Luna Stone Subscription Review!

Getting a subscription box in the mail is always a nice way to treat yourself to a surprise! I recently learned about a small woman owned subscription box called Luna Stone, that is an accessory and self-care box & was lucky enough to receive one of their boxes to check out for a review. Luna Stone is a quarterly subscription box, that comes with six to nine full sized women's selfcare products such as skincare, hair accessories, jewelry and more. Each box is guaranteed to include a jewelry item, a skincare item and a sweet treat along with the other goodies included. You can subscribe for $25 per quarter, shipping within the US is included with the cost of the box and boxes are shipped two weeks after subscribing. Luna Stone subscriptions are available through Cratejoy. 

I recently gifted their Spring box & I will be breaking down its contents here in my review. Let's start off with the non-skincare/beauty products that were included in my box. I found a cute zip up makeup bag, I think this bag would be great to keep in a swim bag with summer essentials like sunscreen and lip balm as it defiantly has a pool side vibe to it. The pink & black bands I believe are hair ties, however I have been using a black one as a bracelet instead because I like that it is light weight & the stretchy bands on it are fun to pull on. There was also a really cute silver and turquoise flower jewelry set include that has a pair of earrings and a necklace. The sweet treat for the box this time around was some M&M's, which are always a nice little treat to have. 

Moving onto the skincare & beauty items, I found two different under eye masks and a regular face mask along with a cute tube of lipstick. I always enjoy relaxing after a long day with a face mask on while watching a show or resting my eyes for a moment, so I can recharge from the day. I've already used the Peauamie under eye mask set & they were lovely, I liked the cool blue color of them, and they left my skin feeling refreshed and nourished. I also found a couple bonus stickers that aren't shown here. 

I enjoyed the selection that was included in this subscription box & definitely think that this subscription box has a lot of potential and I look forward to seeing what they put together in their next boxes. If getting some great goodies delivered directly to your door isn't sweet enough, they also make an annual donation to a mental health charity or association. If this is something you think you would enjoy for yourself or want to send a box like this to a loved one for their birthday, I suggest checking them out! You can click on "Luna Stone" to be taken to their cratejoy site.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Luna Stone for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Unboxboardom the board game subscription!

If you are a board game lover or are just starting out on your board game journey, it is always exciting to add a new board game to your collection. If you've been stuck & aren't sure what game to buy next, or your local board game shop hasn't updated their offerings in store then Unboxboardom is here to rescue you! Unboxboardom is a monthly board game subscription company, however they work slightly differently than traditional subscription boxes. 

Typically, when you sign up for a subscription box everyone receives the same thing in that month's box, sometimes you'll get little spoilers or peeks at what you'll be getting & other times you may not know at all what will be in the box. With Unboxboardom, you will receive an email on the first of the month which will show case three different board game choices. The email shows you the board game along with a description of the game, how many players it allows and more. You are then able to select which of the three games you'd like to receive for that month & if you can't decide then do not click on any of them, and they will select one for you. Everything is pretty straight forward & they make it easy to subscribe from start to finish when singing up for a new account. 

At the moment they offer three different subscription lengths, there is the board game beginner ($31.99) where you'll receive one game every three months, with the casual gamer ($30.99) you'll receive a game every other month and with the Gaming Guru ($29.99) you will get a board game every month. For review purposes I was able to join for the month of January & received my email to pick my selection on the first. The games for this month were Ready Set Bet, Verdant, and Fort. After looking at each game carefully, I decided that my family would enjoy Verdant the most so that is the selection I made. 

I really like that they send you an email and let you select from the three different games for the month. This helps prevent you from ending up with an extra copy of a game you already have, because that would be a bummer to pay for a second copy of a game. All games are shipped out around the 15th of the month, so you will receive it shortly after that. Shipping didn't take long once it was shipped out & we couldn't wait to open it up and check out the new game we selected. Alongside their subscription services they also have a shop where you can make a one-time purchase for some of the games they've featured in the past. This was a fun subscription box to be able to receive & I think this is a fantastic company for board game lovers to check out. It would also make a fun birthday or holiday gift for the board game lover in your life if you are not sure what to buy them or what games they may not have. 

Does this sound like a subscription you would enjoy? What is your favorite feature of their subscription service?

