Review: Furkid – June 2016 Box

Time to review our June 2016 Furkid Subscription Box. I totally forgot to take my usual pic with Maggie sitting amongst all our items so I figured her licking her mouth after gobbling down a treat would suffice.

Furkid (aka Paws & Play) is a Canadian monthly subscription box for your furkid; each month you receive a variety of high-quality products for your pet and you can personalize your box based on your pets preferences (i.e. strong chewer, soft or crunchy treats, gender, etc.).  This is our 5th box as a part of our subscription service; I originally signed up for a 3 month subscription and it auto-renewed back in May for another 3 months (read more about that here).  I was charged $133.95 CAD for this second round of subscriptions, meaning this box has to have a value of at least $44.65 to be worth it.  To find out if it was, keep reading!

Here are both the product cards that were included this month – aren’t Bernie & Nellie cute?  🙂

Details on what was included in this month’s box.

Quality House Brand Freeze Dried Beef Lung Treats – $?: This isn’t included on the product card so based on what I saw online these are worth around $10-11 CAD.  I’m assuming this is a bonus item, which I appreciate but we received beef lung treats last month as well so I wish we had received something different.  Plus beef lung kind of makes me dry heave haha.

Northern Biscuit Minis Treats – $7.95 CAD: Disappointed yet again to see crunchy treats included in our box although at this point I kind of expect it now.  I do appreciate the all-natural ingredients but we’ll hand these off to one of our doggie friends.

Messy Mutts Cleaning Gloves – $8.95 CAD?: The product card lists a cleaning mitt so I’m not sure if this is what it’s referencing?  That’s a little confusing.  These are pretty nice gloves as far as gloves go – they’re quite thick and long and they’re cotton lined.  I don’t like using gloves to bathe Maggie but I’ll use them for cleaning the house or some other purpose.

Play Momo Monster – $17.95 CAD: This is seriously adorable and probably the cutest toy we’ve ever received in a subscription box.  It’s soft and has a squeaker and Maggie really likes it.  Big thumbs up on this one!

Chuck-it Toy – $11.95 CAD: We don’t really need anymore balls but these ones are good to throw outside as they can typically withstand all weather conditions.  Haven’t decided if we’ll keep these or not but the size of these is perfect for Mags.

Plato Thinkers (Salmon) – $2.45 CAD: Maggie was super excited to see this included – these are some of her favourite treats.  We buy the big bag of these regularly, although not in the salmon flavour.  Happy with this one!

Value of this months box: $49.25 CAD plus $10-11 CAD for the bonus item.

The value of this month’s box was there and we were pretty happy with a few of the items, although I’m still hoping they’re going to get our treat preferences correct.  Next month is our last box (for real this time) so we’ll see if they can do it.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Read our previous Furkid/Paws & Play box reviews below:

February 2016 Box

March 2016 Box

April 2016 Box

May 2016 Box

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Luxe Box Summer 2016 – Review & First Impressions

Welcome to my review of the Summer 2016 Luxe Box! I received my very first Luxe Box in the Fall of 2015 and sadly, this will be the last box I receive.  I’ve decided to cancel my subscription because I’m considering trying something new and non-beauty related/focused and while I’ve generally enjoyed my boxes, I’ve never been blown away by them.  I found that Luxe Box could sometimes be disorganized – for instance, this month’s box came without any type of product card? Other times the cards would be inaccurate or missing products.  Also, there many times where I’d receive a shipping notification after my box had been delivered.  Those are small things but after a while they tend to add up.  In addition, I was a little frustrated that the boxes weren’t more uniquely curated, given that they were only sent out on a quarterly basis.

That said, I do really appreciate the fact that this box only ships on a quarterly basis – that’s why I signed up for it.  And I do find the price pretty reasonable for all that’s included ($26 CAD/month plus GST – shipping included) for 7-8 deluxe samples, with at least 1 full size item included.  Lastly, they are a Canadian company, and I love supporting Canadian businesses when possible.  So while I think they have some room for improvement, I wouldn’t hesitate to consider them again if I choose to sign up for another beauty subscription box.

