MunchPak Mini Unboxing October 2015

As mentioned in the Subscription Changes post, I will be reviewing snack boxes in the next few months and do a comparative analysis.  The first box I reached out to was MunchPak.  This subscription is pretty neat as it offers a variety of options:

• MunchPak Mini offers 5-6 snacks at 9.95$
• Original MunchPak offers 10+ snacks at 19.95$
• MunchPak Family Pack offers 20+ snacks at 39.95$

Shipping was 5.00$ for me (being in Canada) but I am uncertain if it's the same for different sizes or different countries.  I am reviewing the MunchPak Mini.  Here's how I'll proceed with these kinds of reviews.  I will first post the contents and I'll come back at a later date to ad how I enjoyed each snack.  If you're interested in finding out about taste tests, you'll need to come back to this post in a couple of weeks.

First, I must take a moment to comment on this box: how cute is this box?  I love it!

It has a little card that says who prepared my box.  Thank you, Pat, for selecting such intriguing snacks!

First item is Bake Rolls Tomato Olive Oregano retailing at 3.00 on MunchPak website.  These look pretty tasty and I'm looking forward to adding these to our lunches next week.  I've had bagel crackers before, and this seems just like them.

Taste Test: Alex and I both loved these.  In fact, Alex even wants to order some more online.  Very flavorful.

Next, we have Lotte Kancho retailing at 2.00$ on the Munchpak website. This is a cookie with chocolate filling.  If you've had those panda-cookies in the past, this seems just like them. I am a big fan of anything chocolate, so there will surely be enjoyed.

Taste Test: these were great!  Got surprised as I was expecting the chocolate to be a little bit more liquid but it was still quite tasty.

The third snack, I needed the assistance of MunchPak to determine what it was.. It's Umaibo Corn potage stick retailing at 1.00$ on the MunchPak website.  It seems to be the consistency of a giant cheese puff and apparently tastes just like corn.  I am intrigued.  According to the website, this is a popular Japanese snack.

Taste Test:  Our favorite snack, hands down!  We are going to T&T  to see if we can find more.

Next we have some Lotte Nude Pepero Sticks retailing at 3.00$ on the MunchPak website.  If you've heard of Pocky, this is its cousin.  It is a biscuit stick with chocolate filling inside.  More chocolate!  These will defenitely be enjoyed!

Test Taste: We both really enjoyed these.  Our second favorite snack in here.  I think the reverse Pocky is pretty interesting as a concept...and flavor was awesome!

And the last snack in the box is Barni Cake Bar With Milk Cream retailing at 2.00$ on the MunchPak website. This is a vanilla sponge cake filled with milk cream and apparently in the shape of a teddy bear.  Another win, in my opinion.

Test Taste: very good but surprising.  I was expecting the cream filling to be more fluffy for some reason..but it ended up being toffee like.  I enjoyed the taste and texture!

Honestly, I am pretty satisfied with the 5 snacks that were in my MunchPak Mini: they are all pretty intriguing, we've got two savoury snacks and three sweets, and the value is bang on for what you pay for the box.  I might consider keeping this one going after my reviews seeing how balanced this box is.  Maybe a subscription the the Original MunchPak?  We shall see.  Remember to check back in for the taste test opinions.

As always, any questions or comments are welcome.  Hope you have yourself an excellent weekend!

Rainbow Honey October 2015 Unboxing

I received my October Rainbow Honey Mystery Bag today and, as always I was really excited to open this up.  For the first time in the last 3 months, I did not sneak peak at other reviews, I just patiently waited for my envelope and made this a real mystery bag :)  This month does not disappoint! 
Rainbow Honey Mystery Bag is a lovely subscription from an indie nail polish company that sends you 6 products (usually three nail polishes and 3 beauty care like lotion, lip balm, cuticle oil, etc.) per month.  It's 10$/month for the mini and 25$/month for the large size.  I opt for the mini since I never ever finish a nail polish so I thought it would be a better deal for me.  Shipping is free for US and 6.95$ for Canadians. There's also other options available for the subscription; you can opt for only beauty products or only nail care products.

