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Wednesday 25 May 2016

Nature Box May 2016 Unboxing


A couple of days ago, I got a notice of shipment for my Nature Box; good timing as I only have 2 more snack servings of my previous month!  Since you're all aware I did snack box subscription reviews with the goal to find the subscription for me, I'll let you know why Nature Box was the winner: simply put, they promise simple ingredients, no artificial stuff, no HF corn syrup, no MSG and calorie-size is always below 200 calories; this meets my expectations!  There are healthy, smart and crave-worthy options and I get to choose what I want in my box every single month.






You can get:
5 snacks at 19,95$ per box or
10 snacks at 32.95$ per box

Shipment can be done to match your schedule:
Every week
Every two weeks or
Every month.

I opted for 10 snacks every month.  Shipping is free to US but costs 4.95$ for Canadians, which is reasonable. To try a free box, click here!

I added a review of last month's snacks in my last review.  If you want to check it out, click here. 

This month, most of my snacks came in ziplock bags, so I was able to show you how most of them look like.


First snack is Parmesan Garlic Pop Pops (4 single serving bags) which is half-popped popcorn flavored with Parmesan cheese, garlic, onions and sea salt.  We've become quite impressed with Nature Box's popcorn snacks, so I am sure these will be enjoyed just as much.  I think this is the snack Alex expressed the most interest in as well.

My Rating: Loved these; quite flavorful and I loved the crunch it added to my popcorn night.

Next, we have Apple Cinnamon Crave which is described as  a fruit and nut mix with peanuts, almonds and apples.  I unfortunately can't link it as it is no longer showing on the website but this medley looks really nice; and yes, those white pieces are yogurt bytes.

My Rating:  Another hit for me.  The apples were chewy, the little yogurt bytes added something interesting to the mix and the nuts, well, let's just say they were great, as per usual.

Next snack is Cranberry Pepita Crisp which is described as a cranberry and pumpkin seed pita crisp.  Unfortunately, this is not in a ziplock, so I can't display them for you.  Nature Box recommends pairing these with cheese...I think I may :)

My Rating: I had these with cheese, as it was suggested and wow!  This is a pretty fancy tasting cracker.  I might get them again when I know I have a soirĂ©e coming up.

Next, we have Sriracha Roasted Cashews, how could I resist?  Remember, the first month I tried the Sriracha Popcorn... and I tried to continue my Sriracha craze last month but they were sold out.. so I am sooooo happy to have these on hands now.  Yummy!  You can't deny the Sriracha glazed cashews sounds amazing!

My Rating: cashews are amazing, Sriracha is amazing; put them together and this is fabulous!  Alex wanted me to reorder this, and I promised I will soon.

Next, we have Cherry Berry Bonanza which is a medley of dried cranberries, dried cherries and dried blueberries.  I really enjoy dried fruit, and these three are no exception.  This one was in my recommended pile and I thought, why not?  Loving the colors!

My Rating:  I might be less in dried fruit than I realized..these stayed untouched until the very last day and when the next month's order was delayed, started snacking on them.  They are pretty good.  I just like something extra with my dried fruit...just a preference.  And I guess it goes the same way for Alex since he didn't touch them at all.

Next is Chocolate Hazelnut Granola and I'll admit that my goal is to sprinkle this on top of Greek yogurt.  There's a few big chocolate pieces (though apparently, they all decided to hide at the bottom of the bowl), hazelnuts and all the good stuff you naturally find in granola.  Apparently, tastes just like Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread.

My Rating:  this is the first thing to make it out the window; I paired this with yogurt and I really enjoyed it.  One of my favorite ways of eating granola.

And these are Dark Cocoa Nom Noms.  I don't know why but this name makes me laugh.  These are mini cocoa and oat cookies and they make me think of those two byte brownies.  I'm a self-proclaimed chocoholic so I know these will a win for me.

My Rating:  I loved these cookies, so much so I ended up getting a different flavored Nom-Nom for next month's box.

I asked Nature Box to send me a surprise snack and this month, they picked Kung Pao Pretzels; awesome!  They read my mind.  I was going to order this for next month had this not been my surprise snack.  These are spicy-seasoned waffle pretzels.  As soon as I opened the bag, I told Alex that these smell amazing!  Definitely looking forward to tasting these!

My Rating: these are fantastic and quite addicting.  Alex asked me to order this one again for the next month because he really enjoyed the spices in them.  I didn't hesitate; I did.

Next, we have Pistachio Power Clusters which are nut squares with almonds, cashews and pistachios.  Since I really enjoyed the Cashew Power Clusters two months ago, I am sure these will be a hit just as much.

My Rating:  these were great too; similar to the cashew clusters.  I would definitely get these again in the future.

And, the last snack is Big Island Pineapple which is, you guessed it, dried pineapple rings.  If you've never had dried pineapple, I urge you to try it.  It's one of our favorite dried fruit, which is why, I know these will be appreciated.

My Rating: like the Cherry Berry Bonanza, this was eaten last.  I love pineapples though, and these tasted pretty good too.  I guess I just need to eat my dried fruit in a trail mix...I'll keep that in mind for later.

This concludes my Nature Box for the month of May.  Stay tuned at the end of the month for my snack reviews on this exact post.  As always, any questions or comments are welcomed!  Thanks for reading!

