PopSugar Must Have - July Box & August Anniversary Preview!

I was so excited to get an email yesterday saying that my Popsugar Must Have box should be arriving. This was my first box from them, but I've been interested in getting one for what seems like forever! It was a belated Mother's Day gift, but hey, I'll happily take it! For those of you who don't know, Popsugar is a life style box that targets women between 18-40 (I believe they also have men's boxes too) and every month they curate a box of the most "it" items and accessories of the season. The box is $35 a month including shipping, but if you sign up for a longer subscription you can get a box free. If you're interested in checking it out for yourself you can follow my referral link http://popsu.gr/gVRD (I'll thank you now for doing so!) and if you use code SAVE5PSMH or REFER5 you should save $5 on your first month! A lot of people thought that July was going to be their 1st year anniversary box, but it looks like based on an email they sent out earlier today that they're saving the birthday bash for August and even sending a special gift with a $65 value! So if you've ever wanted to give Popsugar a try, now is the time!

Now for my box.... Here's what came in the July Box

So, most of this is stuff I would have never bought for myself. First off, because we're on a tight budget - my husband is a student and I'm a stay at home mom and that means there isn't any money for extras and fun extravagances right now. Secondly, because I usually shop safe. If money weren't an issue, than I probably wouldn't hesitate to buy the Supergoop! because I've heard and read the most wonderful things about this sunscreen and I'm over the moon happy to try it out! I also would buy the Mighty Leaf Iced Tea, because both my husband and I love iced tea, especially in the summer time and anything mango is always a hit! But the rest of it the NCLA nail lacquer, the Baublebar chain necklace in rose gold, the cookie chips (which are dark chocolate and oh so tempting), and the Tolvolo King Cube XL silicone Tray for ice cubes? I never would have thought to purchase any of it! Almost all of these things would have been "a step outside the box" for me. And yet, I must admit while it didn't live up to the reviews I read about June's box and the final push for me to go with Popsugar, I'm thrilled by my July Box. It's totally about and for me, but I can share half of it with my family and it's the best gift because it allows me to try things I wouldn't have otherwise tried!

For instance, I'm wearing the NCLA nail polish in "As If !" a very pastel matte purple with cool undertones on my toenails as I write this and I have to admit that I might have to give purple a bigger chance in the future. Anyone who knows me, knows that I mostly detest anything purple or pink as a general rule. Since having a little girl a year and a half ago, that's changed a bit, but it's still not a "go to" color for me. The more I look at this color, the more it makes me happy (gasp) and I can't help but think how cute it would look with a pair of peep toes and a dress for a date or just shorts and sandals for a day at the beach. I don't wear nail polish on my finger nails, except for very, very special occasions, so I don't have reason to buy much of it and when I do, I stick to colors I know are "safe" with my skin tone and the season. This is the first bottle of NCLA 5 Free Luxury Nail Lacquer I've ever owned and so far I'm hooked. It goes on smooth and covers well. I can't wait to see how it holds up to everyday wear!

 I'm still on the fence about the necklace by Baublebar that came in the box. I did try it on and I must admit I do like the rose gold, better than I like yellow gold, but more often than not I wear white gold or sterling silver accessories. I also don't usually go in for big, chunky or clunky and these chains are solid. Hmm, maybe I'll find a good place to wear them when we go on vacation this September, or maybe I'll just put this one up and use it as a gift for someone else who would enjoy it so much more. Popsugar did send a coupon code for 20% off your first order at Baublebar as well a great deal for those in the market for some awesome fashion jewelry. I'm not sure I'll be using this either, unless I find that I need to pick up a certain accessory for the wedding we're attending at the end of summer. We'll see. I was excited to be introduced to this new company though!

Okay, Like I said before, my husband and I love iced tea in the summer. Actually we could both probably drink it year round and ice disappears fairly fast around our house. So, the addition of a new XL cube ice tray is awesome! The cubes are HUGE compared to a normal ice cube, so all you need is one. I'm guessing the larger size will also take longer to melt and keep our drinks colder longer too? Okay, maybe that's just wishful thinking. Haven't tried it out yet, as it's in the freezer making ice right now. I can also see this making great frozen treats as well. All you'd have to do is put some cake-pop or Popsicle sticks in and you'd have easy iced treats on a stick which my toddler will love!

We love trying new foods, and it's hard to go wrong with something that's dark chocolate! I'm excited to try and share the Hannahmax Baking All Natural Crunchy Cookie Chips with my family. But we'll probably take them on our next picnic adventure, if they don't get opened before that. H/M Baking is another new to us brand and I love that they're both all natural and that the ingredient list isn't a mile and a half long!

The iced tea by Mighty Leaf in Calypso Mango is divine! I love fruit infused tea and what screams summer more than tropical flavors like Mango? I am more cautious when picking black teas as fruit infused green tends to by my favorite, but this one is definitely getting added to our summer iced tea selection! It's just that good. It's smooth, it's fruity and so refreshing!

Finally, the product I was the most excited about was the full sized bottle of Doctor T's Supergoop! SPF30 PA+++ Anti-Aging UV Damage Repair Complex City Sunscreen Serum. The first I heard about Supergood! was the end of last summer and I've been wanting to try it ever since. I fully believe in the power of sunscreen and I'm one of those people who definitely regret it and burn when I don't put it on. I used to be terrible about remembering to apply it, but with a toddler in tow and since we're always outside, I've gotten much better about it. However, I could never justify the cost of Supergoop! Especially when I still had sunscreen to use up and for whatever reason it seems to multiply around our house. I did receive a couple of samples in my daughter's July Stork Stack last week, they're a different formula, but they're awesome so I can't wait to try this one out on me!