So, with that out the way, let’s get into what my Summer 2016 Luxe box included…

Barefoot Venus Lip Bliss (Spearmint) – $7.50 CAD

Moisturizing Mango Butter chock full of Vitamin A, and deeply nourishing Shea Butter bursting with Vitamins A, C and E combat free radicals found in the sun’s rays.  The Meadowfoam Oil serves as a natural SPF and the Aloe Butter all work together in this seriously cute, 100% natural Lip Bliss. 

I’m a bit of a lip balm fanatic and I love trying new types; I’m not a fan of mint-flavoured balms but I have to say, this is a pretty good one!  It took a bit to figure out how it actually works (you push the tube up from the bottom) but the formula is super thick and buttery and it feels really moisturizing.  Bonus points for the unique and cute cardboard packaging.  Pretty happy with this!

Mirabella Refreshmint Eyeshadow Pigment – $10 USD

Innovative loose powder formula contains conditioning ingredients to soften skin. Versatile pigment can be blended from icy to mint, with either a wet application for bright color with a sharper finish, or a dry application for a more pearlescent look.

I was really excited to see this included in the box!  This is one of my favourite colours yet I don’t own any eyeshadows in this shade.  What I like about this is you can apply it with a fluffy brush for a sheer wash of colour or pack it on with a flat shader brush for a more intense look.  I won’t be wearing this on the regular, but it’s a nice addition to my collection.

Morgan Taylor Nail Polish – I’m the Good Witch ($?)

Last season’s box also included a full size Morgan Taylor polish, and while this is a different shade, I’m a little disappointed in the lack of effort involved in including an item twice.  Despite that, I do really like this polish – the glitter is really multi-faceted and colourful and has a rose gold look to it.  I’ve used it a few times as an accent nail paired with Essie’s Topless and Barefoot and the two pair really well together.  So I’m happy with this addition but I would have preferred something a little more unique.  Note – I wasn’t able to find a price online so I’m not sure how much this retails for (as mentioned above no product card was included).

Novex Brazilian Keratin Deep Conditioning Hair Mask – $4.99 USD for 15 mL

Novex Brazilian Keratin Deep Conditioning Hair Mask is an enhanced treatment to restore smoothness and deep repair all types of hair. This product is enriched with Vitamin E and the most genuine Brazilian Keratin.  Recommended for dry, dull and frizzy hair.

There’s not many deep conditioners that I can use on my hair, given how fine it is.  Typically they just end up making my hair greasy. I’ve tried this once and unfortunately I can throw this into the “doesn’t work for me” pile.  The formula is really thick and creamy and I was a total greaseball on Day 2 after shampooing (I can usually go 3 days without washing).  I think this would work best for those with coarse/thick hair.

pur~lisse BB Tinted Moist Cream SPF 30 – $32 for 1.4 oz (received 0.34 oz.)

Your beauty balm (shade: Light) that glides on like tinted moisturizer with all the age-defying, coverage, sunscreen benefits of an foundation and BB cream! Featuring our exclusive Asian Herb extracts complex, Chamomile & Artemisia soothes skin while Sugar Maple improves skin’s appearance and retains moisture to create a gorgeous & glowing complexion.

I received a BB cream in my Spring box, so this was kind of another repeat; this is also a second time receiving a Pur-lisse product. I wasn’t too impressed with the Model Co’s BB cream so I didn’t expect much from this.  Thankfully I was actually pleasantly surprised!   I’ve tried it a few times and it’s moisturizing and provides light coverage but it still evens out my skintone.   I could also see this working really well as primer underneath foundation.  I find this to be quite similar to my Clinique City Block so I don’t think I’d order it but it was nice to try it out.

Harvey Prince Organics Sincerely Body Cream – $24.00 for 12 oz. (received 0.5 oz.)

Revitalize, soften and soothe your skin’s dry, rough patches with our hydrating Sincerely Body Cream.  An intensely moisturizing and deeply nourishing blend of Shea butter and sweet almond oil, combined with extracts of French bergamot and South African freesia, Sincerely Body Cream brings out your body’s natural luster, giving you silky smooth skin all day long. Infused with Harvey Prince Sincerely perfume.  Suitable for all skin types. Hypoallergenic. Non-comedogenic.

