An Update from Liz + A Giveaway!

ByLiz CadmanMay 14, 2020 | 177 comments

Can you believe I started MSA 8 years ago this summer? I'm still amazed that what started as a healthy subscription box obsession and a DIY blog has grown into the destination and community that it is today!

I created MSA back in 2012 when I found myself hooked on Birchbox and POPSUGAR and started searching for help finding my next obsession-worthy subscription box. I was looking for a destination for people just as passionate about subscription boxes as me, and when I couldn’t find it, I decided to do my best to create it.

I started by trying every subscription box I could find, then taking photos, writing reviews, and even filming unboxings with my iPhone. Soon after, I added all the other things I wanted to talk about: spoilers, coupons (I LOVE a good deal), and news. I did this for months assuming I might just be writing a journal that only I was reading, and then one day, someone commented on a post! I couldn’t believe a kindred spirit had found me on the internet! I still remember the joy of the moment, and it is that feeling of connection and excitement around subscription boxes that makes MSA so special to me. My Subscription Addiction couldn’t exist without you, the community, and I am forever thankful for time you’ve spent with me here.

In addition to the community, MSA exists today because of the amazing team I’ve been able to work with for the past several years. From the reviewers across the country, to the team at the MSA’s home office, I have been so lucky to work with so many kind, talented, and passionate people. I’ve spent my days with a dream team and it’s been such a gift.

A behind-the-scenes look at what it took to get the photo from above. (Marne, Emily, and Andy (behind the camera) were all needed to make the photo happen!)

After 8 years of working to build the site I dreamed of so many years ago, Eric and I have decided to take a much needed break from the day-to-day at MSA. We’ll be leaving it in the trusted hands of our incredible team. Megan will be taking over my reviews (thank you, Megan!), and if you email [email protected], my team will be there to help you.

Thank you for such an amazing 8 years. Thank you for the comments, the spoiler tips, the photos, the kind emails, and the suggestions. Thank you for sharing a love of subscriptions with me!

I want this moment to be a celebration of you and subscription boxes and the special place we’ve created together. One of my favorite ways to celebrate is with giveaways, so it seems only fitting to kick this off with a chance to win some amazing prizes from our favorite brands. To celebrate 8 years, 8 winners will win a $100 gift card to FabFitFun. You can spend this on a new subscription, extend a current subscription, or use it on their Add-On or Edit sales!

Posted in Subscription Box News

Liz Cadman

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

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177 comments

Angela

My goodness I remember stumbling on this blog years ago and like another user said the old Lipstick Logo and Liz surrounded by boxes lol. I am not sure that the subscription box frenzy is quite over as another poster said but it definitely has evolved. Here we are years later and I STILL come here first to get my subscription box news and updates. Liz.. you will be a hard act to follow and I sure will miss you but totally understand that this journey has reached it’s peak for you. Hope to see you in the future on some “special” posts and I wish you all the very best!

Connie Tran

Omg, not sure how I could have missed this from over a month ago! Wow, how the years have flown by! I remember stumbling onto this site back in 2012 & it led to my subscription of Birchbox and later PopSugar with Allure, Serendipity and The Little Lace Box added.

It brings tears to think how this site helped me in 2012! I was laid off from my very first job out of college in 2010 and after 2 years I still wasn’t able to land a permanent job offer with only 2 years of work experience in a bad economy. I loved and still do waking up to your reviews! Your site helped me to move forward each day knowing that there are kindred people out there.

I especially love the Galentine’s Day celebrations! ❤️ Please please continue to do those! It was those deals that allowed me to enjoy subscriptions to PopSugar, The Little Lace Box, Serendipity, Allure and Birchbox to name some of my all time favorites! Let’s not also forget those monthly Target boxes!

But alas, a break is good. Thank you Liz and the MSA Team for doing a wonderful job bringing us into the subscription world, lifting our spirits allowing us to forget all the negative things happening in the real world each day for an hour or so! 🌹Good luck & best wishes to Liz and your family!

MSA Team, looking forward to many more years! Finally, it’s not “goodbye” Liz, it’s “see you later”! 😉

Denise

I don’t know how I missed this post… WOW! I’ve been here since 2012. I’ll miss Liz’s reviews, but I understand needing a break 🙂

Eva

Welp, apparently I just surfaced from the covid rock I’ve been under to find this post. This is so sad, but very understandable, and I wish Liz & fam the best! Business or not, she has always shown appreciation for her fortunate lot in life.
New team: please pass on to Liz that I still have & cherish items from her 2 personally-curated boxes from years ago! Hope to see her “pop in” later w/ another curation 😉

Melanie

So sad to see Liz go (temporary or not). No offense to the rest of the fab MSA team but Liz is my fav. I remember stumbling across her reviews in 2013. I felt like I had found a kindred spirit. No one I knew was into subs back then! Best of luck to you!

