Healthy Surprise

I’ve got another great monthly subscription box to share with you all today. This one is called Healthy Surprise., it features vegan. gluten free & natural snacks. At Healthy Surprise, there are four different box sizes: Starter, which costs $33 and has 16-20 servings, Healthy, which costs $66 & has 32-40 servings, Large, which costs $99 & has 50-60 servings and the Super, which costs $333 dollars and has 200 servings.

I got to try the Healthy sized box. This is meant for 2-6 people, perfect for our little family of four.

On top, there was some literature about their company and what to expect in the box.

Out Healthy Surprise box was nicely packed with goodies.
My instinct was to start digging! But I knew I needed to take pictures first 🙂

On the literature, they included a “Product Spotlight”.

The Current Product Spotlight is on Happy Hemp. Happy Hemp is Vegan, Gluten-free, Organic and Raw. The back claims that Happy Help Supports digestion, sleep, weight control, hair & nails, complexion, menstrual and menopause ease & well being…it also goes on to saw these statements have NOT been evaluated by the FDA. These are just ground up (organic) hemp seeds. There was also no expiration date filled in on this package. I found that alarming. This retails for $6 and includes 4 servings.

Next in the box was Home Free Crunchy Vanilla cookies. These are Gluten Free, Whole Grain, Nut free and just delicious! These were an amazing sweet snack & I didn’t feel guilty giving them to my little guys. Each of these bags is one serving and they retail for $1.49 each.

We also received one Cranberry Nut Bar from Two Moms in the Raw. This is Gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and 100% raw. This looks great, but I did have the thought that if you were allergic to nuts, you couldn’t eat this. Unfortunately that was the case with over half of the items in this box. This bar retails for $4 and is two servings.

Next up was The Bliss Bar in “Amazon Chocolate”. This is Gluten free, nut free, raw, vegan and contains superfoods. This was the nastiest tasting food I have ever eaten. I don’t know how else to put it. It must be REALLY healthy, because it tastes like what I imagine bong water would taste like. (yea, I said it.) E for effort, Bliss Bar. This sells for $3.89 and is one serving, if you can choke it down.

This was one of the few things I’ve actually heard of, Hail Merry Almonds. This is the Vanilla Maple flavor (yum!). These are raw, vegan and of course gluten free. I’m excited to try these, but I don’t have a nut allergy. These usually come in larger bags so this is one serving with a sample value of $1.90

Coconut Bar Cherry– I think I’m going to love this one. It’s Lactose free, Kosher & of course gluten free. It only has three ingredients so that is always a plus. Oskri Organics has a huge line of bars and this is only one flavor (Cherry) or one line (Coconut Bar) the combinations seem to be endless! This is one serving and has a sample value of $1.10

There are a lot of these in my box…4 in two different flavors. These are “Gone Nuts” by LivingIntentions. (in Thai Lemon Curry) I have a lot of problems with these. First of all, if you have a nut allergy you are out of luck, 2- These make up 12 servings in my box. If you signed up for this box to discover new foods, this does nothing for you. 3- These are in a very odd size and packaging. I cannot find this 3oz size (they sell them in 3.5oz bags) or packaging on their website. 4- You cannot buy these anymore.
My husband is raving about the way these taste, but we can’t get more of his new favorite gluten-free snack.

This is the second flavor I got, Spinach Pesto. These retail for $5.69 and contain 3 servings each- I’m a little annoyed at getting a discontinued product but even more so that I was given SO much of it.

Next was Go Raw Pizza Flax Snax. These are Raw, gluten free, wheat free & nut free. I really enjoyed these & they really do taste like pizza! This size bag sells for $5.49 and has 3 servings. (Looking around online, I noticed that everyone else who got the “Healthy” sized box received two of these- I feel jipped.)

Another surprisingly sweet treat in the box was Skinny Crisps. These are low carb and gluten-free.  These tasted really great & went perfect with a glass of milk 🙂 This 5oz bag costs $5.99 and has 9 servings.

Lastly, was Bare Fruit Granny Smith Apply Chips. In a house of two toddler boys, this was the first thing gone. We loved these so much. This is one item I know 100% I will repurchase. Adore these! And so did the boys. This bag retails for about $6.75 and contains 2 servings of fruit.

