Goodbeing (formerly Goodebox) March 2016

March’s Goodbeing box arrived on March 8th, a little later than usual, but February was a short month, so it’s okay with me!  Not entirely happy with this one to be honest.  Jasmine is the polar opposite of the type of scent I like, so to see two products with jasmine in them really bummed me out.  Then there’s the Rafiki bracelet again..  While I  appreciate the concept and love that the proceeds go to help people in need, I don’t want these and have no interest in them since they’re not to my style.  It would be great if there was a way to opt out of the bracelet, but allow for a donation of the product value to the charity in my name instead.  It looks like we’re probably getting one of every color, so the next bunch of boxes are going to have what I feel like is a waste of product space – I may actually put my subscription on hold till these bracelets are done, I’m that annoyed.  So, that leaves two products, one of which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and the other I’m indifferent about, making two boxes in a row that haven’t been all so stellar for me.

• Rafiki Bracelet – 1 bracelet / $10 – (Full size product)  Well, at least it’s not pink.  I’m just.. I feel bad saying I don’t want this, because it is a worthy cause, but it’s just not something I’d ever buy or wear myself, so it means I’m giving them away to friends and that’s great, but I’m buying this box for me (hi selfishness) and expect products suited for me based on my preferences.  I don’t want a bracelet!  I  signed up for this box for the bath/body/beauty products and it’s not delivering that with this item.
• American Provenance Solid Perfume – 60 g / $12.50 – (Full size product)  The product is a hard wax with an essential oil blend in a pretty sizeable container for a solid perfume.  Unfortunately, the oil blend contains jasmine and citrus, so while the bergamot and grapefruit come out on top, the floral jasmine scent is still in there and it’s unpleasant to my nose.  I gave it a fair shot and tried it though, and it really is barely scented at all – the scent is so light and fades so fast (completely gone in under an hour), it’s almost not worth bothering to use it at all!  This is a huge disappointment from the scent itself and then the product value – even though the size is large, you have to use SO much of it for it to actually work, and even then the scent doesn’t last long.
• Prim Botanicals Body Oil – 4 oz / $48 – (Product is 1 oz, value of $12)  Jasmine.. again.  Scent preference is such a personal thing, and jasmine is one that I really dislike much like many (all?) sticky floral scents.  In fairness, I did try it, and while I like the oil blend which sinks into my skin quickly and doesn’t feel greasy, the scent is awful  to me.  The jasmine actually fades pretty fast, but then the roses take over, and  I’m  not entirely sure which is worse.  In the half hour it’s been on my skin so far, I’ve wanted to wash it off for the last 20 minutes because the scent is driving me up the wall.  If it was unscented or used a blend of musky scents or lavender instead of jasmine and rose, I’d be in, but as it is?  It’s just not the product for me since the scent is a complete deal breaker.
• Orglamix Enlighten Luminizer – 1.4 g / $18 – (Product is full size)  This arrived stuck to the lid – the product had released from the container and attached to the lid.  Not a big deal, it was easy enough to pop back into the container.  It also looks like the oils were sweating out and separating out of the product, so there’s a layer of grease that needed to be removed before I could get to the actual luminizer which doesn’t bode well for the product quality.  Anyway, while the product card says it doesn’t look sparkly or glittery, it totally is sparkly and glittery and you can tell the second it’s on your face that it’s sparkly and glittery.  And, I’m not necessarily against sparkle and glitter, but if your product claims not to be and then is?  Yeah…  It contains mica, and you can see the glittery flakes everywhere.  So, I likely won’t be using this as it’s intended, but I see it being a great eyeshadow base!  Probably not something I’d buy for myself, but since I have it anyway, it’s worth using “off label” to see how that goes.
• Pangea Organics Lip Balm – .25 oz / $14 – (Product is full size)  This is a brand I love dearly (that lavender and cardamom balm they make is my faaaavorite), so getting a new tube of balm in a fun scent/flavor (fennel, grapefruit, and orange) is terrific!  It’s really the only thing in the box I was excited to see and I already used it and will be stashing it in my everyday bag.

Not pictured is a $10 credit to swap.com.  On the back of the coupon, it says a Facebook account is required, so this is useless to me.  Yes, I have a Facebook account, but I don’t use it for anything really and refuse to use Facebook login for any website (no Facebook, I don’t trust you).  If anyone wants my code, leave me a comment with your email address, you can have it!

The overall value of the box comes to $66.50 which is on the higher end  for the box – I’m not counting the swap.com code in that total because it’s NOT a product, it’s an advertising promotional toss-in.  My personal value for the box?  $32 for the balm and luminizer which at least covers the cost, even if the only product I really like is the balm.  At this point, I’m not sure if I’m going to renew when my subscription is up in May – I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like this box took a down turn over the past two boxes, and if they’re going to keep sending those bracelets, I’m definitely not interested anymore!  I didn’t sign up for a “Me to We” box, I signed up for Goodebox, and I’m finding that I really miss what the box was under the old name.