Candace Grooms

We will miss you Liz!, thank you for creating this site , I check it everyday. And without it , I wouldn’t have discovered so many awesome subscription boxes and deals ! Have a great much deserved break

Jody

I will also miss Liz & her posts an awful lot. I feel like she is a kindred spirit- although this really dates me, about 5 years ago, I remembered from my much younger days, getting Allure magazine every month( along with Glamour, Cosmo, Mademoiselle, etc.) & one thing stuck in my head. That was, each time I got my Allure magazine I eagerly flipped through all the pages looking for a( now) old fashioned form that could be clipped out & filled in with name, address, etc. & a check- I’m pretty sure it was under $10.00. Then I would receive a box filled with cosmetics, skin, hair & nail care samples. It was such a thrill! I never was able to figure out how often I would find that form in Allure magazine, but it just made my month. I loved getting mail & I also got a lot of catalogs that I ordered from- again it was the thrill of getting that package in the mail! So I decided to check on line to see if the magazine still did that form & when I found they had a subscription. And it was reasonably priced. Then a year later I added Ipsy. About a year after that I decided to try one or 2 more. I have never been very good at computers & I tried subscribing to more than 10 different beauty/ lifestyle subs. Every time it looked like it didn’t go through & when I kept trying, I got messages saying- you already have this- or something along those lines. I kept trying so many subs for over 2 hours that night & I was so discouraged! I decided to ask hubby for help the next day- he was sleeping- he’s an early bird & Im a night owl. I forgot about it the next day- things were hectic & then we went to the UK for a month of travel. About 7 weeks after my disastrous attempt to get more sub boxes we had a quiet day at home. I asked Billy ( my hubby) to check the mail & when I heard him come back inside I asked him if I got anything. I was in sanither room- all I heard was a lot of grumbling & thumping ( like things were falling to the floor). I ran into the room he was in & I couldn’t even see him- he was loaded with tons of strange looking boxes. TONS! & there were more on the floor, the steps & still outside! Turns out I had 7 Look Fantastics, 3 Glossy boxes, 1 Skin Fix, 1 FabFit Fun,3 Test Tube/ New Beauty, & 5 more- a few Boxycharms, Petit Vous& Birchboxes. The next day it was similiar, but a little less. That went on all week. I wanted to keep everything, but even I knew that was crazy! It took weeks, but I finally got it sorted out. Some were monthly, some were quarterly, 6 months & most were yearly. I ended up with a total of 12 Look Fantastics. They finally agreed to refund me for all but 2 boxes, but they didn’t want the others back. I think I had more make up than I have ever had in my whole life & I ended up giving a lot to family & friends, setting some aside for gifts & donating some. I also sold a ton of it on e-Bay. We have a disabled child & when I told some of the moms & dads we had gotten to know over the years they suggested they would make great raffle prizes for the fundraisers we often have. They were right. People love them, especially the Fab,Fit, Fun & Causebox’s, so now we pitch in to buy those. Anyway, MSA has unknowingly helped me navigate the best deals & helped me to stay up to date about new subs & also unwittingly helped me to learn that I was able to customize some boxes, although I still don’t usually get to, because I never know when that time is & I just don’t bother with e/mail much & I don’t do social media at all. Thank you MSA!! You are the best & I will really miss Liz! You are like a celebrity to me!!! Thanks a million! Jody

Allison

No big surprise there. The sub box trend is over and msa is irrelevant these days.

Ashleigh

Wow, what an unnecessarily unpleasant comment. Even if I don’t sub to a box, how nice it is to read about different boxes, and to get excited about what I might do with the items. There are art sets (I can’t draw) just for one example. I hope the person that wrote this is able to find enjoyment in something else, and at least leave the rest of us to have some easy, relaxing fun by reading MSA. Several of my usual end-of-month spoilers haven’t been quite the same as I have gotten used to, and even though it’s not the end of the world, I miss it!

dia

RUDE. Plenty of us visit the site regularly to read and comment. If you don’t like MSA or don’t find it useful, by all means, go elsewhere.

