The September edition of Care Pack is here. This is slightly different from all the other beauty subscription boxes; it concentrates on NZ made, eco-friendly products, and they can be food, beauty, cleaning or anything else. I have gotten the July and August boxes so far.
Oooh, looks like a Spring themed box. That's a great theme for September!
This looks interesting. Let's dive right in.
Ceres Organics Rice Bites - Thai Chilli flavour
These are touted as a "tasty alternative to deep fried potato chips." They are made with Jasmine rice, so are healthier than potato chips. However for anyone on a low-GI diet they are just as off-limits.
They taste ... ok. The flavouring tastes mostly like flour, with an after-effect of chilli. The chip itself is quite crunchy, and could be nice with the right flavouring. I'm not sold, and probably won't even think about buying these in the future.
RRP: $3.70AUD so around $5.00NZD
Full size
Olive Hand Moisturising Cream
What a great little hand cream. As regular readers will know, I have an over-abundance of hand cream right now, so I'm not hugely excited about this. However it is a great product to include in a spring box, as the weather is changing and this often leads to dry hands. I'm excited to use this (probably in about 6 months considering the other bottles of hand cream I have waiting for use).
RRP: $14.95 (full size 75ml)
Sample size (50ml): $9.95
Ecostore Multi-Purpose Cleaner
I'm really stoked to see this as a full size product. I've recently run out of a cleaner like this, and am quite happy to have this one to use. It saves a trip to the supermarket. It smells lovely, and will hopefully be a nice product to use.
RRP: $5.99
Full size
Snack Pack Amazeballs
These were in Mint Conditions flavour, and I don't think I've tasted anything so delicious in my life. Ok, that's a lie, but these are really really good. These disappeared within about 5 minutes of the box being opened, and I don't regret it at all.
I've heard about this company, but dismissed it because I can't really afford $20 a week for snacks. I might have to reconsider though, because these balls taste pretty damn good. Click through on this link to order 5 twin packs each week. I'm seriously considering this now.
RRP: $17.99 (full size 5 twin packs per week)
Sample size (1 twin pack): $3.60
Tailor Skin Care Tailor Masque
I was just reading about this product on Meagan Kerr's skincare ritual post, and nearly bought a full size last night. I'm really happy to have a sample to try out, and will honestly probably end up buying the full size in the future. This feeds in perfectly to my mask addiction.
RRP: $31.00 (full size 50 ml)
Sample size (7ml): $5.00
Cathedral Cove Macadamia Garlic Kelp Sprinkle
This is the one product in here that totally confuses me. I have no idea how to use it. The card suggests using it as a seasoning, so perhaps I'll make a salad this week (perfect for spring), and add this sprinkle. Even though I'm confused I'm interested to see what this product does, and if it adds anything extra to a meal. As a university student I've been frugal with food for many years, and I don't tend to buy extras to add to meals, and usually cook from scratch. So this product will be a brand new challenge for me. I might have to update the blog on what ends up happening.
RRP: $10.00
Full size
This seems to be an added extra as it isn't on the card. The PHD Raw Juice Cleanses and the PHD Cold-Pressed Juices look to be a company that is simply advertising through Care Pack. Since I checked out their website I'm being spammed on Facebook with their advertising, which isn't great but I can ignore that.
This looks awesome, and I would love to do this if it wasn't so expensive. I've been thinking about a juice cleanse for summer, or coming up to summer, and this seems like a great company. I didn't realise that there were any like this in New Zealand. Their juice flavours sound like they are crazy delicious.
There is the code carepack14 which gives 10% off (not sure for how long) and the free shipping code which is covered by the sticker is ship1425. Someone might get some use out of those.
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Total value of the box: $39.54.
Once again I love all (or most) of the products included in the box. However, the value just isn't there for me. I'm not dedicated to eco-friendly, or NZ made, or cruelty free products. I like getting surprises in the mail. I like getting much more than I paid. I am a bargain hunter. I just don't think this is a good box for me. It is a great box, and it fills a niche, but I can't justify $32 a month for myself.
In that light, I have cancelled this box. The cancellation process was easy-peasy. It was a simple click button on the account page of their website, and went through automatically. It also has an option to renew, if I want to in the future. This is a great idea since it cuts out the awkward form-filling if you ever want to resubscribe.
In conclusion, I love the products, and the ideas behind this box. However the value isn't there for me. I would highly recommend it though. And I recommend that they start putting prices on their card, so that people can see the value of the products.
What do you guys think?
Until next time ...
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