Skoshbox January 2014 Review

I received the January 2014 Skoshbox in the mail two days ago.  I love that the Skoshbox team sends out their box so early in the month.  Every month its the first subscription I receive. 

The card included inside every Skoshbox that describes what is in the box.

 

A first look at what is inside the box once you open it.  I am happy to see this month there are no "bonus" items and it seems like there are more snacks.  Skoshbox used to send something extra - not Japanese snack related in the boxes such as: a mini origami booklet, a paper lantern ball that inflated when you blew into it and an eraser made in japan.  To be perfectly honest I did not enjoy any of the bonus or filler items as I thought of them.  I subscribe to this box because I want Japanese snacks not items found at the 100 yen store.  So this box looks pretty full even without the filler item.

 

So I didn't realize how bad these pictures were until after I devoured half of the snacks and couldn't retake them - I apologize!  I get this subscription mailed to my post office box and I couldn't wait to open it - I ripped it open in the car :) 

Here we have:

Shiruko Sando - Bite Sized Baked Head Cookies - this was good.  A small cracker like cookie that had jam on the inside

Furikake Senbei - Rice Cracker topped with Furikake - for anyone not familiar furikake is seasoning that is typically used as topping or flavoring on white rice.  There are all sorts of flavors and they include anything from hot pepper flakes to dried salmon.  It's actually quite good - I never eat rice plain anymore :)

Cream Chestnut Senbei - Senbei Drizzled with Creamed Chestnut

Ajituske Nori - Seasoned Seaweed Packs

Again, I apologize for the terrible pictures!  I was super psyched to see the sweet goodies in this box as I have a lot of them before!

Choco Cake - Soft Fluffy Chocolate Cake: this is a new one for me - I am actually eating it right now.  It's pretty good, a little dry.  Would taste good with milk or tea.

Alfort Biscuit: Biscuit Cookie with a layer of Milk or Dark Chocolate : this I have had before - maybe the name of it is an Alfort Biscuit but the company that makes it is one of my favorite Japanese snack food companies: Bourbon !!! Ok, maybe my favorite company :)  I once spent a fortune ordering these from a third party company in Hong Kong.  I needed to get my Bourbon fix.

Big Thunder Chocolate: Chocolate Covered Coco-Cookie: I haven't tried this yet but how can you go wrong with chocolate covered in chocolate?!

Soft Oreo: Soft Oreo in Strawberry : ok this I have had before too.  I actually am a huge fan of Oreo, Kit Kat, Pepsi and Doritos in Japan because they come up with such different snack ideas and flavors than what is available here!  I guess the Japanese market is more receptive to new ideas/flavors.  I wish they had them all here! 

EDIT: I forgot to mention the UME Jelly Candy: Hard Jelly in Pickled Plum Favor : I had something like this in a previous Skoshbox.  I don't know why its called "hard jelly" its basically a gummy...covered in sugar...its amazing 

 

I loved this much Skoshbox!  Can you guys accidently send me another?! :)

You can order Skoshbox here: http://skoshbox.com/

Conscious Box Subscriptions on sale on Groupon

Follow this link to Groupon: http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-conscious-box-subscriptions-1 to get 20% off a subscription to Conscious Box!  This link is only good for the next 5 days. 

Sparaj December 2013

Sparaj (www.sparaj.com) is a newer Spa subscription service. You need to sign up each month and supplies are limited so you may not get in for the current month you are in. I read about the prelaunch box in November and signed up right away because it looked amazing. Boxes are $40 a month. I typically wouldn't spend this kind of money on a subscription but it looked it was worth it so I went for it. I signed up in the beginning of November  but November was already sold out. I was told I would be getting a December box but that seemed really far away! Finally, I received my box yesterday.

I was immediately impressed with the size of the box:

Much bigger than my other subscription boxes.

Opened the box up and there were several layers of tissue paper.

Under the first layer was the information card explaining that the theme for this month was "Winter season at the Great Wall of China"

The back of the card also wishes their subscribers a Merry Christmas...how very un-PC of them...

Second layer of tissue paper

And it wasn't a box inside a box but a bag...one day two bags! I can always put these to good use...bring them on subscription services!

Out of the box...everything was inside the bag.

First thing: a lollipop diffuser. I've never used one of these but it looks really cute. The idea is that you just take the stopper out of the bottle and stick the lollipops in...the perfume will them go up the sticks to the rope portion of the lollipop.

I wasn't sure if you could tell from the other picture but one of my lollipops was unravelling :( hopefully it is something I can fix easily!