I’ve never heard of this brand before and I’m always open to trying new body moisturizers so I was excited to try this out.  Unfortunately I can’t say I’m a fan; the scent was really perfume-like and overpowering.  In addition, I had some major issues trying to get this to absorb – when I applied it, it turned white and just kind of sat on top of my skin, no matter how much I tried to rub it in.  So weird!  Not a fan.

O.R.G Skincare Mineral Peel Face with Brightening Agents – $44 USD for 2 oz (received .16 oz.)

Facial and makeup prep exfoliant with natural brightening agents.  Mineral Peel Face is the first all-natural enzyme exfoliant that extracts dermal debris and dead skin within seconds of application for instantly smoother, softer, radiant skin.  

Now this was intriguing to me!  Sometimes I find chemical exfoliants to be a bit too harsh for my sensitive skin but I noticed that the active ingredients (ascorbic acid, retinol, hyaluronic acid) were lower on the ingredient list so I figured it would give it a try.  I’ve used it twice so far and I probably have one application left because unfortunately my spray bottle leaked in the bag during transport. Basically you spray this on dry skin, let it sit for a few seconds and then massage your face, which triggers exfoliation.  It’s kind of a weird experience to literally be rubbing your skin off your face!

I have actually used a product very similar to this before – Peter Thomas Roth’s FIRMx Peeling Gel.  The ingredients are different but it basically does the exact same thing – and PTR’s version is slightly cheaper per ounce.  I think I actually prefer the PTR because it’s in gel form, rather than a spray.  I found the spray a little harder to apply – I ended up spraying it in my eyes and in my hair a few times – with the gel you can apply it exactly where you want it.   Plus I can order the PTR version through Sephora’s Canadian website and not have to deal with shipping, duty and exchange rates.  So while I liked this product, I can’t really justify ordering it on my own.

Overall, this was a good box with more hits than misses for me, so I’m happy to go out on a high note!

Do you have any suggestions for what subscription boxes I should consider next?  If so, let me know below!

Read about my previous Luxe Boxes here: Spring 2016 / Winter 2015 / Fall 2015

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Review: Furkid – May 2016 Box

Happy Tuesday!

Today I’m reviewing another Furkid (aka Paws & Play by Furkid Subscription Box); I had actually planned for the April box to be the last we received but thanks to their auto-renewal service, I was subscribed for another 3 whole months at a cost of $133.95 CAD. Originally I signed up for a  3 month subscription that began in February and ended in April – or so I thought.  I failed to read the (very) fine print that stated that the subscription would auto-renew on the 1st of the month following the end of my original subscription, unless I cancelled prior to.  This irked me given that I had only received our April box on April 28.  So I was given 2 whole days to decide if I wanted to renew my subscription?   Plus, the fact that it renewed not only for 1 month but for 3 was a bit shocking to me, especially given that I received no notification whatsoever that it was auto-renewing!  Unfortunately this seems to be a common practice amongst many subscription boxes, so take my advice and read the fine print before signing up so you know exactly what you’re getting into.  I did share my concerns with the owner but I was basically told I was out of luck and offered some additional items in my May box. I debated sharing my review given how unhappy I am but I felt I could still be objective, plus I have two more of them coming and it means I get to gratuitously share pics of Maggie, so I figured I might as well.  😉 So let’s get into it:

First up, the product Card; the value of this month’s “box” is equal to $50.98 CAD.  Keep in mind that my subscription for 3 months cost me $133.95 CAD which equates to $44.65 CAD per box, so the value of this box is just slightly over what I paid for it.

DIGZ Peanut Butter Smash Cookie:  As I’ve stated before, one of the reasons why I signed up for this subscription was due to the fact that it was supposed to be customizable; Maggie doesn’t like hard/crunchy cookies (#princess) so our profile states soft cookies only.  Yet we still continue to receive hard cookies.  This wasn’t included in the product card so I’m not sure if everyone received this or if this was one of our “bonus” items.  Regardless, we’ll be passing this on to one of our doggy friends.

