beauty, fun stuff, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Moi-Meme – 

Moi-Meme is a new quarterly subscription box that costs a little bit more than some others (£45) but is filled with beautiful, hand selected, personalised items for you and your home. It’s perfect if you like a bit of luxury and feels like a gift to yourself. 

My first box arrived on Saturday morning and was a lot bigger than I expected. As it’s an entirely new box, there weren’t any spoilers or previous boxes reviewed online so I had no real idea what to expect. 

More luxurious boxes seem to be becoming quite popular, from Look Incredible’s Deluxe box to the pretty much permanently sold out Cohorted box or the rather too expensive for me Cult Beauty Box, the make up world has plenty but I don’t think there are that many luxury boxes with more of a lifestyle bent, which is where Moi-Meme seems to have spotted a gap in the market. 

You can give the boxes as gift subscriptions and you’ll need to fill out their questionnaire when you subscribe so they can get things personalised. But interestingly, for some of the items, you can exchange them for a different size or colour.

This is a new idea and one I think is quite useful. Sometimes the box companies get it wrong, and a lot of the complaints about other subscription boxes seem to revolve around the fact that often the items seem to be completely off the wall when it comes to the profile you filled out. 

So, what did I get in my first Moi-Meme box you ask? Well, let’s dive in. 

Firstly the box itself is personalised, with a sticker, so I know this box is mine. I like this little touch. 

The box is themed too, this is The Adventure Box and just rather lovely. 

From designer Lisa Angel there is a gorgeous scarf (3 designs available) I have the very pretty peacock feather design. I love scarves as accessories and add them to outfits and bags all the time so this will certainly be making its debut soon. 

There is also a really pretty bracelet of silver beads on a delicate blue cord. It looks rather chic on my wrist and will go nicely with most summer (and other seasonal) outfits. 

I don’t know how they knew at Moi-Meme but I love notebooks, I have hundreds and I’m always picking them up. Most get used, some get lost, but this one is mine. 

My passport is not as well used as I’d like, mostly because it’s pretty new and you don’t get stamps for travelling in Europe (yet). But this Laurige France passport holder is very smart and soft. I think my burgundy British passport will look rather swish tucked into this. Now to plan a holiday! 

Now, frequent fliers will know I love beauty treats, and these Evolve Organic Beauty tubs of body polish and butter are right up my street. 

The polish is a sugar based scrub with no soap but lots of skin friendly natural oils to remove dead skin and leave you all fresh. Then you apply its friend, the shea butter based moisturiser. Again full of skin loving natural ingredients, it smells delicious and goes on like a dream. 

All in all, I love this box. It’s gorgeous. 

I am also impressed with their customer service offers – if you want to exchange certain items (scarf, bracelet, passport holder) for different designs/sizes you can. Or you can pop onto their online shop and buy more goodies for you or as gifts. The booklet has all the details. 

Did you subscribe to Moi-Meme or are you tempted? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 

fun stuff, happy mail, lifestyle boxes, mental health, mindfulness, reviews

Buddy Box – Summer Sun

The Buddy Box from The Blurt Foundation is designed to help people dealing with mental health issues like depression and anxiety. It’s basically a hug in a box. And this month’s comes with a little summer sun. 🌞

Fruit seems to be the theme too, with pineapples and watermelon popping up on the box itself and inside. 

Inside are some bright, sunny treats to help you get through July even when inside your brain it’s more like November (that may just be me). 

There is a very cute notebook with a fox on it, I love notebooks and own about a gazillion of them, so this is welcome. 

A pineapple scented air freshener. I don’t have a car but my wardrobe/beauty cupboard will look very snazzy (and smell sweet) with this. 
Fruit Fix Pomegranate & Blueberry face mask. I love a good face mask, deep cleaning all the crap out of my skin so I will  be slapping this on for a Netflix session. 

#365 Days of Selfcare challenge card and post-its. Which you can join in with. #365daysofselfcare on Twitter and Instagram.  
Personal note from the Blurt team on a fun card, which I will be adding to my inspiration wall. 

Finally, I saved the most fun till last. As you may already know, I am a stationery nerd. And I love quirky pens and pencils. This pencil is a superhero. This pencil has a cape. 

While the crappy winter weather definitely batters on my hatches, summer can be just as hard. When the sun’s shining and fun is being planned, we need to still be looking after our mental health. It’s hard to be “on” all the time and it can feel impossible to tell people you’re feeling bad when the sun’s out and you’re supposed to be jolly. 