And this is everything else in the bag. A Scent of Bangkok soap. First of all, this smells lovely...you can smell it as soon as you open the box. Secondly, Bangkok is in Thailand...maybe some of the ingredients are from China? What's that you say...French clay? How decidedly un-Chinese. The next thing is a Foot and Nature peeling foot mask. I read about these and they are supposed to be a little gross when they are working/peeling your skin but they are supposed to work wonders. I will definitely use this as I am very tough on my feet. Something else I feel the need to mention is that this product is not from China. I knew this the second I pulled it out of the bag. A Japanese friend once taught me that Japanese and Chinese characters look the same but are pronounced differently but Korean characters look totally different. How so? The characters use circles...lots of circles in these characters. So I flipped it over and ding ding ding. Made in Korea. The last item is a milk calcium nail pack. This is also something I will use for sure. And again...these characters are the same as the foot package so it is from Korea as well.

Final Verdict: I am unsure where the diffuser was made but nothing about it screams "China". The other three items are from different parts of Asia and not China. Why choose a theme and not stick to it? Do they think Americans are ignorant and won't know the difference? Or does the company think China encompasses all of Asia? Wouldn't it be better to have a theme of "winter season in Asia"?  I was expecting something reminiscent of China and didn't get anything. Also, the diffuser was unraveling :( things like this happen but it's still disappointing. Especially when I paid $40 for the box. I don't think I will be purchasing this again.

Love With Food December 2013

So I know I am way behind posting updates. Yesterday alone I revolved 5 boxes. I thought it would be good to post the most recently received boxes first.  I purchased Love With Food for a full year. I love that they donate a meal to the needy for every box purchased. Even if I didn't like anything in the box this subscription would be worth it for me. Also, whatever I don't eat, I can trust my boyfriend to devour :)  

It comes in a really cute box. Plastic wrapped as well.

When you opened the box you found a gift card for $35 off your first month subscription to Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh sends you all the ingredients needed to cook several meals. I thought I checked before and that this company didn't ship to Florida. It looks like they do now. Hope they send to South Florida! I will be ordering from them for sure.

First look after the Hello Fresh gift card was moved. "Winter Wonderland" is the theme for this month. 

Actual first look when the card is moved.

The information card stating what is in the box.

So the first thing is sweet potato chips which I don't think is on the card. I don't think anything is missing from box so this must be a bonus item- score! Then we have molasses cookies and a chocolate dipped Madeleine. I was excited about the molasses cookie because I first thought it was another caveman style cookie. It was not. I was immediately disappointed and decided to gobble down the Madeleine instead. It tasted amazing but I have been eating a very low sugar diet so this cookie tasted like it was 95% pure sugar...which may have been accurate. Sugar is the first ingredient listed on the back of the package.

Next we have a Lindt & Sprungli Chocolate Diamond...this will go to good use I am sure. These peppermints from St. Claire's Organics have been in several of my boxes. I was at first disappointed to see them again but then I saw the extremely low amount of sugar in them and reconsidered. There is a crispbread cracker from 34 Degrees that reminds me of a Japanese Rice Cracker and lord knows I get enough of those in my skoshbox boxes! There is an Angell Candy Bar is white chocolate, I'm not a huge fan so this will be gifted to someone. The last item in this picture is by far my favorite and it is a Marshmellow Topper, Maddy Melts. The idea of this is that it is perfectly shaped it fit inside a cup on top of a hot beverage...hot chocolate anyone?! No nutritional information on the product but maybe that's for the best! 

The last food items in the box were hot chocolate (perfect to pair with the Marshmallow topper!!) and spinach dip mix that I plan to use on New Years Eve. My only complaint is that there was only one marshmallow and hot chocolate!! I love it when companies give you things that can actually be eaten/used together. Then I don't need to do any additional work:)

And the best part of this box...

A HUGE reusable bag was folded in the bottom of the box! I love it and will use it often. I already used it yesterday to carry all of my boxes inside! 

I love my Love With Food subscription, it doesn't need to be renewed for another 5 months but I already know that I will!!!

