PopSugar Luxury Box 2012

It is finally here! The PopSugar Luxury Box made it to my house a day earlier than UPS predicted...I have to love that! I bought this as a graduation gift for myself and it arrived less than a week after I found out I passed my final classes. Yay!

I was so excited while I was unwrapping this that I drove my mother insane :) She kept saying "get to it already!" so of course, I took my time unwrapping everything so slow it was painful.

Everything was individually wrapped in black tissue paper which was great. I would have been disappointed if I opened the box and BAM! everything was right there. I love the suspense!

I started with the smallest item first and so I picked the Heather Belle Cuff. This was a disappointing start to my lux-box :( As you can see in the top left the cuff was misshapen. Some one bent the ends in to the cuff to stuff it in a black velvet bag that was too small and completely ruined the shape. I had to basically unfold the cuff and reshape it. The edges on this cuff are rough, like it wasn't sanded down. Ugh. You can see the cuff on the Heather Belle website here and it sells for $52....wait, what? Really? I would have been more satisfied with just about ANY of the other bracelets on that page that retail for less than that. Not a great start for this box...

Next gift I unwrapped was this Mini Chocolate Bar Library from Vosges. Too cute! The foodies at PopSugar are doing something right! This set of 9 different mini chocolate bars is valued at $25. The bars each have very exotic ingredients like pink pepper corns, grey salt, bacon, chipotle chilies, hemp seeds, Indian curry powder, wasabi, black sesame seeds and green tea. The first one I tried was the Black Pearl bar- ginger, wasabi, and black sesame seeds. The first taste that hits you is the nutty from the seeds (they are whole) and then I got a tickle at the back of my throat which I think is the wasabi. I did not pick up on the ginger...maybe next bite ;)  I am so excited to nibble on every one of these!

Yay! A Nail & Lip Duet from Deborah Lippman!  I have never had a Lippman polish before so I was excited for this inclusion in my lux-box. My colors are Let's Do It (pomegranate sheer lipstick) and My Old Flame (classic creme red polish). I love the box and presentation and while I am not usually a red person, I tried out these colors for the holidays and fell in love with them. The lipstick was sheer and very complimentary to my skin tone and the nail polish was very bright and cheery and resisted chipping for days. This set is valued at $38 and I am now a Lippman product fan!

I knew this was a candle before I even opened the tissue paper :) This Candela by Tocca in Kyoto smells kind of fruity and kind of flowery. I opened the box and read that it is scented with peaches/apricots and the Kinmokusei flower from Japan. The candles are hand poured and come in this gorgeous white glass holder accented with blue and gold. I can't believe it, but this candle actually smells even better when burning! This candle is valued at $38 and boasts a 60-hour burn time.

 

I opened this and immediately loved the simplistic design for this bottle of soap! This Liquid Hand Soap from Compagnie de Provence in Savon de Marseille Extra Pur Figue comes in this large, glass bottle and has the bold French words right on the bottle. I am in love :) The soap is scented with figs, cedar, vanilla, hyacinth and anise and it is made in a cauldron! It is hypo-allergenic, made with natural glycerin, and free of animal-by products and dyes. The soap and bottle are both eco-friendly. I use the tiniest bit of soap (about half the size of a pea) and it was plenty to scrub my hands and up to my elbows and envelop me in a sensuous aroma. This is valued at $24 and will last me for.ev.er.

 This was the second disappointment of the box. This After Bath Moisturizer by Epicuren in Rose Petal could have been a great inclusion for this box, but I really dislike anything rose scented :( I gave this one a whiff and it sure is rosy.  I was so excited because in the information booklet it said Tahitian Vanilla! It had a nice creamy texture on the skin and soaked in quickly and did not leave me feeling greasy. My skin stayed dewy for hours after apply so there is no doubt in my mind that this is a quality lotion.  This bottle is packed with vitamins and antioxidants and is valued at $34.

 

And last surprise was this Clutch from Jewelmint.com. This cute little clutch bag has a very cool top! It looks like a bottle top, but once you lift the cap you can expand the neck to stash all of your goodies. This is definitely a great bag for going out because there is no way your lip gloss or credit card is falling outta there! And I love the vintage look this clutch has. Unfortunately I couldn't find this online anywhere but I know that everything from Jewelmint is $29 so I am going to assume that this falls in that price category. I used this to hold my ID, credit card and2 lipsticks for my dad's birthday dinner. Sadly, it could not fit my iPhone. I am excited to have more reasons to use this!

 

There you have it! The PopSugar Lux-box's total value was around $240 and all products that were included were from brands that were completely new to me. I was really disappointed in the cheap quality of that cuff and the way it was smushed into the little bag and the rose petal scent of the body lotion. The scent, I know, is chosen at random and out of their control :( but it was still a let down. The other items chosen were fantastic! I love the unique clutch, I finally have my very own Lippman polish, the candle smells wonderful, I always appreciate creative chocolate-combos, and I love the French hand soap! Happy graduation to me!

 

Jenn