Disclaimer- Unboxboardom provided a one-month subscription for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Escape Mail Episode 2 Review!

Back in December we received & reviewed the first episode of Escape Mail. If you didn't have the chance to catch that review, Escape Mail is an escape room in an envelope. There are twelve different episodes to complete, you are able to sign up to get one a month or they have an option where you can get several or even all of them in one go instead of waiting for the next episode to arrive. This month we received the second episode & I will be sharing a short review on it. The subscription is $14.75 per episode or you can bundle and buy them at once for $12.50 each. 

In the first episode it had a map included & had mentioned that there was a missing piece. I wasn't sure if that meant to hold onto the game pieces or not, but I did hold onto them. However, we didn't need them for the second episode. Aside from a pair of scissors, a phone with Wi-Fi & a pen/paper everything you need can be found in the envelope. The amount of time this takes will depend on how well your detective skills are. If you end up getting stuck, they do have some small hints that can get you back on track & if you want music playing while you are figuring everything out, they have a QR code for a customized play list that fits with the episode. We do not really pay attention to anything other than figuring out the clues, so we do not have anything playing during our sessions. 

Each episode is engaging & really pushes you to think about each piece included in the envelope and how they might connect. The piece you need to start will have a small riddle included on it that will give you the clue to where to start next. During this episode there was only one puzzle we got a little stuck on, so we peeked at the clue & realized we had done the puzzle correctly we were just looking at the answer in the wrong way. Otherwise, we just needed to take a moment to think about how the clues intertwine with each other & how they could be used to solve a puzzle. 

As this is something that is meant to be completed by yourself or with a group of friends/family, I won't go into detail about any specific puzzle, so I won't accidently giveaway the answer or how to complete it. I will say that some of these puzzles make you think outside of the box & they are a lot of fun to complete. My family and I have really enjoyed both episodes so far & think this would make a fun monthly game night if you do the twelve-month subscription. Age wise it is recommended for ages 10+ and I think that is pretty accurate, due to the complexity level of some of the clues. Younger children might find it too difficult or too boring as they can't really participate in helping solve the puzzles. My son is right at the age limit of ten, he enjoys helping out with the puzzles and thinking of ways they need to be solved. We are looking forward to seeing what the other episodes have in store! I think they did a fantastic job at putting these envelopes together & hope they come out with some other story lines in the future as well. 

✉ Does this sound like a Mystery Escape you'd enjoy subscribing to? What stands out to you the most about this subscription?

Disclaimer- Escape Mail provided Episode one for this review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Sips & Samples December Review!

 

I personally love subscription boxes; they are exciting to get & it is a great way to try + find new products. Last year I did a review on a box from a company called Sips and Samples, it was a fun box with a nice assortment of products, and I am lucky enough to get to work with them again to feature the December box plus tell you about their newest feature. In this box you'll find delicious drink options such as energy drinks, tea bags, hot chocolate packets along with fun samples that will range from food, skincare to even apparel or jewelry. This subscription cost $59.99 per box & you can save yourself a little bit of money by buying a longer subscription instead of paying for one box at a time. 

One of my favorite features of this subscription is actually a feature that they recently added. Included in the price of the box is a $20 credit that can be used to select a number of items from their shop to include in your subscription box. The items you select will be in addition to what is already included in that month's box. If you want everything in the box to be a complete surprise, you can opt to not select any products before your box ships & the person who is packing your order will select twenty dollars' worth of surprises for you. I loved being able to select one or two things to add to my box, they have one hundred and twenty-one different products to choose from which range in price from $1 up to $20 so depending on what products you find and like, you can end up with one to several extra items in your box. 

What is included in this month's box? Here is what I found in my box; 

★ Two samples of coffee from Coffee Masters - I received the flavors Hazelnut & Jamaican me crazy. They both smell so good & I love that the samples are big enough to make a whole pot with instead of just a small cup or two. 

★ Two Sweet & Spicy herbal tea packets from Good Earth. They smell interesting, I am always up for trying new tea flavors to try and find some I like, so I look forward to trying this.

★ A hot chocolate bomb from Frankford. My kids love hot chocolate bombs like this, so it was one of the first products used from this box. 

★ Two chocolate dipped Oreos with holiday design from Chocolate Express. Not only are they cute & festive, but absolutely delicious. This was a lovely treat to get in this box.

