Subscription Box Reviews: Wantable, Jewelmint, Olia, MeMe, BoxyCharm, Escape Monthly

For last month's subscription boxes I brought back my former favorite for makeup, Wantable. As well as tried out a few new beauty's.. Korean beauty box the MeMe Box #9 and BoxyCharm. For jewelry it was Jewelmint's VIP and Olia Box's turn. I also added my first nail-themed boxes SquareHue & Color Me Monthly and the destination-inspired box Escape Monthly.

I'm planning on a monthly subscription box wrap up post each month. I think it's easier to compare boxes that way, see how they measure up and which ones are worth subscribing to or not subscribing to :)

Keep Reading for May's Subscription Box Reviews

Jewelmint VIP Box

I'll start off with my favorite box this month, Jewelmint VIP Box *($30). Each month you get 3 handpicked Jewelmint pieces an $80+ value. I used to subscribe to Jewelmint and pick from their monthly showroom back in the day. I know its one of those brand's that was all over the shopping channel aka youtube a couple years a go, so that was a big turn off for me, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and am glad I did. They've always had some really great looking trendy jewelry that's also high quality. A few of the Jewelmint pieces I own are some of my most worn so I was really looking forward to this box.

 April's Box (which I got in May) is centered around three key pieces for the Spring season.

Inside April's JEWELMINT VIP Box:

Gala Bracelet

Aurora Necklace

Very Audrey Earrings

The Gala bracelet has a 20's vintage glam feel to it. This bracelet is truly glamorous, my camera doesn't capture how sparkling it actually is.

The Very Audrey earrings are moderate in size studs and the floral motif will pair perfectly with Spring dresses.

The Aurora necklace has such an interesting design to it, sort of a tribal punk mix meets pretty with that beautiful topaz and abalone. I have a lot of necklaces, but not many pendant ones. Aurora's design is intricately gorgeous and it's the perfect length to go with everything from tanks to dresses. I am very pleased with all three pieces I received in the Jewelmint VIP Box, they were just as high quality as the regular Jewelmint jewelry. This is such a steal when normally just one piece costs you $30, here you get three! This is my favorite jewelry box yet, Subscription worthy for sure.

Subscribe HERE to the JEWELMINT VIP BOX ($30)

Wantable Beauty Box

Wantable has always been my beauty box of choice, they've expanded to jewelry and intimates but I like to stick to the makeup for the wider range of brands I've discovered through their boxes and because you can customize it to your own preference. May's Box featured T. Sammarco's lighter take on Summer makeup and again some brands I've never tried.

Inside May's Wantable Box

Chella Beautiful Eyebrow Tool Kit

Mirabella Lip Lustre Liner in Bashful

(PL_) Beauty Glam Lip Gloss Ruby Slippers

Eddie Funkhouser Ultra Definition Eye Lining Stylus

The Chella brow kit contains every thing you need to groom and shape your brows in a cute little compact. It's not the quality of Anastasia which is the tools I use for my brows, but it's got your basic brow tools to do some slight shaping & grooming. I'm surprised this retails for $40, it's not very special honestly.

Mirabella's liner is pretty soft pink with slight shimmer, it applies creamy and makes a great base for lipstick's. Not many lip pencils are hydrating like this one.

The PLA Beauty Glam lipgloss is a non-sticky and very moisturizing gloss. I wasn't expecting to like this shade, it looked too "holiday", but it actually really works well as a summer red.

I'd been wanting to try Eddie Funkhouser since spotting his super chic looking cosmetics at Urban Outfitter's. Plus his name is so rock n roll right? As are his makeup skills! I just got more of his line in, so look for a full review soon. For now I was happy to try out my first Eddie Funkhouser product,  the Ultra-definition Eyelining Stylus. A pen-style liquid liner that has a ultra thin and sharp tip. It's a rich black and the liquidy formula glides across the lids with out skippng a step. You can get the most impeccable thin lines with this liner, the tip is so fine and the perfect amount of product is dispensed so you don't over do it unless you want to. This has been my go to everyday liquid liner since I got it, it's so sharp you get perfect liner every time.

My Wantable box this month was kind of underwhelming, great in terms of makeup products, but the brow kit was way over valued for basically a mediocre travel set. I think my customization choices may be too strict. With a box devoted to Summer and I put "dislike" to bronzers, nudes, champagnes, highlighters, my pickings were slim! I'm going to tweak my preferences for next month and see if I can get this box back to its original best in beauty box form :)

Sign up for the Wantable Beauty Box Here ($36)

BOXYCHARM ($21)

BOXYCHARM * is a beauty box subscription that surprises you each month with the best beauty products from popular and chic brands. From nail care, to the hottest hair products, to the top skin care and cosmetics,  May's box had a Mothers Day theme.