So, is this bag worth it & does it deliver?
The product total for all these items is $60.86– which seems like maybe you are getting a good deal, but I still have the bad taste of Gone Nuts in my mouth (figuratively) I mean, they don’t make this product anymore. Why is it in here? And it makes up over $20 and 12 servings of my box!!

I ended up with 37 servings (that is being nice and counting Happy Hemp as a serving of anything, it has to be added, sprinkled in or put on top of something else.) So, again-without the discontinued mess of Gone Nuts, I’d have a box that would fall short.

I have to say that it really rubs me the wrong way.
There were two other things I learned during this: One, that the difference between the “Starter” and “Healthy” sized boxes is just doubles. This month, I didn’t receive any new brands or products that people who bought Starter sized boxes did- so why pay double for that?!
Second- these products have been the same for the past three months. Nothing has changed, why spend so much money each month just to get the same items?

I have to say for me, personally, this one frustrated me. So, I call it a dud.
There are many improvements to be made.

Totsy & ThredUp

If you haven’t head of Totsy before, it’s a fun deal website that focuses on kids and Mom’s.
I’m always checking out their sales for really inexpensive goodies for my boys.

They had a sale a few weeks on books by the boys favorite author, Leslie Petricelli.
We have loved her books since we first were gifted The Potty Book is 2010 🙂

We snagged three books! Blankie, Big Little & Tubby. These books retail for $6.99- we got them for $2.75 a piece!

These are amazingly sturdy books and as you can see, these were not factory rejects or misprints. I’m not really sure how Totsy can offer them so cheap, but I’m not complaining! Shipping takes about 2 weeks and it’s well worth the wait 🙂

In addition, this envelope also came inclosed in my order.
I read the information and immediately got online to thredUp.com

This website sells gently used, brand name kids clothing. Inclosed in the envelope was this bag.
How it works is, you fill the bag with your used clothes and mail it in. The shipping label is already attached to the bag and pair for!
They give you money for your clothes, you can even get the money as credit towards Totsy items!
I’m excited to use this service! We’ve got a lot of baby clothes laying around!

You can also request one from their website.
It’s free!

Julep Maven July (American Beauty)

We got our Julep Boxes a little early so we could have them before the 4th, after all “It’s your time to SPARKLE!”
I chose American Beauty- I tend you just choose whichever colors appeal to me 🙂

So, our boxes this month were small (we all got lip glosses! So there was no need for a larger box)
and decked out in Red, White & Blue! I thought this box was adorable! By far my favorite as far as decorations.

My lovely insert- as stated in the top right corner- we got a free nail polish! Not shown on the card.
People in American got a glitter polish called “America” and people in Canada got a glitter polish called “Canada”

First thing I pulled out of my box was my lip gloss. I adore this color. Their new Lip Vernis is non plumping which is a nice change (thought I liked the plumping ones as well) It’s VERY pigmented and it lasts a really long time.

Unfortunately, my lip gloss is…defective 😦 The stopped that removes the excess from the wand upon being extracted is lodged in my lid. I’ve tried just about everything to get it out and nothing have worked. I would normally be really upset by this BUT I know after the brush issue, I can trust Julep to stand by the products they send out. I’m 110% they will take care of this for me.

On to my polishes! (I just had to show you the cute packaging again!!)

Out edible treat this month was Atomic Fireballs!! I was stoked when I saw these, they fit the theme so well. After popping one into my mouth, I turned to my husband & said, “Do you ever look at (our) children and see them doing things and think, how do they do that? But know it was something you tried as a kid? This is one of those things!” They are SO hot!! I’m wondering what I was thinking as a child consuming bags of these!

I got three polishes thanks to the great bonus this month!  Yumi– an out of this world glitter. I thought this would be pretty, I did not know I would have to urge to remove all my nail polish and bathe in this stuff. I wish I had bought an extra!! Lynn– This was a bit sheer, but as far as sheer colors go, this is a must have in any collection. & Lastly, America– this was packed with glitter and very easily covered my nail. I didn’t expect that either.

I swatched them all- note that these are all over my Couture Gel Nail Polish in the color “In The Buff”. I loved everything in my box this month & I even ordered one additional lip gloss as an add on! I’ll let you all know when I get it!
Don’t forget, you can get your first Julep Maven box for one penny! Details HERE.

