Which subscription box is for you?

Tags

3, 6 or 12 month options, ‘Awesome as you are’, Baebox, balance and joy, bang on the money, Beautifully illustrated cards and paper, Birchbox, Bloom & Wild, blooms, carefully selected products, Clarins, consumer revolution, cool games, cranberries and pecan nuts and pop-it-yourself popcorn, Favourites, flowers, gift tags, girls, Glossybox, Graze, healthy, home, HoneyTreePost, iconic brands, inspirational quotes, luxury range, Maybelline, monthly subscription, MUA, Nails Inc, natural colour, notecards, one-off box, personalised boxes, pineapple and coconut flakes to pots of almonds, positive messages, post, postage, postcards, recipes, retreat information, rustic flapjacks with honeycomb and chocolate drizzle and mango, smile, stationery, stationery lover, stems, tasty snacks, Toiletries, tote bags, trend, UK subscription box, vending machine, yogi, Yogi and Bare, Yogi and Bare box

The UK subscription box market is booming and as people demand more convenience when it comes to shopping, things can only get bigger.

The subscription box trend was started, like so many things, in the US, when
Birchbox, offered monthly deliveries of make-up and beauty products and started a consumer revolution.

The concept quickly took off and is now a thriving industry around the world.

With so much to choose from, we have done a round-up of our favourites.

Baebox is a fab monthly subscription box aimed at girls aged eight to 15. Each box costs £16.00 and is packed with cute stationery, tote bags, toiletries and cool games. We love these boxes because they also feature postcards that come with inspirational quotes and positive messages that make you feel fab. The Baebox ethos is ‘Awesome as you are’ and with a box just for boys too, this subscription is bang on the money.

If you are fed up of the vending machine to get your afternoon fix, why not try Graze? These guys have been around for a while and send out personalised boxes of healthy, tasty snacks that are brilliant. From rustic flapjacks with honeycomb and chocolate drizzle and mango, pineapple and coconut flakes to pots of almonds, cranberries and pecan nuts and pop-it-yourself popcorn with a touch of salt, there is something for everyone.

If the free spirit in you needs a regular fix, you will love Yogi and Bare. This is either a monthly subscription or a one-off box that is full of carefully selected products that bring balance and joy to your life. From £26.00 (plus postage) your day will be brightened when you open the post and find a selection of skincare products, clothing, jewellery or snacks, as well as retreat information, recipes and so much more.

Flowers through the letterbox sounds wrong, but Bloom & Wild have made it oh so right. The luxury range of blooms and stems plus premium packaging will put a smile on even the most stressed face. With 3, 6 or 12 month options, this is an affordable way to have a pop of natural colour in your home all year round and because the flowers come ‘flat-packed’, you don’t need to be home to sign for them.

If you’re a stationery lover, then HoneyTreePost is going to be the subscription box for you. Each month a collection of inspired stationery is put together and sent straight to your desk. Beautifully illustrated cards and paper, postcards, notecards and gift tags could be amongst the seven items you receive and each one will make you smile.

We couldn’t complete this round-up without mention the amazing Glossybox. From just £10 a month, you will receive a super-stylish box containing five products from iconic brands like MUA, Clarins, Maybelline and Nails Inc together with expert tips and tricks. We think you will love it so much, you will want to buy subscriptions for family and friends too.

Got a box you love? Write in and let us know more!

Team Pure Beauty

Kick off Christmas with cocktails

Tags

Absolut, Amaretto Fizz, bubbly, Christmas, cocktail party, cocktails, creme de cocoa, Disaronno, drink responsibly, ginger wine, girls, glass bowl, home, ice, kiwi fruit, lime, non-alcoholic, orange juice, party, pineapple chunks, Pure Beauty, Secret Santa, smile, smooth, stem ginger, strawberries, sugar frosting, twist, vanilla vodka, vodka and tonic, water, Winter Wonderland Delight

With the big day getting closer by the hour, isn’t it time you started to wind down and enjoy a little Christmas cheer?

Forget going to the pub and waiting hours to be served a warm pint of beer or weak vodka and tonic, instead why not throw at cocktail party at home?

Set a date, organise a Secret Santa and get the girls round for drinks and and festive fun.

We have put together some super-easy, great tasting drinks we think you will love.

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a Christmas Cosmo. This is the height of sophistication and we have added a little extra zing. You will need:

• A bottle of good quality vodka
• A bottle of ginger wine
• 1 litre of cranberry juice
• 5 limes
• Lime zest and stem ginger to garnish
• Ice to serve
• Cocktail glasses with sugar frosting

Mix the vodka and ginger wine in a chilled jug.

Add the cranberry juice and then the lime juice.

Garnish the glasses with ice, lime zest and stem ginger.

Pour, sip, repeat.

The Winter Wonderland Delight is a cool, smooth drink that is easy to make, easy to drink, easy to remake….what’s not to like?

You will need:

• 1 oz of cream of coconut
• A double serving of vanilla vodka – we will like Absolut
• 1½ oz creme de cocoa
• Lots of ice

First of all crush the ice in a blender, then add the cream of coconut, vanilla vodka and creme de cocoa. Give the blender a five second blast.

Shake until well.

Strain into glasses and enjoy.

If you are looking for something bubbly with a twist, look not further the Amaretto Fizz.

You will need:

• A small bottle of amaretto-flavored liqueur like Disaronno
• 1 litre of fresh orange juice – we prefer smooth
• 2 bottles of prosecco or champagne
• Strips of fresh orange zest
• Ice

First of all chill the glasses as this drink is best served cold, very cold.

Then mix together the Disaronno, orange juice and sparkling wine in a jug. Add orange zest to each glass, and some ice, then pour and put this Pure-Beauty favourite to the test.

It is a good idea not to leave anyone out, so have a bowl of non-alcoholic punch at the ready. We love this zesty, fizzy concoction as it tastes so amazing you mind missing out on the booze factor.

You will need:

• A small box of strawberries
• 1kiwi fruit chopped and peeled
• 1 tin of chilled pineapple chunks
• One bottle of sparkling apple juice
• One bottle of tropical fruit juice
• One bottle of sparking mineral water
• Ice

Put the strawberries, kiwi fruit and pineapple chunks into a large, glass bowl. Then added equal amounts of chilled sparkling apple juice, chilled tropical fruit juice and chilled mineral water. Serve with chilled glasses with ice and smile.

Remember to drink responsibly, eat as well as quaffing and have a glass of water between cocktails.

Happy Christmas.

Team Pure-Beauty