 Here's what the package looked like this month:

 Here are the first three products:

First there's Fall Bouquet Bubble Bath: promising refreshed and soft skin while relaxing in aromas of apples, wild berries and fall flowers.  I won't lie; as soon as I opened the envelope and I saw this item in here, I started running a bath just so I could experience it for myself...gotta test these products right? ;)  I have to admit, it does exactly what it promises and it does smell pretty good.  One win!

Next product is The Bubbly lip balm: with maracuja oil and vitamin E.  I wish I could give you flavor notes, but unfortunately, this was not included in the pamphlet.  I assume it's only champagne flavor...It does smell nice and it does leave the lps rather soft after application.

Third one is The Bubbly Solid Perfume:  again, there's no fragrance notes noted on the pamphlet so I'll just say it smells like champagne.  I love it though.  The scent is strong, but in a good way.. it won't fade on you quickly.

 

And Then there's the nail polishes:

First there's La Isla Morada described as a purple lacquer sprinkled with black glitters and white shards.  It's quite beautiful and will surely be wearing it soon enough.

Then there's Magic Brix described as a shiny brick-red creme.  I personally would consider this more on the orange side but it's still quite a beautiful color.

And the last polish is My Midnight Garden described as a deep midnight emerald green with a hint of blue shimmer.  I have to disagree on the description... at least, to my eyes, I do not see any green in this polish.  I'd say it's a midnight blue.  However, I do have to add, this is my favorite item in this bag.  It is so sparkly, so beautiful, I just HAVE to put it on my nails right now.

That concludes my October 2015 Rainbow Honey unboxing. As always, any questions or comments are welcomed :)

Changes in subscriptions

I`ve been thinking about my subscriptions recently and realizing I`m not necessarily putting my money in the right subscriptions...let me explain.

Although I really love Rainbow Honey Mystery Box, I just tend to reach out to my Julep nail polish more just because I love their formula better.  So that said, I will stick with Rainbow Honey until December (my last unboxing will be in December 2015) and then I`ll cancel it to sign up with Julep.

Next subscription I am questioning is Ipsy.  Don`t get me wrong,  I have nothing wrong to say about Ipsy, they are fantastic.  I mean, you seriously can`t go wrong with getting 50$ worth of make-up for 10$ a month.  It`s pretty cool.  The issue is, I often forget to put make-up on...so then I ask myself, why am I subscribed to something I seldom use.  Also, Julep often adds make-up items in their box, so I thought I might as well hit two birds with one stone.  My last Ipsy Bag will be in December 2015.

Alex and I were discussing how we never did end up signing up for a board game box and how that was one thing missing in our mail.  So I recently signed up for Awesome Pack Big Kid Edition and we will be getting our first box this month.  I`ll explain more about this when I review the box.  Alex also agreed that he may add posts to my blog about games we own and how to play.  He might even be the one that does the Awesome Pack review...we will see.

Finally, you will be seeing a big amount of snack boxes in the upcoming months.  My goal is to try a new snack box per month and review them and decide when I`ve pretty much tried them all which one I want to stick with.  (basically, I`ll be signing up for one month for each boxes and evaluate my favorite one once I`ve tried them all).  This process will be fun and I`ll have Alex`s input to include in these reviews too.  Looking forward to trying this out.

I`m sticking with my FabFitFun and Fortune Cookie Soap subscriptions because I truly enjoy both of these and use most of the items in the box. 

Next thing I want to say is, if you`re subscribed to something I`m not subscribed to and would like to become an author in this blog, please let me know.  I am more than willing to increase the number of authors in my blog. 

As always, I welcome any questions and/or comments.  Have a great evening!

FabFitFun Fall 2015

FabFitFun could not have come at a better time this season than yesterday.  Seeing that I was called for an interview today (it went well, I think), I was looking forward to having a few of the spoilers on hand to help boost my confidence.  This month's box is different and the design in brought you by  AllState Foundation Purple Purse to help spread awareness against domestic and financial abuse.  Being a psychotherapist, I am sensitive to topics like this and am very happy to participate in this kind of awareness.  More on this later.