Caru Soft & Tasty Venison Recipe Baked Bites:  These are soft and chewy and Maggie was pretty happy with them.  I really liked that they’re all natural, do not contain any wheat, gluten, corn, soy or animal by-products AND they contain no ingredients from China.  These appear to retail for about $7-8 US; again, this is not listed on the product card so I’m assuming this was another bonus item.  Overall we were pleased with them.

Earth Rated Leash Dispenser with Bags: We actually buy these bags regularly, but I’m not crazy about the dispenser (too bulky) so we’ll likely give this away too.

Etta Says Beef Liver Treat – This was a small little individual treat (assuming it’s a sample which is why it wasn’t included in the product card). Maggie gobbled it up.  No complaints.

N/A Nothing Added 100% Canadian Atlantic Pollock:  Maggie loves anything fish and these are no exception.  They stink to high heaven though, I hold my breath when I give her one.  Love that these are 100% Canadian.  Happy with this addition to the box.

Digz Prime Lung Beef Steaks: I always struggle with giving Maggie various animal body parts/organs but of course, like most dogs, she absolutely loves them.  These are actually pretty hard and crunchy but if I break them into smaller pieces, she eats them.  We’ll take the good with the bad on these.

Kong Bendeez Toy: Kong toys are expensive and are generally good quality however ours appears to be broken.  The instructions state that it should squeak when you bend/twist or shake it but it does nothing of the sort.  As a result Maggie doesn’t have a lot of interest in it.

So overall, I’m slightly happier with May’s box when compared to April’s but that’s only because of the bag of chewy treats that was our bonus item. Otherwise the only item that we would have been happy with would have been the Pollock.  One down, two to go!

Until next time!

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Read our previous Furkid/Paws & Play box reviews below:

February 2016 Box

March 2016 Box

April 2015 Box

FURKID by Paws & Play – April Box

Another month, another Paws & Play box.  Actually this is the last box of our 3 month subscription and it was going to be the determining factor if we extended our subscription or not.  I was hoping that it would blow me away and I wouldn’t be able to resist re-subscribing (you can read our review of the February and March boxes here and here).  To find out if it convinced us to stick around or not, keep reading!

Paws & Play is a Canadian monthly subscription box for your furkid; each month you receive a variety of high-quality products for your pet and you can personalize your box based on your pets preferences (i.e. strong chewer, soft or crunchy treats, gender, etc.).

This month’s “box” came in a bag again, I’m not quite sure why as I feel it would have fit in a box.  As a result the product card was a little worse for wear.

The total value of the box came to a total $51.95; I found most of the listed prices pretty reasonable, aside from maybe the toy.  As mentioned, we purchased a 3 month subscription for $109.95, which calculates out to each box costing $36.65.

They also included a separate card this month showcasing a rescue pet and their story – this month’s being cutie Tika.

First up was the Hyper Pet Gnarly Gnaws Bone. ($14.95)  It had a squeaker in it and I think these are met for strong chewers (which she is not).  Maggie doesn’t really destroy her toys (unless they have fur on them) and unfortunately she didn’t much interest in this.

Next was the Petcurean Catfish Barbue Jerky for Active & Opinionated Dogs ($16.95).  Love the opinionated dogs thing – that’s a good way to describe Maggie.  I knew she’d like these as she likes jerky treats and fish and she gobbled one right up.  These were a hit!

Our third item was Northern’s The Big Biscuit ($4.95). This is a hard crunchy treat and our profile was set up not to receive crunchy treats so I was a little miffed to see this included.  I broke Maggie off a piece but as expected she turned her nose up at it.  There’s that opinionated dog thing kicking in.

Also included was a Fur + Body Revitalize & Sustain Dog Refresher ($12.95).  This is a spray that can be used to deodorize your pet’s coat if it’s getting a little less than fresh and you don’t have time for a bath.  We don’t have anything like this so I thought this was kind of neat.  I gave it a try and it smelled pleasant and seemed to work pretty well.  I like that its made with organic and natural ingredients too.

