Tag: goodebox

Not a bad box!  If you’ll remember, I got the Konjac sponge in last month’s box too, but Goodebox has assured me it’s an error and they’ll make up for it in the next box.  The other items though, I’m really pretty pleased with!  The sugar cleanser is exactly what I like to use on my face.  I’d gotten the Ellovi butter before, but LOVED it so much, I’m not at all upset to see it again.  Anyway, before I go on and on, here’s the contents of the box.

• My Konjac French Green Clay Sponge – 1 sponge / $10 – (Product is full size)  Like I mentioned above, a computer glitch caused the same item to be sent two months in a row.  Usually Goodebox does a fantastic job managing who got what which month, but this one slipped through.  I’m SO not a fan of these sponges like I mentioned in last month’s post, so I won’t go into that again.  Goodebox said they’ll make up for it next month, and I’m perfectly happy with that resolution.
• Odacite (Pe+C) Peach Cypress Serum Concentrate – 5 mL / $32 – (Product is approx .7 mL, value of $4.48)  This is a teeny little sample of a pretty pricey serum.  After washing my face, I dabbed a little out of the vial onto my finger (twice) and distributed it around my face.  It smells more cypressy than peachy, but it’s a rich oil and a little does go a long way without getting greasy or oily and does seem to stop my oily spots from getting oily.  This particular formulation is for combination skin which is probably the one I would’ve chosen for myself out of all of the options.  I’m not wowed by it to the point that I’d consider purchasing it, but it was fun to try!
• Alima Pure Brow Pencil – 1 stick / $18 – (Product is full size)  I received the color, “Deep” which is pretty much the right shade.  I’ll admit that I prefer something like Benefit’s Gimme Brow since it builds fiber onto your natural eyebrow hair and looks more natural than a pencil.  The outer half  of my eyebrows is  really thin, so I thought this might work to help fill in underneath the brow gel, but it turns out it just feels like it looks fake to me and I’d rather just use the brow gel on its own.  It’s still a nice pencil, and I think I’ll repurpose it as eyeliner.
• Ellovi Mint Chocolate Body Butter – 3.5 oz / $26 – (Product is .34 oz, value of $2.53)  I’ve gotten this product before and oh is it ever a joy.  The scent of the butter is wonderful and it’s just perfect for the fall and winter.  So glad to see this come through a subscription box again!
• MyChelle Refining Sugar Cleanser – 3.5 oz / $25 – (Product is full size)  I tried this out right away because I love a good exfoliating scrub.  Of course, I tried it and THEN read the back of the tube.  I was a little disappointed at first that the sugar dissolved pretty quickly and didn’t stick around long enough to exfoliate, but it turns out if I use it on dry skin with dry hands first and then wet my hands after, I can get a good scrub and then let the water dissolve the sugar and turn the cleanser into a nice lather.  The scent isn’t  good or bad really, and I do like the way it both exfoliates and then turns into a foamy cleanser for the best of both worlds.

The total value comes out to $60.01 which is definitely on the higher end for this box.  That includes the Konjac sponge, even though it was a mistake.  It also looks like the name is changing from Goodebox to Good Being  as well as incorporating a few changes to the box structure, so I’ll reflect the name change in future posts.  As always, looking forward to next month’s box!

I seem to have also gotten behind on my subscription box posts, so here’s the Goodebox from October!  I’ll have to say I was completely disappointed with this one.  I saw other folks got a Shea Spray for hair and I would’ve much preferred that over just about any other item in the box and it would’ve made this a much better box for me.  As it is, the value of the items I’ll actually use doesn’t cover the cost of the box.  I know there are hits and misses month to month, and this was a huge miss, but it’s the first really big miss from Goodebox in a while.

• EO Everyone Natural Hand Sanitizer – 2 oz / $2.99 – (Product is full size)  I dont’ use hand sanitizers, ever.  I think it’s already been proven that washing your hands is better, and sanitizers like this don’t eliminate all germs.  I’d much rather just go wash my hands than coat them in alcohol and dry my skin out.  Plus the scent on this is absolutely horrible to me – the mint and citrus  combined with the alcohol smells medicinal and in a bad way.  I’ll end up giving this to a friend though.
• My Konjac Sponge – 1 sponge / $10 – (Product is full size)  I received the “Original” version of the sponge.  I had  gotten  one of these before from another company and wasn’t impressed.  The sponge, when wet, is slimy and I don’t feel that it exfoliates at all, but I also have rough skin that tends to be a little dry and needs a good, rough scrub.  Beyond that, all the nooks and crannies in the thing undoubtedly collect all sorts of dead skin cells, dirt, oil, etc and after about three uses it’s probably full of gunk.  I’ve heard that you can run it through the microwave or boiling water to sterilize it, but that won’t clear out the accumulated material.  I just don’t understand how these sponges can be part of any green beauty routine when they only last up to three months.  My washcloth can be washed thousands of times before I need to replace it, and one washcloth costs a hell of a lot less than $10!  I’ll find someone  to give this to though.
• Davids Natural Mint Toothpaste – 5.25 oz / $7.95 – (Product is full size)  I checked over the ingredients and it contains stevia, so it’s an automatic nope for me.  Stevia seems to have a very immediate and very unpleasant  laxative effect.  Even the smallest amount sets me off, plus I find the taste of stevia really off-putting.  I won’t even bother trying it because I don’t want to find out if the amount of Stevia in the toothpaste is enough to have an undesirable effect or not.  This is going straight to the island of misfit subscription box items.
• Lillian Eve Nourishing Cuticle Oil Pen – 2 mL / $12 – (Product is full size)  While the oil itself is pretty nice and works well on my cuticles, I’m not a huge fan of the pen.  I’d much rather have a bottle and dropper or bottle and brush.  I do really like the oil though and it works well, so it’s a keeper.  Then pen has been hanging out by the computer so I can put the oil on and it stays put and absorbs while I type.
• Bonnie Ultra Shine Lip Gloss – .3 oz / $8 – (Product is full size)  Love the formula, hate the color which is “Pink Sapphire.”  It’s just too light of a pink for my skin tone and doesn’t look right at all.  Plus, it has peppermint oil, and I don’t really like peppermint flavored lip products.  I already tried it, so I can’t give it to a friend, so it’s just a total loss.