  For those who are not familiar with FabFitFun, it is a quarterly subscription box (once per season) that is geared towards women who love beauty, fitness and lifestyle items.  I have been subscribed to FabFitFun for more than a year now and I have been pretty satisfied with the curation of the boxes.  They cost 49,99$ per box and easily packs four times the cost with items that vary from skin care, to fitness DVDs, to make-up, etc.  I've inserted my referral link above if you're interested in trying it out.  Prices written down are based on the FABFITFUN booklet and not the websites I am linking.

Since I already spoke about AllState Foundation Purple Purse, I will speak of their awareness product included inside the box:

This Purple Purse Charm runs at 10$ and is a donation in support of domestic and financial abuse awareness.  All you need to do is clip it to your purse to show your support.  I find this tassel very cute and fitting.  I have already clipped it on my purse.

Next item was one of the spoilers: Tribe Alive Glass Crystal Bead Bracelet that runs at 49$.  I can't find this bracelet specifically on their website but I linked Tribe Alive so you can browse other styles.  This company is so special as it gives opportunities to impoverished women to learn the jewelry making trade and provide them with sustainable income.  I wasn't sure if this bracelet would fit me since it looks so small but it definitely does.  I got it in the color light blue and other colors available were:indigo,gray and white.

This FabFitFun X Tappan Collective Umbrella runs at 32$ and is super cute!  It has an awesome design on it with the words "Rain Rain Go Away" plastered all over the umbrella.  Today was prefect weather to use this beauty as it was raining on and off.  I love it!  This umbrella was available in a variety of colors including: yellow, pink, orange, blue and black.  This umbrella was FabFitFun exclusive and not for sale on Tappan Collective at the moment.

The HISY Battery Pack runs at 24.99$ and is super useful.  This was the first spoiler and I have to admit, I was so excited to get it, I automatically shared the news with Alex.  This little gadget is a life saver.  If you have a cell phone, than you will agree that there's nothing worse than waiting for an important call only to realize your battery is running low.  This little gadget will help you recharge your cell battery when you're on the go and away from outlets!  This is so practical! Colors available were: mint green, pink/red or blue.

We had another spoiler for this item, Gold Radiance Luxury Facial Mask by Passport To Beauty and it is worth 65$.  This facial mask is excellent to rejuvenate, improve circulation and skin elasticity and soothe skin.  It's not for anything this is the new "in" thing.  This was one of the items I was looking forward to trying out and since I wanted to look fresh for my interview today, I used one up last night.  My skin was super soft, tighter and brighter.  I love this product and wish it wasn't so expensive because I'd definitely run out to buy more.

Another semi-spoiler was this Manna Kadar Cosmetics Lucky Lip Stain that runs at 24$.  At first I was uncertain I would like this item; I'm not big on lipstick and much prefer lip gloss.  However, I only had to try it on once to be sold.  This is a light color that matches my lip color perfectly, it primes my lips, gives them a gloss and lightly stains them.  A perfect interview lip color, in my opinion.  I also ate pizza and drank a glass or water and when I wiped my lips my meal, the color was still there!  Impressive!  My new favorite lip product, hands down!

We also got this Strength Tubing Ankle and Total Body Tone with Tubing: Lower Body and Core DVD by Merrithew valued at 33$.  I'm not big on workout DVDs, so this will likely be something I'll try to swap out.  But I am fully aware I'm not part of the majority on this one. 

Then there's Flawless Skin Fluid by Doctor D. Schwab running at 39$.  It's a daily facial moisturizer, quite light weight and I really like how it feels on my face.  It promises younger looking skin, and I have to agree, after using it once, my skin did look pretty good.  (could also be the gold mask, mind you)

I got a few gift certificates too.
First one is 15$ at Jeweler's Wife and honestly, I would have so used this up if the free shipping extended to International shipping too.  It made no sense for me to use the certificate and pay 30$ of shipping.  So unfortunately, this will be a swap item too.

The other one is a 75$ gift certificate at Picture It On Canvas.  This is a great gift!  I ended up paying around 20$ for shipping but it's ok, I get two custom mugs for Alex and I.  I love the idea.

