Skoshbox: The Japanese Snackbox Subscription // December 2014

I'm taking pause from the formalities of "FOOD FRIDAY" because food is good every day of the week, especially during the holiday season. I love me a good snacking and Japanese snacks are always welcome in my belly. Japanese snacks are available at Asian food stores in Toronto but I find that the variety just isn't there. So, I've been looking into subscription box options that send Japanese snacks. The only option that I could find that shipped to Canada was SKOSHBOX. 

 Skoshbox is a "taste of Japan at your doorstep". From $10 USD or $18.99 CAD, Skoshbox offers an assortment of mystery candies and snacks monthly. If you're crazy about the snacks you try in the box, there's also an online webstore for featured snacks organized by type and month. SO... here's the box: 

Caramel Pie Pretz, Super Mario Galaxy Gum, Calpis Masrshmallow, Seaweed Wrapped Rice Cracker, Potato Ring Snack, Cola Bubble Gum Balls, Vegetable Salad Umaibo, Super Soda Hard Candy 

Isn't the packaging so on point? The minimalist cardboard with the paper crane logo just gets me. I'm a sucker for white tissue paper and stickers with logos plus graphic oriental patterns, so I'm kind of dying in awe from the box, the description card, and the overall look of the box. Furthermore, the simple Skoshbox complements the bold, graphic packaging of Japanese snacks. 

More importantly than the packaging is the food inside. I tasted the snacks with the boyfriend (who is also an avid lover of snacks and nomnomnoms), so opinions are a combo of his and my own. The box contained 8 snacks - a mix of sweet and salty.

My rating scale is as follows:

 (>'-')> <('-'<) ^(' - ')^ (worthy of dance party) 

^u^ (pretty yummy) 

-_- (indifferent, borderline dislike) 

 Let's see what's inside...

Caramel Pie Pretz ($3.99 for 1) (>'-')> <('-'<) ^(' - ')^ 

NOM NOM NOM. If you're familiar with the traditional salt and vegetable flavoured Pretz in the green packaging but would prefer something a little sweeter, these are perfection. The texture is like a crispy pie crust and it tastes like caramel and cinnamon. This one's definitely my favourite out of the box. WOULD EAT AGAIN. 

Super Mario Galaxy Gum ($3.99 for 10) -_-

Supposedly, this gum is supposed to be soda flavoured. I found that the only appealing thing about it was the packaging. Other than that, it tasted nothing like soda (more like a hint of sugar) and lacked flavour. Furthermore, the little flavour that it did have disappeared within a 5 minute time period. Boring... 

Calpis Masrshmallow ($4.99 for 4) (>'-')> <('-'<) ^(' - ')^ 

These are pretty much a marshmallow filled with fruit gummy. The marshmallows are light and fluffy, while the fruit jelly reminds me of Welch's fruit snacks. The boyf mentioned that he's had them before, so they're probably available somewhere close. Yum! 

Seaweed Wrapped Rice Cracker ($4.99 for 11)  ^u^

I've had these previously. In a nutshell, it's a hard cracker wrapped in seaweed. Similar snacks are available at Costco for a much lesser price, but a great snack nonetheless. 

Poteko Salted Potato Ring Snack ($4.99 for 4)  ^u^

These taste exactly like potato chips. They're slightly less salty than their larger North American counterparts, but equally as tasty. 

Marukawa Cola Bubble Gum Balls  ($3.99 for 10) -_-

Slightly more flavourful than the Super Mario gum, these tasted quite like Coca Cola but lost flavour after 10 minutes. The gum was quite light and not chewy enough for my preferences.

Vegetable Salad Umaibo ($12.99 for 30) ^u^

My grandma used to feed me Umaibo, which is a savoury snack made with corn. These tasted less like "vegetable salad" and more like sour cream and onion rings sans the sour cream and onion. The packaging is so fun and kidish that I couldn't resist feeling a little nostalgic. 

