July My Little Box UK

Subscription boxes have come a long way in the last few years. I remember when I first discovered the GlossyBox and there was nothing like it back then in the UK. Now there's a subscription box for pretty much everything from lifestyle boxes to food boxes, alcohol boxes to even subscription boxes for your pets. My Little Box is a subscription box that I have heard many bloggers raving about over the last few months and after seeing all the pretty Instagram images of everyone receiving their monthly treats, last month I took the plunge and took out a subscription for myself.

My Little Box is a Parisian style subscription box that delivers a bundle of surprise fashion, beauty and lifestyle items to your door each month. The box each month is themed and costs around £15, which can be cancelled at any time.

The July My Little Box is a summer box themed around coconuts. The box came with a beautiful tasselled bracelet, a funky passport cover, coconut scented after sun lotion, some Yves Rocher Coconut spray (which is so amazing that I haven't stopped using it since it arrived and I left it in my handbag while taking these photos), a coconut scented handwash, Ojon coconut oil and some My Little Box coconut aftersun lotion.

My favourite item in this months box is the Stella & Dot bracelet. It's always nice to have something different to makeup in one of these monthly boxes and this bracelet is incredibly versatile and will go with most things in my wardrobe. I've worn this a few times since my box arrived and it fits on my wrist effortlessly and feels really comfortable to wear. On par with the bracelet is the Yves Rocher Eau de Toilette Coconut spray, which I haven't stopped using since it arrived. The spray leaves your skin feeling soft and milky and the scent is irresistible. I can already see myself repurchasing this.

Another item I really loved is the My Little Box passport cover. The cover is fun, quirky and original and I can see myself using this quite regularly. Yet again it was nice to see something a little bit different in a subscription box and I love how this fitted in with the theme of travel, summer and coconuts. Other items which came with this box were a coconut handwash, a coconut oil and an aftersun lotion. The handwash fits nicely in my handbag and also smells really great, I have used this several times since it arrived, but haven't yet used the aftersun or coconut oil.

Overall I was really impressed with this box and it is fast becoming the best lifestyle subscription package that I have purchased. If you're looking for something that offers unique items, great quality beauty products and Instagrammable boxes, the My Little Box is something you should consider.

Have you subscribed to the My Little Box?

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Sunday Snacks: The Handmade Treat Company

I love food. In fact, a large proportion of my wages goes on trying out new food. Since losing a lot of weight I vowed that I would look for food that is equally as scrumptious as it is nutritious and if I was going to eat something with more calories than I would like to think about, it has to be worth it. Every month I receive subscription boxes from the Degustabox and Graze - both of which I look forward to and thoroughly enjoy, but lately I've been getting a little bit bored of the same old packages coming through my door. When 'The Handmade Treat Company' asked me if I would like to  review one of their boxes, I knew that it would be a great chance to try something different and potentially find a monthly box to subscribe to.

The Handmade Treat Company are the UK's first handmade treat box, delivering fresh, healthy handmade surprises straight to your door. These boxes are £9.99 a month including postage and the majority of their items are vegetarian. My box this month came with: A bag of Joseph's Caramel and Sea Salt popcorn, Lemon Sherbet sweeties, Dark chocolate buttons, Rawcha - 100% Vegan Matcha bar, a Date and Walnut bar and a vegan lip balm. Popcorn is one of my weaknesses and my husband always goes for salted, it was nice to have a bag of sweet popcorn all to myself. The lemon sherbet sweets were a delight - so tangy and sweet, perfect for a midday sugar fix. I loved the dark chocolate buttons even though I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate and the Date and Walnut bar was lovely, even though I don't usually like dates. I admit I didn't like the Rawcha bar, but I don't really like those type of products in general, however it was nice to see a vegan, gluten free product thrown into the mix.

Another thing I really liked about this box was the added little extra of a recipe card so you can try make a handmade treat of your own. I'm trying to get into baking and I love that this is a vegan recipe as the doctors have told me I should try to avoid dairy when I can. Overall, I really do love this little box and I will be considering this box when I renew my subscriptions in the New Year. For those who love to snack and want to try something healthy as well as yummy, this box is definitely worth a try.

Have you checked out The Handmade Treat Company?

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The Glamour Beauty Power List Box 2015

Back in 2012 I was all over the beauty box hype. Glossy Box, Birch box - you name it, I had it.  I loved receiving my boxes and doing the obligatory 'look what I got' Twitter statuses, but after a few months I grew bored of them. The items just didn't live up to my expectations and I realised that I was paying for the surprise element and not necessarily liking what I was given. Since ending all my subscriptions a few years ago, my mind has constantly wondered whether I have been missing out. I keep seeing bloggers rate and slate boxes and every now and then a few boxes come up that I think 'wow, how did I miss that?' The one box that kept grabbing my attention was the Latest in Beauty box. 