Laraindigio

Bye Liz! Thank you for making my purchases decisions and skincare top notch. I will really miss the honest reviews. Enjoy the freedom.

Anne

Will you two be coming back at some point with Buckles? I have been around for a long time with your original photo. I love this website. I do miss you app though. Thank you for all your hard work and creating this site!

Candy Turner

It is bittersweet, for sure! So happy for you and your journey into new and exciting things though! We miss miss you, Liz!

Candy

Correction: We WILL miss you! (Silly “smartphone”)

Rachel

Yours has been my go to site for reviews for so long. I always wondered how you did it! Congrats on your success and for your well-deserved break! You will be missed!

inkchick

You will be greatly missed, but how could anyone begrudge you some breathing room. You’ve more than earned it. Thanks for building this wonderful site and for sharing all this great content and subscription box joy. I wish you oodles and oodles of happiness.

Anna

Wow… I have to admit, this makes me a little sad. I have been reading MSA since the days of the lipstick logo and the single picture of Liz with blond bangs surrounded by boxes. I still check the site often and love how the quality of the content has grown over time and a lot of that has to do with the full MSA team. However, it will not be the same without Liz’s reviews and overall presence. But I know she wouldn’t be stepping back without a good reason, and I want to thank her for the community she has built and wish all the best to her and her family.

Jessica

Congratulations on all you have built here. You will be greatly missed! Wishing you all the best in your future adventures.

Diane

I have learned about so many products and boxes from this website. Best wishes to you, Eric & Buckles always.

Lily

Liz. I ll miss your reviews. I started my addiction with julep and found your website shortly after that. Over 6 years ago. I ve visited mysubscriptionaddiction.com many times daily for the past 6 years. I miss the forum. I m hoping swaps will continue

Thank you for the great reviews throughout the years. Best wishes

Lindsay

Sad to see you go, but enjoy every extra minute you have now! I came across MSA abt 2 and a half years ago looking for Sephora Play spoilers… and next thing I knew I had stumbled down the rabbit hole and was sitting up reading reviews at 1 in the morning! I check your site daily and love it- it’s such a cheery, happy, light hearted read that I always look forward to. Thanks for what you’ve built and enjoy your next adventure! 💕

Beth Lutz

I could just cry right now. I had a feeling that you were taking a break. I have been a huge fan and finding this site years ago was like I hit pay dirt! I’m happy happy happy for you but a tiny bit sad. Thank you for all this giveaways. You make so many so happy!

Simone

Thanks for running this site all of these years, I have enjoyed this site and my personal subscriptions immensely. I hope you both have a wonderful break.

Colleen Liebel

Bittersweet, happy for you, sad to not be seeing your reviews. Love, love, love the crew so I know it will all be good.

Coco

All the best to you, Liz and Eric. I discovered MSA in the fall of 2014, and have been a regular ever since. My first boxes were Popsugar and Allure, and it’s been a great ride ever since. So much helpful information, and so many wonderful beauty products. I’m glad the site is continuing, but you’ll be missed.
💐✌🏻

DonnaG

I so thoroughly thank you for remaining you throughout the success of MSA. You were straightforward and honest. (I, too, found Margot Elena’s box too fragrant for my senses.) It was difficult for me to transition to your not having bangs but we can see more of your face now (a good thing!) I was a makeup and style ignoramus, but thanks to you, I’m much more well informed (I had no idea there was natural, clean makeup out there and nail polish that was 5 free, or 10 free.). I agree with others that I hope this is just a break, but God knows what path you need to take – there is always change – a sadness but a lot of hope and excitement for the future.

Jessica T

Thank you Liz and family for the awesome community you created here. Best of luck in your new adventures.

Susan P

I have been following your site since the beginning and check it every day. I think that you are my most visited site ever! You have no idea how many subscription boxes I have found on your site and tried over the years. I am still subscribed to more than I would like to admit to. But they bring me such Joy as does your site, with your spoilers, reviews and deals!!

Enjoy your time away. You deserve it! You have built something so special here. Reward yourself for your accomplishments!

Rie

I hope you check in now and then, esp for us here since the beginning days and months. Otherwise, get yo butt outta here! 7 days a week is too darn much!! 😂 Be well, and congrats on your earned success! You will be missed! 🥰❤️

Christine

Thank you for creating this site and the community. I’ve had so much joy and great discoveries from MSA! Take care!

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An Update from Liz + A Giveaway!

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