PopSugar Luxury Box 2012

It's become clear that I have a few weaknesses: puppies, Tom Hiddleston, and magical boxes.  Since the first two were not realistic gifts to myself this holiday season, I splurged on the Luxury Edition Must Have box from PopSugar.  This limited edition collection sold for $100.  Yes, one hundred dollars. I choked on the price tag and resisted for about 5 minutes. As you might recall, I rarely tell myself no so of course I bought one.

The package arrived just before Christmas and it was a big ol', heavy box so I was really excited. And I opened the lid:

Ok, packaging isn't typically a big deal for me. I tear it open to get at the goods. But super wrinkly tissue paper?  Really? It wasn't wrinkled like that was the intended texture. It was wrinkled like someone balled it up in storage and then pulled it out for these boxes.    Inside the wrinkle paper, everything was swaddled tightly in bubble wrap and black tissue paper, then nestled in black shreddings. I expected something more colorful for the holidays, but I guess black is more luxurious?

I've read that some people still had damage and/or broken items but fortunately I did not.  However.  However...

I want to first talk about one of my favorite items.  This is a Tocca candle. The flavor is called Stella and it's a blood orange. I was initially pouty-faced about it but now I love it, and it hasn't even been lit yet.  This is one of those wonderful candles that radiates a lovely scent even when it's not burning so it's sitting on our coffee table just making my nose happy.  It's a light, clean fragrance, not too heavy on the citrus even though it is blood orange.  These sell for around $38 which is more than I would pay for a candle this size, no matter how lovely, but I'm glad it's on my table right now.










Chocolate. Yeah, you're not going to go wrong with chocolate in my world.  Here we have a mini chocolate bar library from Vosges.  Each box contains 9 mini bars of chocolate in various flavors. Some received a variety of 9, I received 3 of 3 different flavors that are Woolloomoolo, peppermint candy cane and Amalfi bar.  The Woolloomoolo is macadamia nuts, Indonesian coconut, and hemp seeds in deep milk chocolate.  The peppermint candy cane is candy cane bits in dark chocolate. And the Amalfi bar is white chocolate with lemon zest and pink peppercorns.  These are all very unique combinations and I liked every single one.  The bars are mini, 1/2 ounce each, but that's enough for a few sweet bites when that craving strikes.  A library like this goes for $25.

 Now we get into our "Meh" products. Take 'em or leave 'em. *shrug* Meh.

This lip & nail duet from Deborah Lippmann is named Midnight Confessions.  It features a mulberry polish called Bitches Brew and a sheer, berry lipstick called Under a Spell.  The polish is, of course, opaque with a pearl finish.  The formula was a little on the thick side but still easy to work with.  I used two coats for the picture below.  The lipstick is very smooth and soft, with a hint of berry color and a fair amount of shine.  I wouldn't have picked this combo because Bitches Brew, despite the awesome name, is a pretty close dupe to Zoya Blair which I own and love.  The lipstick will be nice for more formal occasions; I don't think I'd wear it everyday because I prefer gloss.  I would have preferred the set with rose gold polish (Glamorous Life) but this is fine.  It's fine. And if I keep saying "It's fine", someday it will be. Lippmann polishes are 3-Free and her brand is cruelty free.  I've seen these sets online for $28 and $38. For me, I'd go with the lower price tag.
 

Savon de Marseille is supposedly world famous and if you believe their website, you'll find it "beside every sink in France".  I lived in France for a year and I don't think I saw this once.  Granted, that was 20 years ago and I've forgotten a lot of things but that's an awfully bold statement.  Do I think the soap is worthy of taking over a nation?  Eh.  It is a bit more gentle than the Method liquid soap I normally use but here's what stinks, literally: I received the Olive & Lavender scent. I HATE LAVENDER! Yes, my feelings are strong enough to warrant all caps and bold font.  Fortunately the scent is light enough that it doesn't make me gag or sneeze.  Do I love it? No. But I did love Marseille when I visited and this is a massive glass bottle that I just wanted to keep.  I'm using it but would have preferred any other scent in their collection.  Price? $14.



And now we have the "What the hell?" stuff.  Le Sigh.

The after bath moisturizer from Epicuren could have been awesome had it not been the French Lavender scent. Seriously. ((and if i tell you i have bad luck, you now believe me)).  Epicuren has 9 different scents and I get this one.  Unlike the Savon de Marseille soap, I can't get passed the fragrance. It's way, waaaay too strong.  The texture is nice, I'm sure it's a wonderful body lotion but I would gag all day long if I tried to wear it.  Dammit.  It retails for around $30 and will make my grandmother happy. Epicuren says they have never tested on animals and do not condone it.





Wondering what the hell that stuff is?  It's a clutch from JewelMint and a cuff from Heather Belle.  No, I'm not kidding. That metal box is being sold as a clutch.  It is more like a bin for mail.  I would never in a million years use this as a clutch. It's heavy and looks like something I made in high school shop class (easy A, yo).  Hate it.  The cuff is ok I suppose but is not my style.  I wear white gold or silver jewelry, never yellow gold or brass so I'll get zero use from this.  I'm not sure who I'll gift it to at this point. Maybe one of my friends wants to be Wonder Woman next Halloween.  I'm not positive how much these would sell for but I think JewelMint items are typically $30 and I found the cuff listed for $28. 

I don't know what PopSugar said the value of this box would be but my numbers add up to $193 and I've only had 1 beer.  The items I'm keeping and using add up to $105 so I did get my money's worth in retail values. This was supposed to be a splurge box, an opportunity to try high-end items I would never purchase for myself, and that's what I got.  I'm not angry about it, per se, I'm more disappointed.  Had I received a different lotion and/or different clutch, I could have considered it a win. I do have to be honest and say that I will consider another luxury box in the future because it's what I do.  Now look at puppies and Tom Hiddleston.