I've been a fan of the Latest in Beauty site for a long time.I remember when I used to pay something like £4 and I was able to pick a few samples off the website and they would arrive in the cutest little box. I used to tell all my friends about it. When I noticed Latest in Beauty had started doing collection boxes, I knew at some point I would need to try one of those. The Latest in Beauty Collections are boxes focused around particular themes or magazine collections. The Glamour Beauty Power List is one of these.

The Glamour Beauty Power List Box is in collaboration with Glamour Magazine and all the products have been handpicked by the Glamour Magazine beauty editor Alessandra Steinherr. The box consists of eight of the best beauty products this year and is worth a whopping £92.87, even though the subscription price is £18.99.

The Glamour Beauty Power List Box 2015

1 x Eyeko Mascara in Blue or Black

1 x Rimmel 60 Seconds Supershine Nail Polish

1 x Phillip Kingsley Geranium and Neroli Elasticizer

1 x Nail Inc Superkale base coat

1 x Kiko Velvet Touch Creamy Stick Blush

1 x Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick

1 x Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream

1 x Vita Liberata Self Tanning Night Moisture

I'm really impressed with this collection and there are so many products that I love. The Nail Inc NailKale base coat has been a delight to use on my brittle nails, I have noticed that gradually they are becoming stronger and now I won't apply nail polish without using this product first. The Garnier Miracle cream is also high up on my fave products list. The cream is really soft and blends in well and unlike most sleeping creams, it doesn't make my face itch in the middle of the night. I also can't get enough of the Kiko blusher that looks so natural once applied. The products that haven't thrilled me in this box have to be the Rimmel nail polish - it chipped within an hour of wearing it and didn't look good when I arrived at a blogger event with bits peeling everywhere. I'm also not a fan of the Eyeko mascara as it doesn't add enough volume for me. Overall though I'm very impressed with the collection and the box itself is a cute little collectors piece.

What are your thoughts on the Glamour Beauty Power List box?

*PR Sample

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Taste Cocktails Subscription Box

When it comes to drinking I'm definitely more of a cocktail girl than any other type of alcohol. I love the refreshing combination of ingredients in cocktails and the variety of cocktails currently out there. On our wedding day a good friend of my husband and I bought us a cocktail kit as a wedding gift, but I always lacked inspiration and until recently hadn't had the chance to use it. When I discovered the Taste Cocktails Subscription Box I knew I had to try it and that this would be a perfect excuse to put my cocktail making skills to good use.

Taste* is a monthly subscription box tailored towards cocktail lovers and wannabe mixologists. Each box contains premium ingredients and recipes to make up to six cocktails with information about the source and history of the drinks. You can choose from several one-off packages or a monthly subscription that allows to you to discover new cocktails every month. The prices for this subscription package start at £25 for the ingredients or £46 if you are in need of an equipment kit to make your cocktails. The boxes can be cancelled anytime and even better, they come with free postage. These are great if you have any summer parties planned or if you are looking to spice up a night in with your partner or friends.

The box I received was the Mezcal and Chartreuse box with Del Maguey Mezcal. Del Maguey Vidal Mezcal is type of Tequila produced in the Oaxaca region of Mexico, where each bottle is produced in and named after a particular village in that area. The Vida is a fruity aromatic spirit with a hint of honey, vanilla and roast agave. Using these spirits are said to offer the drinker a ginger, cinnamon, burnt sandalwood, banana and tangerine flavour that are soft and delicate on the palette. The history of the Chartreuse is also quite fascinating. According to Taste: "Only two Chartreuse Monks know the identity of the 130 plants used in distilling this particular liqueur, how to blend them and which plants they have to macerate to produce the natural green and yellow colours." All of these spirits were alcohol that I had previously been unfamiliar with and I found the little histories really insightful. After reading the little booklet and the instructions, I couldn't wait to have a go at making the cocktails.

This particular cocktail kit came with six ingredients and recipes to make two cocktails 'All Betts Are Off' and 'The Last of the Oaxacans'. The first recipe was made by a man named Matt Lanning of The Bitter Bar in Boulder, Colorado to introduce his customers to Mezcal whilst the other is a Mexican version of a classic gin recipe called 'The Last Word' made with green chartreuse. The recipes were easy to follow and in layman's terms so that any amatuer mixologist can have a go.