Love With Food September 2013

Love With Food is a subscription snack box.  I looked into a lot of different food boxes and this really looked like the best out there.  All of the food is healthy, organic and I believe all of it is gluten free.  They give a lot of snacks and a good variety.  The best thing about this company is that they donate a meal to someone in need in the US for every box they sell.  If you purchase the box yearly it is only $10 a box!  You can find Love With Food here: Love With Food

 

I received my first September 2013 Love with Food box several weeks ago.  I was extremely disappointed because the first box had been completely smashed in the mail.  Food was leaking out and black mold was growing inside the box.  I got a headache when I opened the box and I immediately threw it away.  I went online and emailed Love With Food to see if there was anything they could do about replacing the box (I know it wasn't their fault the box was damaged in the mail).  I did not receive a response from them for two weeks.  When I did hear back from them they told me that they were sorry that I received a damaged box and that they would send me new one but it would take 3-5 days to arrive.  The next day I came home and found the box in my mailbox.  This seemed wrong based on the email I received but I was happy to have gotten another box.  I was correct though because last night I received the second box in the mail.  I am happy that someone received and acted on my email before the two weeks because that did seem like a long time to wait to receive a response.  I guess there was some sort of communication issue on this but either way I am really happy that I did receive a new not smushed box!   I decided to do an unboxing and post on youtube, I have never done this before but the video is below...and I plan on sharing the second box with coworkers so that they can see how great Love With Food is. 

 

 

 

Sorry for the bad lighting and bad camera angles in some shots!  I am still getting used to the camera! 

PawBox August 2013

So I subscribed to my second dog subscription box - PawBox. PawBox is a monthly subscription for your pet - you can actually choose a box for a dog or a box for a cat. As I have two dogs I subscribed to the dog box. This box costs $10 per month and you can order one here: www.pawbox.com Below is my review of the first box I received from them:

This is just a picture of the packaging, card that was included with the box and a first look.

This is the actual first look. Cute tissue paper.

The first item is a grooming brush. I already have one of these and don't use the one that I have. I am a little unimpressed with this item as I think this is something I could have found somewhere inexpensively and easily.

The next item is the pop'n bites for dogs. My dogs loved these and I am happy to see it is made in the USA - couldn't help but notice the grooming brush was made in China. While my dogs did love these treats, this item was also something that I feel like I could find easily in stores, if not this exact item then something very similar.

Ok, next is the rope toy...what can I say about this rope toy...well, it's colorful!! I really wasn't impressed by this item either. My dogs aren't fans of rope toys but if they were they are abundant at our local dollar store. I gifted the rope toy and grooming brush to a friend's dog who was very happy to have them.

And next is the Natures Animals Biscuts...uh, wait a minute...guess they must have ran out because there was another item in my box. Other boxes have supplemented items because they ran out before but they usually add a little card explaining the difference in items. I didn't notice that the item was not what was listed on the card or that the picture was way out of focus when I took the picture either. Too bad because this by far was my dogs favorite item in the box. There were only four and they got two each. I found them online: this is Cloud Star Wag More Bark Less Soft & Chewy Dog Treats and from the package color it looks like my dogs got the pumpkin pie flavor...they must take after me, I love pumpkin flavored anything! Also, they are made in the USA - I found them online for $5.99 for a 6 ounce bag - I am planning to buy this when the treats I have run out. My dogs LOVED these treats:

Begging for the treats, they weren't fans of me taking pictures first!

Finally, the surprise toy! And...it's a...?? What exactly is this - a fabric toy mouse?? I swear this looks just like toy mice I used to buy for my cat to play with when I used to have cats. I am unimpressed once again - I think I could make this myself and it would probably only cost 50 cent to 1 dollar for the materials. Callie was slightly more impressed than I was however...my dogs are easy to please. Soooo, all in all I am under-impressed (is that a real word?) by this box. Most of the items are things that I could find for less than $10 in any local market or even dollar store. Maybe I would have been more impressed if I hadn't gotten BarkBox first. I have to say this box need to step up their game - I realize they are only $10 per month vs bark box's $19 per month (if you subscribe for 6 months) but I would rather pay more to get better quality items. I think they need to give less and better quality and this box would be much improved in my opinion.

Skoshbox September 2013

Anyone how knows me knows I love Asian culture so it should come as no surprise that when I saw there was an Asian snack subscription box I immediately ordered it - if you are interested in ordering it you can find it here: http://skoshbox.xom\the-box\ for only $12 a month (that includes shipping). Below is my first box:

This is the outside of the box, first looks and the card that is included in the box. The items included are: Koala's March: these are always great but not really something I would want to find in a box because my local grocery store, Wal-Mart, Toy-R-Us and Target all sell this. Chocolate - I received the Ghana - it was a bit melted when I got it so I threw it in the freezer for a bit, tasted good, nothing special Age-Ichi Senbei - this was amazing...its long gone Umaibo - puffed corn snack: cheese flavor - I haven't tried this yet but have had similar snacks and I am a fan - I have only seen these before in comic cons and I haven't gone to one in years so I was happy to see this in the box Matcha Candy - for some reason I am really picky about matcha flavored candy - I haven't tried this one yet because I am usually not a huge fan Kanten Jelly - I am a huge fan of all jelly candies - I tried this first - it was good - just a light flavor to it Popcandy Soda - lollipop: I got the cola flavored one - haven't tried it yet Manju- Steamed Azuki Bean Cake: Plain - I loved this - sooo sweet! Ichigo Milk Candy - strawberry - I haven't tried this candy yet either Fujiya Home Pie - Buttery Flake Pie - looking at this snack it doesn't look like much but I am in love!!! I hope they send this in all the boxes going forward! Kakinotane- spicy rice crackers with Peanuts - I haven't tried this yet but I have had similar rice crackers and I am a fan Keshigomu - Japanese Eraser - back by popular demand...um...really?? Seemed like a regular eraser to me! Not sure why anyone would demand this...the home pie yes...but this? I'm sure I know someone who draws who I can gift this to

