Unboxing Papergang Box - No. 42 - August 2019 Edition - Hit The Town*

In my previous Papergang post I spoke of how much I loved the idea and the concept, but that I wasn't sure whether it was something that I could justify in the long term, will I stuck with it and I have to say that August's box is probably my favourite one so far.

The theme is "Hit The Town" and the box and its contents have a New York City theme. The outer box sleeve features a brightly coloured, line drawn, cityscape design, combined with quirky cartoons of things that we would associate with The Big Apple, including landmarks like the Empire State Building, the Statue Of Liberty, and the Chrysler Building, combined with drawings of pizza, pretzels, and even King Kong, and Godzilla!

The outer sleeve features the usual cut out, Papergang logo, and the reverse of the box features a "cut out and craft" washi tape dispenser.

When you remove the sleeve, you're greeted by the usual, brown cardboard box, open the box and the contents of August's box is wrapped in a sheet of pale pink tissue paper.

The first item in the box as per usual is the little paper information booklet, which in this case tells you exactly what's in the box, and it also includes instructions on how to make you your washi tape dispenser. As well as that it also tells you about the designer that created the August box, artist and illustrator Jacqueline Colley, and about some of her inspirations and ideas. As well as designing for Ohh Deer and Papergang, Jacqueline has also worked with companies such as Twitter, Mollie Makes, and Kate Spade.

A4 ish Desk Pad

The first item in the box, is a brightly coloured desk pad / organiser pad / to do list. Featuring the same design as the outer box, it features quirky cartoon like drawings of Godzilla and King Kong, as well as New York City landmarks, and things that we would associate with New York such as Brownstones, cocktails and apples.

This slightly smaller than A4 desk pad features 3 sections, one for days of the week and the weekend, a to do list, and a notes section. Printed using eco toners and vegetable inks, it's a nice quality, thick pad, and whilst  I haven't counted the pages there is easily enough sheets for at least 5 or 6 months, if not more.

I've already received a desk pad in a previous Papergang post (you can read it here) but I actually prefer this one, it's a bit bigger, the quality is excellent and I love the cartoon like illustrations. Like last months box there are no recommended retail prices on any of the items but similar desk pads retails at around £7.95 on Ohh Deer.

1 x Sheet Gift Wrap 

Next up a sheet of gift wrap, which features the same colourful illustration as the outer sleeve - I'm only showing you a small section of the sheet, I haven't measured it but it's probably around 8 times this size. It seems a shame to use it but you could wrap a decent size present in it. Again it's a nice quality item, a lot of wrapping paper is a bit flimsy but this is actually more like a heavy weight paper than what would you would normally expect from a sheet of gift wrap. Again environmentally conscious throughout, the factory that makes this gift wrap recycles more than 95% of their waste. As always everything in this box is exclusive and unavailable elsewhere but similar sheets of gift wrap retail between £1.75 and £1.95 on Ohh Deer.

1 x Greetings Card

The next item is what Ohh Deer are really famous for - a greetings card. If you're one of those people who likes things to coordinate, then this card works perfectly with the gift wrap. It features the same Jacqueline Colley design, the line drawn city scape, and icons that symbolise New York City, only with the words "HIT THE TOWN" embossed in a hot pink typeface. The card is blank inside so you can use it for any occasion or even just to say Hello or Bon Voyage and it contains a natural, brown envelope.

Again the quality is excellent, it's a nice sturdy card that will stand up and won't fall down with a the tiniest draft of air. The card is printed onto card stock which is FSC certified which means that is made from card sourced from responsible sources, through recycling or well managed, sustainable forest. Greeting cards are probably one of Ohh Deer's biggest sellers, and cards retail between, £2.75 and £2,95.

A5 Art Print

The NYC design also features on the next item in August's box, an A5 Art Print. The print again features a version of the fun cityscape design, on a pink background with the words "NEW YORK"printed on it in a darker shade of pink.

Like the previous print that I received in the June, Under The Sea box (read my post here), it isn't made of the thickest card, but you could easily put it in a frame or stick it up with washi tape ;) There aren't many A5 prints on the Ohh Deer website but the ones that there are retail between £4.95 and £5.95.

Enamel Pin

As well as greetings cards, and stationery, Ohh Deer and Papergang also sell a variety of enamel pins and iron patches. As I've said previously I'm not really a patch girl but I do love badges, brooches, and enamel pins. This months box features a fabulous Pretzel shaped pin. Made of metal with a rubberised fastening, it's a warm almost rose gold tone in colour, and it features tiny white / silver dots, which I guess represent sesame seeds. It super cute and I absolutely love it. Again this is a box exclusive but similar enamel pins and pin badges retail at around £5.95.

