I think I am in the minority here, but although I love surprises I don't think I'd really enjoy a beauty box subscription. I kinda hate sample packets of stuff and as I have such crazily sensitive skin have to be really careful about everything I use so I get the feeling I'd be a bit disappointed. I have however found an alternative subscription box that I have fallen in love with from Not Another Bill.
This is one for the fashion and lifestyle product lovers and is a monthly subscription. At a cost of £18 it may seem a little steep, but you have to think you aren't getting tiny sample products here you're getting full size items (other than the sweets in this box), plus there is no additional postage cost so I actually think the price is pretty reasonable.
When you sign up to Not Another Bill you can choose your subscription length or choose to pay monthly with the option to cancel at any time, you are then asked to select from different categories of gifts that you (or your intended recipient) would like to receive such as home wares, fun and nostalgia, men's lifestyle, women's lifestyle, jewellery, art, stationery, craft or you can pick the 'surprise me' category. You can also add any additional info, for example I asked not to be sent any earrings as I have stretched ears so wouldn't be able to use them. Even the signing up process is a stylish affair with an excellently designed website - this attention to detail is carried through in their emails and in the packaging when you actually receive your box which I absolutely adore.
I had a dispatch email last Saturday to say my box had been shipped and excitedly checked my post every day until it arrived in a lovely kraft brown and black striped box - it fit right through my postbox so no need to collect it from the post office hurrah! I ripped open the box and had a shuffle through before reading the packaging note describing what I had received...
My main gift this month was a beautiful stone rolling pin from a Danish company called Hay which is a lovely shade of jade green. It's beautifully heavy and smooth and is actually perfectly timed as my old wooden rolling pin made it's way to the bin last week so I was in need of a new one.
Second up was a bag of lovely dried oregano from a company called Daphne and Chloe which had scented the whole box so upon opening it I was hit with a lovely delicate herbiness. I'm yet to use it but you can tell it's something special just from how vibrant a green it is!
Lastly there was a little packet of sweets resembling large, misshapen, shiny chocolate eggs from a company called Lavolio. On reading that it was a nut selection I wasn't that enthused, but my oh my when I tried them... these are something very special, the crisp shells give way without too much force to a soft creamy chocolate and then a crunchy fresh nut - I received almonds and hazelnuts mainly and one that had no nut, but had a fruity truffley centre and I just can't put my finger on what fruit it was. The tiny yellow sweets were little shards of caramel brittle again covered in chocolate and a crisp shell that worked perfectly with the richness nuttiness of the other sweets. I headed over to the website immediately after devouring these babies and was pleased to see they're packaged in sweet printed tins usually so will make excellent presents for lucky people in the future!
As you can tell I was really pleased with my box, I already can't wait for next month's to arrive!