Category: <span>Subscription Boxes</span>

Category: Subscription Boxes

Subscription Boxes

Kloverbox August 2015

 

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My second Kloverbox has arrived at the very end of August.  It’s odd to have both August’s Kloverbox and September’s Goodebox arrive in the same week, but hey, that’s mail I don’t mind receiving!  A MUCH better box this month for me – I’m not entirely sold on the whole “detox” thing though.  The way I see it, unless there’s been an honest to goodness scientific study done on the ‘detox’ effects, it’s totally malarkey.  You ‘detox’ every time you breathe, sweat, go to the bathroom.. it’s a process your body does naturally, and products that claim to detox probably don’t do anything to remove “toxins” from your body since that really comes from the inside out, biologically speaking.  That said, these are still wonderful products just as they are, even if they don’t necessarily detoxify anything – using natural ingredients is definitely preferable in my opinion, and all of these fit that bill!

  • Angel Face Botanicals Super Detox Facial Cleanser – 2.3 oz / $13 – (Product is full size)  This may be my absolute favorite thing out of the box!  It dispenses in a thick grey cream thanks to the charcoal content and creates a creamy lather on the skin.  The scent is out-of-this-world amazing though, thanks to all the plant extract and oils, and I’d absolutely consider repurchasing this one just for the scent alone!  It’s basically my favorite bar soap in liquid form.
  • Jacq’s Organics Fancy Detox Cleansing Bar  – 3 oz / $6 – (Product is 2.5 oz, value of $5)  Yes, I checked the weight of the bar and it’s a half ounce short of the weight listed on the package.  While I haven’t tried this yet, it smells really lovely and contains all the ingredients I like to see in a soap and the charcoal gives it that lovely black color.  It almost smells a bit like anise but not overpoweringly – it’s scented but not extremely heavily.
  • Bedrock and Bloom Smart Ash – 1 g / $3 – (Product is sample size of 1 gram)  This was something completely new for me and I never knew anything like this existed.  Even though the ingredients list says it has orange peel extract and mint extract, it’s completely flavorless/scentless.  It does create a HUGE mess and will stain just about anything it comes into contact with.  I can’t say my teeth and mouth felt extrordinarily clean after using this – it’s so dirty just on appearance that it took multiple rinses to clear out the charcoal from  my mouth and I didn’t get that squeaky clean feeling I do with regular toothpaste.  I’m glad it was included  since it is such a different sort of product, but, it’s just not for me.
  • MyChelle Wrinkle Spot Treatment – .27 oz / $38.50 – (Product is full size)  I guess I’ve never been big on wrinkle-reducing treatments since they seem like a waste of money – time is going to catch up with you sooner or later and trying to delay the inevitable would be like trying to stop a freight train.  I don’t see the point (for me).  The product is in a rollerball tube that  goes on smooth and absorbs quickly.  I tried it on my forehead, and havent noticed any difference.  To me, those wrinkles are badges of honor for my expressive face showing just how often I’ve laughed, smiled, frowned, squinted, raised one eyebrow, etc.  Wrinkles aren’t a problem for me that needs fixing, but I’ll still go ahead and use this product to see if it works.
  • Traditional Medicinals Herbal Tea Samples – 16 bags / $4.99 – (Two bag sample, value of $.16)  I’m big into tea, so even if I don’t quite buy into the health benefits these teas say they have, I’m still going to use them!  It’s still summer though and not quite warm tea season, so I’ll have to report back on how I feel about them later.  The dandelion root tea is the most interesting to me becase the information online says it’s basically THE tea for the coffee lover since it’s darker and somewhat bitter.

Total value comes to $59.66 with over  half of that being the MyChelle wrinkle treatment.  There are a bunch of coupons inlcuded on the product card that expire at the end of the month or later, an improvement over last month’s box.  Overall though, I’m rather pleased with what arrived in this month’s box and am looking forward to the next one!

Subscription Boxes

Goodebox August 2015

 

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I think woefully behind accurately describes this month with the blog!  This box arrived in the first few days of August, but here it is, the last week of August, and I’m just getting this online.  For me, this isn’t that great of a box – I’m really only interested in the two smallest items, the eye shadow and the Well People powder.  I still haven’t found a natural deodorant that works, yes, including the one in this box – I keep trying, but they all have the same VERY ineffective ingredients that do nothing to stop the sweat and bacteria growth that causes stink in the first place!  The Lift spray for hair is totally off base for my profile – having extremely curly hair, the last thing I need is extra volume.. I use products that weigh down and clump together the curls instead of lift and separate the strands!  Anyway, before I go on too much, on to the box contents!

