Little Black Bag haul.
August 2013.
Little Black Bag is a different monthly subscription service. You sign up as a monthly member pick a product each month that varies in price according to the picked item and suggested retail price. The price you pay is always much less than the suggested retail price, even if you choose the bundle option. You can choose just the product that you want to purchase or for a little more money you can choose to bundle the item. This usually includes the main product chosen and in my experience one or two jewelry pieces.
You can open the bag with various different products ranging from bags or jewelry to beauty products and recently added shoes. Each month VIPS are offered the option to skip the month, or if you do not skip your credit card will be charged $10.00 that can be used in a later opened bag purchase.
This is one of the more expensive monthly subscription services, but with the option to skip each month and being guaranteed to know what you are getting before it ships, the price is justified for me. After you pick your item and depending on if you choose to bundle or not, the "Stylist Picks" are revealed after purchase. Then you have a week to trade the products that you choose for other items. Some people are really good at trading and are able to get really good boxes shipped out. I wouldn't say that I'm one of those people, but I'm working on it!
This is the second LBB order that I have received and unfortunately I have not been totally satisfied with the products when I received them. That comes with the territory with online shopping, it's often hard to really get a good understanding of each product when you are looking at pictures on a computer, such as quality or size. Keep reading to see what surprised me this time.
Bag #1
LaTique 'Rio' Messenger
I opened my bundle with this LaTique 'Rio' messenger bag. I though that this would be great for work. I go to a lot of meetings and bring a lot of paperwork to these meetings. I was hoping that I could use this to make going to the meetings a little easier, but when I received this bag, I saw that it wasn't wide enough to fit a filing folder without bending it to fit. I still like the bag, so I will be using this bag as a purse only. The straps on the front of the bag are for decoration only. There are magnetic fasteners on the underside of the flap that is used to open and close the bag. There is a long, adjustable cross body strap attached to each side of the bag.
Close up detail of the rhinestones and studs on the front flap of the bag. During the trading period of this opened bag a lot of people wanted to trade for this bag in this color or the other colors that it came in. I think I remember a yellow and a red version of this same bag on the Little Black Bag site.
The interior is made out of a dark brown cloth. The inside of the bag has two large compartments separated by a zippered middle pocket. There is a zippered pocket on the back side of the bag and two slots on the front part.
The back of the bag has another zippered pocket. I like the detail on the zipper, it makes it easier to grab when opening and closing the pocket. The bag is made out of black leather vinyl that was made to look like leather.
I wasn't able to find a website for this brand, but found a link to a site where the bag in all the colors can be purchased.
Bag #2
Lionel 'Marlene Tote
This bag I had to trade for. I had another tote that I chose for an exchange on the Nila Anthony 'Lace Structured Satchel' that I purchased in my last Little Black Bag Haul. Link to the last haul blog post here. The hardware on the cross body strap broke so I sent the bag back and asked if I could return it also since I was disappointed in the bag in the first place. LBB customer service was really nice and allowed me to return the bag. I received an exchange credit and I checked my exchange gallery everyday to see if there was a bag that I wanted to use my credits on. Once I saw a bag that I liked, I picked it and it went into trading rotation with the Latique Messenger bag above. I was able to trade that bag and the other items in my bundle to get this bag. I was so happy to have received this bag!
Close up of the gold studs on both side of the tote. The bag is made out of faux leather, so its a great vegan bag. Each side of the bag has different textures of the faux leather. the front side has a softer, almost suede-like feel. The back part of the bag has a zippered pocket and more of a textured leather feel and look.
The interior is made out of a shiny cloth with one big compartment. The back side has the Lionel label in metal and a zippered pocket. The front has two slit pockets. The top of the bag has a zippered closure, which is great for swaying pickpockets and keeping everything from falling out.
Little Black Bag usually has promotions on their website with each purchase. This time it was a sample of a Michael Todd 'Pumpkin Mask'. I have heard some really great things about the Michael Todd product line, specifically the mask that I received. You could have received this 'Pumpkin Mask' or the 'Jojoba Charcoal Scrub'. I would have been happy to get either product, but wanted the 'Pumpkin Mask' a little more than the scrub. I forgot to take a picture of the mask, but this is what it looks like from the Michael Todd website. I used this already and above all loved the smell of the product. The mask smelt like I had just smashed my face into a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I looked at the ingredient list and saw why it smelt like Thanksgiving - nutmeg is a product that was added to this mask. I have to keep using the mask before developing an opinion on it, but so far the smell alone makes me really like this mask. Currently there is a promotion for a free Raj Imports headband with every VIB order.
Despite the disappointments on this order, they are not enough for me to want to return the bags. I have used both bags already and have received numerous compliments on each of them. I will continue to be a Little Black Bag subscriber and when I can afford it or see a product that I must have I will be ordering again. The trading period is really addicting. LBB has recently rebranded their site and company and I have heard a lot of complaints that the trading has slowed down and become disappointing since the change. I did notice a lot less trading this time around, but I was satisfied with the end product that was shipped out.
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