Inside May's BOXYCHARM

Illume Lavish Hand Creme ($20)

Mirabella Pretty & Provocative Lip Color Tantrum ($22)

Lauren B. Beauty Nail Polish Remover Pads ($15)

Ferro Cosmetics Pink Kabuki Brush ($20)

Embelleze Novex Olive Oil & Argan Oil samples

This was my first BoxyCharm Box and I really enjoyed the mix of makeup, hair, skin, and nail care items it offered. The Thai Lily hand creme smells amazing like mango's and sandalwood. Mirabella has landed in a lot of my boxes recently and I think I will have to explore them more, every product I've tried has been impressive so far. The Pretty & Provacative lip color in Tantrum is so light and moisturizing and the color is a perfect shade of raspberry that I know I'll be pulling out come Fall.

Love the convenience of the Lauren B. Nail Polish remover pads, they remove polish easily and  smell like candy not yucky chemicals. The pink kabuki brush is fluffy soft and who doesn't love pink ones? The hair cream treatments I'm really looking forward to using as my hair has gone through a lot of damage recently. BoxyCharm is rivaling Wantable as my fav U.S. makeup box right now, the product variety and introduction to new brands is exactly what I'm looking for in beauty subscriptions.

Sign up for BOXYCHARM ($21)

MEMEBOX #9
Now THIS was such a cool beauty box. MeME Box * comes packed with 4 - 8 full sized products and deluxe samples, carefully curated from Korea to give you the best experience and widest exposure to a range of products. Unfortunately #9 sold out, but they have a ton more boxes to choose from. It's not a subscription service but instead you purchase the individual boxes you want by category or theme, #9 was $23 + s/h.

Inside MEMEBOX #9

Kerasys Oriental Premium Shampoo ($90)

LUNA Wonder Essential BB Foundation #21 Nude Beige ($35)

Jasminkyung Gokmul care Creamy Cleansing Masque (45)

25cc Hairbooster Protein Treatment ($23)

Savia Magic Count Down 7 Days EGF & Multi Peptide ($30)

Ellegirl I say Tint You Say Gloss ($23)

Botanic Hill Boh Moist & Radiant Youth Ampoule Essence ($40)

The value of products you get from MEME is huge!  I immediately tried the Luna BB cream, the shade match was perfect and it has a very light feel to it and no harsh scent. This leaves your skin natural and dewy. I thought it would be my Summer BB, but I think it's going to be better suited to Winter or dry skin as it's quite glowy which can equally shiny on combo skin. I loved the ElleGirl liptint, a watery stain that gives you that bright just ate a popsicle look to the lips.

The Gokmul mask is the most disgusting smelling thing I've ever put on my face. It's like fermented brown rice mixed with fish sauce and peanut butter. Oh my god it was so gross! That's why I hated how amazing it left my skin. This mask deep cleans the heck out of your face and reduces pore size and redness. I just don't think I can take the smell, but if you can this deep cleans your skin and pores like a vacuum.

How cool is the syringe packaging on the hair treatment? I got 3 uses out of this, it reminds me a lot of Skinfood Egg Protein Masque. Super rich and leaves your hair feeling shiny and strengthened.

So many of these Ampoule Essence's have been in my Korean beauty orders but.. I have no idea how to use them? Why I need to use them? what they mean? Help?

MeMe Box was an exiting one to go through, it's all stuff that you don't find in the U.S so you're really discovering something totally new. I also appreciated how they included inserts about each product that were explained clearly in English which not a lot of Korean brands do. The ability to choose boxes by theme is also a unique take that no other box is currently doing, just keep in mind they sell out very fast!

I also received the MeMeBrush Box Set ($36) A set of 6 travel size brushes in a black glitter case.

The quality of these little brushes is excellent. They're soft, don't shed, and the pointed lip brush is probably the best lip brush I own. It's a super fine point, you can get total lip perfection out of this. Really great little travel set and that black glitter case is so glam. I hope they make these brushes in full size!

Get the MEMEBOX's Here

SquareHue ($14.99 + s/h)
Squarehue is a monthly nail polish subscription that delivers 3 full size nail polishes to you each month. Last month I added a sexy box, this month I stepped out of my comfort zone with nail polish. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to nails. Mine are weak, wimpy, and red, black, and pink are about as far as my color choices extend.

Each SquareHue box has a distinct personality to suit a variety of dress needs. May's box was The Passport Collection RIO.. and they were polish colors I would absolutely never pick on my own...and that was awesome!

Lebion (shimmer), Ipanema (micro glitter), Copacabana (glitter)

The square design of these bottles is so modern. The colors and finishes were just made for Spring/Summer, so bright and shimmery. The quality of hue polish is great, love that they're 3-free and made in the USA.