★ Christmas morning nail polish by Karma Organics. This polish color is gorgeous, it is a bold red color with a little bit of sparkles. It reminds me of the special red wrapping paper I used to use for my kids for the gifts that were from Santa. 

★ Moisturizing hair conditioner from Current. I am always up for trying new conditioners to find something that works the best for my hair, I am going to save this for when my current conditioner is empty. 

★ Brightening treatment mask from Aceology. I hadn't heard of this skincare brand before, so I am interesting to see how well this works & look into the other products they have to offer. 

The total for the seven products is $57, that total does not include the retail value of any of the products you selected from their shop using your $20 credit. For the credit I received I selected the following products.

★ Smoothie mix packet. This is one of my favorite brands to buy smoothie mixes from so I was happy to be able to select one for my box. 

★ A Sweet lemonade mix. I love lemonade so this was a no brainer to select for my box.

★ A cashmere scarf made in Scotland! This scarf is so soft and I love the color. 

★ A Caramel apple hot cider bomb. This looked good & sounded good so I wanted to try it out and opted to have it put into my box. 

So in total I received eleven different products, two of them I received two packets of making it thirteen items. I am pretty happy with the amount and quality of products in this box & think that the price point for the box is pretty great. It definitely took me a few minutes to decide what I wanted to select from the inventory shop because there were so many great products to choose from. Best of all the inventory they offer changes frequently so if you are someone who chooses to subscribe for a longer period of time there will be new things to browse. 

☕ Does this sound like a subscription you would enjoy? What kind of products would you be interested in adding to your box?

Disclaimer- Sips & Samples provided me with one box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Escape Mail Episode 1 Review!

 

If you enjoy solving mysteries & completing puzzles then Escape Mail may be just the thing you are looking for. Escape Mail is a fun escape room in an envelope! Season one of the series currently has twelve different envelopes to complete, you can buy them one at a time or subscribe to them all at once. They are $14.75 per episode or you can bundle and buy them at once for $12.50 each. If you aren't a big mystery solver yourself, but know someone who is, I think this would make a wonderful holiday gift. 

I received episode one to complete with my family & we had a good time trying to solve everything in this episode. Each episode will take you one to two hours to complete & can be played with one to four players ages ten and older. You'll have everything you need in the envelope aside from one or two things that you should have around your house. We needed to grab a pair of scissors, a roll of tape & our cell phone in order to get started on solving clues. I like that they had a little card that included a play list with songs that went with this episode, it was nice to have in the background. 

There will be a QR code to scan which will bring up a short introduction video on their website. This video will go over the basics of what you will need (the items mentioned above) & give you a small clue of where to start your adventure. If you ever get stuck & need a small hint there is another QR code which will allow you to take a small peek at any spot you feel like you can't get past. However you may not need that QR code depending on your detective skills. 

We have done escape room boxes in the past that were kind of meh, they lead to a little bickering and seemed to just drag along. That wasn't the case with Escape Mail, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit & everything seemed to move along at a steady pace. Some of the clues took a little bit to figure out however we eventually managed to combine our ideas & thoughts and figure out the clues. The only thing that bugged us slightly was that the all the S's on one of the papers all looked like plus signs which threw us off a little when it came to that particular part of the game. I think this episode was set up wonderfully, I liked the different assortment of puzzles types. It was fun brainstorming with my family to work on one puzzle to lead us to the next clue. I also like that this doesn't have to be completely at home, you can take it with on a trip to complete in your hotel in your down time or even have a picnic at the park on a nice day while completing these puzzles. 

I want to provide you with a more in-depth details about some of the fun activities in this game, but I also do not want to give away any game clues. We had a great time solving this first mission & we are excited and want to know what happens next. If you are a little impatient & do not want to wait for a monthly envelope to arrive you can purchase one of the bundles that sends all of them at once. 

✉ Does this sound like a Mystery Escape you'd enjoy subscribing to? What stands out to you the most about this subscription?

Disclaimer- Escape Mail provided Episode one for this review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Munchie Mountain - Get Munchies delivered right to your door!