Lastly was a This & That Duck Wing ($1.95).  Looks appetizing doesn’t it?  😉  I was a little concerned because there was no packaging on this, it was just loose in the bag. I had to reference the product card to determine what it was but it didn’t give any details as to to where it was made.  In addition, I googled “This & That” and couldn’t find anything about them online so that was disappointing; I like to know where the products I’m feeding Maggie are coming from.  I’ve never given Maggie wings to chew on before and the shape of this made me a little nervous, but she was going crazy for it.  So I gave it to her and as you can see, she really enjoyed it at first:

Thank goodness I was watching her because within a few minutes of her chewing on it, she started coughing and I had to pull it out of her mouth because she had started to swallow it yet it wasn’t completely chewed.  After that I chucked it right in the garbage (much to her dismay).  I know there’s a choking hazard with any type of chew but this didn’t seem to be breaking down like a bully stick normally would, which is why she nearly choked on it.  Scary moment for me and I definitely won’t be purchasing any duck wings (or any other kind of wings!) for her going forward.

And that was this month’s box.  Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be renewing our subscription.  I really like doing these unboxings with Mags, she gets so excited when we go to open them up.  But on the other hand, I find we’re only using about 50% of the items that we receive and I’m feeling a little frustrated that our profile preferences have been ignored twice now.  I might do some more investigating on other pet subscription boxes just to see if there’s a better option for us.  If you have any recommendations, please let me know below!

FURKID by Paws & Play – March Box

Today I’m reviewing and sharing our unboxing of the March FURKID by Paws & Play box.  This is the second box we’ve received as part of our 3 month subscription.  You can read our review on our February box here.

Paws & Play is a Canadian monthly subscription box for your Furkid; each month you receive a variety of high-quality products for your pet and you can personalize your box based on your pets preferences (i.e. strong chewer, soft or crunchy treats, gender, etc.).

This month’s “box” actually came in a bag due to the size of the items included.  Like last month, they included a product card that lists everything included and their respective prices.  This value of the box this month was $65.75.

On the flip side of the card they always feature a rescue pet and his/her story.  This month’s coverboy is a kitty by the name of Luxx. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first item we pulled out of the box was this Chuckit! Max Glow Medium Ball.  Maggie will play fetch for about 2 minutes so she’s not really into balls.  However we usually keep one out in the backyard for when she has the urge so this will be good for that.  Or if we decided to play fletch at night I guess!

Next – another toy, this time an Indoor Tumbler by the same brand (Chuckit!).  I honestly didn’t think she’d be too interested in this as it’s pretty big and bulky but I threw it around the backyard for her and she played with it for quite a while!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here she is playing up a storm:

They also included a footed bowl; these are always handy to have on hand and I liked the colour of this, plus it’s pretty sturdy.  Maggie wasn’t so interested in this though ;):

On to something Maggie was more interested in – a snack bar.  This is from the brand Spike and contained chicken meal and sweet potato.  This actually smelled pretty good when I opened it (I didn’t test it out, I swear):

Maggie seemed to enjoy it (please excuse the grass stuck in her fur!):

I swear if any human ate like she did (all obnoxious with their mouth wide open), I’d be beyond annoyed:

But with her, it’s just cute.  🙂

Lastly, they included a large box of DIGZ French Pup Macarons:

On top was a  little card that described how and what they make the macarons with:

And finally, the macarons themselves:

These are basically like sandwich cookies with a crunchy cookie on the top and bottom and some kind of filing in the middle.  While I think these would be devoured by literally any other dog on the planet, Maggie is a bit picky and isn’t too fond of hard cookies.  She appears to have a hard time chewing hard treats or food so I usually have to break them up into small pieces for her.  I did this for her with these but these are REALLY hard and it took quite a bit for me to break it up.  I also specified in our profile that we only wanted to receive soft treats so I’m a little confused as to why they sent us these.  So we’ll probably forward these on to one of our doggie friends.

And that was what made up our March Paws & Play Box!  Overall I was pretty satisfied with the box, aside from the macarons.  Next month is going to be the last box as part of our 3 month subscription and then we’ll need to evaluate if we continue on month by month, sign up for another 3 month subscription or try another pet subscription box.

Thanks for stopping by!

Luxe Box – Spring 2016

Happy Hump Day!  Thanks to the holiday on Friday, we’re already halfway through the week.  Sometimes I find that short weeks feel longer than regular weeks which is annoying.  Thursday at 4:30 PM can’t come soon enough!