Washi Tape

I've probably dropped enough hints in this post as to what the next item is but in case you haven't caught on, it's a roll of washi tape. I used to be one of these people who didn't see what the fuss was with washi tape, it's coloured or patterned sticky tape after all but after buying a few rolls, I quickly became a bit of a collector, and I now store my rolls in a large Ferrero Rocher box, so I can see all of the pretty colours and patterns - I guess it makes sense I love stickers and if you think about it a roll of  tape is just a giant roll of stickers!

This is particular nice roll, in a bright turquoise blue, it features big yellow taxis, apples, hot dogs, pizza slices, apples, pretzels, and the letters NYC. It's a paper based tape so it tears nice and easily. I use washi tape for all sorts of things, but this would be a particularly nice one for scrapbooking or journalling particularly if you've got an trip to NYC to record. Alas I don't but I'm sure I'll find a use for it. Rolls of coloured and patterned tape retail between £2.50 and £2.95 on Ohh Deer.

Universal Calendar Card 

The final item in the August box is an ever present in the Papergang box, the Universal Calendar Card. These seem to appear in every box, and they always complement the box theme perfectly. This month the card is a pale pink colour and it features the same line drawn city design as the rest of the box but this time in grey and black.

As much as I loved last months In Bloom box, I think this is definitely my all round favourite box, I love New York, and I love Jacqueline Colley's fun, and cheerful, cartoon like illustrations. I love all of the products but the standouts for me have to be the pin, the desk pad, and of course the washi tape! Since the boxes just keep getting better and better I'm going to stick with Papergang for now, and fingers crossed that they keep up the standard. Let me know your thoughts on this box and don't forget check out the Papergang website to find out more about the box, and of course to shop from Ohh Deer.

*This Post Contains Affiliate Links

A Trip To The Metro Centre

Hey Guys
Well we made it after a few weeks of aborted attempts we eventually made it to the Metro Centre yesterday. I have to be honest and say I'm pretty broke ahead of my holidays so my mum bought me a few things, meaning I only made the tiniest little dip into my monthly spends, first up the things that St Mummy of LouLouLand bought me :) She gave my £20 for spends so I did what any bargainista does and I went into Primark. I've read so many posts lately on the delights of Primark at the moment but I have to say I was a bit disappointed nothing really jumped at me and the things that did seemed to stop point blank at a size 12 :( Never mind I did pick up one thing that I have seen in pretty much every Primark haul lately some lovely and cozy fleecy PJ pants

For just £5 these will be sooo warm for the winter, Mummy Lou is even considering getting some for herself! That was the only clothing item I got the rest was all accessories - first up one of these ski headbands - I got one last year and it kept my ears toasty and warm - it was £1.50

Next up hair bobbles -  as you know Primark hair bobbles are a real staple of mine (click here to read a review) and I was delighted to see that they had introduced a whole load of new colours, so yes your eyes aren't deceiving you I picked up 5 packets!

That's 150 bobbles for £5 which I don't think is bad, and yes I will get through them all they are probably Tallulah's favourite play things, and I lose about 3 a week to her very sharp teeth, I'm loving all the new colours I really will be able to coordinate my bobbles with my outfits :)

Next up a cute little charm, it has a turquoise stone, and a little silver tone bird and feather detail, these are only a pound and there were lots of different ones to chose from, as well as a faux silver sweetie style bracelet to put them on. I have a little faux Pandora style bracelet that I was going to put it on but once I've got it home it's a different shade of turquoise entirely - never mind I'm sure I'll find a use for it it.

Finally I picked this cute little highlighter up from the make up range High Beauty Baked Highlighter

All the make up items seem to have been reduced to just £1.00 which I guess indicates the end of the range which is a bit of shame to be honest I have discovered some real gems in it. If your interested in what to grab before everything disappears don't forget to keep checking back, one of my planned schedules posts whilst I'm on holiday is a Budget Beauty Series post  focusing on the best of Primark Beauty.

