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PopSugar Must Have Box
Cost: CFDA + POPSUGAR Special Edition Box: $195 (One-Time Only Purchase). Monthly Box: $39.95/month.
Ships To: United States
Coupon Code: Use coupon code “MUSTHAVE5” to save $5 off your first monthly PopSugar Must Have Box.
POPSUGAR Must Have Box is an exciting monthly box full of fun, must-have picks across fashion, beauty, home decor, fitness, and more, which is delivered to your door on a monthly basis. Boxes include full-size products and premium items including tried-and-true classics, celebrity favorites, and brands consumers have yet to discover worth over $100! On occasion, they also offer Special Edition one-time purchase boxes which are separate from the monthly subscription. This is the CFDA + POPSUGAR Special Edition Must Have Box which sold for $195. It’s the first collaboration they have done with CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and the box sold out in less than 2 hours. If you aren’t familiar, the CFDA is a not-for-profit association consisting of more than 450 of America’s top designers who have joined together for one common goal: to strengthen American designers’ influence and success globally. 50 percent of the profits of this box were given to the CFDA Foundation as well.
POPSUGAR Must Have Box ships via FedEx Smart Post and took over a week to arrive. This shipped from the West Coast and may have stopped in every state along the way.
Everything was packaged in a large fancy (well fancier than their normal monthly boxes) black box.
As usual with their special edition boxes everything was individually wrapped. Mine kind of looked like it’d been wrapped, unwrapped and then rewrapped. Not a huge deal I guess, but I totally noticed.
The CFDA + POPSUGAR Must Have box included the following items:
~Maiyet Poison Dart Earrings ($295): The information card lists these earrings at $395, but they are listed on the Maiyet website for $295 right now. From what I have heard these originally were listed on the Maiyet website for $395, but the price was reduced somewhere along the way. Anyway, regardless if they were $295 or $395, I would expect them to be real gold, not just gold-plated brass. Also, I am not sure what to think about putting over half the value of the box into one item. One item that everyone might not be able to use no less. I do love the style of them though and I will (can) wear them.
~Anna Sui Lipstick (401) ($30): This might just be the most beautiful lipstick packaging ever. It’s gorgeous. And the star shaped lipstick? Fantastic. My sister-in-law is going to flip for this.
~Marc by Marc Jacobs Logo Bangle ($80): Meh. I am not excited or disappointed with this. It’s a cute bangle, but it’s for sure not an exclusive item or anything. In fact, I have heard that you can find them at TJMaxx. It does fit my wrist though so for that reason alone I like it better than the one I received in the Rachel Zoe box.
~MILLY Nail Polish Set (Coral, Bride to Be and Sangria) ($36): I can’t find any evidence of MILLY Nail Polish online anywhere so I can only guess this is a special thing? I love nail polish and I like the variety of colors in here. I think I am going to use the Coral next time I do my nails.
~The Woman I Wanted To Be by Diane von Furstenberg ($17.77): I would have preferred a piece of clothing or an accessory from DVF, but I’ll check out her book.
~Apolis+Claire v. Market Bag ($68): I love this tote. Like I LOVE it. It is, hands down, my favorite item from this box. It’s huge (it’s the same size as a grocery bag) and sturdy and super stylish. The inside is coated (and waterproof) so you don’t have to worry about getting anything caught in the canvas and the straps are a vegetable-tanned leather! This bag seriously rocks. If you see one up for trade somewhere, grab it!
All totaled I came up with a value of $526.77 for the CFDA + POPSUGAR Special Edition Must Have Box. That falls short of the $600+ promised value for this box, mainly due to the value of the earrings. Because of that (and other reasons I am sure), POPSUGAR is offering refunds on this box. If you are not 100% happy with it, you can return the box (with all of the contents unused) for a full refund. Just shoot over an e-mail to musthave@popsugar.com and they will send you a return shipping label. I believe this has to happen by 5/27 so you have a bit of time to decide. That said I decided to keep my box. I love the tote and the nail polish and my sister-in-law will love the lipstick. And the rest of the items will make up the rest of the $195 value to me.