Color Me Monthly ($7)
Color Me Monthly is a fun and simple subscription service that delivers gorgeous nail polish to your door for just $7/month. Passionately committed to providing the highest-quality, toxin-free, and cruelty-free ingredients. For $7 a month you get one nail polish each month. This is about the same price you'd pay to buy a polish, but the fun part is not knowing what you'll get and discovering new colors you may never have thought to try.

May's Color is Sirens. A shimmering mermaid mint. 

Mint is not a color I would choose for myself, I love it on others but never think it looks good with my coloring. The shimmer in this takes way that dead look pastel's can give you and it was actually really pretty. Will I break my love affair with red and black? probably not but it's still fun to experiment once a month :)  In addition to the monthly subscriptions, CMM also offers gift options and sells some of the past colors in a section of their website called TheVault.

Olia Box ($25-$35)
Olia Box gives you 2-3 or 3-4 pieces of jewelry monthly depending on which level of box you subscribe to. This was another jewelry box I was very satisfied with. The jewelry is on trend and fashionable. It's quite the "fashion blogger" jewelry box don't you think? I've tried a few of these every day jewelry type boxes and so far Olia is definitely the best in terms of being up to date on current fashion jewelry trends.

I'm addicted to cute little midi rings right now. The cream colored bangles are lovely for Spring and a little less punk rock than my usual bracelets. The tassel necklace is a great length and it has such gorgeous stones. I'm not sure what you call those rainbow pastel and pretty glowy looking things, I'll just call them pretty :)

Escape Monthly ($49.95..though if you use my code MONROE it's only $39.95)
My final box is Escape Monthly, * a destination-inspired monthly delivery of luxury products to help you relax and renew. Every month, they curate high-quality products to help you slip into bliss—from spa & beauty products, to gourmet snacks & gift certificates. They also give a lucky member a vacation to the destination of the month!

May's Destination was California

Moon California Wine Country Travel Guide ($21.99)

Juice Beauty Age Defy Hand Creme ($15)

Hugo Naturals Vanilla & Sweet Orange Soap ($3.99)

Premium Sea Sponge ($7.99)

CaliWater Cactus Water ($3.50)

Nicobella Organics Chocolate Truffles 2 pieces ($3.95)

IPS All Natural Egg White Chips White Cheddar (1.99)

San Franola Granola ($1.99)

Redwood Tree Planting Kit

The Juice Beauty hand cream is lovely, it's lightly lemon-lime scented and absorbs quickly leaving your hands silky soft. I liked that it's in a tube form as most of my other hand creme's are tubs, it'll be a good one for keeping in the purse. The Hugo Naturals Vanilla & Sweet Orange soap has a naturally bright and sweet scent to it and the sea sponge is soft and dense. You can't really go wrong with spa products like these, I always enjoy getting them in my boxes.

Food wise I really appreciated that nothing contained peanuts in it as I'm allergic. Cactus Water? what in the heck! I'm slightly scared to try this out. The Nicobella truffles were to die for, they are so decadent and chocolatey,  just one is satisfying. I like veggie chips, but egg whites? These were actually really good though, light and not salty with a mild cheddar taste. I'm glad I don't subscribe to any food boxes, you want to try everything at once while you're opening the box!

As someone who doesn't like Wine I didn't think I'd have much use for this book, but upon flipping through it had more to offer. There wre suggestions on recreation and places to eat around CA, not just wineries. I think the travel guides take up a bit too much of the boxes value, but it's still a nice book. Probably won't be planting any redwood's in my yard though :)

Escape Monthly was a total vacation in a box. It had a great variety of beauty and yummy things..those vegan truffles omg! Even though there were a couple items I wouldn't use they'd make great gifts for my friends and famliy, unlike beauty boxes where you're just kind of stick with the stuff. Definitely a fun one to subscribe to!

Escape Monthly also just a launched the Escape Mini, a smaller, more affordable version of the subscription (just $24.95 for 4-5 luxury products and travel brochure). Also be sure to use my code "MONROE" at check out, they're giving my readers 20% off their box, and 20% off every box for LIFE. Sweet deal!

Get 20% off your Escape Monthly boxes FOR LIFE. 

Sign up HERE and use code MONROE

My June Subscription's are looking like FABFITFUN, this is an awesome box curated by Giulliana Rancic that I loved last Summer. It's only done seasonally ($49.99) and is already teetering on a $300 Value. Another FANCY box is also on the list. Really want to keep Jewelmint VIP Box, SocialBliss Style Box, and BoxyCharm too. Escape Monthly is going to LAS VEGAS. Decisions!

That's a wrap for May..in June! Hope you discovered something new!

*samples provided & purchased myself