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NSFW The Modern Love Box “Nature vs. Nurture” Review + Coupon – Fall 2018

Anna Reilly
ByAnna ReillyNov 7, 2018 | 6 comments

Modern Love Box exterior

The Modern Love Box
5 overall rating
2 Ratings | 0 Reviews

Modern Love Box is a subscription box curated for couples. Each box aims to help long-term relationships nix boredom and keep that intimate, romantic spark alive.

(FYI – not all the contents of the box are suitable for viewing at work. Some are adult products. Just a heads up!)

Modern Love Box unboxing

They describe their expert-curated boxes as "monthly boxes of luxury items and activities meant to enhance meaningful experiences and promote overall relationship success." The activities and items are all purposefully gender non-specific—all couples can enjoy this inclusive box all the same!

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Modern Love Box all items

About The Modern Love Box Subscription

The Subscription Box: The Modern Love Box

The Cost: $54.00 per quarter

The Products: Luxury items and activities for adult, long-term couples meant to inspire intimacy and excitement. The items are curated by relationship experts and appropriate for all kinds of couples (heterosexual, same sex, etc.).

Ships to: Continental US only.

The Modern Love Box "Nature vs. Nurture" Fall 2018 Review

Modern Love Box nature vs nurture

Modern Love Box booklet

This box's theme is "Nature vs. Nurture". The booklet that comes with the box includes some conversation-starting information and instructions for how to use all of the items in your box.

Modern Love Box question

Modern Love Box instructions

My partner and I have found that the biggest focus of The Modern Love Box dates is communication. There's a separate communication activity card that we'll get to in a second that will get the date started off right.

Modern Love Box yellow page

Here's the list of what we got in the box. Not gonna lie, "Body Paint" made me a little nervous, haha!

Modern Love Box date description

Note that most of these boxes do encourage some kind of physical intimacy. I appreciate that they do so, but I also like that they don't get too pushy about what that physical intimacy has to look like. Different couples like different things, and that's totally cool in my book. This box includes a body painting activity meant to help partners explore each others' erogenous zones, but depending on your comfort level, I feel like you could skip the more scandalous body locales and have just as much fun painting one another's faces or hands. It's a thoughtful choice of activity, in that it can be flexible enough to accommodate relationships in different stages and comfort levels.

Modern Love Box communication questions

But first things first! The date starts out with a communication activity, wherein my partner and I went back and forth asking one another the questions on this card. He and I tend to find the conversational parts of the date to be the most valuable part of the experience, quarter after quarter. They seem to include questions that you don't think to ask day-to-day. And being that you're conscientiously sitting down to talk together, it's easier to open up. (It's not like I'm just bringing these questions up to him over coffee in the morning, haha!)

The next project involves a few different supplies:

Modern Love Box sticks

Modern Love Box craft sticks

4 Craft Sticks

Modern Love Box paint tubes

Modern Love Box paint tubes back

2 Tubes Reeves Watercolor Paints, 0.34 fl. oz. each - Buy 10 for $9.07 here

Modern Love Box string

Modern Love Box rainbow string

Rainbow String Bundle

Modern Love Box paper

4 Sheets of Paper

The idea is that you tie the string to a craft stick, dip the string into paint and then swing the drippy string around the included pages to create your own version of an inkblot test. Once you've got some blots, you can psychoanalyze one another's work.

Modern Love Box cloth

Oriental Trading Drop Cloth - Retail Value $1.89

It's a cute idea, given the psychological focus of the box, but the runny watercolors and flicking strings got suuuper messy super fast. (I'm very glad that they included the drop cloth!) I also like to do art as a hobby, so I struggled with the limited control of the string tool and the watercolor paint (which I'm less familiar with than other types of paints). But hey, maybe that's an accurate representation of my psychology!!!

