Pop Sugar Must Have October 2014 Subscription Box Review

There were a lot of issues surrounding the Pop Sugar box this month that resulted in multiple emails being sent out to acknowledge these issues. I always stalk the ladies at MUT to see if anyone got their box early, and a lot of people posting on there were very frustrated for one reason or another. I happened to be one of the people that never got shipment confirmation or notifications, but my box did happen to show up last night! Hopefully next month, everything will go smoother for them.

What’s in the box:

 Butter London Wink Eye Pencil- $18

I already have about 7 or 8 of Butter London’s nail polish and I absolutely love it, but I’ve never tried any of their other makeup items. This is one of their blendable eye pencils in the color Earl Grey. It has a slight shimmer to it, but I do actually really like the way it looks…it’s a really dark grey which is a great alternative to wearing black all the time. This liner also says it sets in 30 seconds (and that you can blend it out) and wears for 24 hours, so I’m going to try it out today and see if it actually does last all day.

Happy Socks- $12

My socks from last year with the ones from the Pop Sugar box

Soooo….the company I work for sold this brand last year, so I already knew I loved these before I got them because I already have 3-4 pairs of them! In fact, I have a pair that are very similar. I love these to wear with booties for a pop of color underneath jeans, or to wear with riding boots. They are also perfect to wear with pj’s while you cozy up by the fireplace with a warm cocoa.

 Hall Designs Shoreline Shea Butter/Olive Oil Bar Soap- $10

This soap smells really good. And even though it doesn’t scream “fall” scent, it does have something in there that reminds me of the holidays. (I don’t even know why because it totally has a beachy scent to it.) I don’t use bar soap at all, so I’m considering turning this into a liquid soap or gifting it over the holidays. Side note: this brand also makes the Barr-Co. products, which I already love.

Dean & Deluca Pumpkin Spice Malt Balls- $5.75

I already love boutique style candies, and since mine didn’t come melted like a lot of other subscribers seemed to get, these were great. I don’t think they taste super “pumpkiny,” however, they do taste like the “spices” you do associate with pumpkin. Either way, I think they are delicious…I’m also not really picky when it comes to chocolate. (Also, Happy National Chocolate Day!!!)

Mine Design Chalkboard Candle- $24

I agree with other subscribers that it would have been nice to get a candle with a fall scent this month, but I do love the concept of this candle. I can change the design anytime I want with the chalk that was provided, and once my candle is completely burned, I can even reuse the ceramic container (maybe for my makeup brushes…I’ll figure something out). My candles scent is pomegranate, but for some reason it smells like a fresh spring scent…not really reminiscent of fall, but I’ll still use it!

Isaac Jacobs International Acrylic Frame- $36

I’ve seen these frames before (probably not this brand), and thought they were cool, but never wanted to spend the money on them. I don’t really have too many pictures to frame either, but I’ll probably use this for something…or I’ll gift it during the holidays. Either way, it’s nice.

Nailed Kit Halloween Decals- $8

So, I was thinking that I was lucky when I saw that my box arrived last night, because I was getting to actually use these decals before it was actually Halloween…I’m sure some subscribers are going to be upset when they get their October boxes in November, because that makes this product worthless until next year. However, my nail decals weren’t in the box! I didn’t get them at all!!! So yeah, it’s on the list of things in the box, yet, I didn’t get them in my box at all…so I guess I’ll be contacting Pop Sugar about that.

The Blue Jean Bar Blue Jean Box- $40 dollars off box

This is a unique coupon code for $40 dollars of the subscription box service offered by The Blue Jean Bar. It’s similar to the other clothing subscription services where there is a stylist that curates your box and mails it to you, and then you choose what to keep and what to mail back, and you only pay for what you keep. I may or may not try this out…if I do, I’ll post it on here. I’m conflicted though, because I work for a denim company, so I’m not sure I want to try this out since it focuses on denim, which I don’t need.

Overall Thoughts on the October Box:

I did like the items I got in my box this month, though it was lackluster compared to other previous boxes. This may be because I was reading all the negative comments about how this month didn’t go by so smoothly in terms of billing and shipping since their new website launch. But I’m torn, because I will use everything I got in this box in some way, even if it’s by gifting it. And past boxes with bigger ticket items are either a hit or miss. But who knows, I definitely understand that these boxes can’t please everyone. Hopefully next months box will be awesome!

Value of box: $105.75

(Not including the $8 Nailed Kit decals since I didn’t get those, or the $40 off BJB Express coupon since not everyone will use that)

Bows and Arrows,

Lynda