All in all I loved this box - there were a lot of things to try and a bunch of things I couldn't find at my local Asian market! Can't wait until next months box - I already got an email that it shipped! Oh yeah, another great thing about this box, I gets there by the beginning of the month!

Bark Box August 2013 Box Review

My first subscription box was to Bark box - I received the August 2013 box and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I was very happy with my first box from them. Bark Box is a monthly subscription for your canine companions. I have two pups and I am always looking for new ways to entertain them and new treats...I unfortunately can not take my pups to the pet store with me because they mark everything in sight so this is a good option for me. The website to order is https://barkbox.com/r/44zeQ2tn5W They, like most box subscription companies have several options available- one month for $29, 3 months for $24 a month or 6 months for $19 a month. Add them on facebook for discounts, thats how I first heard of them! I think its important to mention that all of their items come from North or South America which is great for food safety. Below is a picture of the box and a first look when opening the package:

Below is a real first look once you open the paper the product is wrapped in:

Right away I was impressed because there were items that I had never seen or heard of in the box and so many full size/non sample items. This is the card that came with the box, it explained what the items in the box were and where you could purchase them online.

The first item in the box was the Hear Doggy whale - it has a squeaker that dogs can hear but people cannot...when you squeeze the whale it sounds like air is leaking out of it...barely audible...no way that my dogs who LOVE squeaky toys would like it right:

WRONG! My dogs couldn't get enough of it...in fact before I could take it completely out of the packaging they were going so crazy, I could not get a picture of them sitting still with it. I also ordered a bark box for my moms two poodles and she tells me the fight over this toy daily...we will be purchasing more of there! Especially for one of my moms dogs who loves to squeak toys whenever someone calls on the phone! I wish we heard of this toy years ago. I found this online for $9.99 Next item was a sample of The Honest Kitchen's Ice Pups...looks like a really cute idea...on one side of the package there are instructions to make a icy treat for your dog and if you flip the package over there are instructions on how to make a broth for your dogs with the mix. I think it's a great idea, just haven't gotten to try it yet because that would require me actually making room in my freezer for an ice tray! I should add this was the only sample in the box. This item is sold for $0.99 per packet.

The next item in the box was Barkworthies Natural Hickory Beef Treats. My dogs loved these...they are rather small though, even for my 10 pound dogs, they seem like they would be great training treats. I found that I kept giving my dogs several every time I opened the package because they were small. As a warning there is a very strong hickory smell when you open the package. These are sold by the case on the Barthworthies website - 12 in a case. The value of one would be $6.30

Next was the Primal Freeze Dried Liver Munchies. My dogs have had freeze dried liver before and loved it, this was no different. I found these online for $6.99 which really is a good price compared to what I have paid before for freeze dried liver and this is a bigger bag than what I bought.

The last item in the box is something I had never heard of and was really impressed with! Barkworthies Bully Flakes. My dogs are huge fans of bully sticks - we order them in bulk. I have never met a dog that doesn't like bully sticks. I do know quite a few dogs that are picky and wont eat their food. Mix some bully flakes in with their food and the idea is that they will eat the food and not just the flakes out...I think its a great idea. My dogs aren't picky though, and they are smart enough to eat around the food to get to the flakes. I just put two little piles of the flakes on the floor for them to try and let them have at it - they continued licking the floor long after the flakes were gone. This item is also sold by the case - the value of just one 4 ounce bag is $5.25

Overall I am impressed with this box! The total value was approximately $29.52 which is great for me since I bought the 6 month plan that only cost $19 per month. The size of the items in the box were great, the amount of product and quality were all better than what I was expecting. I am excited to find Barkworthies and Hear Doggy, two companies that I had never heard of before this but my dogs love their products. I am sad to say that this box has me hooked...I will definitely recommend them to friends and family and I plan on ordering some subscription boxes for me...hey, the dogs can't be the only one getting fun surprises every month!