My name is Allyson and I’m the person who shows up to your house and mercilessly takes iPhone photos of all the cool things and brands my friends know about that I don’t. If you invite me over, expect a thousand questions such as:

Where did you get that candle?

OMG, I love this tray, where is it from?

Is that a new sweater?

What’s that smell? I need it.

What do you use on your hair? I love it.

I know, it’s a miracle I have any friends. As an editor, it’s my job to be finding new affordable products that excite me so much I want to share with all of you, my internet friends. And even though I often turn to my friends to see what they are testing and loving, in our line of work it’s necessary to be at the forefront of amazing smelling shampoo or finding the new beauty hack that really does work. And while I wish I could just walk down a Sephora aisle and dump everything in my cart on a weekly basis… that’s not going to happen. So I’m going to share with you one of my favorite affordable ways to discover new products: FabFitFun.

Let’s get one thing straight: this is not your regular subscription box. I gave into a beauty subscription box circa 2010… you know when we lived in a time without Instagram stories and our camera rolls weren’t full of 56,000 screenshots from bloggers sharing their daily routines. From all the advertisements that mercilessly followed me via sidebar ads, I was under the impression that my mind was going to be blown away every month when it arrived. Instead, I ended up canceling after two boxes filled with a few crappy samples I could have gotten at a beauty counter for free.

Since getting burned, I was hesitant to spend money on another subscription box until a friend convinced me to give FabFitFun a try. Due largely to the fact that I was planning to heckle her into buying me pancake brunch if I didn’t like it, I logged on and decided to test run FabFitFun. (I should also note FFF gives a coupon for your first time. And since a coupon can trick me into basically any purchase, I appreciate that.) If you need an extra push, use the code EG10 for $10 off your first box.

Here’s a quick list of things I genuinely love about the box and receiving it in the mail…

Getting one in the mail is just plain fun.

Only second to the joy of seeing puppies, I genuinely love-screech at the sight of the UPS man jogging up my driveway, especially when I’ve forgotten what I ordered and my brain is screaming PRESEEEEENTS!!!

FabFitFun delivery day is like that, but better since you really don’t know what’s going to be in the box.

You’ll open the box and say “damn, I got my money’s worth.”

This is probably the most important thing to note (especially for someone like me who lives on a budget that frequently endorses sentiments such as “I can totally live off cereal for a week, but I am NOT running out of foundation”). To get technical, the box itself would retail for $200 and you’re getting it seasonally for $49.99. That also means it’s thoughtfully curated with an assortment of essentials you will use during said season. I couldn’t take $49.99 to Target and come back with more items, especially not at this quality.

You’re getting full-sized products to test out.

Yes, “products” plural. This means you get to thoroughly test a product and give it your stamp of approval before being the friend that introduces it to your squad. I see you casually strolling into barre with your new bag waiting for everyone to swarm you and ask where they can get one. I SEE YOU GIRL.

If you aren’t sure you’ll use something in your box, it’s a great way to bribe your friends. No, I’m not kidding. My friend doesn’t use dry shampoo (I KNOW SHE IS SO WEIRD, RIGHT? BASICALLY AN ALIEN), which means I’ve been the lucky receiver of a few items from her FFF boxes over the past year. Unfortunately, that also meant when she asked me to go see IT with her, I had to say yes. I’m here as proof that sharing your FFF products will result in major friend bargaining power.

If you order in between seasons, you still get a box.

There’s no magic window of lost opportunity. You can start now and get a box without having to wait. You know, other than the shipping time. Don’t be greedy. At checkout, it will note the name of the box you’ll be receiving.

SPOILER ALERT: Here’s a peek into the Fall 2017 box from FabFitFun. If you prefer to be surprised, squeeze your eyes real tight, click here, and use the code EG10 for $10 off your first box. If you flip to the last page of a novel just to read the ending (you little devil you), continue scrolling.

Fall 2017 FabFitFun Box

Use code EG10 for $10 off your first box

Retails for $98

Mer-Sea & Co. Scarf

Not only is this scarf super soft, but Mer-Sea & Co. has teamed up with water.org, a charity with a mission to make clean water available to women and their families in developing countries.

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Retails for $59

PRIVATE PARTY Gym Bag

The cheeky sayings like "Meet Me at The Barre" or "Will Workout for Cupcakes" are only part of the appeal. This bag also boasts an outside zipper compartment, and an inner open pocket for all of your necessities.

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