  • Au Naturale Eyeshadow – 1 g / $15 – (Product is full size) I really dig the color – it’s a neutral with a little sparkle and shimmer that makes it great for any time of the day.  It’s a pretty basic mineral shadow, and is exactly up my alley.  Not much else to say other than absolutely spot on!
  • Zoe Organics Refresh Oil – .35 oz / $14 – (Product is full size) The main scent of the oil is peppermint and I’m not a big fan of peppermint or aromatherapy oils.  The product information goes on about a “queasy tummy,” an “anxious parent,” and stashing the bottle in a diaper bag.  It’s just a little off base for someone who doesn’t have kids.  We are going on a boating vacation in a few months though, so I’ll bring it along, but haven’t found aromatheraphy to be nearly as effective as dramamine, especially when I can barely stomach the peppermint smell in the first place!
  • Well People Bio Brightener Invisible Powder – 6 g / $24 – (Product is 3 g, value of $12)  I already use something a lot like this in the summer to keep my face from getting shiny and this works just the same but with better ingredients.
  • Love Fresh Natural deodorant – 2  oz / $15 – (Product is full size)  I’ve gone on and on about how much I dislike natural deodorants and the hows of why they don’t work, etc, etc.  And I’m still pretty grossed out by having to apply deodorant with my hands and dig it out of a pot where it gets all under my finger nails.  Gross.  And stinky.  I still try them when they show up in boxes like this and I still remain disappointed.
    Update 31 August 2015: This caused the most horrendous rash on my arm pits.  I don’t know what’s different about it since the ingredients seem to be the same as other natural deoderants and I didn’t apply it right after shaving.  It was red and hot and itchy and well, that was the last time I’ll use a natural deoderant ever.  Straight to the trash!
  • Josh Rosebrook Lift – 4 oz / $22 – (Product is approx 1 oz, value of $5.50)  I spend the majority of my hair-care time attempting to corral and de-poof my curls, so the absolute last thing I need is a spray that adds volume and thickens hair.  The ingredients are basically starch and oils and it’s really sticky stuff – yes, I tried it out on dry hair just so I could form an opinion because you never know, right?  The directions say to comb or brush into damp hair, them blow dry but I do none of those things to my hair and don’t even own a brush at this point!  I finger comb when it’s wet in the shower and that’s it (less damage, breakage that way).  It dried really stiff on my hair and I didn’t like the texture it gave my curls at all – they’re usually really soft and bouncy and this felt more like hair spray than anything else.  I’m going to end up passing it off to a friend since it’s just not the product for me.

The final total for the box comes to $61.50 which is really on the high end for this box!  My personal value is $27 though for the eyeshadow and Well People powder which at least covers the cost of the box (I’m on the 6 month plan at $19 per box), but just barely.  I can’t quite put my finger on why this was such a miss – the products are all quality stuff and they’re great, just.. not for me.  Oh well, September’s box is coming along in about a week, so I’m looking forward to see what’s up for next month!  I did notice though that Goodebox revamped their website and now there’s a full breakdown of each box received including ingredients, product size, prices, offers, and a place to purchase products.  Really incredible – great job, Goodebox!

Subscription Boxes

Kloverbox July 2015

 

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I decided to try out a new subscription box since I’d seen such great boxes from them on Instagram.  This first one for me?  Not so great!  If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know about my deep loathing for anything pink, so what did this first box give me?  ALMOST EVERYTHING PINK.  Ugh.  The other boxes I had seen were more generically crunchy granola organic and green instead of girly-sparkles-and-unicorns pink.  The box arrived the next to last day of July and had a theme of, “Cause for Celebration,” for the one year anniversary of Kloverbox.

