Here is the first POPSUGAR Must Have Box of 2017, and the theme is renewal. At POPSUGAR, January 2017 is new, fresh, detoxifying, motivational, healthy, and revitalized. That all sounds good to me! I’m ready to breath some fresh, cold-ass air and start a new year. I might even try to fix what I did to my body with food over the last two months.
Each month, POPSUGAR sends me their latest Must Have box so I can unbox it and show all of you. I’m always surprised when they want to keep working with me because I’ve been pretty harsh on some of these boxes in the past – but maybe that’s why they like me! (Disclaimer: I do not have proof that they like me.)
Last month, we were still in full-on nesting mode. We ended the year with a bellyflop, so spending time making my space comfy (just in case I never leave it again) was just what the doctor ordered.
This month, we’re breaking out! We are doing some yoga with a beachy candle, taking a shower, washing our damn face, having some herbal tea, leaving people pre-written notes, and making sure we know what day it is. Luckily, you can use all of these things at the gym, in a class, or in your fallout shelter at home.
This box actually had seven products in it. That’s a pretty high number, even for POPSUGAR Must Have Boxes which usually include 5-6 full-sized, name-brand products every month.
The POPSUGAR Must Have boxes are monthly, and the cost is $39.95. They regularly include beauty, food, fashion, and lifestyle products which revolve around a seasonally appropriate theme. If you’d like to give the POPSUGAR Must Have box a try, use the code SHOP5 to take $5 off your first box! That code never expires, so if you need to think on it, take your time.
As I said, I’ve had some beef with past POPSUGAR Must Have Boxes. Mostly, my issues were about the valuation of the products (#60dollarsarong). The last four months, though, have actually really impressed me. This January 2017 Must Have Box, however, is drastically different.
How is it different? First of all, there isn’t a single pigmented product in the entire box. There’s no color! In previous boxes, the beauty element has been a nail polish, or even an eyeshadow palette. This time, it arrived in the form of a really great skincare product – but no color.
Goldfaden MD Fresh A Peel Multi Acid Resurfacing Peel
Price: $85
…
Oh my god, this thing costs $85? Um, holy cow. Wow. Okay.
So, I picked this up and was really excited to see that it was a lactic acid facial treatment. I’ve been reading loads about Alpha-Hydroxy acids and skincare over the last year and lactic acid is one of the most effective ways to exfoliate and refresh skin. This product from Goldfaden MD also includes citrus extracts and sugar maple. Lactic acid is literally the second ingredient after water, so I’m inclined to believe that this is pretty potent stuff. (That must be why you only keep it on for 3 minutes before washing it off.)
$85. Damn. That’s expensive.
Glade Nº3 Free Coconut Beach Woods Soy Candle
Price: $4.99
On the polar opposite end of the price spectrum, this Glade 3-free soy candle was included as a special extra bonus gift. I’m about to light this baby up right now, but what I can tell from the scent so far is that it’s not as sun-block-y as you probably expect. Glade is starting to do this new “layered scents” thing, and this one combines coconut and beach wood which kind of grounds the tropical-ness of the scent.
Daily Concepts Your Hair Wrap Towel
Price: $18
Ooooh, now this is interesting. Recently during an every-two-years crisis, I chopped off all of my hair. Prior to that, I had long, thick, curly, dense hair and it took literally 8 hours to air-dry. I’ve heard about these towels for years and how they can safely speed up the drying process for people like me. I’m so, so, so interested in that.
…Except there are no directions. None. There is a button on one end of this bean-pod-shaped towel and a loop on the other. Nothing on this package tells you what the hell to do with either end. I’m… totally clueless. Luckily, they have directions (with photos!) on their website. Whew.
Instant Happy Notes by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Price: $8.99
This is a book of oversized sticky notes that have cute illustrations and quotes about being happy. You can use them as notes, still, despite the fact that most of the space is taken up with printed text. There’s space above the quotes and doodles for you to write or customize your note. If I still worked in an office, these would be all over my co-workers’ possessions.
Manduka eQua Mat Towel
Price: $38
Now this excites me. Sure, it might just be a towel, but it’s a high tech towel and I’m so ready to do some serious sweating on it. The sweating is important because your traction actually improves with added moisture! Perfect for fans of bikram yoga (that’s the extra steamy sweatbox one), or just generally sweaty people (me).
Dean & Deluca Peppermint Tea
Price: $10.75
Tea. Of course in a box with a bunch of health-promoting stuff and self-care toys they would include tea. This is a loose-leaf tea from the coveted Dean & Deluca grocery store. I like that you can serve it hot or iced! Almost $11 for less than two ounces is pretty brazen, but hey – it’s luxury, and I haven’t tried it yet. There are definitely teas that are worth that price. Hopefully this is one of them!
May Designs Desk Calendar & Notecards
Price: $25 (but it’s half off on their website right now!)
At first, I thought that this was just a cute desk calendar. In fact, I thought it was “just a desk calendar” throughout the photo-taking process, so I didn’t get to show you that these are also notecards.
Once the month is over, you simply cut along a dashed line to remove the calendar portion. On the back, there’s an adorable salutation in calligraphy with plenty of space to write your BFF or loved ones a little note! Now, if only it came with envelopes…
Total value of January 2017 POPSUGAR Must Have Box: $190.73
Even without the $85 face crap, that’s a pretty stellar value for a box that costs less than $40! My favorite parts were the yoga mat and the desk calendar, surprisingly. I am eager to burn the candle and to try out that lactic acid facial peel. If it’s really worth $85, you can expect to see copious selfies flowing through my Instagram because I will look like a 19 year old ingenue.
The rest of the products are great, but don’t totally fit my style in terms of what I like to have around. You may see some in an upcoming giveaway – who knows!
Again, if you want to try out POPSUGAR Must Have Box, take $5 off with the code SHOP5 – it never expires!
Thanks to POPSUGAR for sending me this box to try! Looking forward to the next one (we’ll see if they let me – ha!).