The Blurt team know that and I am telling you, self-care, whatever form it takes, isn’t selfish. If you need to stay in, wearing your pjs, eating Nutella croissants or a pile of toast or a bowl of mashed potatoes, or whatever your go-to is, watching crappy tv, an old film, reading a good book or even just taking a nap. That’s A-OK. 

fun stuff, happy mail, lifestyle boxes, reviews

#happymail Spring box

This month’s #happymail box popped through my letterbox this weekend, bringing a dose of Spring magic with it.

It’s packed full of sweet things to make your home bright.

As well as a cute art print, there’s a gorgeous scarf printed with swallows, which I will be wearing with my Spring outfits. There’s also a flower print coaster, which will be jollying up my desk at my new job, a ceramic butterfly, cute necklace with dinky silver hearts and a little gift for my mum.

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It’s a really gorgeous selection of goodies Katie at ihearthomes has curated. Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next month.

books, lifestyle boxes, reviews

The Bookish Box – Special Edition Outlander box

Earlier this year I read the first Outlander book and became hooked, devouring all the currently available books in the series.

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While I haven’t quite got round to watching the TV series on Amazon Prime, I can tell you that I will definitely be reading the next book the moment it becomes available.

When The Bookish Box announced a one-off special edition no subscription required Outlander theme box, I had to jump right in.

All of the items in this box are themed around Outlander, which is set partly in 18th Century Scotland, so there’s a strong Scottish feel to the box, from the use of Gaelic words like ‘Sassenach’ meaning ‘Southerner’ but usually used to indicate someone English, to the thistle, Scotland’s national flower.

This all appeals to me as my family’s roots on my mum’s side extend into Scotland, we even have clan tartan.

Let’s dive in and have a proper look at the box.

I love the watercolour inspired finish on the box itself, with tartan print on the side.

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As always with the Bookish Box there’s an Appraising Pages printed T-shirt, this one in a royal blue and gold, quoting the series’ hero Jamie when he tells his beloved Claire this.

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The Sassenach bookmark from artist Lexy Olivia made me smile, technically I’m a Sassenach, but in the context of the book it’s Jamie’s nickname for Claire.

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Next up there’s a mug from Coffee Reading Writing, printed with the Scottish thistle and a quote from one of the books.

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The scent of the Highlands is encapsulated in Novelly Yours’ candle with heather, herbs and firewood evoking the land Jamie loves.

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Finally, and I almost missed this hidden in the box, is a simple silver thistle necklace from Eliza Jane K Jewellery, which I will wear with pride, promoting my heritage.

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The box has clearly been compiled with love and definitely connects with the Outlander series. I am really pleased I got my hands on this box as they were limited, but the regular monthly box can be subscribed anytime.

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Are you a fan of Outlander (the books or the show)? Let me know in the comments.

food, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Sweet treats with Scoff Club

If you’re anything like me you still have a childlike love for sweets, so when Scoff Club got in touch and asked if I would like to try their relaunched sweet box, I said yes please!

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The box is packed with both old-fashioned pick ‘n’ mix and modern favourites.

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I asked my in-house tester (my Mr) to join me in investigating the contents.

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From the old school sweet shop range, there’s jelly babies, watermelon rockets, tutti frutti fizzy cubes, clotted cream toffee bon bons and chocolate honeycomb, with modern choices – Reese’s Pieces and gobstopper bubblegum.

According to my tester, it looks very pleasing and packed. However he found the juxtaposition of hand packed sweets with prepackaged a bit jarring.

Onto the tasting. The comments – “yum, mmm, tasty, more please”. Unfortunately my tester is not so articulate with a mouth full of sweets.

The portions are very generous, and you get a nice variety, I don’t know if I’d want this to arrive too often, my dentist would be horrified!

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*The sweets were sent as a PR sample but all opinions are my own.*

#paperhaul, lifestyle boxes, reviews, stationery

#PaperHaul March

I’m a stationery nerd, I love pens, notecards, notebooks, washi tape, stickers, post-it notes, the whole lot.

This is where Paper Haul comes in. A subscription box for stationery junkies.

Each month features a different illustrator – this month it’s Jodie Goolding, whose cute animals adorn the contents of the box.

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Note cards & envelopes
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Be Positive
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Love Hope
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Love Who You Are plus Bears!
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Stickers!!
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A little something for someone else

Any other stationery lovers out there? Want to wander round the pen aisle with me. 📏📐📎📌📍✂✏✒📝✉📑📓📔 – all the emojis!

ramblingmads

books, lifestyle boxes, reviews

The Bookish Box by Appraising Pages

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The Bookish Box is a monthly subscription box of goodies for book lovers. Posted from the US, it can take a while to get here.

