that develops their own products.  There are always deals to get your first box for $0.01 so make sure to look around. (Try promocode: color2012)

MyGlam - $10 gets you an assortment of beauty products to try each month as well as a video from a stylist explaining the products.

New Beauty Test Tube - $29.95 per quarter gets you a tube filled with $150+ worth of beauty and skincare products


PopSugar's Must Have Bag - The most expensive of the monthly bags, PopSugar's new service launches this month. The website doesn't make it clear if this is strictly a beauty box or if it's a lifestyle box, the price is $35 / month including shipping.

Sample Society by BeautyBar.com - $15 per month will get you 5 samples from BeautyBar.com and Allure magazine.

SOOOOOOOOO, to start off with after poring over YouTube video reviews and other blogs, I've subscribed to the following:

Birchbox, GlossyBox, New Beauty Testtube, PopSugar's Must Have Bag and Sample Society to start. We'll be unboxing and trying out products as they arrive. Stay tuned!

<3 Samantha <3

Back to Beauty Base Zero

 

make·o·ver/ˈmākˌōvər/

 Definition: Noun; a complete transformation of something, esp. a person's makeup, hairstyle or clothes.

 

Raise your hand if you've had the same makeup routine for years? Sure, there's such a thing as brand loyalty and to sticking to what works, but it's a fine line between "tried and true" and "r-u-t". 

 

I am officially in a rut.  I've worn the same slightly-winged liquid liner for years now. I've varied between brands, formulations, type of application, even color every now and then...but the overall effect is always the same.  I've used the same brand of waterproof black mascara since high school.  I always, ALWAYS have a tube of MAC's Del Rio lipstick in my purse.

 

It's time for a beauty intervention. We are going back to Beauty Base Zero.  I will be experimenting with new products and techniques. I am not a professional makeup artist. I am not being sponsored by any cosmetics companies or brands. 

 

My goal - to find wearable looks for real life that can be replicated by anyone without the aid of a makeup artist (or photoshop).

 

Did I mention that this is for real life and not just for a blog?  If a look takes a zillion different products to achieve, it's not for me. If it's going to take me more than 20 minutes in the morning, then it's not gonna happen (ok, ok, up to 40 mins if it's a REALLY special occasion). Who really has that kind of time?   

 

The key words here are WEARABLE PRETTY.  Trends? Sure, I'm happy to experiment with the trends, but this blog is not about sacrificing the pretty for the fashionable.

 

So stayed tuned - the BBZ Lab is open!