Above is my attempt of the 'All Betts Are Off', a cocktail that both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed and enjoyed the most out of the two cocktail recipes mentioned. This would have looked a lot nicer in a different glass, but nevertheless it tasted great. I found this cocktail to be sweet, yet bitter and quite refreshing. Although it has a substantial amount of tequila, the grapefruit extract helps deter from the bitter sourness of tequila and for me, makes it more palatable. I really enjoyed this subscription box and will be keeping an eye on the website to see if there's anymore that I fancy trying...I'm currently eyeing up the Daiquiri box!

If you fancy having a go at making your own cocktails, why not enter my competition to win a Taste cocktail subscription box for yourself? The competition is open to anyone in the UK over the age of 18 and the winner will receive one Taste Cocktail subscription box. Please fill out all mandatory requirements to enter.

Have you tried Taste Cocktails?

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Snackly Gluten Free Subscription Box

Everywhere you look on social media, people are talking about subscription boxes and the products that they receive on a monthly basis. These boxes vary from fashion to food, beauty products to toiletries and wherever there's a demand, there's a subscription box. Foodie subscription boxes are the latest trend on the market, coining in on those with specialist diets or foodies looking to discover new brands that are often difficult to acquire. Graze and Degustabox were the first major players in the foodie subscription market in the UK but as their popularity exceeded, more companies were eager to join the bandwagon. The latest foodie subscription box on the scene is Snackly, a subscription box dedicated to those following a gluten free diet. This box costs only £7.95 per month and promises a selection of goodies that are gluten free and made in the UK.

This months box was an absolute treat with Anglesey Sea Salted Chocolate, a Salted Caramel Brownie, a Nothing But Apple and Fig snack, Lemon butter Shortbread, Easy Bean Chickpea Crispbread and two large pieces of Peace of Cake Biscotti. I'm not a coeliac and I don't have to lead a gluten free diet, but I do like to experiment with my food and have been told that a gluten free diet could help me with a few of my health problems. I have always thought that gluten free bread, biscuits and dough tasted rather bland but these Snackly* boxes are anything but bland.Full of flavour, naughty but nice, these Snackly boxes have everything you want for a little monthly subscription box and they are far from the word boring, something that gluten free food is often associated with.

My favourite snacks this month had to be the Lemon Butter Shortbread that were melt in the mouth yummy, with just the right amount of lemon and the chickpea crisp breads that were light but with such intense flavour, they left me wanting more. I didn't really like the Nothing But apple snack as it tasted far too sweet for my liking, but the oozey, gooey, scrumptious brownie in the box was definitely my cup of tea. This box had five items and out of these I only disliked one. Would I buy again? Definitely. This box is perfect for those looking for different gluten free items to try and for foodies with a sense of culinary adventure. Unlike a lot of foodie subscription boxes that are starting to get boring, this one just seems to be getting better each time.

Have you tried a Snackly box yet?

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March Degustabox 2015

It's the time of the month that I get all excited about, the day that my Degustabox arrives. I have been a subscriber to the Degustabox for almost six months now and every month still feels like a treat. Admittedly I wasn't overly fond of last month due to the heavy focus on Peanut Butter - something that I've never really liked, but this box has been a ray of sunshine at what seems like a long and difficult March.

If you haven't heard of the Degusta Box, the Degusta Box is a monthly food subscription package that is delivered to your door for £12. The items remain a secret until the box arrives, giving you the element of surprise and also enriching your culinary palette as many of the items are often food that you wouldn't always think of buying on your weekly shop or brands that have just started and are not that well known. The subscription is a cancel anytime contract which is great for those looking to try something different without too many strings attached. 

Degustabox have a tendency to theme some of their boxes around seasonal events, so it comes as no surprise that this months box is full of sweet treats to celebrate Easter in the next few weeks. This box included: Lindor Mini Eggs, Crabbies Cider, Juice Burst, Jordan's Lighter Granola, BBQ sauce, a posh pot noodle and many other sweet treats.

The items I'm probably looking forward to the most are the Lindor mini eggs as they are my favourite type of chocolate and the Crabbies cider. As a vegetarian I'm often worried about the items I will receive in my box, but luckily for us vegetarians the Degusta company seem to add such a variety that there's something for all of us. The products that aren't vegetarian are the ones my husband will have.

Have you received the March Degustabox?