Today I’m reviewing my Spring Luxe Box.  Luxe Box is a quarterly Canadian beauty subscription service; included in the box is 7-8 trial-sized beauty and lifestyle items.   The monthly plan costs $26 a month and the annual plan is $96 a year.  I subscribe to the monthly plan as I prefer the freedom to cancel my subscription whenever I please.

So, here’s what my Spring box included:

Smashbox Photo Finish Classic Primer (.25 fl. oz – $44 CAD for 1 oz): I’m not a fan of this primer yet samples of it follow me everywhere I go.  I’ll be giving this away.

Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional Primer (3.0 mL – $37 CAD for 0.75 oz): A second primer?  Okay I actually don’t mind this one but again, I’ve already got a few of these in my stash already.  Boring.

Jelly Pong Pong Lychee Softening Shower & Bath Gel (30 mL – $15.95 USD): Lychee’s gross me out – I personally think they look and feel like eyeballs. So I can’t say I’m super excited by this but I haven’t tried it out yet.  At first I thought this was a sample size but it appears this actually full-sized.  I can’t imagine paying $15 for this little tube?

POP Beauty Kajal Pen – Inky Purple (0.9 g – $10 USD): This excited me at first as I actually quite like purple eyeliners.  Then I tried it.  This smudged like crazy.  Plus it’s not really all that pigmented so you can’t really tell that it’s purple.  And if you actually want to smudge it out and use the smudger that’s on the end of the brush, it rubs the eyeliner away.  Fail.

Schick Hydro Silk Razor ($12.64 CAD): This seemed like an odd addition to the box but one of the few things that I’m actually going to use.  We typically purchase the value pack of Schick disposable razors from Costco and they work well but every so often its nice to use something a little more luxurious.  I’ve used this a few times and I do enjoy how soft my skin feels after and it definitely reduces the number of nicks and cuts I inflict on myself.  On the down side I don’t find these provide as close of a shave as my disposable razors.

Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer – Eye Candy (15 mL – $15.83 CAD): I always like getting nail polishes and I’ve never heard of this brand before so its nice to try something new.  If only the colour were more unique – I have this periwinkle shade in other brands so I wish they would have included something a little different.  I have tested this out and the formula seems easy to work with so that’s a bonus.  I struggle with the $15 price tag on this though, as nice as the formula is you wouldn’t catch me paying $15 for a bottle of this.

Model Co BB PLUS Cream Daily All-In-One Skin Perfector Broad Spectrum SPF 30 – Light (35 mL – $22 CAD): This is what excited me most out of the whole box – I love BB creams for the warmer months when slathering a thick layer of makeup on my face is the last thing I want to do.  This pretty much claims to do it all including cover blemishes and imperfections, maintain hydration, correct signs of dullness or fatigue and help protect the skin from UV rays.  Unfortunately I’ve used this twice and I’m not even the least bit impressed.  The coverage of this is so sheer that it does nothing to cover any blemishes or scaring, nor does it brighten or awaken my complexion. It feels pointless to even apply it. On top of that the shade is really orange/yellow so it gives me a really attractive Oompa Looompa glow. And if that isn’t enough,it doesn’t last on my skin.  Both times I’ve used this I’ve applied it in the morning and hung out at home on the couch all day.  After a few hours, the product dissipates off my face and I don’t have a trace of it left.  I could potentially use this as a primer but that’s about it.  Huge disappointment and wouldn’t recommend this.

This month they also included two coupons; one for a bonus 3500 Shoppers Optimum points if you purchased the full size of the Benefit POREfessional Primer.  I don’t like it enough to purchase the full size so that won’t be going to use.  The second was $5 razor blades for the Schick razor.  I know razor blades are expensive so I might actually use this.

So, if you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty disappointed with this season’s box.  I feel like there wasn’t a ton of thought put into it (2 primers, a razor, etc.) and the products I was excited to try fell flat.  That said, this is only my third Luxe Box and I was happy with the previous two I’ve received.  Here’s hoping the Summer Luxe Box is more impressive!

Have you tried any of these products?  What are your thoughts on the Spring Luxe Box?  Let me know below.

Thanks for stopping by!