Monthly Candy I Can't Live Without

Imagine your grandmother, your high school art teacher, your rock-and-roll crush, and your most fashionable friend put a care package together each month. That's what opening a box from The Sampler is like. For $30, you get a huge box full of goodies made by indie artists -- some to wear, some to write on, and some to play with. The only thing missing is a hug and a cup of hot cocoa. Check out The Sampler here.

When I first heard about the Test Tube sampling program from New Beauty Magazine, I thought it was a joke. Hundreds of dollars of new beauty products delivered to me 4 times a year for $30 bucks a tube? You've got to be kidding. (They're like mini samples, right?) W-R-O-N-G. A few months back, I finally caved in and signed up. And I'm pissed that I waited as long as I did. It was like Christmas, New Year's Eve and my birthday in a box. Full-sized skin care products, cosmetics, hair care products -- even coupons to online stores. (Now if they could just squeeze a doc that does lipo into that tube.) Check out the Test Tube here.

SpreeMail is like a combination newsletter/trend guide/personal shopper in one. It organizes some of the best new trends into one eye-satisfying email (sort of like boutique window shopping without leaving your house). Everything is hand picked by the editor of the Spreetail Guide (who, I might add, has excellent taste!) I look forward to it because it keeps me up-to-date on new stores, fashion sites, designers, and hard-to-find items including indie finds. Plus, there are coupon codes out the wahzoo, but only for cool things. (No weird buy-one-get-one-free coupons for hemorrhoid creams.) Check out SpreeMail here.