I call the sample/subscription boxes I received this month The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The box I received yesterday from Kara's Way is the "good" box.
For those of you not familiar with Kara's Way, it is an eco-friendly sample box. It doesn't really fall under the subscription box category, simply because it's a month-by-month purchase. If you want it that month, and they have boxes available, you can buy one. This makes it a great choice for commitment-phobes, or those who just want get a little something to spice up their mailbox.
This is Kara Way's second box since returning from their hiatus - and it did not disappoint. Here's what was inside:
1) Hollybeth Organics Grits & Honey Scrub: There are sugar scrubs, there are salt scrubs, and apparently now there is a Honey & Grits scrub - and who doesn't want to shower with breakfast foods, huh? But seriously folks, this isn't a shower scrub - it's for faces. I can't wait to use it - it is a nice size sample, and I'll probably be able to use it for at least a month.
Retail price: $25 for 2 oz.
2) Sheswai Lacquer: I received a FULL SIZE bottle of this nail lacquer in the color Earthy. It's described as a "deep shade of toasty mauve" and is free of nasty things, like formaldehyde, toluene, and dbp's. (Yeah, I had to look that one up: it's dibutyl phthalate - and my theory is, if you can't spell it without using a dictionary, you probably don't want to use it, anyway!) This product is made in my favorite place: The good old US of A - and it's so eco-friendly that even the bottle cap was made from sustainably harvested wood.
Retail price: $16 per bottle
3) Native Touch Warrior Bear Rub: I received a similar product in another box a while back - and if this product is anything like the other, it will work wonders. This product is made with tea trea oil, lavender, and rosemary essential oils - and it smells WONDERFUL. It's good to battle cracked heelitis, ugly hard cuticals, and could probably make your knobby knees look better, too.
Retail price: $11.99 for 1.8 oz.
4) Coastal Scents African Black Soap: I received a sample of this a few months ago from another sample box. It's handcrafted in Ghana and allegedly is used to treat skin ailments like rashes, acne, eczema and dandruff. I hadn't tried it - but then my dad (who's visiting for Christmas) said to me when I showed him the bar of soap: "Couldn't you use that on your back? Aren't you complaining that you have weird skin breakouts there?" It was like a lightbulb went off in my brain - so this morning I showered with it, and my back feels better already.
Retail price: $12.95 for 16 oz.
5) Priti NYC Soy Nail Polish Remover Wipes: Okay, this was the only product that was a bit underwhelming - it was in a little foil wrap, which means I received only one. ONE! But then again, with a full size product in the box, who am I to complain? Huh? And honestly, I really do want to try this out without buying a full size product - I'm not convinced alternative nail polish removers work, but I sure want them to - now's my chance to test it out!
Retail price: $9.99 for 10 wipes
There was also a bonus in the box: an Organic Candy Cane from TruJoy Sweets. As you can see from my non-professional photo, it's a full size cane - not a little chintzy candy cane (which I received last year in a box). This candy cane is organic, corn syrup free, gluten free, vegan and contains no artificial colors or flavors - you know you want one.
Nitpicks: Believe it or not, I have only two nitpicks. The first is that the Sheswai Lacquer in Earthy does not seem to be available on their website. Normally that means the color has been discontinued. Does that mean the one I received is old? And if I like it, I can't get another one - but they do have a color that's similar: Rootsy.
The second nitpick is that Kara's Way did not include their Kara's Way tag. If you're not familiar with this, it's a little hang tag they normally include that contains wild flower seeds. You can plant it and see wildflowers spring up. I really missed that little extra.
Lasting Impression: This package was an extremely nice mix of products, and even came with a nod to the holiday season with the inclusion of the organic candy cane. I love that I received a full size product. I know this isn't always possible - but this makes two boxes in a row that contained a full size product (last month's contained Dle's light up lip gloss).
I received my November Green Grab Bag on Saturday - I know I've said it before, but it's time to rinse and repeat: I love Green Grab Bag. It is more expensive than some of my other subs, but this one delivers the goods every single month.