Mirabella Beauty!

Recently, I got the chance to try a few awesome lip products by Mirabella beauty!
They have a great deal going on right now, so I’m excited to share it!

First off, this is my completed lip look! I had a little fun with Instagram.
This looked stayed perfect for about 3 hours and I would say I wore it for another 3 with medium coverage- not bad!

First I applied Mirabella’s Lip Luster Liner in Charming.
This liner was super smooth but without the oily feeling of some liners.
I found this to be really buildable which was perfect for layering with my lip gloss 🙂

This is Mirabella Colour Luxe in Beam. This has so much sparkle. I’ve tried a lot of lip gloss in my day & I find a lot of glittery lipglosses to be gritty or wear off easily- this one does neither. This is a wonderful summer color and I love that I can apply more of less lip liner to adjust from a day to night look. This lip gloss also had an amazing applicator! It’s a cross between a “paddle” style applicator and a doe foot. It’s flat but smooth and slightly spongy. I’ve never seen anything like it!  The application is smooth, the shine of gold with this pink is a perfect pair.

Speaking of pairs:
Right now, you can get these both at an amazing $18 discount!
Click HERE and add them to your cart. The discount will be applied once they are added to your cart.
Bringing the total to only $26!

Woot.com Bag of Crap: GIVEAWAY!

As you might know, I’m a deal website junkie.
There are some great ones out there, but Woot! is in a league all its own.

Woot.com features daily deals in several categories such as wine, kids and t-shirts.
Every now and then they do a Woot! Off, where once a certain item is sold out, they move on to the next.
The most coveted Woot! Off item will sometimes appear, like a Unicorn- The Bag of Crap.
A Woot! bag of crap is just that- Crap.
The “bags” (which actually come in boxes and contain a bag of “some sort”)
can contain items that are lame or broken OR both lame and broken.
But from what I’ve seen, that isn’t always the case. (but it has happened before!) With a price tag of $3 plus $5 shipping, it seems that everyone agrees- it is well worth the risk! That makes them hard to come by.
Bags of Crap are notorious for selling out in the time it takes you to blink- trust me, I’ve tried countless times to obtain one.

So, if I’ve never been able to purchase an illusive Bag of Crap from Woot.com, why go on and on about it &  torture myself?
Because Woot.com has agreed to give away 10 Bags of Crap to 10 lucky readers here at TheRosySnail.com! While every giveaway is exciting, I wanted to introduce you all to The Holy Crap Commandments V3.0

THE HOLY CRAP COMMANDMENTS v3.0
I. Thou shalt expect nothing beyond ONE bag of some kind and THREE crappy items.
II. Thou shalt not whine and complain when some people’s crap turns out to be nicer than yours.
III. Thou shalt take a moment to consider whether you might be better off just not buying this crap.

IV. Thou shalt not expect better crap just because things are different this time. Crap is crap.
V. To paraphrase Stephen Stills, shalt thou not get the crap you want, want the crap you get.

With that in mind: Please follow the easy instructions below.

HOW TO ENTER:
1. At least CONSIDER going to the Woot Facebook page and hit “like”. (I know you want to.)
2. Check out TheRosySnail on Facebook & do the same.
3. Leave a comment. This will count as your official entry.
You can say whatever “crappery” you would like, just let me know you are a living, breathing human being.
(The undead will not be eligible)

*Feel free to subscribe to The Rosy Snail via e-mail to ensure you know about future giveaways first! & so that you don’t miss it when the winners are announced.

Giveaway ends on Wedneesday, July 11th at 8pm Central.
Winners to be announced the following day!

Photos and images are copyright Woot, Inc. and used with permission.
The Prize of 1 Bag of Crap per winner, (with 10 total winners)  also provided by Woot, Inc.

Physicians Formula pH Matchmaker

I recently got the chance to try some Physicians Formula products that I have been eying for a while now!
You’ve probably all seen their pH Matchmaker line, it lights up! That made the line a total attention getting for me.

Check it out!

From The pH Matchmaker like, I tried three things: the Lip gloss, blush and light bronzer.

