Saturday, December 20, 2014

Rosario Dawson Quarterly Box Review (#18902) - December 2014

Okay guys, so I know I haven't posted in a LONG time, but this is a special occasion!

I finally received my Rosario Dawson Quarterly box! For those of you unfamiliar with Quarterly, they are a subscription box company that, along with their own company-curated boxes, has celebrities in all different areas (chefs, actors, fashionistas - even Bill Nye the Science Guy!) curate boxes to send to subscribers on a quarterly basis. The boxes range in price from $50 to $100 each.

This is Rosario Dawson's second box for Quarterly, and it was promised to be a whopper! Rosario put out a video a couple months back to say that there would be 31 items in this box! It was supposed to be modeled after an Advent calendar, with one gift for each day of the month of December. That said, there were many subscribers who were upset that the boxes were shipping so late (they were originally supposed to be shipped in November). I'm not sure which of the items caused the delay, but I am glad it is finally here!!

So, on the box!

Rosario Dawson Quarterly Box 

Cost = $50 every 3 months

The monster box! Poor FedEx guy! :)
First of all, this box was HUGE. It was literally three feet long, and it was about a foot and a half across. It shipped SUPER quickly (I got my shipping email yesterday afternoon!) because they expedited shipping to make up for the box taking so long to be sent in the first place.

Daredevil concept art poster
Daredevil Concept Art Poster = $5 (I'm totally estimating here)

Marvel is releasing a new Daredevil TV series straight to Netflix next year, in which Rosario Dawson plays a character named Claire Temple. She included this poster of some concept art from the show, which was debuted at New York Comic-Con not too long ago. It's a pretty cool poster, and not too big. My husband has a "man cave" in our house full of his sports things and his comic book stuff - this will likely find a place there!

RENT 2015 Calendar Poster
RENT Calendar Poster = $10 (Also totally estimating - exclusive to this box)

THIS, on the other hand, I LOVE!! I am a huge RENT fan, and this calendar is awesome! It has Rosario's writing all over it, denoting special days on the calendar (including the birthdays of the original Broadway cast of RENT!). It is also autographed by Rosario! It is much larger than the Daredevil poster, so now I have to decide where to hang it!

Wooden spoon and recipe card
Wooden Spoon & Recipe for Stuffed Peppers = $0.75

One of the themes Rosario talked about in this box was eating - and these two items seem to fit that theme! A wooden spoon is a must in any kitchen, and the recipe is for stuffed peppers, which I've never made before. I'll have to give this recipe a try!

Hand-batiked mini-bag and Rorschach test postcard
Hand-batiked Mini-bag =$3 (could not find anything like this online, so I'm guessing here)

The little blue bag on the left is so cute - it is the perfect size to put a little gift into for a stocking stuffer. I think this is from Rosario's line, Studio 189, which contains pieces hand-dyed in Ghana. It is not listed on their website though, so I'm not 100% certain!

The postcard is a Rorschach test on one side, and on the other side it contains some words from Rosario on the thought of being crazy? She asks subscribers to talk about what they see in the Rorschach test, and to post it on social media with the hashtag "studio189" or "18902".

Coach Madison Leather Wristlet
Coach Madison Leather Wristlet in Black = $68

I was thrilled to see a plastic bag in the box with the Coach logo on it!! This is their Madison Leather Wristlet in black. Very versatile, with two pockets and plenty of room for anything you might need when you go out! I'm not sure if I'm going to gift this, or keep it all for myself ^_^

Honest Co. - Hand Soap and Fruit + Veggie Wash

Honest Co. Honest Hand Soap in Lemongrass (11.5 fl oz) = $4.95

Honest Co. Honest Fruit + Veggie Wash (8 fl oz) =  $6.95

Honest Co. stuff is supposed to be the best, although I don't use it very often - only when it comes to me in subscription boxes! I am very excited to try these out, though. The handsoap smells amazing!! It is also free of: phthalates, SLS, DEA, triclosan, synthetic fragrances, glycols, dyes, phosphates, 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde & most common allergens.


Rosario Dawson + Chris Rock 8"x10" and Studio 189 bookmark
Included was a, 8"x10" of Rosario Dawson and Chris Rock filming their latest movie, "Top Five". One of the other perks of ordering this box was that you were automatically entered to win tickets to the premiere of this film, including a walk down the red carpet with Rosario! She posted pictures of the winner on Twitter earlier this month. I have to say that I'm a little jealous! It sounds like it would be an amazing experience.

There was also a bookmark included, depicting Studio 189's logo. I can always use more bookmarks!!

