Quarterly: NYE03

The Quarterly box by Bill Nye was the first Quarterly box that I felt compelled to subscribe to. As a result, even though it does seem a bit geared toward the younger crowd, I still continue to indulge in each box that I've received. Back in August, I received a notification from Quarterly stating that they were working to "secure the final (and exclusive) item for Bill’s box and it is expected to ship early September" so it ended up arriving not too long after the MSA01 box. 

The Bill Nye boxes are science oriented with the mission of helping you to change the world. This particular box focuses on putting a "different spin on climate awareness" which resulted in curated items that show you how to harness nature.

The paper work for the Nye boxes usually come with a link that leads to a video in which he explains each item of the box. This particular version seems to be missing that but that's not to say you can't understand each item in relation to the theme.

Enclosed in the box is a Windmill Generator which is a project, a solar LED lamp from Little Sun, and a custom coaster drawn by Bill Nye which is themed "United States through the years." In the paperwork, they explain that there are 3 more coasters in this series that will be in the subsequent mailings. 

Of course, the Little Sun is currently sitting on my window sill waiting to charge and the coaster is right on my desk already. I'm intrigued to know what the rest of the coasters in the series look like especially since it will take 3 more boxes to complete the set. Bill Nye's curated boxes are available for purchase at Quarterly for $50. 

Quarterly: MSA01

I've been a subscriber of the Ben Nye Quarterly box for a while now so when My Subscription Addiction became a curator, I had to give it a shot. I have been anxiously awaiting this box since June so I was incredibly anxious when the shipping notification went out on September 17th. Go figure it was waiting for me when I got home the following day, neatly placed near my computer, ready for the unboxing. 

In this box I received a Raw Naturals Candle in Chai Latte, Fig+Yarrow Cardamom and Coffee body scrub, Tatcha Polished Classic Rice Enzyme Powder, Juice Beauty Reflecting Gloss in Guava, and the Simonetta Infinity Knit Scarf. The curator (Liz) included a printout of what was provided in the box along with her reasoning for it.

What I really liked about this box (and I know this will be shocking) is that there wasn't any makeup. Sorry everyone, but surprise makeup is fun, but also somewhat sad if it doesn't match. In this box, everything just struck me as being incredibly useful.

Within a few minutes of my taking this picture, my boyfriend (who has been on a major candle kick lately) and I lit the candle. It smells amazing and we adore it. We have been drawn to wooden wicks as of late, so it was great to see that variety in the box. The scent is lovely and the candle itself retails for $24. 

This morning I gave the body scrub a whirl and it smells amazing. To be fair, it does smell exactly like coffee so that helps (I love coffee). It is incredibly moisturizing -- so much so that when I stepped out of the shower, I felt like I already had lotion on. And yes, totally forgot that I hadn't put on lotion and I'm still going about my day without my skin feeling dry. The scrub costs $22 and is available through Fig+Yarrow. 

The infinity scarf I had mixed feelings about. It is so lightweight and soft, but I was a bit unsure about the colours. It did strike me as more of a Christmas feel (which isn't bad at all!) but it has kind of grown on me. That isn't the fault of the scarf or the selection, I just don't have anything to match it in my closet. Yet. This totally means I get to go shopping to colour coordinate with it. The scarf retails for $25.

The Tatcha powder I was also on the fence about. I recognized the brand and was immediately like "Oh no, I better not like this because I know it's pricey but I will love it." At a $65 price tag, sure, it's hard to want to fall in love with a facial cleanser especially when you've been sitting pretty with Noxzema. I haven't tried it yet because I'm actually testing out another facial cleanser, but I am excited about it. What intrigued me was that this cleanser is a powder that you'd add water to and then proceed to clean with. So not too dissimilar in nature to how you'd use the Aztec Cleansing Clay Mark except, it's not a mask. I bring this mask up though because if you do keep those tools nearby (a small mixing container and a scoop), you should be fine transitioning over to such a cleanser. 