As soon as I opened up the bag, a smile appeared on my face, and didn't go away (until I had a little mishap with the lip butter... more later). Green Grab Bag really spoils their subscribers - and I don't know about you, but I think I deserve to be spoiled.
Enough of the commentary - here's what I received:
1) Purity Botanicals Deep Pore Cleanser: This particular blend is for Normal/Oily skin - and my skin isn't really oily. It's more Normal/Dry. Still, I have been using it for the last couple of days and I like the product. I wouldn't buy it - personally, I like a little more foam to my cleanser. Still, this one does what it is supposed to do - and it did not cause me to breakout, so it's a win in my book!
Retail price: $37 (size not given on website)
2) Purity Botanicals Liquid Gold Serum: This product claims to spot treat acne, hydrate skin, aid the healing of cuts, scrapes, and burns, and soothe assorted skin issues. As it so happened, I had a couple of weird little scabby things on my arm, so I put the liquid gold on them. By the following morning, I noticed a substantial improvement in the healing process. I will be keeping this sample close-by for those types of issues - it seems to do what it claims to do!
Retail price: $49 (size not given on website)
3) Purity Lip Whip: This product is new, and isn't available yet on the Purity Botanicals website. It's really cool to try a product before it's available to the general public! The color I received is Rose - and it's perfect. The thing is, the sample container is super hard to open. I've opened it three times, and two times I ended up with lip whip all over my fingers because of the clumsy way the container opens up. The color I received is perfect for me - and I am in love with it!
Retail price: $10
4) Gabriel Cosmetics Zuzu Luxe Eyeliner: Pencil eyeliners are my new favorite. I used to use liquid eyeliner applied with a brush, but moved to pencils about a year ago. Unlike the Honeybee Gardens eye pencil in the Kara's Way box, this one is not made in China. (Honeybee Gardens claims that the Chinese manufacturer was the only one who could deliver an eyeliner pencil at a good price - I disagree, and this eye pencil is proof.)
My eyeliner pencil is in Obsidian, but I see from their website that they have one in Indigo - a color I favor!
Retail price: $13.80 per pencil
5) Tierra Mia Organics Original Face Cream: Oh wow, this stuff is NICE! It smells good, it goes on smoothly and absorbs quickly. This cream claims to help skin keep its equilibrium by restoring the normal pH. Did it? I dunno - I'm not a scientist, baby. All I know is I like it, and I will use this sample UP! (For those of you who care, this product is gluten free.)
Retail price: $25 for 2.0 oz.
6) Isvara Organics Peppermint Body Milk: This is probably my least favorite product in the bag - and that doesn't mean this product stinks or anything like that. It's nice... but the peppermint scent isn't very strong - in fact, it's really quite light. I am probably in the minority - but I LIKE stronger scented products. I use the Deep Steep Candy Mint Foot Cream, and the scent strength on that product is perfect for my picky nose.
I will say this: the Isvara Organics Peppermint Body Milk is very fairly priced. Plus it's made with all that good-for-you stuff, like aloe, hemp seed, and jojoba.
Retail price: $2.98 for 2 oz or $11.95 for 8 oz.
7) HollyBeth Organics Snowflake Lip Balm: This is one of two full size products in Green Grab Bag this month. I have a zillion lip balms - so I haven't used this one yet. Still, I like knowing that if I need to, I can use this as a holiday gift for someone. I will say as lip balms go, this one is on the more expensive side.
Retail price: $7 per balm
8) Collective Wellbeing Corrective Cleanser: This was supposed to be La Mellite Blueberry Acai Antioxident Face & Body Scrub, but something went awry and so GGB sent this out instead. I look at it as a win, because this is a full size product! I probably have enough face cleansers to last me a year, but I'm hoping this one can correct all my beauty issues and make me beautiful.
Uh... maybe not. Still, you can't blame a girl for wishing...
Retail price: $15.39 for 5 oz.
And there you have it - my amazing November Green Grab Bag! I'm really looking forward to the December bag - if November is this good, what will we get for Christmas? A make-over elf? One can only hope...
Pssst... it's time for you to subscribe to Green Grab Bag! Stop putting it off - do it and do it now! You will NOT be sorry. Click here to get started!