Bobble Sport Filtering Water Bottle and tree magnet
Bobble Sport Filtering Water Bottle = $11.99

Tree Magnet = $0.50

I love water bottles, but I am constantly leaving them everywhere! Now I have one at both jobs, but none at home, so this Bobble Sport bottle is perfect! It filters as you drink, so it's nice that you can really fill it up anywhere and feel okay about drinking it.

The second item pictured is a cute little magnet! My fridge is covered with magnets, so this one will get added to the collection.

Henry Lambertz 12 Kostlichkeiten Premium Cookie Collection
Kostlichkeiten Premium Cookie Collection = $12.99

These were a spoiler item for the box, and I was honestly expecting a little sample box. Nope! This is a full-sized box of German cookies. YUM. "Kostlichkeiten" means "delicacies" in German! I am eating them right this minute, and I maaaaaay have tried one of every type, and I maaaaaay not even be sorry about it!

Inside the box - the best part!! YUMMY!
A view of the contents ^_^ All the writing was in German, so I had to look up the English version of the descriptions!

Stocking Stuffer Assortment
Next came an assortment of what I would consider to be good "stocking stuffer" items. Included were:
-Under Armour Hair Ties (also a spoiler item) ($9.99)
-Honest Co. Organic Balm (travel-sized) ($4.00)
-Two hand-made walnut ornaments
-Occult Crimes Taskforce deck of playing cards (this is a comic book mini-series that Rosario Dawson co-created in 2005) ($2.00)
-Set of three juggling balls with instructions on how to juggle ($5.89)
-Set of Studio 189 cork coasters ($3.00)
-Two doses of BlowFish Hangover Remedy (apparently this stuff is awesome - you just put the tablets in water and drink up the morning after a night of drinking! They contain aspirin and caffeine) ($2.00)
-Sample packet of Pro BCAA by Optimum Nutrition in Raspberry Lemonade (this is a recovery supplement for post-workout) ($1.75)
-Some small fun items (two noisemakers, a bouncy ball that looks like a billiards ball, a rubber lump of coal (lol), a tiny voodoo doll, a mini candy cane, a few Jelly Belly jelly beans, and a chocolate coin) ($2.00)

Total for stocking stuffers = about $30

I thought this was a really cute idea - there's a little something for everyone! 

Studio 189 Totebag
Studio 189 Totebag = $250 (??)

All the "stocking stuffer" items came in this beautiful hand-batik bag. It is also in the same style as the other bags on the Studio 189 website, but it is not listed there. It has numbers all over it, corresponding to the Advent calendar theme. This bag is GIANT - I could fit everything from this box inside of it and still had plenty of room to spare!

I linked this item to the same type of bag from Studio 189's website - it looks to be about the same size. Wow - most expensive tote bag I've ever owned if that's really the price!

Rosario Dawson Quarterly Box (#18902)


My total for the items in this box = $394.13

Most of the total of this box came from the tote bag. If you subtract the tote bag from the the total, the box was still worth $144.13, which is almost three times the cost of the box, so I would say that this box was a great value! Not only that, but it had unique items that will not be found anywhere else, and it was SO fun to open! I closed my eyes and pulled each item out of the tote bag one and a time, and it was a great version of an Advent calendar :)


What did you guys think of this box? Which item did you like the most? Which item would make the best gift?



Until next time...<3

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting pictures! I was looking for pictures everywhere and you were the first one I think. It looks like a great box...way better than the latest Nina Garcia imo. Can't wait to get mine.

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  2. So glad you got yours early! I've been dying to know what's inside. can't wait to get mine :)

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  3. Just got my box in today and I consider it a slow burner - I loved a few of the items upon first sight, was perplexed by others, and "disliked" a few. And then i started picking up the various items and I was amazed at how truly thoughtful the items were and how much value really was there and how much I started loving everything once I saw the "story". (The enclosed info pamphlet really didn't have any info other than to say additional info would be on a blog soon.) For example, the little bag of jelly beans contained an url which sends you to a YouTube video where the number of days in an average life is represented by jelly beans and then they show you on average where the days/jelly beans are spent (sleeping, commuting, working, etc.) and basically you're left with not so many jelly beans; it really emphasizes how important it is to live every day to one's fullest. Ditto the Rent calendar. So while I was initially excited by the Coach wristlet - by sheer coincidence, I just tossed my previous wristlet (which had gotten very ratty) - and the Bobble bottle (always wanted to try one), and the Honest company items, I thoroughly enjoyed all the little items and what (I think) they represented. I do have to add, though, that the impact of this box would have been epic had they sent it earlier and also wrapped each item in a little tissue paper - not really wrapped, just enclosed! - and numbered it. It then would have functioned as an actual Advent calendar and would probably have been the most awesome box ever.

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