So that was my Primark haul - just £13.50 spent so can you guess what I did you I crossed the mall and went to Superdrug to finishing spending my £20. First up I headed to the Sleek stand which I have to say was an absolute disgrace the stand was coming apart nothing where it was supposed to be, it was horrid. I actually complained to a member of staff who told me that the stand was actually damaged the slots were coming apart so things couldn't stand up and Sleek wouldn't replace it!! She was actually pretty mad at the state of it and the products on it and so she should be, the stand design etc maybe Sleeks responsibility but the state of the products and the damaged testers etc is surely Superdrugs? I tried to get a photograph but I was being glared it constantly after I dared mention it! Hmm anyways I wanted to check out the nude collection, the eyeshadow palette never really appealed as I'm not a huge matte shadow lover, but it was in such a smashed state it would have been hard to swatch it anyways - The blusher on the other hand had sparked my interest!

At first glance it had appeared to be too dark for me but the more I saw it the more I thought I might be able to get away with it - today was the first opportunity I'd had to swatch it and I have to say I really like

Suede 921 is a gorgeous peachy nude, is it anything different to what I already own probably not but hey ho but for £4.29 of not my money it was well worth it, especially since the pigmentation is amazing

The last proportion of Momma Lou's money went on a bottle of Drench Orange and Passion Fruit Juice - OMG how amazing is that stuff , and a little item from MUA. Like my local Superdrug the Metro Centres stand was predictably half empty but I did spy one of the new eyeshadows, this is Shade - 30 Pearl

What an amazingly pigmented metallic copper shade, this brand just impresses me more and more with every product I try!!

I did pick up one thing with my own money in Superdrug - one of the NYC Smooch Proof Lip Stain 16H in 490 Persistent Pink

I've only managed a quick swatch so far but it seems a bit more wearable than the Revlon one I picked up.

I'll do a full review of this product when I get to my Budget Beauty Series post on NYC but first impressions are good x

I did buy one tiny little other thing the time in WHSmith - a copy of Papercraft Inspirations magazine. I used to subscribe to this magazine a little while ago but like the rest of my mags I cancelled it. This months copy though has a free Forever Friends Christmas card making kit with stamps, toppers, and cards. I have a few Forever Friends Christmas kits already  and I thought this would be a great addition to the things I already have.
After that we headed home via Lidl but not before my mum treat us to a little Starbucks trip -  this is one of the new Creme Brulee Macchiatos

I have to say it was yum, the Caramel one has been one of my favourites for a while now but this was equally good, sweet but with a lovely strong coffee taste. I also had one of their Gluten Free Chocolate Brownies which are gorgeous - Starbucks Gluten Free range isn't the biggest but at least us Coeliacs aren't completely ignored!
So that was yesterday, today I am utterly exhausted, achey and sore -why do a few hours pleasure lead to so much pain grr. Anyways if you have any questions on what I've bought please let me know xx

Collective Hauling :)

Hey my loves time for a haul post that I did pay for myself. As well as the Stacey maxi dress I have bought a few bits myself over the last few weeks whilst at the same time trying to be strong and stick to my limit. The throat come chest infection has meant a period of being stuck in the house so unsurprisingly some of the purchases have been online.
First up a nail polish and a beautiful one at that, I typed holographic nail polish into the search field on eBay and up came this beauty, Color Club 859 Fashion Addict

You can't really see the holo or the glitter too much but it looked amazing in the sellers pics on the nails and I can't wait to try it on mine :)

Another ebay purchase in the last few weeks was this - not one of the most interesting  purchases I've ever mind but something that is a bit of an essential if your going on holiday- after sun!

My mum has taken care of the SPF so I thought I'd treat us to a new after sun, this one the Ultrasun After Sun really applied because not only is it an after sun it's also a tan accelerator, better still I got it for well below retail on ebay :)

It's generally accepted that blogs are great enablers, we read a post and find ourselves adding a load of items to our wishlist, well that happened again last week, when the lovely Fee from Make Up Savvy did a post on discontinued products. She had managed to purchased something I wanted quite a while ago - the NYC Chroma Face Glow in Moonstone

I wanted this for the longest time, like the famous NYC Blush Sticks it was never released in the UK and the ebay prices at the time of release were just ridiculous, but I checked on Amazon and found that the Amazon store is the same as a discount cosmetics website I had used before The Cosmetics House. Admittedly they are also in Co Durham but I got my parcel in less than 18 hours - impressive. These remind me a lot of MAC MSF's, it looks a bit like a paler Petticoat in the pan, but its a lot paler and a gorgeous sheeny pink -gorgeous

