Subscription box recommendations?

I could use some input here...

I'm thinking of getting (Hubby to get) myself a subscription for a (beauty) box as a Christmas gift.
I do miss receiving the Memeboxes, so a monthly subscription would be fun!
But I'm not sure which one to pick.

There are a lot of clothing and accessorizes options, but that's something I prefer to get myself, so that's out of the question.

The obvious choice would be the Swedish Glossybox, but that one fails to impress me.
The Glossybox
And since the plan is to move back to my native Denmark this summer, it would probably have to limit me to a 6 month subscription.

• But to compare to the other boxes, 12 months subscription: 1299 SEK with no additional shipping (Yay!) That is 152 USD or 138 Euro.

I would want a box with some full sized products in it. Rather find I cant use something, than get an annoying little sample I find I do like and then having to hunt it down full sized somewhere. I just wont get that done unless I can find it on one of the webstores I already go to.
So the more sample-based beauty boxes are out.
Also I don't mind a few non-beauty items, but not so much it takes over in the box.
So for the beauty boxes, it limits me to
The Beautequebox
and
The Mishibox

• The Beauteque box is 264 USD for a 12 month subscription with a shipping fee that I cannot seem to find listed anywhere. Severely fail on that! I immediately distrust a company with such a lack of transparency! (And ugh, I would also want to have Beauteque's Mask Maven box. 156 USD with a shipping fee. They probably ship them separately too, so 2 x an unknown shipping fee for that) That is 2254 SEK or 239 Euro with an unknown shipping and handling fee for the "regular" box alone.

• The Mishibox is 239,40 USD for a 12 month subscription with 5,95 USD for a monthly shipping fee. That is 310,8 USD in total for a year, which is 2646 SEK or 218 Euro.

Then of course there are the nerd-boxes with geeky stuff. Maybe that would be a good idea for me/us?
I tend to be too minimalist to buy figurines and "fun" stuff because I always reason "Ugh, it will just be another annoying decoration collecting dust", so our nerdiness only shows in the book and DVD-collections. Maybe it will be fun because it appeals to the nerd in me, but it will still be stuff I wouldn't have picked on my own.
The Lootcrate

• The Lootcrate is 312 USD for a 12 month subscription with no additional shipping and handling (Yay!) 2663 SEK or 283 Euro.

Throwback Thursday

Look at that tiny little braid!! It's so teeny-tiny! Almost wider than it's long!!

Hair inspiration

This was supposed to be one of the hairstyles I've seen, been inspired by and then tried.
But I just can't figure out how to make this one!

How would you guys make this one?

Four braids with two for the buns and two to wrap around?
Two braids, start with the buns and wrap the rest around?
Is the braid wrapped around maybe a fake? It looks a little too uniform in thickness all the way around...

Today's hair

Today's hair is a gigantic pain in my ass. It's freshly washed, slippery and completely uncontrollable.

I tried to make a Nautilus bun, but it started to slip and fail within a minute.

So I tried to tighten it by twisting it and it turned into... Something else. Now it looks a bit like a mangled figure 8 bun. I don't hate it, it's just... strange.

New tool

I have just placed an amazon order for this:

I've been considering getting a Creaclip for a very long time, but ended up ordering this one from Etude House.
It seems to be the same system: Where a Creaclip set comes with a long, curved clip and a short, straight blue clip, this set comes with a single short, pink clip.

From looking at pictures of the two systems, I'd say the Etude House is an exact copy of the straight Creaclip.

I ended up ordering the Etude House since the Creaclip comes with a white clip I will have no use for. I just need a simple clip for trimming my (thin) ends.

There's something I wonder about though: If this system is designed to cut bangs, why can't you buy a clip that curves around your forehead? Wouldn't a straight clip be interfering with the straightness of your bang-line? A straight clip would make the sides of the bangs longer than the front, right?

Anyways. Tips on "How to train your hubby to trim your hair" would be appreciated!

Today's hair

Hmm. My theory from yesterday didn't seem to hold up.

The five strand braid-base didn't make the buns any flatter really.

And you couldn't even really see the cool detail of the five-stranded braids unless I leaned back a lot.

And even then, it didn't really stand out.

Today's hair

Tomorrow I have to get up really early to do a presentation in Denmark. So I need something I can whip up quickly in a bun, so I can sleep a bit longer.
I did two five strand braid that I'm going to put up in two Nautili buns. I hope the flatter braid-basis will make the buns flatter and more discrete.

Project Paranda part 3

Okay, before I start typing a lot, I will let the picture speak for itself.