  • Ellison’s Organics 3-Free Nail Lacquer – .5 oz / $12 – (Product is full size) ANY OTHER COLOR, sweet pete, any other color and I would’ve loved this.  I thought it looked orange enough to pass as not-pink, but it looks totally different out of the bottle and is definitely pink.  Gross.  It’ll be passed onto someone who will actually use it and doesn’t hate pink.
  • Praerie Botanicals Tonka Body Balm – 2 oz / $20 – (Product is full size) This is actually the one thing I really love about the box!  A wee small dab covers an entire arm in this rich, creamy butter that melts in quickly and feels incredibly hydrating.  It leaves my skin glowing but not greasy which is terrific for everyday use and works wonders on rough, dry spots.  The scent isn’t strong at all, but smells natural and slightly coconutty/tropical.  I can see why it’s so expensive because the container undoubtedly lasts a looong time.  This is going to be a great skin-saver for winter!
  • Previse Skincare SunSheer SPF30 Sunscreen Moisturizer – 3 oz / $36 – (Product is full size) Okay, I was skeptical, because silly pink packaging, but this is growing on me, plus the value of putting a full size tube of this in a subscription box is pretty incredible.  The sun block uses physical blockers instead of chemical (HOORAY!) and almost feels matte after it has set on the skin.  It actually doesn’t bother me to have on my face where usually I feel like I’m being suffocated by sunblock or it feels greasy or sticky and gross.  I haven’t yet had a chance to test out the efficacy, but I’m sure that’ll happen soon!
  • FlutterFly Scrub – 4 oz / $8.95 – (Product is full size)  I received the scent, “Mango Slice,” which is a really sticky sweet mango scented coarse sugar scrub that’s almost reminiscent of a bathroom air freshener.  It has this odd character about the scent that smells fake and chemicalish?  I’m not sure how to describe it, but it doesn’t smell natural or really like a mango at all.  Outside of the packaging and product color (ugggh more pink), the texture is actually pretty nice – it’s coarse enough to be a great scrub for even summer sandal feet, but still has a rich and creamy feel to it.  In another scent (or unscented), this would  be really nice!

All products came with a coupon code, however, two of them have expired by the time I got a chance to write up the blog post which is disappointing – the codes were only good for two weeks after receipt of the box.  Total value comes to $76.95 which is HUGE.  The cost of the box, since I sprung for a three month membership, was $21.37, so that’s a really incredible value for the cost.  Even after taking out the nail polish that I won’t use, it’s still $64.95 which is three times the cost.  Pretty amazing there, Kloverbox, just please, less pink!

Subscription Boxes

Nerd Makeup Box July 2015

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This is now my second Nerd Makeup box as part of Beta testing from the Kickstarter Campaign.  I had initally only signed up for one month as part of the campaign, but they had a call out for extra testers after the first month and I was happily selected to be part of the super special group of testers.  The box costs $25 plus $4.11 shipping and handling for a grand total of $29.11.  The value of the nail wraps alone totally makes up for the cost of the box and everything else is a bonus!

  • Nerd Manicure Humidor – $7.50 – I already have one from the original kickstarter campaign, but hey, another one can’t hurt!  I already know this is an awesome product to keep around and the card that came along in the box gave some great tips on how to use it.  I had just been stuffing my extra nail wraps into the humidor, but it’s a better idea to put them back in the original sleeve and then in the humidor to keep them from sticking.  It’s basically a waterproof, airproof bag to keep the extra wraps fresh before using them up.  Works great!
  • Nail File – $.50 – Who can’t use an extra nail file?!  Always happy to have more of these since they tend to go rogue, sprouting legs and wandering off to the nail file disco, getting all wild and crazy with the other nail files, never to be seen again.  Or so I imagine anyway.
  • Batty Nail Wrap – $10.00 – Clear and Glows in the Dark!  NEAT!  I almost want to save this for October, but I sort of want to use it NOW because it’s awesome!  I’m thinking maybe a coat or two of RED nail polish underneath would be pretty wicked.
  • Pirates, Ahoy! Nail Wrap – $10 – Glitter and Glows in the Dark.  A super neat glow in the dark feature on top of the glitter compass on the treasure map design.  I may have to bust these out for the renaissance faire pirate day.
  • For Science! Nail Wrap – $10 – One of the original designs in Glitter.  The design has a really fun story behind it, and they’re colorful and interesting even if you don’t know the story.
  • Metal Man Nail Wrap – $10 – Another original design in Glitter.  Pays tribute to the man in metal himself, Iron Man.  Love the transition between red and gold, and these will be a slightly more normal wrap, but they’re still glittery and made of awesome.