 
Final thoughts on my first ever Popsugar box, it could have been better, but overall I'm excited and it was so much fun to get something in the mail that was just for me! Not baby related, not bills, just a fun, gift like box of goodies. I love that I can use most of it right away and that there was a nice mix of items. The only possible "dud" in my book was the necklace and I'm still on the fence on that one.

Did you get your own box? What did you think? Are you interested in getting one? Check them out here, sign up for August before they sell out as it promises to be good based on the "celebrate with us" email I received from them this morning!

August is going to be their Must Have Anniversary and every box will include the Gorjana and Griffin Open Circle necklace, which has a value of $65! It is gold but I love, love love it! If I was ever on the fence about it before I wouldn't want to miss out on August's box. You can always sign up for one month and then cancel before you're billed for the next one. You'll be getting a necklace worth $65 if you do and if you use code REFER5 or SAVE5PSMH it will only cost you $30, shipping is included! You'll get your money's worth too! Each box has a value of at least $100. July's Box would retail for around. $102.24.

PopSugar Must Have was a gift to me from someone I know. I am a current popsugar subscriber. I was in no way compensated for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. If you purchase your own Popsugar Must Have box using my referral link I may eventually receive a free box from the company. Once you create an account you will receive a referral code of your own to share.

July Stork Stack or Ready, Set, Summer! + Discount Code

July's Stork Stack showed up in our post box today and we couldn't be more excited about this one! If you're interested in finding out more about Stork Stack or signing up you can do so here. Stacks are $27.99 a month and you can save $10 on your first stack if you use my referral code F9DE8478 when you check out. They're delivered the first week of each month and you'll get an email notifying you (on or around the 1st of each month) that your stack has taken flight.

"Ready, Set Summer!" July Stork Stack for a 21 month old girl.

I was so glad to see that the summer stack included a book! We love reading, we love books and somehow we've more than managed to pass that on to our little girl. She's all about the books and I love that the summer stack included a good book to read! The book in our Stack is a First Time book published by Child's Play International called Sports Day. There are 12 books in all in this series and they celebrate "first" events in the life of a little kid. This book was a great choice for the summer stack as it shows the kids in the book doing all kinds of activities outside, drinking water and wearing hats! We've already read it several times! I'm sure it's going to be a new favorite!

As for being active and playing outside, the rest of the box is all about that. We got a super set of sand molds from Mellissa & Doug. These I'm excited to bust out and try. They're plastic, so I'm pretty sure that unlike some of our M&D wooden toys in the past they won't paint chip problems or decals that come off. Plus they're made for the sand and to be used outdoors so they have to be tough right? Anyway we were sent a set of 5 nesting (for easy storage) molds ranging in size, color, shape and sea creature. These are part of Melissa & Doug's Sunny Patch line they look fun. I'm sure we'll get use out of them in our own yard, at the park, in the pool, at the beach and possibly even the bath!

These didn't stay in their original packaging for long!

The sea creature characters, a turtle, fish, starfish, crap and seahorse - so cute!

I love that they nest for easy transport and storage.

We also received a super awesome sunhat and this one I'm totally stoked about! It's a Baby Banz: Kidz UPF 50+ Reversiable Bucket Hat and the best part about it is the adjustable velcro overlapping closure in the back, meaning that even though we received a size 2-4 hat I can adjust it tight enough to fit my daughter's head now and loosen it as she grows. I'm already in love with this idea! It's genius.

I didn't know Baby Banz made this product and honestly we've never owned anything made by them, so I can't wait to give this the old try out. At first look the material feels super sturdy, but also flexible and soft. There aren't funny seams or anything that's going to cause funny lines or get itchy in warm weather. These hats come in two sizes baby which is supposed to fit age newborn to 2 years and Kidz or size 2-5 each is sized by head circumference as well for a more exact fit.  Hopefully, this is a hat my toddler will leave on, she's not so into hats, but as we spend tons of time outside she has to wear one. At least we try to keep it on.

One side is printed, the other is solid.

I was just about as excited to see Supergoop! in our box as I was to see the Banz hat. I've been wanting to try out Supergoop! sunscreen for some time now, but haven't been able to justify buying it at full price when I still have so much other sunscreen that will work in the house. 

Now I can try it and see what I think. I honestly hope it's as awesome as I've heard it's supposed to be! While I wish that they had sent a small tube of it, or another handful of little sample packets just so we could use it all summer, I'd rather have the few samples they did include than not get to try it at all. I will undoubtedly use these for travel and on the go applications rather than every day use, but that will be great as they'll be easy to pack.

Finally, the last product in our stack was a box of Bitsy's Brainfood Orange Chocolate Beet cookies. This is part of their "smart snacks"  and I must admit it was hard not to open these up and share them right away. But that might have ruined dinner.

A new snack for anytime!

This little box of alphabet cookies come complete with a collectable alphabet sticker in the box and is packed full of vitamins and nutrients. This one will be going on our next all day adventure for sure and if they're any good we'll be scouring our stores or ordering more online!

All told, I couldn't be happier with this stack, everything in it is something we'll use this summer or would have bought to try had we found it on our own anyway. We needed a new sunhat as we're right at the point of outgrowing last years and the iPlay one we have is too big for this summer.  July's Ready, Set, Summer Stack was a hit and I can't wait to see what August has in store!

If you're interested in getting your own stack in the mail go to https://www.storkstack.com/join?ref_code=F9DE8478 and use referral code F9DE8478 at check out to save $10 off your first one! August promises to be a good one, July definitely was! Boxes range from the third trimester up to age 3.

I am a current stork stack subscriber. I was in no way compensated for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. If you purchase your own stork stack using my referral code I may receive a $10 credit on my next stack. Once you create an account you will receive a referral code of your own to share.