FabFitFun Review Fall 2013

I canceled my FabFitFun subscription after the summer box. I liked it, but none of it was stuff that I "needed" and $50/quarter is kind of pricey. Lo and behold, I won an extra box from a blog sweepstakes. Woohoo! I was so freaking excited! Here's my attempt at a full box picture.

Not bad, right? Okay, onto individual item photos.

Let's get these boring box extras out of the way first: Awkward Family Photos game sample, FabFitFun sticker (where would I put this), and Gorjana coupon code ($25 off, but nothing is that cheap at Gorjana). There was also an information card, and an ad for Bliss spas, along with something about breast cancer awareness.

Drinkwel Samples ($2.95) These are supposed to help your body process alcohol better, improve liver function, etc. So, basically these are vitamins for people that drink. I will be happy to try them out. Two sample packets are free on the Drinkwel site, but they charge $2.95 shipping, so I will value these at $2.95 since that's what they would cost me.

Health Warrior Chia Bar in Apple Cinnamon ($1.57) I haven't tried this yet. I'm a little nervous about the chia seeds. Hopefully this is at least edible though!

Standing Slim Barre3 Workout DVD ($19.95) This was a really awkward item to photograph because of the reflective surface of the DVD case. I'm not sure how to take better pictures of this! I haven't tried this yet, but I am super curious about barre workouts so I am thrilled to get this. Some nights it's just too rainy to drag your butt to the gym!

SpaRitual Nail Polish in Can You Dig It? ($12) I have some nude polishes but I don't think I have a truly brown one so this will be nice to test out and add to my collection. I really like the grippiness of the handle too. So comfortable!

Gorjana Canary Scarf ($57) I grabbed this picture from the Gorjana site, so image credit to them. My photography just couldn't do it justice, but you can see my scarf poking out at the back of my full box picture. As you can see, it's a way darker grey in person. What a pretty scarf though! The pink makes it hard to wear, but I will wear it! It is on the lighter side, technically more of a fall or spring scarf but I can see myself wearing it in the wintertime too. A light scarf is still warmer than no scarf at all which is what I usually do!

Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Naturals Classic Butter & Sea Salt Popcorn ($2.99) Is it weird that I am super excited for this? I am curious about the gourmet naturals line and I love those pop-up bowls! They have a garlic flavor too. Yum!

Surface Trinity Protein Cream ($24) I am always game for more stuff to smooth my hair and this has awesome reviews. I can't wait to try it!

Starlooks Palette in St. Tropez ($41) This palette has a really terrifying yellow color, a peach, a rust, and a black. It includes a more neutral cream color but all the others do not look like they'd be flattering. I'll give it a try, but I'm not optimistic about this one.

Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Cleansing Foam ($28) Oh my gosh, I love this! I haven't tried it yet, but I love cleansers and I am thrilled that this is full size. I will use the heck out of this!

This box is about $190 value, and I paid nothing for it since I won it! What a stellar deal for me!! I am so excited about getting the fall box even though I decided not to go for it. It was such a nice surprise and I will use almost everything in the box. Definitely a winner here!

Fab Fit Fun Summer Box Review 2013

This box was supposed to ship by June 20th, and I just got it today. Mine didn't end up shipping until July 6th, with no communication about the late shipment. Not a great way to start out the summer (especially after all the spring fiascos), but I did get the box, so let's take a look!

First look--LOTS of that pink packing material in there. LOTS. I had to dig around for a few minutes to get everything out of it. Nothing arrived broken, though!

Ivory + Mason Sunglasses in Trudel ($135) These are just...terrible. I'm not very picky when it comes to sunglasses, but these are literally child size. My head isn't really bigger than normal, and other people have mentioned the same issue, so I don't think I'm alone. Maybe I can wear these in the car or something. Certainly not a $135 value. You can exchange them for $10 plus return shipping, but I don't think it's really worth the trouble.

Purlisse Pur-Delicate Gentle Soy Milk Cleanser ($36) I would never pay $36 for cleanser. Unless it was maybe a three pack or something. That's what's great about boxes like this, though. I never would have paid for it, but at such a steep discount, I'm lucky enough to get to try it.

Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Facial Towelettes ($2.99) I actually got these in my very first PopSugar box (September 2012), and I wasn't a fan. I love makeup wipes, but every time I used these my face would start burning. I never have had any kind of reaction like that before, but I guess maybe I'm allergic to something in them. I like the idea, just not this specific product.

Infinity Sun Glow on the Go Sunless Tanner ($45) I'm not a fan of subscription boxes sending sunless tanners. Number one, what about people who already have dark skin. It seems a little exclusionary to send out a product people can't use based on the color of their skin. Two, what about people who actually are happy being pale? I wouldn't mind a little bit of a glow in the summer, but I shower so often that these products are usually more trouble than they are worth. That being said, I don't have any tanning products, so I guess I'll give this a shot.

Evian Facial Spray ($12) If you look at the ingredients for this, it's literally water. Yep, just water. $12 for a spray can of water. I did test this out in a Sephora once and it was refreshing, so I'll totally use it...but I would never buy it normally since it just seems like such a scam.

It Hair Care Surf Spray ($6.99) I already have wavy hair, so I didn't really know what kind of an effect a salt spray like this would have. I haven't ever purchased one even though I've been curious, so I was happy to be able to try it out. It really didn't seem to do much to my hair unfortunately, but it does smell really nice and it did define my waves just a bit.

Orly Nail Polish in Harmonious Mess ($8.50) I really like this color, but I already have a lot similar to it, including the one I just got in PopSugar this week. So basically this is a duplicate item that I don't really need a duplicate for. I'm sure a friend will use it though!

I took a photo just to show how similar these two colors are. So unfortunate!