Cringe.

Okay, so that didn't work.

It leads me to some conclusions though...

1) The advantage of a traditional Paranda is that you can cut it off where ever it fits you. You don't have to attach and braid it with a lot of precision. Something like this needs to be added and braided with precision, or it will look like crap. Despite the care I took in where I put the elastic and cut off the fibers, it just didn't work.

2) I still think the idea of a four-"legged" Paranda is an idea to keep developing on. If you want to add some fibers for fun or a splash of colour and not to add bulk to your braid, I think it would be a good idea. It would offer the playfulness or contrast before countering the natural taper.

3) I see why the traditional Paranda is popular: The way it's added to the braid makes it very sturdy. No risk of it working itself out of the braid in the beginning when it's secured with three legs the way it is.

4) The longer Paranda, the (Probably) better.

5) I like the idea of artificial hair fibers instead of yarn. But where do I find any long enough for me? The obvious solution is to get an artificial super long wig and turn it into long accent braids...
Something like this, maybe? Depending on where they measure the length, it would be almost as long as my own hair.

Anyways, project Paranda was a fail so far. But even "Okay, that didn't work" is a legitimate result and it has made me come to some useful conclusions.
I will re-try this again later.

Project Paranda part 2

Continued from yesterday..

First of all, here is why the purple extensions don't really work for me.

Pros
Good colour for me
Even a good tone
The texture of the fibers aren't too far off from my natural hair

Cons
Well... This.Stupid lumpy, scrathy plastic lump to keep the fibers collected.
I'm guessing it's supposed to be one of those extension-types that are supposed to be welded onto your hair or something?

It makes a big "lump" in my hair and even though the plastic is curved so you would think it could fit perfectly around a strand of hair, it doesn't. It works itself out of my braid in a matter of hours and looks really stupid. Bleh.

My tools for the project
Comb
Scissor (Regular one, not my extensive S&D one!)
Glass of small silicone elastics
My idea-sketch
Improvised braid-holder
TonyMoly leave in conditioner (Offers too much hold and texture for my hair and ends up tangling it instead, so I figured it would be perfect for this)
And naturally the purple extensions

Setting up the structure. Using plenty of the leave in conditioner to keep it gathered.

The finished result. And... I'm not pleased with it.
No matter how much I messed around with the little extension-pieces, I would get some "chunks" coming out of the braids.
It looked worse in real life than the photo shows!
So I figured the only way to get out of that effect, would be to make a more linear "Paranda" where I add more and more pieces and cut it off before the first pieces pops out. So, more of a traditional Paranda where it ends up taking over the braid and the ends are Paranda only.

So wie man plant und denkt...

*Shrug*

Tried to braid one of the strands differently.
Decided I liked that better, even though it means a lot of wasted length....

All 3 strands done differently. It got so short!

Cleaned the ends up a bit. I'll try the "Paranda" tomorrow in a simple braid....

Project Paranda part 1

Aka. "Projects I start when I should do other projects, like work."

I've been thinking of making a paranda after Ohtawen commented on the Hair inspiration post.  

I can see why that style inspired you - it's really beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have enough hair for an additional bun, so I won't be attempting this one. I sometimes do just a coronet braid, but I have trouble with the taper... I dislike asymmetry probably as much as you :) 

That's why I usually cheat and do a Dutch braid at the nape of my neck - just several passes, from one ear to the other. Then I braid as usual and wind the braid around my head, tucking the thinnest ends in the braided base and thus making the braid more uniform. 

But I like your idea of a scarf to even out the thickness of the braid. It's totally worth a shot. Maybe even a paranda could help? 

Ohtawen

So I started looking Parandas up, but I keep getting stuck at the idea that Parandas join in the hair in one big bulk. Hmm. 

I'd like my "extensions" to offer some gradual bulk and maybe even taper down again in a more natural-looking way. You know what I mean?

Like, more of a fun little detail instead of taking over the entire braid.

But then in the middle of doing more important things like finishing up a project for work *cough*, I got an idea.

Shit I do when I should do more important things.

Ink on paper

Igor, October 24th 2015

So, let me explain the idea:

Instead of 3 parts, I make 4. The 4th one is the beginning part that is braided in first before being joined by the other 3 parts.

Instead of wool, I will be using the purple extensions (mentioned here) that I haven't had much success with. I will explain why tomorrow when I get home. The numbers are how many of the individual pieces I will use and how.

The "Paranda" will have taper in both ends.

I'm actually looking forward to play around with this tomorrow!