Money might not be able to buy you happiness, but as a cousin of mine used to say, it can buy lots of things that will make you happy! 😀

The last year or so, I’d been regularly dosing myself with little bursts of joy in the shape of monthly subscription boxes, but the trouble with them (since their contents are usually meant to be a mystery until receipt) is that they can be a bit hit-and-miss. Every now and then, when you get a lovely surprise in the post, it’s like Christmas come early, but on other occasions, you find yourself faced with a bundle of disappointment. Still, there’s always the option to recycle anything you’re not so keen on as a present for someone else whose taste or lifestyle runs different to yours. You’d have at least saved yourself the expense of forking out for that year’s Secret Santa, so it’s a win-win.

As I don’t tend to use cosmetics often, I could see a lot of products going to waste if I subscribed to the likes of Birchbox or Glossybox since both are too beauty-specific. For me, the ideal box would contain a broad selection of items. Back then, the best one that fit this description was from PopSugar. Unfortunately, it was (and still is) far too expensive. Plus, it doesn’t deliver to the UK, which means it’s basically no good to me at all. However, as these subscriptions grew in popularity, an assortment of boxes began to appear on the scene, from those specialising in geek collectables, to the ones curating samples of whisky.

The first one I tried out was Fancy Box, but after the initial excitement had worn off, I realised that most of the stuff I’d been sent seemed to be overstock they were trying to get rid of. By this time, Birchbox had started to include in their repertoire other things apart from toiletries and make-up, but the range was limited so I continued to um and ah.

Then everything changed when I came across My Little Box. At £14.95 (including postage), it ticked all the right boxes: affordable, great quality, wonderfully packaged and best of all, a wide variety of unique products – Lifestyle, Fashion Accessories, Gadgets, F&B, Home Decor, and some were even Craft-related. Each month’s box also had a theme that came with its own mini magazine.

I wish I’d kept up-to-date with my blog as not a month went by when I wasn’t pleased with the delivery from My Little Box…literally everything was worth posting about, so it’s a good job I took lots of photos which I’m happy to share.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/111365121560647162983/posts/jiwtSWUcxim

Sadly, and with great regret, I had to put a temporary stop to my subscription, but that was due to personal circumstances at the time, and not because I’d found fault with My Little Box. Not one to despair (for too long), I soon embraced other alternatives by signing up to social marketing campaigns. The outcome can be intermittent I’ll grant you, but these methods cost nothing more than completing a few short surveys and/or posting reviews. I was initially a little concerned that this would attract more spam to my inbox, but it’s been a few months in and what I feared has not materialised.

So, if like me you’re not averse to treats (well, we all need a pat on the back just for getting through life, don’t we?!) but are far from being besties with your bank manager, I highly recommend joining a couple of these perfectly safe #GotItFree sites:

bzzagent.co.uk and triyit.co.uk

I have been successful with BzzAgent so far, and turned into a five-year-old ripping open a giftbox as soon as my first freebies arrived – bottles of Dove Shampoo and Conditioner, both full-sized.

In return, all I had to do was post my thoughts on how I got on with the products, but that takes hardly anything out of me since I’m already in the habit of frequently sharing my (solicited or otherwise!) opinions online. The other discovery club Triyit is still in its pre-launch phase, but I received an invite yesterday, so fingers-crossed I will qualify for a box at some point next week.

For those of you who are pretty active on social media and write reviews as a matter of course, Influenster has recently extended its reach to the UK. It works a little differently to the two sites above, since I suspect much depends on your online clout. I only joined up a few months ago, so hopefully I can build up my social impact over time as freebies from the VoxBox look pretty high-end.

I have no idea how long it will take me, but I intend to have some fun along the way! 😀