 

Munchie Mountain is a subscription box for all of you who are sweets & snack lovers! They offer a monthly subscription box for $49.95 a month. Each box will contain anywhere from 50-75 snacks of various sizes ranging from chocolate to chips. This month you will receive a Halloween themed snack box that includes items such as chips, popcorn, chocolate and much more. If you aren't really someone who is interested in a subscription box, they also offer boxes for one time purchase, they range in price from $34.95-$39.95. 

I was lucky enough to receive one of the October boxes to check out & write a review on. My family & I are very happy with this box it is a great size for the four of us to share and each have something we enjoy in the box. It is still slightly hot out where I am, so after I had opened it and saw there was chocolate included, I popped the whole thing into the fridge to harden the chocolate again. I love that almost everything included had a Halloween theme or was a snack sized version like you would get out Trick-Or-Treating! I know it is silly, but I thought the mini bag of Doritos was so adorable, I've never seen a bag that small. 

If you order this subscription box & are single or just a couple you can probably make this box stretch out for a while. For a family it works as well, there are four of us in our house and when we go to grab a munchie we might only grab one or two little treats at a time so this will last us for about two weeks with the kids also taking one or two things with them to school in their lunch boxes. 

They even included a few non-food items which were some vampire teeth & Halloween stickers which my kids have been having fun with. Is the box worth the price point? I think that entirely depends on your budget and also what is included in the box. If it was nothing but the tiny Halloween candies, I would say probably not. However, there are some larger sized items and the assortment included in this was fantastic. Breaking it down everything in this box comes out to about $0.66 each as there are 75 pieces in this particular box. Everything was well packaged & arrived in one piece, I think a snack box would make a fun gift for a birthday or holiday surprise.

What do you think? Is this a subscription box you'd subscribe to, or would you just order a single box to try it out?

Disclaimer- The product mentioned above was provided by Munchie Mountain for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Explore the world through snacks with Try The World!

 

If you are someone who enjoys trying new snacks & treats from other countries, then you should look into a subscription box called Try The World. Every month they send out a box that contains snacks from all around the world. I was recently gifted a box to test out with my family & review here on my blog. Our box contained seven different products, six of which were food and the seventh was a drink. We had a lot of fun trying the different products together, only one of them was a product we have tried before otherwise everything was brand new to us. 

The two products that were loved by all four of us, were the Kiki Tutti Frutti which is a popular candy in Serbia & Croatia, it is also the candy that we had already tried before. The second product was the Tottis Oregano chips which are from Greece, they were so delicious & completely full of flavor. I also really liked the Sesame Snack; I've tried something similar but not from this brand. It is primarily made from sesame seeds and honey which is then shaped into a snack shaped bar, I enjoy the flavor combo although I cannot eat more than one bar at a time. 

From there the rest of the box was a little divided on who liked each product and who didn't. My daughter really enjoyed the Smoki original fresh baked peanuts & the Jowar Puffs. My son liked the Howar puffs as well, so both of my kids slowly finished the bag of puffs themselves. Sadly, none of us liked the drink or the mushroom chips though. I am really the only one who likes mushrooms, but they have to be cooked just right. The soda/drink was a sour flavor, we didn't really like it as it had kind of a bitter taste to it that is hard to describe. Overall, we were pretty happy with the box we received; it was fun trying some new snacks even if we didn't end up liking them. The snacks were big enough we were each able to try them and still have some left over. 

There are three different sized boxes you can purchase that each have their own price point. There is the 7-8 snack box for $35 a month, 10-14 snacks for $45 a month or 16-20 snacks for $55 a month. If you subscribe for longer than a month you can get those prices lowered. After selecting your plan & how frequently you would like to receive a box, they do give you the option to select countries you'd like to try snacks from. You can choose as many or as few as you'd like, however if you do with a smaller selection, they cannot always guarantee that all your products for the month will come from that country. You can use code themoonlitnook0823 to get $10 OFF of your order. 

Disclaimer- The product mentioned above was provided by Try The World for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Pink Sugar Box Subscription box Review!

I always love a good subscription box, it is fun finding new subscriptions to test out and see if it will become a favorite that you'll want to keep an ongoing subscription for. I recently found & received a box from Pink Sugar to review. They are still relatively new so you may not have heard of them yet, This box doesn't focus on one thing in particular like makeup or house hold items, instead you will get an assortment that could range from makeup to even headphones or even footwear from what the website says. They have three different subscription options you can set for your account; you can set it to receive a box monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly depending on your budget. If you do not wish to subscribe, but want to test out the box for yourself they offer one time boxes that are subscription free. They even offer a Pink Sugar Girls box that is aimed at ages 5-12, which would be a nice treat to give a loved one from time to time. Boxes cost $15 per box along with a S&H charge of $6.50 so your total will be $21.50 per box. 