What did you think of the CFDA + POPSUGAR Special Edition Must Have Box? Are you keeping it or did you decide to return? As I mentioned this box is sold-out, but you can still snag a monthly subscription to POPSUGAR. New subscribers can use coupon code “WELCOME” to get a free Sorial Wallet on a Chain (from the November 2014 POPSUGAR Must Have Box) or “MUSTHAVE5” to save $5 off their first box. If you check the “Waitlist” button, you’ll get a May 2015 box (i.e. this one) if they happen to have any left. If you don’t check it, your subscription will begin in June!
Totally disappointed in this box totally returning haven’t even opened it. Did not lived up to what popsugar indicated the box would represent nor the value.
I should have put in there that I was expecting more up and coming brands. I don’t know quite why I thought that though??? Maybe I was just hoping.
i had no hesitation printing out that return label. it’s no skin off my back to pay for it, i just wanted to make the statement that i thought the curation was off.
I’m so glad you did A full review of this Box. It is sometimes hard to tell just by pictures if some things are worth it. Sounds to me like everything is of high caliber at least. Unfortunately the earrings that make up half the value of the box cannot be used by me and that is disappointing. However, I have a trip coming up that I need to have plenty of gifts ready for. Thank god for popsugar I will have jewelery for all the girls.
I returned. Very disappointed in this box! I was hoping for a nice wallet or a pretty scarf or hell, I would have taken a blue clutch even!
It’s a good thing I wasn’t taking a drink when I read the blue clutch comment! LOL!!!!!!!!!!! I would have liked a $295 (or $395) handbag. Or some amazing sunglasses. Or yeah, a beautiful scarf.
Already sent it back, PSMH really missed the mark.
This box was a bomb for me. I do love the tote, but the rest not so much. Bracelet should have been a hinged style for sure, it’s just not going to fit everyone—including me. I’m returning this one and skipped Summer LE too. I just didn’t get “fashion” from this curation at all.
I got mine today. I liked this box. Just not what i would have expected for how it was advertised. I feel a bit let down. I will send it back monday. I definitely did not in anyway want a book. My taste in literature is very different. I was also hoping for some major spectacular fashion hero item. I still feel a little guilty sending it back. But i feel justifiably unhappy over this box.
Side unrelated comment. I have been hoping rachel zoe releases a second spoiler like she did last box. Im still excited for this summer box and hate that i have to wait for july.
mine went back today. I had such high hopes when the box was announced and was thinking there would be a bag or scarf or sunglasses from up and coming designers. I also thought maybe something in marsala since it’s the color of the year… just not earrings that are way overvalued, a tote I wouldn’t use because it has short handles, beauty products, a book, and a bracelet that is not so much about design and fashion as it is about the label. After seeing spoilers for the CFDA box, I skipped the summer box …
I love that red color lipstick. Please let us know how your sister in law likes it.
I love my monthly PopSugar boxes, and I generally love their LE boxes as well. I loved the items in this box, if it were a monthly box, although bangle bracelets are terrible, as they have to fit over one’s hand.
Anyhoo, my problem was the manipulation. It seems like they bullied a small company into increasing their price of an item so that PopSugar met their promise of a $400 box. The earrings were $295, then changed to $395 after PopSugar made a statement, then went back to their original $295 price. (Good for that company, by the way, for changing it back.) I wish PS would have just owned up to the discrepancy, and given us the choice of a future discount OR returning the box. I might have kept it and sucked it up, even if the discount was small.
It all seemed so shady, but I don’t know how it all played out, and they HAVE given us a solution, so good for them, I suppose. Again, I love their boxes, but my trust has been lost a bit.
I love the Apolis tote!! Really the only item I like (and maybe the lipstick). But $300 for those earrings- no way! Also Apolis does city totes and they totally have a Detroit Michigan one, you should check it out!
I’m pretty convinced that everything in a popsugar box (or something almost exactly the same) can either be found at a TJ Maxx now or within 6 months. I don’t understand why people still subscribe to it. But to each their own, I guess!