Quarterly.co Subscriptions

Current body
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Jeffreestar cosmetics
Makeuptalk.com forums

Help Support Makeuptalk.com forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Sadejane said:
My MSA box was waiting for me today when I got home.  I love the box and think Liz did really great by us again this time around.  The fuzzy socks are soooo soooo soft and I can't wait to put them on shortly.   The eyeshadow is gorgeous, especially the gold!  I don't have anything like it and it's very pigmented. 

The "winter cozy" theme was spot on for this time of year and I'm glad Liz went with that theme.   The box has a good value and I'll use every single thing in the box.   

I know it can't be easy to curate a box that will please everyone.  It's funny because her last box had a scarf, and I see so many people complaining about scarves, yet everyone loved that she included a scarf (I thought it was a beautiful and classy scarf).  Then I see people complaining that they want a throw or if they get a box that doesn't have jewelry, they wished for jewelry.  This box had everything I see people asking for in various threads and I'm struggling to figure out why it's not a bigger hit with everyone. I really appreciated her letter and explanations for why she chose each product, it all seemed so thought out.   :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Click to expand...
Personally, I think the quality of the items she included might not be up to what people expected. (but then again, I think all of our expectations can sometimes be unrealistically high when it comes to subscription boxes) :p /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

For example... 

The throw: Yes, it's a throw, but it's a wool throw... and not everyone enjoys wool. A lot of people have bad memories or conceptions of wool. When I think of a wool blanket or throw, I immediately think fire blanket, lol. I don't associate it with luxury or comfort. 

Delicate gold jewelry: Yes she included a very nice necklace that was gold, delicate, and it fit the bill for what people were asking for. However, I don't think Baublebar is what people want to see in subscription boxes? (IDK, maybe someone else can chime in on this?) Obviously Baublebar does make nice pieces but it's not really what I would want to receive. The necklace she chose was cute but... I feel like I could get a very similar necklace for much cheaper elsewhere. 

Just my thoughts and (hopefully helpful) explanations!

Personally I thought it wasn't a bad box, but I'm glad I cancelled after seeing spoilers. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've had my MSA box here for a few days but just opened it this evening and I will be returning it. 

For me the blanket is the deal breaker here. I'm a total throw blanket wh-re, I live in California, 45 minutes from the ocean and have more throws than is reasonable but this one does nothing for me. It's not cozy, it's not soft, it's not snuggly. It's manly and rough, and my husband runs hot which is why I love my cozy throw blankets because he turns into such a baby when he gets sweaty in the house. This wool blanket is a blanket that I would keep in the back of my car for like emergency stuff or maybe taking to the beach to sit on but sand would be sooooo stuck to it, it would be awful. 

My socks are a weird bubblegum pink - it's either like baby pink or old lady pink but either way the color is very unappealing to me. Otherwise they look cozy but nothing special. 

I do like the necklace, a lot. I have a few Kate Spade necklaces that are VERY similar and I wear them frequently. I do want to keep this necklace. 

The Yes To cream…just meh for me, it feels generic. I can buy this at Target, Walgreens, CVS, basically anywhere. This doesn't feel special. I'm not excited about it. 

The eyeshadows are special and they are a new to me brand but I'm not crazy about one of them being white. I know she has stated that it can be used as a highlighter but then I'd rather just spend money to have the W3LL People highlighter that I got in my Birchbox this month. (That stuff rocks, btw!)

If the blanket was cozy and soft it would have been enough for me to keep this box, but I don't want to keep this box just because I like 1 thing. I can go buy another Kate Spade necklace during some after Christmas sale for less than the entire cost of this box. 

I feel like there is nothing special about this box and that's what's disappointing. Her prior box: the candle with a wooden wick was so cool!!! Coffee ground scrub, awesome!! Really cute infinity scarf (notice that PSMH never does infinity scarves? That also made Liz's selection special and different.) and nice lipgloss. Her first box was unique and special. This one was like her trying to please everyone instead of her curating a box of her likes (at least that's how it feels to me, I haven't read her letter yet.)

I still love Liz, love her blog, adored the first box but this one was a miss for me. It's going back to Quarterly. 

 
Just my opinion, but I think the main thing with the MSA box not being such a big hit overall was that there seemed to be a ...disconnect?...between the first and second box. The quality drop in items felt too big for me personally.

Tatcha and then yes to Carrots was a huge drop. Nothing wrong with yes to Carrots, but its not too exciting and most definitely does not feel "luxury."

The two eyeshadows, while perfectly nice, made up too much of the box. When you have very few items in the box, it's pretty dicey to make two items the same. It really kinda kills the discovery aspect. We're already getting an intro to the brand, and doing it twice in a box with so few items is pushing it to me. A different makeup product from another company would have been a much better fit in that second eyeshadow slot.

The blanket, well I think the problem is basically the material. When I saw the spoiler I wanted to love it so much that I somehow convinced myself that a wool blanket could still feel luxe. That's silly because I know what wool feels like, and luxury just isn't it. But, that was me being silly lol. Obviously, a blanket is an awesome inclusion for many of us but the throw just didn't quite feel right in a women's lifestyle box that is meant to feel luxurious.