Sponsored Item this month was a sample of Crest 3D White Brilliance 2-Step System.  I used this up this morning and I must admit the whitening effect is seen from the first time being used.  I love my organic toothpaste but I must admit, I am considering buying this product so much I am impressed.  Good job, Crest!

And that does it!  This box is valued at 357$ and I only paid 49.99$.  I'd consider that a steal!  And I'm also pretty happy with the majority of the box.  Looking forward to seeing what my Winter Box as in store for me!

Ipsy September 2015 Unbagging

After spending two full days of workshops and feeling mentally drained, seeing the pink envelope peaking through my mailbox let me know I was in for a treat tonight!

If you`re not sure what Ipsy is, it`s a make-up subscription where you get to try out  beauty products every single month for the price of $10US.  For Canadians, Ipsy is a tad more (about 19$Canadian) taking in consideration US-Canadian conversion and shipping. The value of the items in the bag can double or triple the amount you pay per month, which makes this subscription, in my opinion, one of the best beauty subscriptions out there.  You also collect points each month, and, you can redeem them on other products you`d like to try out. To subscribe to Ipsy, you can click here (this gives me referral points) or you can subscribe directly with them if you prefer on their website.

Before we get into the bag and its contents, I did en up redeeming some points this month and got this item:

 Oleum Natural Glow for Combination Skin is 45$ for 1 oz.  This small vial is of 0.5oz which makes this item worth a whopping 22.50$.  Hard to believe when you look at the size of it but I am definitely looking forward to trying it out.  Apparently you apply a generous amount of oil to the face and ,massage into pores for several minutes and then place a warm cloth over the face for 30 seconds and wipe off.  Simple enough.

And this is the make up bag for September and its contents.  General first impression is: I'm pretty excited about what I see!

First item I pull out of the bag is:

J Cat Beauty #MOTD Waterproof Slide  on Pencil for Eyes in Bronze this is a Full Size and it is valued at 3.99$.  I was in need of a new eye liner so I am pretty happy to give this one a try.  Also, I keep hearing my favorite youtubers talk about J. Cat and I have been curious to try the brand out.  I'll have a picture of swatch with the swatches of the next item.

Nyx Cosmetics Ipsy Eye Shadow Trio is valued at 6$.  these a gorgeous earthy tones that will suit anybody.  Can barely see the lighter color on my skin but its nice and shimmery.  Medium color is sure to make my hazel eyes pop and the darkest is great for smoking out the look.  Loving this as I was using my Tarte Bronzer as eye shadow lately since I had to throw out the only eye shadow I had left after I got sick.  Bottom line on my hand is the J. Cat Eye Liner.

I got a Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush valued at 17.50$.  Another awesome item!  I'm looking forward to using this with the previous item and rocking a nice creased look. (it's on special right now if you're interested at 6.99$).  I have brushes that were sent to me before but this one is fantastic!  Love how soft it feels!

Next item is Avene Soothing Moisture Mask is 26$ for 50ml.  My sample is of 5ml so it is worth 2.60$.  Since we are to apply a thick coat of this on the face per use, this was only good for one use.  I don't know if I'm the only one that thought this?  Any way, I am not complaining.  I did use it and it is very moisturizing!  I'd get this again in a heartbeat if I ever came across it in Canada.

I saved the best for last!!!

Trust Fund Beauty Nail Polish in Elegantly Wasted valued at 15$.  I envied whoever got this in their Ipsy bag last month, and who can blame me, look at this color!  It is an awesome dark lilac color and it's perfect for Fall but also perfectly ok for spring.  And the brush is thick which makes it so easy to apply the polish.  Also the formula is fantastic, cruelty-free, non-toxic, vegan and 7-free.  I'm a total fan!  It's already on my nails :)

When we sum up the value of the items, it comes up to 45.09$ which is over double what I paid for the subscription.  Add the redeemed item to the total and the value is 3.5X more than what I paid for at 67.59$.  I am seriously impressed! and Absolutely looking forward to see what next month has in store for me.

As always, any comments or questions are welcomed.