The total value of the box was $40.94 which is on the low side for Goodebox.  My personal value was $12 for the Cuticle Oil pen, but that doesn’t even cover the cost of the box.  Everything other than the cuticle oil is going to trade/gift or trash which is super disappointing.

This arrived almost two weeks ago, but I’m finally getting around to posting the review.  I FINALLY got that 100% pure mascara and I LOVE it.  The box overall is pretty decent and I’m rather happy with this one!  Probably one of my favorites of all time.

• The Seaweed Bath Co Argan Shampoo – 12 oz / $12.89 – (Sample is approx 1.5 oz, value of $1.60)  I still have the same gripe about the sample bottles they use – they don’t squeeze, so you have to wait till the product trickles out by the force of gravity.  It’s incredibly frustrating.  I received the “Smoothing Citrus Vanilla” version of this, but I won’t be able to try it because it contains dimethicone, an ingredient (a silicone) I don’t use on my hair.  I’ll pass it off to someone who will use it though.
• 100% Pure Blueberry Mascara – .24 oz / $25 – (Product is full size)  WOOHOO!  I finally got this in my box after seeing it the past two months show up in other boxes.  I can’t quite express how much I love this for basic, daily use.  It smells like fresh blueberries and it’s definitely a deep navy blue, but doesn’t show up as Mimi-style bright blue makeup.  It’s a lighter sort of mascara, not heavy and clumping, so it’s perfect for everyday use.  Did I mention that it smells amazing?  Oh and it didn’t bother my eyes at all and washed off easily.  These are all super good things in my book.
• Treat Peaches and Cream Lip Balm – .5 oz / $9.99 – (Product is full size)  It’s like they know me over at Goodebox because this is incredible.  The flavor is amazing, and a gal can never have too many lip balms.  It goes on smoothly without feeling sticky or too oily, and is honestly the perfect formula.  It’ll probably go in my everyday bag to remind me of the last bits of summer as we fall into pumpkin-spice-everything season.
• S.W. Basics Exfoliant – 3 oz / $24 – (Product is .7 oz, value of $5.60 by volume or $12 as mini  size on their website)  I haven’t tried too many S.W. Basics products before, but I keep hearing good things, so it’s great to see two products from them in this box.  I do like a good exfoliator, but this one is maybe a bit too gentle for my tastes.  When wet, it’s a little like putting cookie batter on your face with the main ingredients being oat flour and almond flour.  I assume those work to pull out oil from your face, and it seems like it did indeed do that, but I didn’t quite feel like it exfoliated as good as a traditional salt or sugar scrub.  I do like that the ingredients are simple and I’m glad I got to try it, but this doesn’t quite rank in my favorites.
• S.W. Basics Cream – 3 oz / $32 – (Product is .7 oz, value of $7.47 by volume or $12 as a mini size on their website)  Super thick and rich cream, again with simple, basic ingredients, unscented.  Doesn’t feel so thick and rich or greasy that it gets relegated to bedtime-only use which was a bit of a surprise.  I figured this would be a little on the greasy side, but it’s actually something I can keep at my computer desk for dry winter hands and use all day long.  A wee little pea sized amount thorougly covered  both hands, so the price doesn’t seem too outrageous when you consider how well such a little amount works.  Really rather love this!

Also included (not pictured) was a $5 coupon to Target for anything in their Made to Matter set of brands.  I broke up with Target a few years ago and refuse to shop there which is a story for another time and includes an incredibly rude cashier who refused to use the reusable bags I brought, and when I repacked everything into those bags and handed her back the plastic bags, she stuffed the plastic bags in my cart and said I could just throw them out.  (Sorry, I did get into it.. annnyywayyy)  I’ll hand that off to someone who will use it, but it has absolutely no value to me.  Without including the value of the coupon, the box comes to a total of $60.59 which is pretty phenomenal!  The mascara is the big winner this time with the S.W. Basics cream a runner up, and even if I’m not terribly keen on the exfoliator, I’m glad I got to try it.  Of course the Treat lip balm is always something I’ll use.  Overall, a really terrific box, and I’m already looking forward to the next!

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!