The “My First Book” series by Sophie Helenek is a great tool to actively engage and interact with your little ones from birth. Consisting of 4 differently themed board books, they introduce younger babies to concepts such as eye stimulation, listening skills, and developing their senses. Toddler-aged kiddos can use them to help with letter/word recognition, memory, spelling, and more. [read more…]
From the Lab Luxury Beauty July 2014 Box Review & $30 Store Credit!
From the Lab is a monthly beauty box that sends you luxury brand beauty products at a drastically lower cost — months before they’re released to the US market.
From the Lab gets its products from some of the same beauty labs that luxury brands develop their lines in. However, they’re able to offer them at a lower cost since they don’t do extensive marketing campaigns or worry about pretty packaging. This also allows them to get the products to you as early as 18 months before they hit the US market.
All of the products offered by From the Lab are held to strict European safety standards and are fully tested and approved before being accepted by them. All of the formulas are also cruelty/animal-free (yay!) and contain only clean ingredients. Each shipment will contain a 30-day supply of 1 to 3 skin care, hair care, or cosmetic items. Boxes are $29.95/month (includes shipping!), or less with longer commitments.
Alright, let’s see what’s in July’s box, shall we? [read more…]
Ecocentric Mom “Mom & Baby” Box July 2014 Review
Ecocentric Mom is a great subscription box service that features mom & baby products that are eco-friendly, natural, organic, and often vegan-friendly. There are 3 different box options to choose from. As always, I received the “Mom & Baby” box. The other two options available are a “Mom-to-Be Box” and just a plain ol’ “Mom” box.
Subscriptions are $24/every-other-month, but they often have discount codes available that are usually good for the life of your sub. (I was able to score a discounted subscription not too long ago and now my boxes are only $18/month. Not bad!)
Let’s see what was inside the July/August “Mom & Baby” box! [read more…]
Conscious Box July 2014 Review & Code for FREE Box!
Conscious Box is a monthly subscription box that features eco-friendly/natural products. Items range from healthy snacks, to natural toothpaste, and everything in between. There are 3 different boxes to choose from: The Vegan Box (which I always get), The Gluten-Free Box, and the Classic Box.
Boxes were always $19.95/month, but they’ve recently announced 2 new box options: The Plus (as low as $16.95/mo) and the Taster (as low as $6.95/mo). The “new & improved” boxes promise to include more full sized items, which is always a good thing.
Let’s see what was inside July’s (vegan) box! [read more…]
Greenlite Plant-Based Meal Delivery Review
Greenlite is a meal delivery service that features fresh 100% plant-based breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. They’re committed to promoting a “healthy, environmentally friendly, cruelty-free lifestyle” through their customizable meal plans.
There are quite a few different options to choose from including weekly meal plans, variety packs, and sampler packs. You can even choose a “snack only” plan to discover some new healthy snacks, or the 3 -day “smoothie cleanse” to help you detoxify without feeling too deprived. Plans are all available for a one-time purchase, or you can choose to subscribe and enjoy discounted pricing.
I was recently sent their “Kickstarter” sampler which includes 7 full meals, as well as 7 snacks. Let’s see what I got! [read more…]
Citrus Lane July 2014 Review #2 and Code for $20 Off First Box!
Here’s my second Citrus Lane box for July. My mom also has a subscription for the girls that she aged up a bit, so I get to review two boxes. Woo! (Sadly, I think this is her last month… Boo.)
Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription for babies/kids aged newborn-5. It’s $29/month (cheaper with longer subs) and includes a nice assortment of toys, books, snacks, toiletries, etc. Sometimes they even include a gift for mom.
This month’s box featured products that are great for travel and “on-the-go”. As always, I had already seen plenty of spoilers and pretty much knew what would be in my box. That said, I was still excited to see (confirm?) what was inside. Also, I have no idea exactly how old my mom aged up her box, so I’m never quite sure what range it falls in.
From the looks of other reviews, I’d say we probably got a 3-year old’s box or close to it. Okay, so let’s see what’s inside, shall we? [read more…]
Ipsy Glam Bag July 2014 Review
Ipsy is a beauty subscription that sends subscribers a monthly “Glam Bag” full of cosmetics and beauty accessories. This is my fourth month with them (you can see my other reviews here).
When you sign up, you take a “beauty quiz” to determine your likes/dislikes, makeup preferences, etc. This helps Ipsy learn which products to send in your Glam Bag. Each bag will contain 4-6 full sized and deluxe sample sized products from top cosmetics brands.
Ipsy is only $10/month and offers a nice rewards program that gives you points for reviewing your products and referring friends to join. Points can be redeemed for “bonus items” in your next bag. Awesome!
Ipsy sends a lot of different variations each month, so you’ll see that other subscribers got totally different products than you did. Hopefully your beauty quiz answers match you with products that most meet your needs… But honestly, even if I only get a couple items that “fit” me, I still consider it a good value since many of them are deluxe samples or full sized. You almost always get your money’s worth (and then-some)!
Let’s see what goodies July’s bag brought… [read more…]
Bulu Box July 2014 Review, 50% Discount Code, & Free Subscription to Women’s Health!
Bulu Box is a monthly subscription box that introduces you to new health, nutrition, and weight loss products. Each box contains 4 to 5 premium samples from a wide range of top brands. Since supplements and weight loss products can be pretty pricey, this is a great box for those who like to “try before you buy”.