The biggest question with any of these subscription boxes is, is it worth it? Let's dive into what I received in my box and I will break down the subtotal so we can compare it to the cost of the box (not including shipping). In my box I found;

Spalife charcoal & volcanic mineral peel off mask - I like this brand & have reviewed them in the past, I have been wanting to try a similar product so I was happy to find this in my box. This product can be purchased on Amazon for $5.49 

Spalife Blackhead Extractor - This is a nice extractor tool, the size looks like it will be easy to handle. I already have a set of these, so I will be including this in a future Beauty & the Book giveaway. This product can be purchased on Amazon for $4.14

Fashion Color Block Nail File - Nail files are always good to have on hand, this one is soft & feels more like a nail buffer which is also nice to have on hand to add some shine to your nails. Looking around online I found these in bulk for about $0.16 each.

Rose Gold Rhinestone Bracelet - This bracelet is cute, though I don't really like the material it is made out of. The material is kind of stiff & the piece you use to loosen/tighten the bracelet is very stiff and gets stuck which makes it difficult to use properly. I can not find these online, so I am unsure of the cost of this item. 

Rachel Couture Eye Trio Kit - I've never heard of this brand, but that isn't a bad thing! I am always looking for new brands to try out. This set comes with a liquid eyeliner, a eyeliner pencil & mascara. This kit can be bought online for $10.

So minus the bracelet because I can't find a price for it, the total comes out to $19.79 so you definitely get the base box amount back in the value of the products inside. You also have to keep in mind that this can vary from month to month, depending on what is in the box it could be a similar amount or quite a bit more. I think that this was a decent assortment of products for the first time receiving a Pink Sugar Box. I like being able to find out about new brands in subscriptions like this but I also love seeing familiar brands & favorites, so I was happy to see the Spalife products included in this. 

It is always fun seeing what surprises might await you in each box, which is the main reason why subscription boxes are so appealing. I've received boxes from other brands in the past that were real stinkers and made me not want to get another from them, but I would give Pink Sugar a chance again as they boxes have potential and they are affordable compared to quite a few other subscription services. Shipping didn't take long & everything arrived in a cute pink box.

💄 What do you think of the products that were included in the box I received for review? Is this a subscription box you would consider trying out? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Pink Sugar for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Sips & Samples - July Review!

 

I recently received the chance to check out a subscription box from Sips and Samples, as soon as I got it open, I loved it! I've tried out quite a few subscription boxes and this has jumped to the top with some of my favorites. Every month Sips and Samples sends out a subscription box filled with some new drink products to try out along with snacks & full-sized beauty products. I was able to review the July box, it had a lot of amazing goodies a few of which I already know so it was nice to see some familiar favorites in with new products. There was a lot packed into this box, more than I was expecting. You can purchase a one-time box for $64.95 or purchase a longer subscription which gives you a slight discount each month.

My July box came with twelve products, five of them were to drink, two of them were snacks & five of them are beauty products. Let's break down what was included in the box;

Sparkling black & white teas from Trader Joes - Each box contains one black tea with peach & one white tea with pomegranate. I have not tried these as of yet, I am not always in the mood for tea, but will try to get to them soon. 

Cold brew coconut cream latte from Trader Joes - I let my husband try out this one, he wasn't a fan of it as he said it tasted like it had gone sour. We enjoyed the chance to try it, but we wouldn't buy this one in store. 

Smoothie mix from Fresh Success - We received the banana flavor mix. This is actually a product we already know & love, in fact when this arrived, I had a banana mix already in the kitchen. The kids and I love making smoothies with these for a quick treat. 

Light lemonade powder packets from Wylers - This is another product we are familiar with & have bought to use in our house. I like how easy the packets are to use and that I can toss some in my purse for when I am on the go. This box came with five packets to use. 

