I have an annual subscription to Causebox <— you can find it at that link, right there.
Causebox is a quarterly or annual subscription box that treats it’s subscribers to a collection of ethical items that come from some place with a purpose. I started my subscription………………………… probably…… I dunno…… about a year and a half ago? I paid for a few quarterly boxes, then opted into the annual subscription. It’s more money up front, but it’s less money in the long run and if you’re anything like me and KNOW your spending habits, it’s actually a very nice way to treat yourself to something every season and stop spending on miscellaneous things. So, to simplify, I save money by knowing that I’m getting something, so I don’t buy something else. Make sense?
I’m usually pretty happy with my causeboxes. Usually. Last summer I was not happy with a couple of the products, It’s petty but I’ll explain why:
- One of the non choice products was hair scrunchies. I am 34… not 12. I have no desire to revert back to age 12, or be retro. I also have short hair. By short I mean the front is up to my jawline and angled shorter towards the back, so $20 hair scrunchies… No thanks.
- One of the non choice products was a bag for wet swimsuits. Great idea! But not all of us can go to the beach, or get to go swimming during the summer. I don’t get to take a vacation in the summer, and I have no swimming pool. Nor do I have any time to visit a YMCA etc. This box was all about living your best beach life, and almost a little insensitive to those who don’t have summer life luxuries.
One of the products in the box I have to share with you. I LOVED the face cleanser. Love love loved. Hanalei powder face cleanser. <— That’s the Amazon link. Speaking of Amazon, if you don’t already know about Amazon Smile, here is your wake up call! In your browser to go smile.amazon.com and log in as usual. You’ll then have the option of choosing a charity! Every purchase you make through amazon smile (okay not every single one but it will tell you if the item is eligible for a donation), Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase to the charity you’ve chosen. Awesome right? I know people hate Bezos and all of that, but this is a good cause and as much as you may hate him, let’s face it… You most likely use Amazon. Anyway! The face cleanser! Yeah, amazing. It doesn’t strip your face… my face was clearer… yeah. Recommended. Little on the pricey side for a face wash but worth it in my opinion.
Okay! When I receive my Causebox for the Summer you’ll find it right below this little tidbit of text! It’s scheduled to ship in mid to late June. I’m excited! Let’s make time go faster.
June 23rd – Still waiting on my Summer Box… I can’t help but feel like the company keeps biting off more than they can chew. Each quarter, instead of making sure their annual, and already subscribed members get their boxes in a timely fashion, they sell out, and introduce new boxes to bring in more people, and then everyone is left waiting for ages to get what they paid for. They also open a quarterly add on market that usually takes weeks upon weeks to ship. It wasn’t so bad about a year ago when I signed up, but it gets worse each quarter. My marketplace order has shipped (hooray!) and summer boxes are supposed to ship mid/late June. So we’ll see. They have 5 business days left.
July 16th – I received my causebox about 2 weeks ago. I was going to post photos, but the reed diffuser shattered in the box and covered EVERYTHING in oil. I do have photos of the damage BUT the company did right and sent me an entirely new box which I just received today. Nothing was broken and everything was in fine condition, however, I’m not keeping the box. I don’t need or want duplicates of it’s contents so I’ll be gifting the box to a coworker.
Items in the original box that were not damaged inside their packaging are shown below less the PMD Clean and silicone lids.
- A set of 3 ceramic nesting bowls
- grace & stella face serum
- Dr. Rogers RESTORE “healing balm”
- Savhera essential oil roll-ons.
- PMD Clean in Navy.
Also in the box were reusable silicone lids which were exposed to the oil of the reed diffuser. They have been washed in the dishwasher but I’m not convinced they’re usable. They seem to have absorbed the smell but we’ll see. I’ll try again.
- The ceramic Pepper+Vetiver nesting bowls – These are beautiful and feel like a nice quality. They are made in China… how that sits with everyone is different and that’s okay. I’m on the fence about it myself. On one hand you want to support someone, on the other hand, China made products sort of scream mass produced crap. These so far seem to be a good quality. The small one is the perfect size for an ice cream bowl. This item also supports the Malala Fund which is an organization that helps girls receive education.
- The grace & stella serum – I’ll keep trying it, but my skin broke out pretty badly after the first use. I’ll update this if I see improvements. This is not uncommon for me so I’m not denying the effectiveness of the product just yet. My skin is finicky so we’ll see how this goes over time.
- Dr. Rogers RESTORE – “healing balm”… Ok…. So… I’m super iffy on the healing portion of this. This balm contains 3 ingredients. Castor oil, Glycerin and Hydrogenated castor oil. It feels like Aquaphor, doesn’t absorb into the skin and also has no scent or flavor (which I actually like). I’m inclined to say it doesn’t heal, but rather adds a protective layer to the area allowing it to heal on it’s own. I put it on a lip wound overnight… and it did nothing. All it did was stop me from biting at it.
- Savhera roll-ons – These are just lovely. Very worth purchasing on their own, and the company has an awesome cause. They provide dignified employment to survivors of sexual exploitation.
- The PMD Clean. I love this. That’s really all I can say.. It feels great and is worth the money. The silicone also means there is no replacing brush heads and it’s waterproof. I put my cleanser on the PMD, and I just massage it in. When I want to use a face serum, I do the same thing and just wash it off when I’m done. I can’t say it cleans pores. I have huge pores and I don’t actually notice a difference. I also can’t say that my skin looks any better because it’s behind a mask 9+ hours a day and is requiring extra care to keep it happy. I don’t always succeed and nothing can make that any better. Break outs happen for some of us regardless of the effort we put in. BUT… the PMD leaves my skin feeling clean and refreshed. That is good enough for me.
I feel like I’m not finished here but I’m losing focus and need a glass of water. I think I’ll call it for now. I hope this helps those of you who are interested, and those of you who aren’t interested, thanks for reading until the end. You’re a trooper!
The Craftie Gnome 