Just my two cents!

 
I canceled MSA before it shipped, but swapped for the throw. My rottweiler mix thinks he’s a lapdog, and this will be great for him to lie next to me on the daybed. My cat gets the popsugar one; everybody wins.

I feel ho hum about the rest. The necklace is pretty, but I don’t wear gold. The socks and eye shadow are fine, but I’ve gotten others from subs that I like better. I’d like to try the night cream, but it’s not exactly hard to get. 

I wouldn’t have been sad if I’d bought the box, but I have no regrets about missing it. I do think the value is there, and it’s got a good winter theme. Maybe it’s just that there’s a lot of competition out there, and many of Liz’s fans are suffering from box fatigue.

 
It's so funny reading all the posts about the disappointment with the MSA box because I LOVE it! The blanket is exactly what I wanted for my mother. I was looking for a wool/acrylic blanket with red accents - perfect! I love vegan/organic eye shadows for myself. Never got those in a sub box before. Sub boxes always seem to send big, bold statement pieces, and more of a delicate jewelry gal so the bauble bar is lovely to me. I break out easily, so I can't use a lot of the fancy sub face products, but the Yes to Carrots has made a nice hand cream next to my kitchen sink. I wash my hands a ton, so its come in super handy already. The socks are cute & cozy, and I've worn them already. The entire box is a win to me!

 
I definitely tried to reserve judgement until I could get my hands on the box and I think it's great. Yes, not as amazing as the last one, but really thoughtfully curated and the value is excellent. I didn't expect to like the scarf in the first one as much as I did -- so cozy! -- and the same thing happened with the throw. Initially it felt a little scratchy but after a few minutes of it covering me, it was warm and comfortable and not scratchy at all -- I'm loving it now. The spouse, too, complained at first that it was itchy but after a few minutes on the couch with he wouldn't give it back to me!  

The necklace is super subtle but I just think that makes it more versatile and a way to add sparkle on an otherwise ordinary day. And the Yes to Carrots: it's way more hydrating at night than my Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Moisturizer that's been a staple since I first got it in a PopSugar box so now it's Juice Beauty for day and Yes to Carrots at night. 

Unlike some sub boxes, which have a couple of wow items but they are too special-occasion or specific, this one has items I'll end up using a lot. Can't wait for MSA03!

 
I got two MSA boxes, each with the $10 off code.  I was planning one for me and one for a gift to my mom.  It wasn't for me at all and I didn't feel like it would be a good match for my mom either so I used both of them as teacher gifts for my kids.  I figure even if each teacher only liked one thing in the box and re-gifted the rest, it's still a good present/value for them and then I don't have to fool with returning them.  

I am not canceling but will trust my gut reaction to the spoilers next time instead of hoping that there will be a hidden gem when the actual box arrives.     

 
sj52000 said:
It's so funny reading all the posts about the disappointment with the MSA box because I LOVE it! The blanket is exactly what I wanted for my mother. I was looking for a wool/acrylic blanket with red accents - perfect! I love vegan/organic eye shadows for myself. Never got those in a sub box before. Sub boxes always seem to send big, bold statement pieces, and more of a delicate jewelry gal so the bauble bar is lovely to me. I break out easily, so I can't use a lot of the fancy sub face products, but the Yes to Carrots has made a nice hand cream next to my kitchen sink. I wash my hands a ton, so its come in super handy already. The socks are cute & cozy, and I've worn them already. The entire box is a win to me!
Click to expand...
agree. it was good. the blanket isn't exactly for me but I will use it on picnics in central park. i think of it a bit more outdoor.  overall, great winning box.

 
Has anyone heard anything about the $5,000 box? I googled but found mostly articles from when it was announced. I saw it was supposed to ship "by December 25th." I wonder if it is late?

 
I found this post on facebook...of course he has posted nothing about the actual contents...ugh!! That box is huge though, 179 lbs!

 
10409266_10205403376994345_4562957298099160125_n.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
lauradiniwilk said:
I created new topics for all of the boxes that are regularly discussed in this forum that didn't already have a topic.  I realize that I accidentally added NG when one already existed and that somehow MSA is spelled wrong - I reported both to the mods.  Let me know if I missed any!
Click to expand...
Thanks for doing that! It'll make finding what you're looking for so much simpler for everyone!

 
So I broke down and messaged someone I have been Twitter stalking for Tim Ferriss' boxes spoilers. He was kind enough to respond. This is what he tweeted

"@tferriss mega box had 25 items covering various areas like cooking, health, travel, art, entertainment, and giving back"

Thanks to @ggee!

I wish there were more specifics, but Tim Ferriss seems to have initiated a gag order on revealing box contents until after Christmas. Yet for some reason, no one wants to reveal the full contents yet...looks like we may have to wait for Tim's official unboxing video.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Latest posts

Back
Top