Overall value is $48 for the box which is more than the cost, so that works out for me!  Plus, fun nail wraps to keep up with my addiction habit.  🙂

Subscription Boxes

Goodebox July 2015

 

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July’s Goodebox just arrived this week, and I’m finally getting around to posting  about it.  Really a great box, and a near perfect fit!  The only thing I rhave no interest in is the self tanner and would’ve preferred getting the mascara other folks got in their boxes over the tanner.  I don’t tan on purpose (naturally/chemically/tanning bed) ever, and I find pale to be a naturally lovely shade.  Work with what you’ve got!  Anyway, the Sunstick is absolutely brilliant, the facial scrub is great, I’m already a huge fan of Yarok, and the toner is non-alcohol based, so those are all big wins in my book!

  • Acure Brightening Facial Scrub – 4 oz / $9.99 – (Sample is full size!)  I was a little skeptical at first – brightening scrub?  I’m a pretty fair shade to start with, if I go brighter/lighter, I’ll end up transparent!  I’m not sure I completely buy claims like this anyway, so taken at face value as just a scrub, it’s a really great product with a fantastic ingredient list that doesn’t include sulfates, petroleum products, and is cruelty free.  It’s a thick paste that almost looks like really chunky pesto and smells minty and botanical (but not overpoweringly so).  It exfoliates well but isn’t as coarse as a sugar or salt scrub which makes it suitable for regular  use, especially for someone with dry, thick skin.  The price point is reasonable as well and may make this a new go-to for face scrubs.
  • Yarok Feed Your Shine – 1 oz / $26.40 – (Sample is .3 oz, value of $7.92)  I’m already a huge fan of Yarok, so this product is perfect.  The small, 10 mL dropper bottle feeds out drops of a blend of all kinds of oils, perfect for dry summer hair.  The oil is pretty strongly scented, and smells, “Green,” for lack of a better term – fresh and woodsy, but not musky.  A few drops on my second day hair ends brings them back to life and makes them glossy and manageable again.  LOVE this product so much.
  • SunTegrity Self Tanner – 5 oz / $36 – (Sample is .25 oz, $1.80, or $1.95 on website)  I’m not into tanning.  I never go out of my way to get, “color,” ie, skin damage.  Same applies to self tanner – it’s just another way to make your skin look damaged and promotes the idea that getting a summer tan is good for you when it’s absolutely not.  This one is beet color based which is interesting, but it comes out as a jaundice yellow color on my skin.  It doesn’t smell chemically though and goes on smooth and even feels moisturizing, but this product totally missed the mark for my preferences.
  • All Good Coconut Sun Stick – .6 oz / $7.99 – (Sample is full size!)  I am THE WORST about applying sun screen.  You’d think, after my rant above about tanning and skin damage, that I’d be THE poster child for sunscreen.  I’m not.  I should do better, and do put on sunscreen  if I know I’m going to be out in the sun between 10am and 4pm, but sometimes a quick 15 minute weeding session to create some Vitamin D runs over and before you know it, burnt.  Or, you go out to a festival and realize forgot the sunscreen at home.  No more excuses!  This is such an easy product to stash in a bag and cover your face and arms quickly without chemical blockers.  The active blocker is zinc (physical blocker) which is great!  Plus, it smells deliciously like coconut, is cruelty free, and contains a bunch of wonderful waxes, oils, and butters that are good for your skin.  While it says it’s not waterproof, I found that it stayed in place while sweating when mowing the lawn due to the waxes.  It still washed off easily with soap and water though, and can’t melt/leak in my bag which makes this the perfect to-go sunscreen solution.
  • Angel Face Botanicals Grace Antioxidant Facial Toner – 9 oz / $32 – (Sample is 1.2 oz, value of $4.27)  A toner that isn’t alcohol based?  AWESOME.  Not a single alcohol in the ingredient list.  Aloe juice seems to be the carrier liquid, and the product smells mostly like lavender which is great.  It doesn’t feel drying and doesn’t make my skin feel tight afterwards.  If I regularly used toner, this would end up being my go-to, but it’s just not something I feel the need to use really.  It’s still fun to try out and I’m glad this was included!

Overall value of the box comes to $32.12 and is actually on the lower end for this box (last month’s was almost double this month’s).  I’m not too bothered by the dollar amount though because the two full size products, the scrub and sun stick, are things I’ll use till they’re empty!  Like I mentioned above, I’m a little bummed that I didn’t get the mascara in this box, but if there’s a coupon coming in email, I may spring for it anyway since I keep hearing how amazing it is.  Can’t wait to see what they come up with for next month!