Last, but certainly not least is the lip gloss. I haven't tried it out yet because when it comes to lip glosses and lip balms, I'm a completionist and I will have to continue using it till it's done. I do like the colour so perhaps in the near future I'll be posting an update on how it actually feels and lasts. The lip gloss is available for purchase at Juice Beauty for $15.

Overall, I really like My Subscription Addiction's Quarterly box. In terms of value, the box costs $50 and retail value alone puts it at $151 which is an amazing savings. What really made me happy about this box was simply the items themselves since all of them seem to be high quality and is a great blend that is on the practical side. I love it and I look forward to MSA02.

Quarterly - Bill Nye (NYE01)

Forgive me for my lack of updates. While I've mostly kept quiet everywhere (this includes most social media), I've been dealing with a lot personally and haven't really had the chance to sit down and write. During my absence though there's been a lot of things that I've been playing around with so I have a lot to go through. That's going to include both this blog and my makeup blog. For now though, let's review my first ever Quarterly box. This one was specifically curated by Bill Nye.

How did this discovery come about? Well, even if you didn't care, I'm still going to talk about it, because it's a bit of a fun story. Lately my co-workers and I have been talking about subscription boxes of different types. From Graze, to Wantable, we've been looking up a variety of different kinds and trying out a bunch. When my co-worker found out that there was a Quarterly box curated by Bill Nye, I immediately knew I had to get it. I purchased the box immediately (in September) and anxiously awaited the day that it would ship. A few weeks ago I finally received it and it came so quickly, Quarterly hadn't even sent out the shipping notification to me.

I had never subscribed to a Quarterly box prior to this so I knew that I really wouldn't know what to expect especially since it varies by curator. I knew that this would have to be awesome because it's Bill Nye... One of the ultimate science guys. So let's take a look at the box. 

When I first got the box, the thing that was missing was a description of the items. The box directs you to a website with a video but sadly each time I tried to check it out the video simply wasn't working. For a few of the items, I was genuinely at a loss as to what I needed to do next with them. I'm happy to say that the video is working now and that issue of the delayed video doesn't effect how I feel about the box.

For a cursory glance, the box came with a solar powered grasshopper, a salt water driven car, chalk, a paper plate, a plastic straw, a pen, a bag of beads, and a compass.

There are directions on how to create a sundial within the Manila

envelope (so that's what the chalk, paper plate, and straw were for), and since the car and grasshopper were in boxes, that seemed pretty simple to figure out. The only thing that perplexed me for a while was the little bag with beads. 

The night we got the box, one of my friends immediately built the grasshopper. Sadly, the little guy never sprang to life. Ultimately we know that with robotics kits that is something that could happen and that's not a reflection of the Quarterly box. After watching the video, I do wish that we built the salt water car with the solar panel from the grasshopper instead of committing the solar panel to living the life of a dead grasshopper.

Defying Life like a true solar
powered grasshopper.

The pen was amazing because I personally adore having more writing instruments around me. The pen works well but also has a great story behind it. It's made from recycled bottles and Nye mentions that he specifically uses blue because it can't be photocopied. 

Our friend mimicking
Dr. Frankenstein.

Admittedly we never got around to create the sundial but I'm still glad that we have all the pieces. As for the beads, I had no idea what was their deal till I saw the video (which I just checked out tonight). I can't wait till tomorrow when the sun is up to see what different colours they turn.

Overall, I really liked the box. A lot. I can't wait till the next one and I'm glad that I gave it a shot to begin with because there's nothing (to me) quite satisfying as being able to build something. Even if it doesn't work and even if you aren't sure, there's a certain satisfaction about troubleshooting it. And I'll be honest here, even if the items themselves didn't feel worth it (lulz, yeah right, come on... the compass alone is a solid piece), the fact that Nye put in a copy of the "Rules of the Road" which is the single page from which they made the rules (the "roadmap") for the Bill Nye the Science Guy show (which is what is in the yellow envelope) makes it so worth it.