Finally today I managed a little look out, my mum wanted to go to Lidl so we popped to Consett, and you know that that means Superdrug! I originally went to get some more MUA things for the post I'm finalising but to be honest the MUA stand looked like a bomb had it hit it, nothing left and what was left had been opened, so I had a look at the 2True stand instead, to say it was better would be a major over statement, not one eyeshadow on the entire stand hadn't be opened or wasn't broken, horrendous! Thankfully the rest of the items looked OK, so I picked up 3 items for just £4.99 to go towards my Budget Beauty Series. First up a mascara the Instant Waterproof Mascara in 1 Black

Having previously tried and really liked a 2True mascara before I thought it would be good to try out another one for my post on 2True, I have to say I didn't really need another mascara especially since I received the Daniel Sandler Jumbo Jet Mascara in this months GlossyBox :) but mascara really seems to be one of my weaknesses

I also picked up one the Crystal Lipglosses in 1 - a lovely shimmery pink, I mean I really needed another lipgloss didn't I ;)

and I also picked up one of the Fast Dry Colour Quick Nail Polishes in Shade 2

I have already tried the other nail polishes that 2True do but I hadn't tried these ones, and I have to say I love the pale blue colour, and yes that it is another nail polish that you can see, one of the new Maybelline MNY polishes - I can't find a shade name but I think it's number 659, a gorgeous blue, but what's with all these companies giving their products numbers rather than names, it doesn't half make a bloggers life harder.

Finally from Superdrug I got these cute purple metal, rose earrings, for just 99p, I couldn't get a pic on the card so you've got an ear shot x 

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Finally I popped into Boyes and bought a few things including some undies, no I'm not going to show you those, what sort of blog do you think this is lol but I did buy the L'Oreal Elvive Re-Nutrition Nourishing Cream Shampoo, I'm running low on my Clynol and shock of horrors I can't find any shampoo in the bathroom cupboard - this is really unusual for us my mum thinks she has some Ojon shampoo "somewhere" so I thought I'd buy a cheaper shampoo just in case. I have to say I actually really like the L'Oreal Elvive range especially the ones with Royal Jelly in they smell nice and they are really moisturising.

So there you go a few successful purchases and I've just sneaked over my monthly limit still I'm happy to be just about back on my feet now the antibiotics are a total pain but at least I'm starting to feel better x Thanks for all the sweet messages you guys are the best xx

A Bad Girls Haulage

OK I admit I hauled as well as ordering a few bits from MAC, today we rather unexpectedly ended up at the Metro Centre. To cut a long story short I needed a new ink cartridge, nowhere near me had a one left so to Argos we headed, we got the cartridge then I had a little trip across the centre to Superdrug, and  maybe I went into Primark.....
The initial object of my desire was this and I got the last one - hurray!!

The V05 Miracle Concentrate - I've heard so many good things about this and I couldn't find it anywhere I am going to give it a go tonight as my hairdresser kindly told me that my mid lengths and ends are really dry eek!
As you've probably already guessed I also had a little look around the make section and I did pick up a few make up things - first of all I got another L'Oreal Color Infaillible Eyeshadow - this time in 016 Coconut Shade, a pale vanilla shade

I have to say now I've got this home I'm not a 100% sure - it's actually a matte shade and not as pigmented as the shimmery ones nevermind I'll give it a go.

I also got a couple of items to go towards my Budget Beauty Series - first up this NYC Metro Eyeshadow Quartet in 818A Union Square

and another MUA Lipstick, this time in Shade 7

Oh and I also picked up a copy of this months Cosmopolitan which comes with a free Missguided nail polish, I love Missguided polishes (see here for my previous reviews) and there are 3 colours to choose from I went for Misstique, a gorgeous turquoise / teal

I also popped into Primark, I wasn't intending too but there were sale signs in the window and a Primark sale really does mean a bargain. As per usual it was crammed but I managed to pick up a few bits including
this crinkle maxi skirt for £5

and this cotton beach maxi dress for only £3

I also got these earmuffs for 50p - yes I know it's summer but for the price it was well worth picking them up

Next up some jewellery bits - bracelets

and a ring set

and finally I picked up a few cosmetics bits again to go towards my Budget Beauty series - My Hearts Desire Shimmer Blush Hearts

and a Smoke Screen Smokey Eye Kit - first impressions of this I have to say are good

Obviously full reviews of these to come - oh and if your a North East dweller Metro Centre Primark is on the move, it's taking over both levels of the former Woolworths and Internacionale stores, so it's going to be huge! and the rumour is Forvever 21 is taking over Primarks current stores woohoo!!!
Anyways that was my unexpected haul - Obviously I'll post my MAC haul when it comes but hopefully that will be it  for this month now x Next up a review post - Any questions please ask xx