Subscription Boxes

Goodebox June 2015

 

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Another month, another Goodebox!  It arrived within the first week of the month (yesterday, June 3rd if we’re keeping count) which is great.  It feels like a pretty substantial box this month at first glance – 5 products, three of which  full-size.   I’m really rather happy with this one!  No pink nail polish, but a lovely nude color along with some really fabulous basics instead of bizarre niche products.  They nailed the selection for the MyChelle product, and it’s a company I’ve come to love through Goodebox.  Anyway, before I go on too much, on to the contents!

  • Lillian Eve Nail Polish – .5 oz / $12 – (Sample is full size)  I received the color, “Nothing But Nude,” which is this really lovely basic neutral tan color.  I’d been wanting a nude/neutral for a while, and somehow Goodebox nailed it!  For a five-free polish, it’s on the more affordable end of the spectrum (for the same size, Butter is $15, Lauren B is $18, Aila is $17).  For being such a light color, it really did cover in two coats, while three made it super opaque, and is enough to look like there’s polish there without being some crazy wild color (I dig crazy wild colors, but not all the time).  It dries quickly and feels durable which I’m surely going to put to the test this week while digging in the garden.  Big fan of this  nail polish, so glad it was included!
  • MyChelle Clear Skin Serum – 1 oz / $33 – (Sample is full size)  The formula is for Oily skin and Blemish Control which, while my skin my not be all that oily, I still get pimples, so it works for me.  The ingredient list includes a base of Witch Hazel with plant extracts, clay, tea tree oil, and all kinds of vitamins.  It pumps out as a clear gel that has a bit of an alcohol smell.  Goes on smooth, but feels a little sticky when dry.  This is probably something I’d put on before bed on a clean face for maximum effect.
  • Red Flower Wanderlust Hand + Face Towelettes – Pack of 7 / $5 – (Sample is full size)  I’m not super huge into these type of towelettes, but with it being summer, I can see these being useful for a quick freshen-up on my face to clear off sweat ick if I’m out in the sun all day.  The scent is AMAZING and so totally me – it’s woodsy and warm, with a neat balance between resiny and musky.  The towelette is thick and doesn’t fall apart, nor does the liquid feel sticky or drying.  I couldn’t find a full ingredient list though, not even on the company website which is a little bothersome, especially if I’m going to be using it near my eyes.  In fact, I couldn’t even find this specific product on the website at all, but they do have a Blood Orange scent which is in my top three favorite scents.  These are probably going into my everyday bag to keep on hand for hot and humid summer days.
  • Odacité Intensive Hand + Heel Treatment – 4 oz / $39 – (Sample is .5 oz, value of $4.88)  The product card says this is good for severely dry, cracked, and coarse skin.  That fairly accurately describes my hands and feet during the summer.  I go barefoot most of the summer (unless I have to wear shoes), and am digging in the garden, doing yard work, projects outdoors, etc all summer long, so this is the perfect timing to include a product like this!  It squeezes out of the sample container easily as a thick cream and smells a little citrusy and minty.  A little bit goes a long way, and just a pea sized amount massaged cleanly into my heel.  My calloused heels immediately felt softer.  While it’s a pretty pricey product, it does work and a little bit goes a good long way, so I could see that 4oz full sized tub lasting a LONG time.
  • Vapour Clarity Makeup Remover – .98 oz / $32 – (Sample is .21 oz, value of $6.86)  I don’t currently have any makeup on, so I’ll have to give this a try and report back later.  Price-wise, it’s a pretty good sized sample for something that’s kind of expensive.  The ingredient list includes only oils, so it’s completely safe to use around eyes.  I suppose it’s a lot like the Meraki sample from last month’s box, but at just over 3  times the price.  I’ll have to update this review once I get a chance to use it, but I’ll admit here that I loved the Meraki oil so much that I placed an order for a replacement already!

Overall value of this box is $61.74 which is INCREDIBLE for Goodebox.  The majority of the value comes from that MyChelle serum, so I’m a really happy  gal this month.  Looking forward to trying out the Vapour Makeup Remover sample hopefully later this week and will post an update here once I’ve given it a go.  Looking forward to next month already!