Modern Love Box communication activity

After our art endeavors, the box had us turn the communication card over and ask one another these personal questions. I feel like my partner and I have talked about these kinds of subjects before—our families, what motivates and excited us, our experiences with mental health issues—but it was nice to talk through those things again. We've been together for about 3 years now, but if you're in a newer relationship, I could see this exercise being a cool way to break the ice about more vulnerable subject matter.

Modern Love Box jar

Modern Love Box jar back

Modern Love Box brush

Shunga Erotic Art Body Paint in Sparkling Strawberry Wine - Retail Value $13.00 (Found here for $11.99)

Foam Tip Art Brush

The painting continues with the last activity. There aren't too many rules as to how you're supposed to use this body paint, so as I mentioned earlier, you can tailor the experience to whatever you and your partner are most comfortable with. This deep red paint wasn't quite as messy as I expected. The foam-tip "brush" is nice, too. It gives me a bit of the control I was looking for in the watercolor exercise! Haha!

The paint has a strawberry flavor that I wasn't a huge fan of. The only thing is that the red paint ends up looking a little gruesome after a while... But hey, it's great for Halloween season!

The Verdict: As usual, this box's value isn't in the products inside, but the curated experience and lasting impact of the activities inside. We get so much out of the communication exercises that sometimes the crafts and other activities feel a little distracting from the great conversations we get going. (If they ever start a subscription that's JUST the discussion cards, I'd be all over it!) My partner and I have super busy schedules, so it's nice to have an excuse to make time to connect. And I love the inclusive, open perspective of this subscription. It really does feel like a modern box. I worried before starting this subscription that the activities would feel suuuuper corny or even awkward. (I was imagining a box full of the kinds of things you find in the back of a Spencer's Gifts—sexy dice and all that, haha! Not that there's anything wrong with that... It's just not my vibe.) But this box really does feel like it's focused on encouraging strong relationships built on real friendship, sharing vulnerability, and intimacy.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, though you can sometimes buy past boxes as one-time purchases here. Sign up now for the winter box!

Value Breakdown: This box cost $54.00. The two items I could find individual retail values for added up to $14.89, leaving  $39.11 worth of value left to be covered by the craft supplies and the more intangible value of the activities, curation, etc.

Check out all of our The Modern Love reviews and more date night subscription reviews in our Subscription Box List!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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"Each box is inspired by real couple’s requests and needs. With The Modern Love Box, you will bump up your quality time and enhance all levels of your relationship… Not because you need it, but because you want it. [...] Receive a monthly box of luxury items and expert developed activities meant to ... read more.
Anna Reilly
Anna Reilly
Anna loves collecting little treasures, be they pop-culture finds, handmade mementos, or new potions to put in her makeup bag. Beauty boxes got her interested in the subscription world, but now she's swooning for all things kawaii!

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6 comments

Gracie

This is simply pathetic & unethical. They’re thieves.

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Amy

I would be so irritated if I paid $54 for this. I kept scrolling through the review thinking I skipped items.

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DawnS

Its just so expensive for what it is. I like the concept but really it should be a $10 box.

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Jessica

I could google creative communication ideas..This box is straight up robbery…I’m shocked actually that they would even think it was morally ok to charge that price for some string and popsicle sticks. This should be boycotted and doesn’t even deserve to be reviewed. What a shame.

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Deanne

Interesting thanks for the review! Looking at the card I thought it was about to get preachy but I appreciate that it was intended to start conversation not tell you what to think. It seems like the cost is a little high but I like the creative ideas and fun without being too cheesy that can’t be easy to achieve. I’ll keep an eye on this box 🙂

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Anna Reilly

Glad you found the review helpful, Deanne! The price point is definitely the toughest aspect of the box. I guess the price is equivalent to a dinner-and-a-movie date night, but it’s tough to justify spending that much for a night in (especially when the majority of the date is spend running through relationship-building questions, which as Jessica mentions in her comment, could probably be found online). But I’m with you on the fun-but-not-cheesy factor! They do a nice job of keeping things cute, but not corny 🙂

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