Way back in November Pop Sugar Must Have announced that they would be releasing a Luxury box. I want to say that when i saw the $100 price tag that i was on the fence, but i was not. In fact i kept refreshing the site to order as soon as it became available since there are only 1,000 made . Aside from some site glitches i was able to get my box. This box was guaranteed delivery by December 24th and was set to include the most luxurious items that Pop Sugar has ever offered. Needless to say i was quite excited.
I started tracking my box on December 17th. I was a little shocked that it shipped on the 17th since it is coming from California and being shipped FedEx smart post (which my post office has never delivered to me, that's right Ive had to pick up each and every box walking the half mile there and back because the post office never delivers FedEx smart post items to me.) So when i did not receive my box by December 24th i was not shocked what so ever. However i did plan on splitting this up and gifting this but instead i had to buy all new presents for those i planned to split this up for.
Voges Chocolate Sampler-
I have two opinions on this. My first being that i only received three repeating flavors while others received the whole sampler. I find this a bit unfair since we all paid the same price. Secondly i loved the flavors that i did receive. The chocolate peppermint was crunchy but also just lightly sweet and minty, the lemon peppercorn was somewhat spicy and the citrus flavor was just right, lastly the macadamia nut with salt, coconut, and hemp seeds, was salty, sweet, and crunchy! I loved these flavors i just wish i could have tried the whole collection.
Worth: $25
Deborah Lippman Lip & Nail Duet-
I have to say i did see some spoilers (even though i tried so hard to avoid them...) and saw this as one of the products and got very excited! I saw so many people getting the red one and couldn't wait to get mine, until i saw i got the nude one. I own quite a bit of nude polish and already have plenty of great nude lipsticks (i prefer full coverage matte). I know this product is high quality so i just let it go and tried on the lipstick. It was just about sheer! Like a balm. I wanted to be unimpressed but apparently it is described as somewhat sheer when i googled more information on it. The polish was a nice opaque nude, that while redundant to my collection, is still really nice and covers in about 1 coat. It dried fast but i found it to have a very cheap smelling odor to it. If i had to choose a nude from my collection i wouldn't pick this one. As for the whole matching nail and lip combo, a sheer lipstick with an opaque nail polish makes little to no sense.
Worth: $38
Epicuren-
I love lotions, so when i saw this i was pretty happy to try a new on. Moroccan Rosemary sounded so exotic to me! I tried it on and realized it had a very familiar smell. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though. My boyfriend came in the room and asked me why i smelled like hotel soap and that's when it dawned on me. This lotion has the same scent as a two star hotel's soap. I am not sure if this is a compliment to the hotels or an insult to the lotion. I personally like the smell but i don't think i would go out of my way to buy it. It does make me feel like i am on a vacation though. Win? I guess a little.
Worth $30
Tocca Stella Blood Orange Candle-
The smell of this candle was so strong! When i first opened the box i smelt something sweet and citrus and feared that something had broken (i heard stories). When i got to this item i realized nothing had broken this candle just smelled that good. It promises 60 hours of burn time which is fantastic. I personally really liked this item better than most of the others.
Worth: $38
Heather Bell Cuff-
When i first saw this extremely over stuffed velvet bag that couldn't even close i was confused. When i cut it open, because it was so stuffed the only way to get the thing out of it was to cut it open i found a tarnished and bent cuff. I did my best to bend it back into shape and didn't even bother mentioning it to Pop Sugar. If they sent me another what would i do with it? Be Aladdin? Wonder woman? It is too big to be functionally stylish on anyone who isn't super thin and it is quite uncomfortable to wear. It falls right on the boney section of my arm and hurts when i move my arm in certain ways.
Worth: $28
I saw some people getting some cute metal envelope bags. While not for everyone, i would have LOVED one of those. Instead i got this tiny mesh bag that honestly feels like a ball sac. Not to be nasty or graphic but i have no other way for you to contextualize exactly what it reminded me of! It opens by removing the cap and extending the top. You can fit an ID and maybe some gum. If you have a key chain with a few keys forget it. If you have to put change in it good luck getting it out because your hand, unless you have petite hands, will not fit into this bag. Plus the cheap feeling chain makes me not trust anything in this tiny purse. This purse is so small it fits in the palm of my hand. I do not consider this a luxury item.
Worth: $29
Savon De Marseille Exta Pure Olive Lavender-
When i think of this item i imagine a group of Pop Sugar editors sitting in a room trying to think of Luxurious items and they are all drunk. One Editor says to another, hey, hey, what about hand soap! They all had a good drunken laugh, someone went online and ordered 1,000 and the rest is history. I am not saying this isn't a nice item, what i am saying is when you make a box of MUST HAVE luxury items, your mind should not go to hand soap. Body wash maybe, even perfume. Not hand soap. I tried this item once and i can't say it's terrible but i can stick with my dial and be very content. The scent is soft and the glassy bottle heavy.
Worth: $14
Overall I don't think i would ever like to be suckered into to such a gross misrepresentation of luxury ever again. Especially not for $100 dollars. This box was worth its price adding up to just about $200 dollars but in personal worth it is like a shopping trip to Century 21. If i had my choice of making a luxury box and had a $200 dollar budget i would include makeup from Lancome/MAC/Chanel ($30), some perfume from Cavalli ($60), a nice scarf or gloves or hat (there are plenty of brands that could have been chosen lets set the price at $30), the chocolate can stay! ($25), jewelry from Jewelmint would have been fine as long as it was something universal ($29), and lastly maybe something luxurious for the home (a candle would be fine maybe a bigger one with three wicks) ($26). That's just me.
Did you get the Pop Sugar Must Have Luxury Box For Her? If so what did you think? If you didn't do you think you dodged a bullet, or do you regret not getting it? Leave some comments below.