Subscription Boxes

Petit Vour May 2015

 

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Well, this may be my last Petit Vour box.  I’ve become increasingly disapointed in the last couple boxes, but  this one takes the cake.  I may just not be the customer they’re catering to anymore – I really love the idea of great vegan products,  but only one out of four products this time is a good fit for me.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re all great products for someone, but that someone isn’t me.  I loathe shimmery products (there’s a reason we call glitter the herpes of the craft world because you can NEVER EVER get it off and it just keeps spreading), so the shimmer scrub is out.  As for the dry shampoo, you cannot brush curly hair without ending up with a lion’s mane afro, so that’s out (the product needs to be brushed in).  The lipstick is almost the same color as my skin, so it makes my skin blend right into my lips and I look like I’m pale with no color in my lips.  Then there’s the wee little 5 mL Mun sample left over which really isn’t a great value and by now you know how I feel about single-use silly foil packets like this.  Two boxes in a row that were pretty much a complete waste for me means  I’m done.  They’ve made a little noise about improving the beauty profile but if all that’s going to do is change the color of lipstick I receive, it won’t change the box enough to make it suitable for what I’m looking for in a subscription box.  There’s just not enough variety each month (most, if not all, boxes are the same) to really give each subscriber a custom box fit to their profile choices.  Goodebox has expanded the number of items available for each month  and it’s become a MUCH better box since they made the switch.  Petit Vour and I, sad as I am to say it, just aren’t made for eachother anymore.  But I’ll still go over this box since I have it anyway..

  • Lippy Girl Vegocentric Organic Lipstick – .18 oz / $23 – (Sample is full size, full value)  I received the color, “Surf Betty,” which is a basic neutral tan color.  It arrived just like the photo shows, having sweated out a little bit (likely from the heat, not a big deal).  I actually really like the formula – it’s nicely pigmented, stays put, and doesn’t feel drying or sticky.  I just REALLY don’t like the color since it basically erases the line between my skin and lips since it very nearly matches my skin tone.  I might have to try layering it over another more heavily pigmented shade to tone it down a little.  None of the other colors on the website really suit me either – Fancy Pants seems nice, but a littl ebit TOO bright for me, and the others are too mauve or coral to work with my skin tone.  I’m a basic pinky raspberry sort of gal – I know what works and I tend to stick with it.
  • Zabana Essentials Dry Glow Shampoo –  2 oz / $9.95 – (Sample is full size, full value)  If there was ever a product that completely did not at all work for me, this would be it.  For one, it’s a dry shampoo – I don’t need or use dry shampoos because my hair seldom gets greasy/oily (usually it’s still dry by the 3rd or 4th day after washing).  Two, the directions say it needs to be brushed into hair.  If I brushed my hair, I would end up separating all the glorious curls that dried into beautiful ringlets making a big auburn lion’s mane.  It would be absolutely horrible.  Three, shimmer.  Shimmer only belongs in nailpolish, IMHO, not anywhere else except maybe, occasionally, eyeshadow.  So, this is a complete waste for me, but hopefully a friend will find use for it.
  • NYL Shimmer Scrub – 8 oz / $38 – (Sample is 2 oz, value of $9.50)  Shimmer.. again.  Any other product from this company would’ve been fantastic.  They make a regular non-shimmer version of this scrub and I definitely would’ve loved that!  I’m just not a shimmer person and I’m not going to go walking around like I’ve been attacked by a 4 year old with a tube of glitter.  It smells nice though – citrusy  and fresh – but.. the shimmer just totally turns me off.  I’ll find someone else who doesn’t mind sparkling in the daylight (maybe a Twilight vampire wannabe).
  • Mun No. 11 Ananrose Toner – 100 mL / $68 – (Sample is approx 5 mL, value of $2 per product card)  I can’t really comment on this just yet as I haven’t tried the single wee sample.  I’m not a huge fan of toner because they’re mostly alcohol based (this one uses Benzyl Alcohol) and strip oils off your skin, making it feel dry and dehydrated.  I’ll try it anyway and report back, but this isn’t the sort of product I use on a daily basis anyway.  I did like the scent of the Mun Aknari Serum, but  felt it was just far too expensive for my tastes.  This falls into that same category – just over 3 oz for $68 is really pretty crazy.  But, I have this sample, so I’ll try it.

The total value comes out to around $44.45 which is a higher value for the box.  My personal value?  $2.  It does not even cover the $15 cost, so two months in a row, I’ve come in under the value since there were products I had no interest in or couldn’t use.  It all comes down to variety and the variety isn’t there in this box – everyone gets the same thing, profile be damned, except for a few color options that no one knew about and isn’t spelled out clearly on the beauty survey.  Over the course of writing this review, I’ve become pretty set on cancelling.  Petit Vour, it’s been fun, and I’m still SO happy about being introduced to Yarok (they’re my new favorite leave-in conditioner spray), all the great mask samples, that Ellovi Mint Chocolate Body Butter, Lily Lolo mascara, and other fantastic items, but.. this just isn’t the box for me anymore.