Cheese Crisps from Whisps - We love these in our home, we buy them frequently to eat as a snack or add onto our salads for a cheesy crunch. This was a smaller sized snack bag which is good for on the go, or a small snack at home. 

Coffee Bombs from Nudge - I enjoy drinking coffee, but I am not huge into coffee flavored snacks to I wasn't sure if I was going to like these or not. They surprised me and are actually quite delicious, both my husband and I like snacking on a few of these at a time for a little pick me up of coffee flavor. 

Handmade beach boho headbands from Scettar - This headband is beautiful; I love the floral pattern and how soft it is. It is a nice way to help keep the hair out of your face in summer, or a quick way to make a messy hair do look better. 

Mini aromatherapy balms from Scentered - What a neat little set of aromatherapy balms, this comes with six different essential oil-based balms to use for a variety of reasons. I like the tin they come in & that they can fit into your pocket. I will however be putting this into the July Beauty & the book giveaway which will be up soon as I don't see myself remembering to use this.

Natural sunscreen from Mamalu - An easy to carry around sunscreen in a solid form with a reusable tin. I like the smell of this sunscreen, the application process and carrying method are alright I think I'd prefer this in a stick form though, so I don't have to rub my hands into the tin. 

Mini moisturizing facial cleanser from Simple - I've seen the new packaging for this product a few times online & have been wanting to try it out as it is designed to help you easily get all of the product out of the package without wasting what you can't reach. This cleanser lathers well & leaves my skin feeling soft, I do wish it was a different scent though (but it won't stop me from using it).

Daisy facial toner from Beauty Papier - On looks alone this is a pretty neat product, it has actual daisy petals floating around the inside of the bottle like small dancing fairies. As with the product above I haven't tried this out quite yet as I don't like opening too many cleansing products at once, so I will use this once my other toner is finished. 

Overall, I am pretty happy with the collection of products this subscription box came with. The boxes are just under $65 a box which can seem a little pricey when read or said out loud, so is the box really worth it? I went through each of the products included in this to find out how much they retail for, give or take a few dollars based on where you purchase all of these products from the total retail cost of these products came out to $96. So, you are saving about $31 if you were to outright buy all of these products. This box is a nice way to treat yourself to a nice surprise if you don't get to splurge on yourself often, I enjoyed the nice variety I received & was happy I didn't end up with random stuff I wouldn't use. 

Head over to their website to learn more about their great subscription box, see pasts boxes or sign up to receive their next box. They also have an option to build your own box based off of extra inventory they currently have on hand, so you get to shop at a discounted price. Want to see other great subscription boxes I've reviewed? Type "Subscription box" into the search bar to bring up my past reviews.

Disclaimer- Sips & Samples provided me with one box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Feb Creepy Crate Review!

 

It is no secret that I like things that are creepy or related to horror movies so I am always excited when I receive a new Creepy Crate in the mail, you never know what might pop up in each new box. Creepy Crate is a Horror & True Crime based subscription box that ships out bi-monthly. The boxes have been known to have a wide range of products included from clothing to household goodies, but one thing that is certain in each box is that you'll receive one paperback book and a digital book as well. The crates are $39.99 per crate, you can choose to get billed bi-monthly or pre-pay for your crates selecting the three or six crate option, shipping is included in the price.

Some of the movies and true crime cases they include I am familiar with, while others I am not so it is a great way to find new content to look into. One of my favorite items to receive in these crates are the cute collectable pins that are included from time to time, sadly there hasn't been on in a while. I am also a goober and think puns & "dad" jokes are funny so this month's box had a item in it that really made me laugh. Let's jump into what was in the newest crate I received:

This month's physical book is a copy of "The Girl In the Corn" by Jason Offutt and is actually an advanced reader copy, which is always neat because there is a chance it is slightly different from the prints that come out for mass production. This is a fantasy type book centered around Fairies, I love books like this so I can't wait to read it. The ebook for this month is a copy of "House of Bones" by Dale Bailey and it is about a housing project haunted by dark and evil forces. Also included was a Dead Headspace book mark which is a podcast that talks about horror, true crime and more.

The punny product I mentioned? It is this wine carrying bag, it is so silly but I love the "Wine-digo strikes again", it is a fun way to introduce people to the Wendigo if people aren't familiar with this North American creature legend. Plus I know a few wine-os who look like the picture on the bag!