This pH Powered Lip Gloss reacts to light and your pH to become your perfect shade in about 60 seconds. The formula is super smooth and  boasts a very long wear. It is meant to last up to 10 hours. I wore mine for a fairly long time, but it did not hold up through eating. On my lips, this turned the most amazing dark, but hot pink.

Next was the pH Powdered blush. I saw a definite change in the color of this blush after 60 seconds! More than I expected to! It went on super bright as shown in its compact but evened out to a peachy coral on my cheeks. I adore this color. I was worried that it would become too dark once applied as to look like I put too much on, but no. It was very easy to apply this like normal, using your normal amount.

The real winner for me of the pH Matchmaker line was the Bronzer. I cannot say enough! This perfectly blended and matched to my skin without an “orange” look. I applied it heavier to contour, but this looks amazing all over the face and declate for an amazing tanning effect. For someone who me that likes to use self tanners, this was a great option instead of having to switch concealers and foundations every time my tan changed. Not to mention the 14 hour wear!

I also got to try the new Organic Wear Last Boosting Mascara. This formula is free of harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives, Parabens, and GMO’s (genetically modified organisms- GROSS!) It’s 100% natural origins and obviously, not tested on animals. Sounds like a dream, but how does it apply? Wonderfully, while the drying time is a bit longer (probably because the formula doesn’t have any nasty chemical dryers) but it looks amazing and is easily applied with it’s recyclable applicator brush. I love the design of the tube and it had the fattest brush I have ever seen. Wonderful mascara!!

Which Physicians Formula Product is your favorite?

Conscious Box June 2012- WIN IT!

My June Conscious Box finally showed up at my door today! It’s a little late but I’m still excited to share it with you guys!
Conscious Box is a monthly subscription that costs $12 plus $7 shipping and it delivers samples of the best health and nutrition products on the market.

**WANT TO WIN YOUR OWN?**
All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what was your favorite item in June’s Conscious Box.
Click HERE to “like” Conscious Box on Facebook!
Be sure to Subscribe to The Rosy Snail via e-mail so you will know who wins!
Winner will be announced July 4th!

This months theme was “Leap Into Summer”
On the inside lid of the box is a note card with a short description on what you can expect inside.

June’s box was packed full, as usual!

This months bonus was a cute postcard with a tree landscape on it. With Conscious box,
you can get bonuses just by participating on their Facebook.

First thing on the list is Vega One, a plant based nutritional shake.
You just add water. This is in the flavor chocolate so it should be good!

Next was Artisana Almond Butter– this only has one ingredient, organic Almonds.
My toddlers ate this in just a few seconds, they love almond butter.

We got a .16oz sample of KO Denmark Body lotion.
This is a really small sample for body lotion, but I’ll still give it a try.

Also included is an eBoost energy & immunity shot for natural energy.
I’ve seen these around, but I’m excited to try this Super Berry flavor.

This is a Life Ocean Salt sample with a card that says make your own energy drink.
I’m a little confused on how adding this salt product to water is going to make something I’ll want to drink.

Next is a mini Larabar! I’m excited to see this especially since I got a Cappuccino one. Score!

Mighty Leaf teas have been popping up all over the place in sample boxes,
but I hear they are delicious!

Next was a Natural Vitality Energy drink.
This one doesn’t needed to be added to anything and it’s also organic and made of Natural Foods.

At first, I thought this one was a lip balm (hoped it was a lip balm)
But this is Savvy Boheme Natural deodorant. I think the sample packaging is pretty clever.

Next was Vita Rocks, these taste like you would think, Vitamin flavored pop rocks,
but the idea is just too much fun. If you are not one who likes to take their vitamins, I could see this really working for you.

We also got a soap sample from Natural Newborn.
This soap naturally deters several outdoor pests. I’ll be interested to see how well this works.

Next is Kelp Crunch. I’m one to always say I’ll try it first.
So while a Sesame flavored crunchy Kelp energy bar doesn’t sound amazing in taste,
I’ve heard it’s out of this world.

For the $12, the value is definitely there. I do think the $7 shipping is a little high. The box is just not that heavy. I think this is a great resource for people who are trying to live Conscious lifestyles, and has a great balance of items.

