Well, I love box.
Boxes, to be exact. That might sound funny, but I do: The mystery of the contents! The unpacking! The unveiling!
I think I love boxes most when they're sitting in the mailbox and still sealed shut, draped with packing tape and covered with stamps and bar codes and stickers, because the potential of the contents, the mystery and not-exactly-knowing what might or might not be inside, is almost (ok, but not quite) more exciting than the reality of what they actually turn out to be.
So you can imagine how much I love the idea of a box full of mysterious goodies, delivered by kindly strangers with excellent taste, that arrives regularly at my doorstep like a karmic present from the universe.
And that's exactly what subscription boxes are: curated, usually themed packages full of goodies ranging from cosmetics to food to a variety of lifestyle products that are compiled and then mailed to subscribers at regular intervals, usually monthly or quarterly. The variety within the subscription box model is pretty much infinite, but that's the gist of how it works.
My first subscription box, the pioneer of them all, was Birchbox, a monthly delivery of four or five beauty samples (makeup, skincare, haircare) with the occasional health or lifestyle item added in (chocolate, tea, stationery). At only $10 a month, gorgeously packaged, and thoughtfully put together, Birchbox was my gateway drug in the box scene. Then came PopSugar Must Have, the sadly defunct Foodzie and Goodies.co, and a host of others you'll be reading about in these pages.
Faced with more and more companies offering inviting-sounding subscription boxes full of mystery items and the sad reality of my limited discretionary budget, I started looking up box reviews online to help me decide what indulgences were worth plunking down a chunk of hard-earned cash for, and which weren't so much for me. The blogs and video reviews from fellow subscription addicts were so helpful and engaging that I finally decided I'd join the community and offer my own thoughts and opinions on my boxes, in hopes they'd be as useful as those I'd been lucky enough to find.
And so here you have boxfullove!
Think of this blog as another box to unpack, full of (Get it? fullove? Get it?) information, perspective, and product and unboxing photos courtesy of the incredibly talented Wesner Fleurima, Jr., who is not only my boyfriend (full disclosure, but seriously, I'm not biased!) but an amazing photographer and designer. I hope I'll be able to transmit my unbridled love of cool stuff, presents, and boxes (of course), as well as good information you'll be able to use before buying subscriptions and products.
I hope you'll enjoy the blog, and that you'll feel free to leave me comments, drop me lines, and participate as much as you'd like in boxfullove, this little adventure of ours.
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For the sake of full disclosure, I want you to know that I generally use referral links when I link up a company, product, or subscription service on the blog. This means that I might receive a credit or points in return, or even referral cash, all of which helps to absorb the costs of subscribing to boxes, running and hosting the blog, and, you know, with finances in general. You don't have to use the referral links if you don't want to, of course; but I'll appreciate it hugely if you do! For more disclosures and disclaimers, click on the disclosure tab above.