KIND Bar in Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt ($1.99) I have tried KIND bars before, and they were just okay. This flavor looks like it's right up my alley, though!

Catalina Su Lip Gloss ($14) There's no color name on this unfortunately, but it appears to be a nice medium pink shade. I would strongly prefer pretty much any lip product over lip gloss: balm, scrub, stain, balm stain, lipstick...you name it. Gloss dries out my lips and is just so sticky. That's just my personal opinion of glosses though. I wish I had a friend that was a lip gloss fiend, because she would totally get all my extra lip glosses.

So, technically, this box has a $262 value, which is pretty amazing all things considered. I wouldn't count the sunglasses in my calculations unfortunately, but that's still a great deal and most of the items will get used. I'm not sure yet if I'll be sticking around for fall, but I am pretty curious to see what seasonal items they come up with! I think I much prefer fall/winter boxes to spring/summer ones.

If you're also interested in the fall box (or the summer one; I don't think they're sold out quite yet), click here. (Not a referral link.)

FabFitFun Spring

FabFitFun, a new subscription service endorsed by Giuliana Rancic, seemed to be a hot competitor for PopSugar a few weeks ago. But on the heels of its spring release, will it remain successful?

I did happen to subscribe to FabFitFun when it first was announced, and therefore received the spring box, on sale for $40. The regular price is $50, and FabFitFun comes out once a quarter. Let's take a peek at what was sent out.

• Moroccanoil Argan Oil. $43. I love the way this smells and I can't wait to see if this does any wonders on my hair! It comes with a pump which is a great feature.
• Zoya Nail Polish, in FabFitFun Fuschia. $8. I love Zoya already, and this color will be perfect for summer.
• ThinkThin Nutrition Bar, in Creamy Peanut Butter. $2. Eesh. I tried this in January's PopSugar and it was NOT good.
• Jouer Lip Gloss, .11 oz in Rose Glisten. $13. Well...it's pink. It's sparkly. It's lip gloss. I don't really care for lip gloss (it's so sticky and it doesn't moisturize), and the glitter in this made my lips itch. It didn't look bad, but it didn't look good either. It added some shine to my lips but the itchiness was a huge turnoff and you could still see the glitter once it was applied to my lips.
• TooFaced Lash Injection Mascara, .13 oz. $5.57. I have horribly stubby eyelashes, so I try every mascara I can get my hands on. Can't wait to try this, and I don't mind that it's a mini--once I'm done with it I can move on to the next mascara on my list!
• GoSmile Teeth Whitening Pen, $22. I'm not patient enough for strips or the dentist, so here's to hoping this does the trick. Brush onto teeth, wait twenty minutes, and repeat every day for a week or two. Sounds pretty foolproof, right?
• JewelMint Earrings, $0. Well, these are the big failure of the box for me (for anyone probably). These are obviously rejected earrings from a few years back. They are NOT attractive. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing them. Oh, and FabFitFun doesn't even know if my ears are pierced. Not to mention one of the earring backs was missing when they arrived. Technically, JewelMint and FabFitFun values these at $29.99. But honestly, that's a joke. This is stock that they couldn't EVER sell; I'll never wear them; they arrived with an earring back missing. For these reasons I value these at $0.

Okay, so, total box value, as calculated by me, is $93.57. Not bad, since I paid only $40 for the box, but not the $120 value that was promised when I first signed up. However, in advertising for these boxes, FabFitFun gave bloggers preview boxes that showed Butter London nail polish, a Josie Maran cheek and lip stain, the GoSmile teeth whitening pen, and a not-so-hideous necklace from JewelMint. I was lucky enough to still receive the GoSmile and I don't mind the mascara, but some subscribers got THREE pieces of JewelMint instead of these premium items. All equally or more hideous than those earrings. Not a good call for the FabFitFun first box, and I'm bummed I didn't get the same box as was previewed OR $120 worth of products as promised, but hopefully FabFitFun can learn from its mistakes...in the meantime, I'm eagerly awaiting their summer box!

NEW BOX! FabFitFun

There's a new box on the market that seems to have a lot of potential! It's called the FabFitFun VIP Gift Box.

• It's curated by Giuliana Rancic and it comes out quarterly (March, June, September, and December).
• It ships from the Los Angeles area around the 20th.
• Each box costs $49.99.
• When you sign up, you are asked to fill out a survey with details about your skin, hair, relationship status (wonder what they'll do with that), clothing sizes, et cetera. This is a pretty extensive survey so I hope they use the information!

Danica Lo over at StyleBistro already has an unboxing of the first shipment.

Doesn't this box look fantastic? Here's what's in it:

• Full sized MOROCCANOIL ($43)
• GoSmile Teeth Whitening Pen ($22)
• Jewelmint Necklace ($30?)
• Zoya Nail Polish ($8)
• Butter London Nail Polish ($15)
• Josie Maran Lip Stain ($21)
• Mini Jouer Lip Gloss ($5?)
• ThinkThin Bar ($2?)
• Estimated Value: $146!

I think that the FabFitFun box has the potential to be a serious competitor for PopSugar. First, it has Giuliana Rancic as its face. I don't care too much about this, but it will certainly help get the word out. Second, it's quarterly. PopSugar is $35/month, and this box is $49.99 every three months. Some people will be disappointed that they won't get a box every month, but the price averages out to less. 

Additionally, PopSugar was the only large company offering lifestyle items in their boxes. Judging by the survey questions, this box will be very similar. As much as I love beauty products, you can only have so many, which is one of the reasons I am so in love with PopSugar. We'll see how the first few boxes go, but I can see this getting really big. If you're as interested as I am, use the code FAB48 for $10 off. What a steal!