Super Soda Hard Candy  ($4.99 for 22) ^u^

A surprising last treat, these Super Soda Hard Candies should really be called Super SOUR Hard Candies. The initial shock of the sour coating was unexpected. The sour lasts about 30 seconds but is sweet after the coating is penetrated. The underlying candy is sweet and long-lasting. These remind me a lot of Warheads, which are also ridiculously low on the pH scale. 

Overall, I think Skoshbox is a great assortment of sweet and salty snacks and candies from Japan. Although I'm not a fan of the gums, the other snacks were pretty stellar and I might have to make it my quest to find the Caramel Pie Pretz somewhere in Toronto. $18.99 is a bit pricey for what Canadians will get in the box, but if you're absolutely DYING to try some snacks, it may be worth it. For Americans, the $10/month for a year subscription makes a great gift for the food lover. 

Have you tried any of these? Do you like Japanese snacks? 

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Mary Kay NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss in Silver Moon, Golden, Sun Blossoms, Shock Tart, Pink Wink, Sparkle Berry & Berry Dazzle

Seven new shades of the Mary Kay NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss! See my previous review of the Mary Kay NouriShine Plus Lip Gloss ($18 CAD) here, just in time for the holidays! The Mary Kay NouriShine Plus formula boasts ultra-glossy shine, moisture, non-sticky, super-light, long-lasting packed with plant-derived vitamin E and vitamin C. While no product is everything that it claims, these glosses are, in fact, ultra-moisturizing and glossy, non-sticky and lightweight. While I don't think they're particularly long-wearing, it delivers on every other claim. 

BEHOLD, the swatches:

Silver Moon (clear with blue iridescence)

Golden (clear with gold glitter)

Sun Blossoms (nude peach cream)

Shock Tart (bright pink cream)

Pink Wink (fuchsia with shimmer)

Sparkle Berry (medium berry with shimmer)

Berry Dazzle (deep berry with shimmer)

While these glosses are quite lovely I do have one big, fat gripe. Why are there so many glitter-packed glosses? Only 2 of the 7 are cream finishes while the rest have some sort of chunky glitter or sparkly iridescence. That said, the glitter isn't gritty I just don't like the look of glitter all over my lips. Ignoring the glitter, these are great glosses. Plus, if you're into glitter, these are perfect for a bit of holiday sparkle. 

Have you tried the Mary Kay NouriShine Plus Lip Glosses? 

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Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in 110 Birthday Suit

Way back when (September),I reviewed the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in 220 Pink Tank, looking to eventually test out a lighter colour to see if it fared on my nails in the same way as Pink Tank. As a recap, Pink Tank + the Miracle Gel Top Coat boasted high shine, bold colour, and it even stuck around on my nails for 6 days (compared to the up to 14 days claim). 

In general, the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polishes are meant to be used in 2 easy steps, with up to 14 days of colour and shine with easy removal and no light required to cure the polish. 

And then there was the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in 110 Birthday Suit ($10.95) is a pale nude - a hair lighter than the cult Essie Sand Tropez (though I wouldn't necessarily call it a dupe because it's about the same price). Although 110 Birthday Suit is in the same range of polishes, the formulation feels a bit different. 

As a much lighter colour, Birthday Suit took three coats for full opacity on the nails (as opposed to two for Pink Tank). Furthermore, the polish seemed to feel slightly thicker in consistency, though with the same "regular polish" drying time of about 5 minutes between coats and 10-15 after the top coat. After applying the top coat, the polish is high-shine, super glossy...and pretty much salon-perfect. Lasting power is even better than Pink Tank, at a solid 10 days. Also, removal is as easy as a cotton pad with some polish remover. 

Overall, the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in 110 Birthday Suit is just as good if not better than the previous colour that I had tried. Plus, it's eons more wearable for the office and sticks around on the nails a few more days before chipping. 

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Miracle Gels? 

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Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color Quads in Sandstorm and Autumn Leaves

There is zero doubt in my mind that the Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors are some of the most beautiful shadows. This holiday season, Mary Kay has launched two limited edition Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color Quads ($19 CAD each) and they don't disappoint. I've previously reviewed this eye shadow formula, see a review of a few of the singles here!