Subscription Boxes

Goodebox May 2015

 

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I’m not sure when May happened, but it did, and so did another Goodebox!  This one arrived yesterday, still within the first week of the month.  It’s not a box that blows me away, but the variety is great, and there are new products I’ve never heard of before.   The face oil I’m most excited about and the other products are things I’ll at least  try.

  • Seaweed Detox Cellulite Cream – 6 oz / $14.99 – (Sample is 1 oz, value of $2.50)  My first impression, upon breaking the safety seal is that this STINKS.  It smells medicinal, and almost like Vicks Vaporub.  As far as the claims of reducing cellulite, increasing thyroid function, I’m just too skeptical to believe any of that stuff given that you’re putting it on your skin in such small amounts that it’s unlikely to make any difference.  Another small gripe is that the bottle is so sturdy that it’s impossible to squeeze the product out – I have to screw off the cap and shake it out into my hand instead.  If I use it, it would probably in the evenings when I  won’t be  carrying the stink of this cream around with me, but I have serious doubts that it will do anythinig to my cellulite.  The cream is pretty thick in the bottle, but turns almost to an oil on the skin and sinks in fast, so as a moisturizing cream, it’s great.  It just smells so terrible, and I’m not sure I can get past that.  I’m also a little concerned because I do have a thyroid issue that involves medication and I don’t want a skin care product to mess up the delicate balance we have going.
  • Juice Beauty Blemish Be Gone – .27 oz / $15 – (Product is full size, full value)  Really love the fact that it’s a roll-on, but I’m not entirely sold on the ingredients.  I don’t get pimples often, but what clears them up best are products containing sulfur.  This contains a natural version of salicylic acid (which has never done anything to my pimples) and a bunch of other fruit acids.  It’s worth a try since it came in the box, and I’ll be sure to report back about its efficacy!  It doesn’t have much of a scent, so that’s a plus.
  • Derma-e Evenly Radiant Brightening Day Creme – 2 oz / $29.95 – (Sample is .5 oz, value of $7.50)  I had received a batch of Derma-e samples in another Goodebox a while back, but not this one specifically.  I love that the sunscreen is a physical block instead of a chemical block, so I’ll definitely be using this over the summer!  Again, my skeptical side isn’t exactly buying the whole skin brightening thing, but I dont really have visible discoloration and sun damage for it to improve anyway.  Still, as a good daily moisturizer with SPF, it’s worth a try!
  • Mullein and Sparrow Cheek & Lip Tint – 1 oz / $22.00 – (Sample is approx .2 oz, value of $4.50)  Not too impressed with this.  I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of lip products that I have to apply with my finger.  The tint doesn’t seem to show up at all, and the product is really oily and melts a little too easily.  I’d be worried on a hot day that this would melt all over my bag.  There’s no discernable scent other than smelling like vegetable oil, and it goes on about the same.  I definitely enjoy lip products that are more sticky/thick like a beeswax lip balm and stay in place longer than oily/greasy products.  As a cheek product, again, it’s got no discernable tint without heavy application which then makes my cheeks look greasy.
  • Meraki Rose Grapefruit Face Oil – 2 oz / $20 – (Sample is 1 oz, value of $10)  I tried this out right away because I’ve always been interesting in trying the oil cleansing method, but didn’t want to invest in a larger product without being sure it would work with my skin.  This smells SO good, and following the directions on the product card, it definitely felt refreshing and moisturizing.  I could even see using a few drops before bed for an extra hydration boost.  I’ll have to see how well it removes makeup later and report back!
    Update, 12 May 2015 – It worked GREAT as a makeup remover!  Much more gentle, removed everything easily, and my skin didn’t feel stripped dry afterwards.  This may be my new favorite thing in the world.

Overall the value of this box is $39.50 which is about mid range for the box.  I’m REALLY happy with the Meraki oil, and the Derma-e sample will definitely be used up quickly.  Even the other products that I wasn’t exactly thrilled with, part of this is finding out what I do and don’t like by sampling products instead of ending up with a drawer full of full-size products that didn’t work out.  So, even though sometimes there are things that are misses, boxes like this are a great way to be introduced to new things.