Each box is themed around different genres or styles. January’s is Mystery Reads.

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Inside is a selection of lovingly curated literary gifts.

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A candle whose scent is inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.

Nancy Drew inspired magnetic bookmark.

Rather lovely bookprint bow, that my Mr has already decided he will use as a bowtie!

A door hanger to keep people away.

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And finally a lovely soft themed T-shirt. This one inspired by Ally Carter’s See How They Run.

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All wrapped in fetching green tissue paper, a gift to yourself.

Prices vary depending on your subscription choices and you pick your shirt size so it’ll fit.

Check out Appraising Pages for past and upcoming boxes.

ramblingmads

happy mail, lifestyle boxes, paris, reviews

September Happy Mail – Paris

Although this arrived as October started, September’s Happy Mail is all about one of my favourite places – Paris.

I am definitely a Francophile, a love spawned from childhood holidays in the sunny south, tales of my French ancestors (my great-great-grandmother was called Salome) and the food. I am also quite fond of French literature and of course, the capital.

From the Eiffel Tower to the Sacre Coeur, the patisseries and the madeleines (of which I, a Madeleine, am particularly fond), the metro and the tiny alleyways everywhere.

Katie of ihearthomes has assembled another great little box of goodies referencing the City of Lights.

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There’s a notebook for all your Parisian dreaming, with a cute pencil to get them all down.

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Stickers for the postcards ‘wish you were here’ that you’ll send, and gift tags for those all important holiday presents.

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Eiffel’s tower is well represented, in a cute necklace and also a 3D model you assemble yourself, perfect for your office desk to keep you reminded of your trip!

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There’s also a hanging heart, an iron on Bambi patch a lollipop (heart-shaped), a cute poster and a little sign that says ‘Salle de Bain’ (bathroom) to decorate yourself and your home. Except the lollipop, I recommend you eat that, not hang it up!

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To subscribe to October’s box or buy other goodies, visit ihearthomes website or Facebook for photos.

ramblingmads

happy mail, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Happy Mail – the alternative to all those bills

Every month the lovely Katie at I Heart Homes ships out little bundles of joy, or Happy Mail.

There are three price tiers, including postage, £10, £15, £25.

I subscribe to the lowest tier, as it fits through my letterbox and that matters when your post gets delivered in the rain and parcels left outside the door get soggy.

Each month the boxes are themed, and all the little treats are associated with the theme. For example August’s was ‘Time for Tea’.

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June's Birds & Bees box
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July's day at the beach

September’s upcoming box is ‘A Trip to Paris’, and I can’t wait for it to arrive.

To subscribe, or buy past boxes or any of the lovely things in the shop, visit the website.

ramblingmads

lifestyle boxes, reviews

Pink Parcel – it’s a monthly thing

That ‘time of the month’ can be a nightmare of cramps, moods and demands for chocolate (that may just be me!)

There are now a few lifestyle boxes aimed at making things a little more bearable.

Pink Parcel is one of them.

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It’s quite a large box, but slim enough for most letterboxes.

Inside is everything you need. On the site you select how long and heavy your period is and when it’s next due. They work out what you need (choose between tampons, towels or a mixture of both) and they provide you with your brand too.

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The pads I selected (I don’t get on with tampons) came parcelled out as ‘for now’, ‘for later’ and ‘for bedtime’. The ‘for now’ are in a little cloth bag to tuck into your handbag or stash in the bathroom.

As well as the essentials, Pink Parcel also send you a bundle of goodies to help get you through the worst moments.

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This month’s extras are; Organic Surge Intensive Smoothing Serum, Green People scent free sun lotion, L’Oreal Volume Million Lashes mascara, Pina Colada Cocktail Shaker lip balm in coconut, Novus citrus chamomile tea pyramid, Cocoba hot chocolate dipping spoon, Bandzee hair bands.

Like a mini beauty box within a box really.

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To be honest I don’t know if I’d have this every month – pads are fairly reasonable and usually on an offer in the supermarket or Boots, so I stock up then.

The extras are nice, sweet idea but not nearly enough chocolate for me! It has arrived just ahead of being needed, which is good and is quite discreet in terms of packaging – it doesn’t scream “Aunt Flo’s coming, batten down the hatches!” which is good, especially if you don’t live alone.

At the moment your first box is only £5.95 so if you think this might be for you, head over to the website and order yours.

ramblingmads