Loup-Garou Hurricane Cup - Prior to receiving this crate I hadn't heard of the New Orleans version of a werewolf creature called the Loup-Garou so I was able to find something new and interesting in this crate. Werewolves and vampires have always been two of my favorite creatures so this fun hurricane cup is great. 

Yosemite's Map of Terrors - What do you do if you have an area of land that has multiple tales about creatures and mysteries that go bump in the night? Create a map of course so thrill seekers can check out the areas if they dare visit the spots on the map. 

Check the backseat air freshener - This is a classic move in horror and thriller movies to have the serial killer waiting in the backseat, which is why you should always look before getting into the car. Also included is a Take a pope lick lollipop inspired by the pop lick monster that is part-sheep, part-goat and part-man and is said to live below a bridge in Louisville, Kentucky. 

I thought this was a fun crate this time around, though I can't quite put my finger on what it is - it might be the hurricane cup but the box has a funky smell to it, an almost nail polish remover type scent so I am letting all the items air out to help get rid of the scents. 

What is your favorite horror movie or creature?

Disclaimer- Creepy Crate provided a box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Escape the Crate Review + Giveaway!

Escape rooms can be a lot of fun, but you might not have a full team of players to go with or you simply don't want to leave your house and that is okay! There is a fun alternative of doing an escape game all from the comfort of your own home. I recently received the wonderful chance to work with Escape the Crate on a review (plus a giveaway below!). What sets their escape games apart? Instead of being a escape game company that sells only one or two escapes for you to complete this is a subscription based escape crate that will send you a new crate every other month, it starts at $29.99 a crate but goes down in price if you buy a longer subscription. They put a lot of work into each crate and it shows when you are playing the game.

To play this game thoroughly and completely you will need a fully charge electronic device that can hook up to the internet. Why? Instead of this being a paper/item only escape game it has an interactive website that helps you along on your journey. If you don't feel like reading everything out loud to your group they have audio buttons you can hit and it will read everything out for you. Along with having someone read the directions and story to you, they also have youtube videos intertwined that have vital information for your escape.

For our crate we are spies who work for an agency that is able to travel through time to help stop a villain from destroying the timeline. One of the things that I like most about this isn't just that it comes with an app, but you'll also get an assortment of documents, real props and the box that it comes in itself is part of the game as well so it really is the whole package. 

The app does provide some hints at the bottom of the page in case you get stuck, just like how a game master would help you out in a Escape room. You are not punished nor do you have to remove anytime from your count down for using a clue, they are meant to be helpful so that you can enjoy your game experience without feeling overwhelmed or upset. If you prefer to play this alone instead of with a group they have "solo" options for certain aspects that would normally require at least two people.

The first half of the game is set up a little easier than the second half so that first timers can get a hang of how to play, then once you move onto the second half it becomes a bit harder. Both parts have their own set amount of time to complete them in or you can choose just to do it for fun and not set a timer at all. I liked the fact that we were not stuck doing both portions at once, each one takes an hour to an hour and a half which is a decent amount of time so we finished the first half then did the second half a few days later when we weren't busy.

We all had a lot of fun working together trying to figure out clues, the kids even pointed out things their dad and I didn't spot when first looking at everything that ended up being a big help for solving different aspects of the codes we needed to progress further in the game. The second half of the game was indeed harder than the first half and didn't have as much direction as the first so we were stuck on the first riddle for a little longer than we'd like to admit until it finally clicked as it was something you wouldn't think of right away. 

They do provide information on how to "reset" the game and also offer a way to print off any sheets that get ruined during the game so you can re-start everything, therefore you could re-gift this crate to a friend or a family member to try out. I think the Escape the Crate team did a great job putting everything together and making it user friendly. If you love Escape games or have been wanting to try one out, I suggest taking a look at their website to see what they offer. If you missed a crate that you really want to try out they offer you the chance to purchase a retired crate.

Want to try out a crate of your own or subscribe for a set amount of time? Use code MOONLIT20 to get 20% OFF of your purchase.

PRIZE ALERT: One lucky winner is going to win a crate of their own to try out. 

This is open to US & Canadian Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 3/14/2022

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering this question > If you could have your crate set in any time period/era, which would you choose?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer-  Escape the Crate provided the products mentioned above for the review & giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.