LaVaque Nail File- Get one FREE

As much as I love to paint my nails and show off all the beautiful colors I get, it’s a fact that nails require care.
With a few tips and tricks, it’s really not that hard! & you don’t need to over pay a salon to have beautiful nails.

One of the best tips I could share with you all is, invest is a good nail file!
While the sandpaper files may seem like a bargain, you’re going to end up replacing them so often that the
$1 you paid for it can quickly add up with replacement cost.

My favorite file has got to be  make of crystal. LaVaque makes and amazing Crystal file. They even have a new vibrant “Go Green” model! That reminds me, did you ever think how much paper or trees are wasted on flimsy paper nail files? Way too much. A quality crystal nail file is going to last you for years. Not to mention, you can’t sanitize or clean paper files, they would just fall apart! You can completely submerge your LaVaque crystal nail file in any cleaner of your choice.

So, how do you get your hands on one of these?
Just click the banner below and use the code 6XCQX7 to get a FREE Crystal nail file with any LaVaque order!
They have so many great tools, I can’t wait to share the rest with you!

Klutchclub WINNER!

We have an official Winner!

Yessi A.!
Please e-mail me your information so I can forward it to Klutchclub!

Woo Hoo For Bulu

Bulu Box is the newest subscription box geared towards nutrition and suppliments. To get 4-5 samples for only $10 a month! Unlike some of the other health based boxes I have blogged about, this one is non-gender specific. SO- HURRY and go to their website. Use the code 500FREE  & if you are one of the first 500 people to sign up, your first box is FREE!
I got my Bulu box a mere 2 days after I signed up. I could not believe it.
I also got one for my husband and it arrived at the same time.

I opened the box- about the size of a small USPS flat rate shipping box, to see it packed full of goodies!

Included right on top, were two cards, one telling you other places to find Bulu and the other introducing you to all the items found in the box.

First thing I pulled out was Life Equals Omega 3 Sample. My husband pointed out that with this small a sample, we weren’t really going to know if we liked it or not nor be able to notice a difference, but I dug a little deeper and found this literature on the company also included in the box. “Buy Healthy. Give Healthy” For every bottle you buy from Life Equals, they donate that same amount in Children’s Vitamins. It reminds me a lot of Toms one for one & I thought this was an amazing company to introduce through Bulu box.

Next was a tube of Rev Honey Energy.This is actually a sweet tasting peach and honey gel/paste. Honey and freeze dried honey are the only ingredients. While I’m not sure how this will improve your health, I do think it tastes wonderful and is a great alternative to grabbing a candy bar or cookie. I think we’ll probably throw this on some buttered toast! Okay, that isn’t healthy but that would be soooo yummy!

We also received a full bottle of Vitamin D3 from a company called Pure Matters. This bottle includes 30 capsules. This is a huge sample and a great surprise! I know so many of us don’t get enough vitamin D & without vitamin D, it’s nearly impossible to get the Calcium you need. I’ve been taking these for a few days and I feel energized in the same way I do from a little bit of sunshine.

Another tasty treat in this months Bulu Box is Night Food, this is a cookies and cream flavored nighttime snack that is suppose to help you sleep easier and more restfully. The first ingredient in this as a sweetener is organic and it actually has real Oreo Cookie bits! It does contain 1.5mg of Melatonin & 500mg of Chocamine so it looks like it may just be a Melatonin infused comfort food. I’ll try it.  This was super filling and did make me groggy. I’m not a big advocate for eating before bed but it had good flavors and if you’re a midnight snacker- give this a try.

Our last sample was Super HD Fat Targeting & Sculpting agent. This is a weight loss pill- just one. While my husband knew this was something he wouldn’t use and said it was again too small a sample to know, I disagree. I would love to be trying an energy and weight loss boost but a lot of them leave me jittery. With one pill, I’ll know if this is one that will do that to me.

With just the samples provided, I am loving Bulu box, it’s one that I will definitely continue getting. BUT there was more! Pure Matters also included a $10 gift card (code). Online, they offer free shipping on every order with some full bottles starting as low as $10.95. I scored a bottle of 60ct. 3mg Melatonin for $.95- free shipping. This insomniac is very happy! They also run deals so be sure to sign up for an account to get their email alerts!