Thursday 5 May 2016

Julep May 2016 Review

I've been out and about lately, so I didn't have much time to actually count down the days til I received my Julep box...but this month is a very special box for me.  So, when I got home and saw my box waiting for me, I was very excited to break it open.  But before I tell you why, let me tell you about Julep.
 Julep is a monthly nail polish and beauty product subscription at a reasonable price of 24.99$/month.  If you sign up on the 3-month plan (pay for three months all at once), it costs 19.99$/month. Subscribers get to pick their choice of beauty product and nail polish on the 20th of every month and get billed on the 27th.  They are also free to skip a month if needed.  You have the opportunity to add items in your box as well and if you add three, you get a bonus gift.  Also, you ave the opportunity to upgrade the box to get a bigger part of the collection, or the whole collection. 

The minute I saw the collection, I knew I had to get them all.
 This month's selection features iridescent rainbow colored nail polishes, and to be sure, I really can't resist anything with shimmer in it.  These colors each draw me in in their own way, so to pick only two of them, was making it too hard on me...and then, well, Those lip oils seem to be exactly what I need at the moment, but how do you choose a color?  Bonus?  A mascara and some nail decals...yep! I needed the whole collection.  I forget how much more I paid to get it (I think 50$ more), but I am so happy to have them, even more so after swatching them!

First this is these nail decals.  Apparently, these show a diamond shape on the nails and can be worn on nude nails or over a base color.  Personally, I'd wear it with a base color.  They look gorgeous and I am definitely looking forward to sporting them.

This Length Matters Mascara (24$) was a featured product as the packaging has been improved.  I am not sure what the previous package looked like but this looks fine.  This mascara promises length, lift and definition to the lashes.  Looking forward to trying it out since mascara is my go to make-up product.

Your Lip Addiction is a tinted lip oil that promises to plump and smooth the lips, promote collagen production and repair dry cracked lips.  I've been having issues with dry lips lately so I knew I needed to get my hands on these.  Each lip oil is valued at 22.00$.  From left to right, we have Covet, Crave, and Obsessed.  I was personally hoping the clear one would be in the box, but nope.  However, the tint is not too dark, so it does match my preferences.

These are all the polishes included in the May 2016 collection.  Each polish is worth 14.00$

Pepper is a cornflower multidimensional shimmer; a very stunning blue with a purple shift.

Wilma is a Mojave sunrise gold chrome polish.  This is absolutely gorgeous!  A soothing neutral.

Mickey is a pink geranium ghost iridescent.  From the picture on the site, I wasn't sure the iridescent shimmer would show but it is quite noticeable in person; there's a beautiful pink/purple shimmer that runs though it.

Francine is a seaglass iridescent chrome polish.  This color is quite attractive; I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.

Regina is a nebula pink iridescent chrome.  I am more tempted to describe it as a lilac purple and this is another unique color.

Summer is a cantaloupe sheer iridescent.  This cannot be described any better.  This color is fantastic too.  I am loving how soft this color is in comparison to other in the collection.

Riley is a firecracker iridescent shimmer.  The glow in this polish is outstanding!  I am definitely looking forward to sporting this color sometime soon.

I got myself some add-ons, as always, I can't resist a free gift.

First thing is Freedom Polymer Top Coat (18$).  I ran out of my previous top coat, so I needed to get a new bottle, end of discussion.  No, but honestly, Julep has the best top coat I have come across so far: nice glossy finish, quick-drying for a smudge-free manicure.  Love it!

Next is Sigourney which is a black holographic stardust.  I personally am a huge fan of stardust finish so if I can get my hands on that collection in my add-ons, I will build it gradually.

Next to that one is Laure which is a blazing red-orange stardust.  So as I already said, I am a fan of stardust finish.  This one is spectacular!!!  I love how bold it looks!

My gift this month was Becky!!! This is an oil slick duochrome silk polish and ever since I laid eyes on this one, I knew I needed to have it.  The fact it's my gift this month is pretty awesome!  I know the oil slickness doesn't really show from the picture, so I urge you to click to see it on Julep website.

Apparently someone joined using my promo-code.  Who ever it is, thank you! I got a 20$ promotion code so I got myself more polish lol (when I look my desk right now, it's covered with 12 polishes + 1 I'll give away...so many options, so little time! haha)

I was a bit sad when I saw Becky was my gift for this month because I had redeemed part of my 20$ on that color.  That goes to show you just how much I wanted that color.  I will be giving the duplicate to a family member or a friend.  Still to be determined.

Second color is Brenna which is a blue glow-in-the-dark iridescent microglitter top coat.  Julep had me at glow-in-the-dark.  I don't know why because I won't really have a need for glow-in-the-dark nails often but I like having the option.

And finally, my last polish is Delores which is an iris lineal liquid holographic polish.  This is another finish I have a hard time resisting...holographic is just so pretty.

That concludes my Julep May 2016 Review.  I will not tabulate the exact numbers for this month as quite frankly, I don't know the exact numbers...69$ for the collection?  19$ for add-ons? 7$ for the last three? If I guestimated right, I paid approximately 100$ for this month...but I got close to 300$ worth of products... sooooo worth it!