PopSugar Must Have July 2013 Review

The PopSugar Must Have box is a monthly subscription - for $35 a month, you get 5-6 full sized products that can range from health to beauty to home. It's an interesting box given the scope it covers and I kept an eye on it for quite a few months to see what kind of stuff they sent out. I subscribed in May for the first time and the box was kind of hit and miss with me. There were 2 products I loved (a lip balm and a hat), but the rest of it was kind of meh. So, I unsubscribed. The next month came out with a really amazing scarf that I really wish I had gotten, and then I heard that July would be PopSugar's 1 year anniversary with the Must Have box, so I decided to bite again. Because of course it would be an extra special box this month!
Well, I, along everyone else it seems, was wrong about which month would be the anniversary box. Unfortunately, they didn't announce anything about it until a few days ago, when they said August would be the anniversary box. :( I was a bit bummed, but I hoped I'd still find something I liked in July's box.

Opening the box

My first item was a package of HannahMax Baking Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips. Valued at about 5.99, these were really tasty. I don't think I'd pay that much to buy more, but I definitely enjoyed the bag I got. Light, but chocolatey!

HannahMax Baking cookie chips

Next up, was a box of Mighty Leaf Iced Tea in Calypso Mango. Valued at $6.25, the box comes with 4 tea bags that each make a 1/2 gallon of iced tea. I'm intrigued by the flavor variety I got, but I can be kind of picky about iced tea. Plus, I've given up caffeine since I've noticed I get fewer headaches without it, so I dunno. This one's kind of meh for me. I might whip some up when my parents come to visit next month though!

Mighty Leaf iced tea

Next, was a Tovolo King Cube ice tray valued at $8.50. We do use ice trays at the moment because the ice maker in our fridge is broken, but this takes up a lot of space for only 6 cubes. Granted you only need one at a time, but we'll see. It's marketed as useful for alcoholic beverages - the larger cubes melt more slowly and therefore dilute your drink less, but neither I nor my husband really drinks that much, so these'll probably go into water or soda or something. I'll have to see if it's worth the space it'll take up.

Tovolo King cube tray

One of the 2 items I was actually excited to see was an ncLA nail polish in As If! This is a 5-free polish in a beautiful light purple. I'm actually wearing it as I type this (only in one picture in this post though)! I like it, but it definitely needed more than one coat. The first coat went on super streaky. After the second coat and a topcoat, it looks fine. It seems nice enough. I'm not sure I'd pay $16 for another, but I like it and I'm glad to add it to my collection.

ncLA polish in As If!

 

The other product I was excited to see was Supergoop SPF 30 Anti-aging City Sunscreen Serum. I've heard great things about this sunscreen, and at $42 a tube, I should hope it's amazing. I do have pretty sensitive skin, so hopefully my skin will be ok with this. It is oxybenzone- and paraben-free, so that's a plus. I think I'll try mixing it with my BB cream - I love the L'oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB cream, but it tends to look a little dry unless it's mixed with moisturizer plus it doesn't have any SPF, so we'll see if they combine well. And, hey, this is the brand (not sure if it's the same product, but at least the same brand) that Stork Stack forgot to put samples of in our box, so now I get a full size!

Supergoop SPF 30 anti-aging city sunscreen serum

And finally, we got a Rose Double Curb Chain necklace from Baublebar (value $28). Hmm. Well, I do love the color. I think rose gold is pretty and a nice change from all the white gold and silver I wear. But, this is a thick, heavy chain. It makes me think of rappers and choke collars. I tried it on and I kept going back and forth between "man, that's a big chain, nope." and "well, maybe it's not too bad if my shirt is really really plain or something". Really, I'm not sure it's something I'll ever wear out in public. Mostly because of how it looks, but also because I already wear 3 necklaces everyday that I just don't take off. A delicate E charm for my daughter, a carved owl that my hubby bought me from Etsy, and a deer charm with the word "Always" also from my hubby (if you get that reference, you're awesome). So, I'd have to take those off to put this thing on. Nope. We did also get a 20% off coupon to the Baublebar website (referral link), and they do actually have a lot of really cute stuff - I like a lot of their rings and bracelets, so I think that's something I will use. 

Baublebar rose double curb chain necklace

July 2013 PopSugar Must Have box

So, overall, this box was also kind of hit and miss with me. At least mostly useful though. It has a value of about $106.74, which is definitely over the $30 I paid for it (I used a code to get 5 off - listed below!). I have seen a lot of really cool stuff with this subscription over the months that I was watching content spoilers, so I know it's definitely a way to get some really cool stuff. I'm hoping next month will hit the mark a bit better with me - I've already seen one spoiler that I like: 

This is a much more delicate looking necklace. I really like it. And that one I could probably layer with at least my E charm necklace. So, I'm definitely sticking around for at least another month to see what they've got cooking for their real anniversary box! If you're interested in signing up, please use my link! If you do, you can use code REFER5 to get $5 off your first month! Unfortunately, it looks like August is sold out, so the first month you'd get would be Sept, but there's a box you can check to be put on a wait list for August if it becomes available. I know quite a few people got in for July, so it's certainly not impossible!


(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own. I included 2 referral links, but I also included a non-referral link at the top.)