The two limited edition quads available until February 15th are Autumn Leaves and Sandstorm. Autumn Leaves contains four gorgeous coloured shadows while Sandstorm contains more neutral shades. In general, Sandstorm is easier to work with, as Autumn Leaves doesn't contain a suitable blending shade. Also, it's important to note that neither of the quads contain true mattes - all seem to have a satin sheen. 

Autumn Leaves features a mossy green, yellowy gold, dark purple, and a rich plum. 

Sandstorm features a warm brown, pink champagne, light brown, and a purple brown. Despite the typical bores of neutral palettes, Sandstorm leans quite browny-beige-purple which makes it a bit different from the others. 

The shadows in the Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color Quads are (uhhh... I hate saying this) buttery smooth, super pigmented, and blend quite easily into one another. I don't find that these crease (eyeshadows don't typically crease on me) and these colours wear all day. Sandstorm is the perfect neutral palette for everyday while Autumn Leaves is a great jewel-toned addition to any shadow collection. 

What do you think of these quads? 

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New York Color High Definition Liquid Eyeliner in Extra Black

EYELINER MONDAY!! The New York Color High Definition Liquid ($3.99) is one of the least expensive liquid eyeliners at the drugstore. The liner claims to create precise lines, have rich colour, and be smudge-proof, and long-wearing for up to 10 hours.

Unfortunately, this eyeliner lives up to none of its claims. Perhaps I got a bad one...? The black is sheer and the watery formula bleeds into fine lines way more than what I can tolerate for a liquid liner. Although it is smudge-proof, it's very hard to create an intense line. Moreover, the lines that are created are not as precise as I had expected. Comparing the felt tip of the Annabelle Eye Ink, the shape of NYC High Definition Eyeliner's applicator is more chubby at the end. 

Skip this liner. Spend a couple extra dollars and grab a liner that's twice as great. If you prefer pencil liner over liquid, try the New York Color Waterproof Eyeliner Pencils, which are excellent. 

Have you tried the New York Color High Definition Liquid Eyeliner? 

Press sample featured. This is part of my eyeliner monday series - where I review a different eyeliner every...Monday. :) See more eyeliner reviews here. 

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Manicure MOOO-nday

Happy MOOO-nday. Taking a little break from the Christmas-themed manicures, this is yet another attempt to work with capsule collection of  6 nail polishes I have at school (black, white, nude, red, glitter). 

No need for detailed instructions because I created this manicure using the above Bubzbeauty video. It looks like it takes some time to get in all the details, but when it comes down to it, this manicure is actually quite simple - a white base with some black blobs. 

Products Used: Quo by Orly Nail Polish in Purity*, NYC Nail Polish in Black Cream Lace*, Rimmel London Salon Pro Nail Polish in Soul Session*, the Body Shop Nail Art Pen*

Will you be trying out this manicure? Isn't it udderly cute? 

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New York Color Long Wearing Nail Enamel in 119 Black Lace Cream

Black cards. Black cars. All black everything. BLACK NAILS. In all honesty, I never got what was so amazing about wearing black nail polish. Something about it always seemed to dark and goth. So, first time in a long time (probably 6 or 7 years), I put on some black polish and was pleasantly surprised with the way it looked. While I don't love the way it looks over my nudes and pastels, it's a nice, dark change given the cooler weather. 

The New York Color Long Wearing Enamel in Black Lace Cream is an amazing black polish option. First and foremost, it's only ~$1 (and comes in 24 colours). It's also quite thin and opaque in two coats and dries fairly quickly. Lasting power is normal on my nails with chips after 2-3 days... but for $1, you can't really go wrong. Maybe it's this particular formula of polish that's making me love black a little more. 

Above I'm wearing the New York Color Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Black Lace Cream with stripes of the New York Color Matte Top Coat for some extra dimension. 

Do you like black nails? 

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