There are two different box themes to choose from: The “regular” box and the weight loss box. Both boxes are just $10 a month with free shipping. There’s also a great reward points program that makes it easy (and cheap) to purchase more products. — Each box usually has about 5 products, and when you review them you’ll get 50 points (10 for each product). 50 points = $5.00 to spend on your favorite products in their online shop!
I was recently sent July’s Bulu Box (weight loss) for review. Here’s what was inside… [read more…]
Loot Crate “Villains” July 2014 Review & Discount!
Loot Crate is a monthly subscription box for fans of gamer/geek culture.
Every month you’ll get a box with 6-8 items that can include toys, gear, snacks, hardware, art, accessories, and more! Boxes are $19.37/month (price includes shipping), or less with longer subscriptions.
This is my third month of Loot Crate, and I think this is probably the best one yet! The theme this time is “Villains” and features the “bad guys” of some of the more popular comics/movies/video games. Not only did it include an exclusive comic book and t-shirt, it was also packed with lotsa goodies!
Let’s check it out! [read more…]
bluum July 2014 Review & 50% Off Discount Code
bluum is one of my favorite boxes to open every month. Unlike most of the other “baby/kid” boxes, I never really know what’s going to be inside this one. The contents are based on the age of your kiddo, and boxes tend to vary a LOT. So it pretty much remains a mystery until it reaches my doorstep. (And I LOVE me some mystery boxes!)
For those who aren’t aware, bluum is a monthly subscription box for babies & kiddos from birth through age 5. Each box contains 5 or more products that are responsibly sourced, eco-friendly and often organic.
There used to be monthly “themes”, but they’ve moved away from that and instead curate each box based upon your child’s current age in months. bluum also recently joined forces with Stork Stack, so anyone who had a subscription with them (Stork Stack) will now be receiving boxes from bluum instead.
My girls are currently 23 months old, so the bluum box I received was for 24 months. Okay, let’s see what was in the big red box this time! [read more…]
Beauteque Beauty Bag July 2014 Review & Giveaway! Ends 8/11/14
Beauteque is an online cosmetics and skincare retailer whose mission is to bring you high quality products from around the world. Many of their products come directly from places such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and France. All items are tested for quality and only the best are chosen to be sold in their shop.
They’ve recently (as in this month!) started offering a customizable Beauty Bag as a way of sampling some of their great products. Every beauty bag will have a certain selection of products — BUT — you get to choose which variations/colors you’d like of each one. [read more…]
Farm to People Tasting Box July 2014 Review & 25% Discount Code!
Farm to People in an online shop that offers a nice selection of small batch food, body care, accessories, and more. Their mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover and enjoy small batch artisanal goods.
In addition to being locally crafted in small batches, all of the items sold on their site must also be non-GMO, humanely raised, and contain no artificial ingredients. Their high standards ensure that you’ll be getting the best possible products from some of the most ethical companies out there.
Farm to People recently launched a monthly subscription box that gives you a chance to sample a variety of awesome small batch products in one big curated box of yum. Each shipment will contain 5 to 8 “indie goodies” ranging from sweets, to condiments, to body care and everything in between. Subscriptions are $49.95/month and include free shipping. You can pause your shipments whenever you need to and they’ll even accommodate those who have allergies/dietary restrictions (yay!).
I recently received July’s Tasting Box and was excited to see what was inside. Let’s check it out! [read more…]
Citrus Lane July 2014 Review & Code for $9 Box!
*As of December 2015, Citrus Lane is no longer in business. If you’re looking for an alternative, bluum is a great choice. — You can see my reviews of them here. With bluum, you can choose your own products and build your own box. They feature the same great brands, plus you can save $10 on your first month with coupon code “MRVA286CCE“.*
Yay! Citrus Lane time! This is one of my favorite boxes and one of the first I ever subscribed to.
Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription for babies/kids aged newborn-5. It’s $29/month (cheaper with longer subs) and includes a nice assortment of toys, books, snacks, toiletries, etc. Sometimes they even include a gift for mom.
This month’s box featured products that are great for travel and “on-the-go”. As always, I had already seen plenty of spoilers and pretty much knew what would be in my box. That said, I was still excited to see (confirm?) what was inside.
Our box is geared towards a 23-month year old girl and here’s what we got… [read more…]
Love With Food Box July 2014 Review, Gluten-Free Announcement & Code for FREE Box!
Love With Food time again! The theme this month is “Happy Camper” and features snacks that are great to take along on your summertime adventures. (Cute theme, but really, all LWF boxes feature snacks that could be deemed adventure-worthy. Just sayin’.)
Love With Food is only $10/month (plus $2 shipping) for their “standard” box (this one). They also have a “deluxe” box for $19.95/month (free shipping). With every box purchased, Love With Food donates a meal to a person in need. Everyone wins! Plus — this month they’ve teamed up with 2 Degrees Food and are donating twice the amount of meals! Yay!
Okay, let’s see what adventure-friendly snacks they’ve included for your summertime fun… [read more…]
Founded 1776 “Sweet Freedom” Box July 2014 Review
Founded 1776 is a brand new subscription box that’s dedicated to all things American made. The company’s mission is to make it easy for everyone to discover great “household goods and lifestyle accessories” made right here in the USA. Cool!
The boxes are released quarterly, with this one (July) being the very first. Each box will include 3-4 curated products with a retail value of at least $35. This isn’t a “typical” subscription box in that it doesn’t include food, beauty items, or other standard fare. They only send high quality, thoughtfully designed products that are also vegan friendly (woo!).
I recently received their debut box for review, so let’s have a look-see! [read more…]