Sudsy Box Review: April 2015

As much as I have enjoyed several of my subscription boxes, there are things I don't like. In particular, I don't have very positive feelings about the way that people market their products. I especially am not a fan of sending out boxes early for review in order to get more customers. The greatest difference between just shopping and signing up for a subscription box is not convenience but surprise. I can buy brands I like that are ethical and natural for less, and I can also set up recurring orders on Amazon and elsewhere. It's much easier to manage than an account with a subscription box, especially since many of these companies make you email and hope they get it in time if you don't want to be charged. So essentially what I am paying for in these subscriptions is twofold - exposure to new brands that I may not have found on my own and the element of surprise. 

So with all that said, I was subscribing to Sudsy Box because I like natural soaps. It's not really a big surprise what's in the box, beyond the fourth item and the scents, but I figured I liked the enjoyment of the unexpected box every few months. I already subscribe to Wholly Hemp, who don't operate the same way with deliveries. You get your box the same time every month based on when you sign up and they're usually based on their current stock, so surprise is inevitable. Wholly Hemp also doesn't do a ton of marketing. 

I received my last Sudsy Box about a week ago. Sadly it's my last because certain people, and those who don't feel like they need to pay $20 every two months, got theirs almost a month earlier. I'm done with this as a customer. If you want my business, and you want my money, then you simply need to prioritize customers over marketing. Sudsy Box doesn't want to do that, so I will stick to the companies who do, I suppose. (To be clear, it's not that they send boxes out to reviewers. Bloggers get things for free and that's part of the deal, but it's the fact that the marketing strategy of revealing items well before the people who bought them get them - or even have boxes in the mail - feels so greedy.)

Hip Humanitarian Review: April 2015

This month's Hip Humanitarian box was the Beauty Box and it included several items. While I'm still not sold on the value of this box, I liked two of the items a great deal. I do like that each box is focused on a theme and that it's more of a lifestyle box than others. I also like the companies they source from (although I have had trouble getting much info on a few of them, including one from this month). Overall, I believe this is a subscription heading in the right direction and they're at least fair in not claiming they can offer the subscription for less than it costs them to operate it. 

MixCups Review: April 2015

Now that Crafty has introduced me to the wonderful world of the reusable K-cup, I have been drinking a lot more whole bean coffee. Still, there are times when even that is too much work and MixCups comes in great for those times! I skipped last month because I had my Bean Box delivery coming, but this arrived in good time as I am down to my last K-cups. 

Live Infinitely Infusion Water Bottle Review

Getting my family to drink water is getting easier. I recently reviewed an infusion water bottle that had them begging for water. This past week, I was sent the Live Infinitely Water Bottle to review as well. 

PURGGO Car Eco-Purifier Review

I drive a minivan, am a mom of three, and it has been said to me in the past that my van smells like a bar. So I am thankful to Purggo for providing me its Car Eco-Purifier to review!

Angel Crafts Adhesive Vinyl Sheets Review

Not long ago I reviewed the Angel Craft Transfer tape, so reviewing their Adhesive Vinyl Sheets seemed logical. Angel Craft was kind enough to provide me this set of 20 6 x 12-inch sheets for review.

Why I Love the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to make this a regular thing - a sort of column about travel and my favorite places. The majority of those will be museums, and generally art museums at that, and I figured where better to start than one of my favorite museums in the world? And since this all came about with talk of New York City, it's only fitting to start with the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art). In this post, I'm only talking about the main museum, not the Cloisters as well. I will cover them in a later post.

If you're easily overwhelmed, the Met is not a good place to go without a plan. It would take ages to see everything. It's the largest art museum in the US and in the top for size around the world, at around two million square feet. The facade actually doesn't do the intimidating size justice; it merely makes it look big. However, once you accept that one day is simply not enough time to see everything and select what you do want to see, it's a bit more manageable. This is easily a museum where you could arrive when it opened, leave when it closed, and still feel like you needed several more visits to explore in depth.

Dapper Box Review: March 2015

As we have previously discussed, my husband is far from interested in style. So when I was offered the chance to review Dapper Box, I asked Crafty first if her husband would be better to review the items. She said it was fine for me to do the review, although I knew that meant my husband would likely be difficult. ;) Because this was a review box, we were sent the March box. 

However, Dapper Box is a fairly straightforward subscription box for men and it's really something that all men, even those less fashionable ones like my husband, could use.