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The Vegan Tuck Box

I have been vegetarian for nearly 10 years and at least once a month I still get asked:"What do vegetarians eat?" Although vegetarianism is still in the minority, there has been a rise in the number of UK vegetarians over the last few years and also a rise in the number of people turning vegan. Long gone are the boring vegetarian foods that are simply a pile of vegetables, there are so many fabulous vegan and vegetarian alternatives on the market that eating vegetarian food is more exciting now than ever before. As an avid 'foodie' I'm always looking for different vegetarian meals to try and I was delighted when I stumbled across the company The Vegan Tuck Box. 

The Vegan Tuck Box is a monthly subscription box that contains a surprise selection of exciting vegan snacks including different varieties of chocolate, biscuits, sweets, snack bars, crisps and other savoury snacks. This monthly subscription box is similar to the popular DegustaBox but is made up entirely of vegan, healthy treats hand-picked by two dedicated vegans. Years ago when I was a teenager I had a friend that was vegan and she opened me up to a wide range of exciting, yummy treats and although I could never be vegan myself, I love experimenting with different vegan products. 

When selecting your 'Vegan Tuck Box' you have several options to choose from. You can purchase either a large or small box and then you have the option to select whether you would like the items to be gluten free. I went for a large gluten free tuck box as I've heard eating more gluten free products can benefit those with rheumatoid arthritis and I thought it would be a good way to be introduced to different gluten free products. 

When the box arrived, I was overwhelmed by the amount of goodies in my tuck box and I loved the personalised note with details of my nearest Vegan Society. I felt like a child in a candy store and I couldn't wait until James and I had a movie night in so we could snack on our new treats. Our favourite item from the box without a doubt was the Food of Athenry Cookie Shots. I'm not sure whether my partner was slightly biased being irish, but I for one couldn't stop eating them. I even gave some to my parents when they came to visit and they couldn't stop eating them. I'm genuinely gutted that I've finished the pack. My second favourite items were the rice milk chocolate and the Ten Acre Crisps. The rice milk chocolate melts in your mouth and tastes deliciously creamy and the crisps are fiery hot ultra crunchy. I wasn't overly keen on the Coconut milk but that doesn't surprise me as I'm not the biggest fan of coconut and the Cheesy Kale crisps for me was rather disappointing as I personally felt they tasted rather bland - even though I love eating Kale.

Although I didn't love every item in The Vegan Tuck Box I did like the majority and those that I didn't like, I'm glad I had the opportunity to try. I love the concept of the Vegan Tuck Box as it allows you to pick and mix different foodie items and try food that might not be available in supermarkets near you. My partner and I loved trailing The Vegan Tuck Box and have decided once we get back from our wedding that we will become subscribers. I can't wait to see what is in my next box.

Have you tried the Vegan Tuck Box before?

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The Wantable Jewellery Box

First came the beauty boxes and now there's the Wantable boxes. Subscription boxes are taking over the fashion and beauty industry and the newest to arrive in the UK is the Wantable box. Unlike other boxes, the Wantable box allows you to pick one of three options, a beauty box, accessorises box or intimates box to cater for your 'wantable' needs. Being a huge fan of jewellery, I decided to opt for the monthly accessorises box and when it arrived a few days ago, I wasn't left disappointed.

The Wantable* box is probably one of the best subscription boxes I have seen for tailoring the products to suit you. As you pick the box you would like, you are then sent to a questionnaire asking about the products you like and dislike and what you would most likely want to see if your box. The questionnaire is rather in-depth, from asking what scarves, rings and jewellery you like to then asking what style you like from 'classic' to 'grungy'. Wantable did exceptionally well at picking out my items - all of which I would happily wear and use, unlike other subscription boxes on the market that simply give you a handful of products similar to everyone else, regardless of your skin colour and needs.

The first item to make an appearance in my Wantable box was this lovely skull scarf. Until a few months ago, I went through a phase where I hated scarfs, but now I can't stop wearing them. As a self confessed 'rock chick' this scarf definitely suits my personality and feels of a high quality.

The next item is the two cubed cubic zirconia ring. When I first tried this ring on, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it, but I'm now growing to like it. It looks quirky and makes a great statement piece.

These earrings are really classy and would look great on a night out - they also remind me of the Great Gatsby style and I could easily imagine wearing these with a sequin little number.

Finally, I love these flower cluster earrings, they're so pretty. They are the sort of earrings I would happily wear every day of the week and can easily spice up any outfit. The Wantable box is currently $36 from America with a $7 shipping charge and 20% tax on UK orders making the box a total of £30.79 - which may seem a little bit steep, but the quality of items you receive definitely makes it worth it.

https://www.wantable.com

Have you tried Wantable before?

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