Escape Monthly Vacation in a Box (California) May 2014 Review + 20% Discount Code

How about a little trip to California's wine country this weekend?  Escape Monthly pretty much makes that possible with their May box which contains a wide array of fun products from that area. Escape Monthly sends us to a new destination every month with all sorts of products that represent the culture, food and aesthetics of that location.  If you missed my first review of their April box which gave us an armchair trip to Mexico, check it out here.

This month's box brought an especially nice assortment of products, only one of which I've ever seen in a subscription box before.

Like a good travel agent, they always include a color brochure telling about your trip and the products in the box.  It also gives some fun facts about California on the back, such as "The Beverly Hills zip code is the richest per capita area in the country" and "The Hollywood sign originally spelled out the word 'Hollywoodland'".

They also included a big Moon travel guide on the California Wine Country.  At 650 pages, this is truly a comprehensive resource which includes maps and all the travel information one could possibly need to plan a trip to the area.

There is a small box of San Franola Granola in Cinnamon Almond flavor.  Haven't tried this yet but it looks good.

A bonus item this month is a cardboard can containing everything you need to grow a patch of California Poppies. These are bright orange saucer shaped flowers that open in the morning and close at dusk.  I'm really looking forward to planting these; just hope they will grow in the very hot climate where I live.

Next is a bottle of Caliwater Cactus Water, an all natural drink made from the Prickly Pear Cactus. The brochure says this is rich in electrolytes, minerals and antioxidants and also that it hydrates you faster than juice or water.

A Premium Natural Sea Sponge with a woven cotton hanger is a nice addition to the box and a useful long-lasting addition to anyone's shower or bathtub.

  

My favorite item in the California box is a bar of Hugo Naturals Vanilla & Sweet Orange Soap. This is handcrafted using essential oils and botanical extracts.  Smells wonderful!

There is a small cardboard box containing two truffles from Nicobella Organics.  These come in several different flavors, like walnut flaxseed crunch, sunflower banana butter, pumpkin chai, blueberry almond, ginger green tea and pure cocoa bliss.  The one I tasted was the pure cocoa bliss. Dark chocolate purists will go crazy for this; it's made with a very rich (high cocoa content) ganache with just a hint of vanilla.  Quite decadent and elegant!

The one product in this box that I've received in other subscription boxes is the IPS All Natural Egg White Chips.  These are made of corn, egg whites and other all natural ingredients and are "pressure puffed", not fried.  These are the Aged White Cheddar flavor but they also come in Barbeque, Cinnamon Sugar and Sea Salt & Black Pepper.

The last item in the box is a full size tube of Green Apple Age Defy Hand Cream from Juice Beauty.  This very rich cream contains aloe, jojoba and shea butters as well as Vitamin C and fruit acids.  It says that it reduces fine lines and wrinkles.  I can always use a new hand cream, so we'll see.

That's everything in the California Escape box which has a total retail value of $60.39.  I think a lot of regular subscribers will agree this was a big improvement over the Mexico box which contained a couple of oddball items that probably weren't appreciated by a lot of people.  Escape Monthly did listen to the complaints and I think the results are apparent in the California box.

Escape Monthly always announces their next travel destination on the back of the brochure in the current month's box and gives some hints as to what the next box will contain in the "Travel Log" section of their website.  For June, the destination is Las Vegas and it looks like the themes will be luxurious hotels, gourmet/artisan foods, spas and "everyone is a winner" with special prizes in every box.  Sounds fun! 

Escape Monthly's regular price is $49.95; however, 20% discount codes are widely available. Since these are good for the life of your subscription, the price is effectively $39.96 per box.

If you'd like to try Escape Monthly, click here.  To get the discount, use code VEGASESCAPE for 20% off your first box as well as 20% off your subscription for life!  

We all know there are a LOT of subscription boxes out there, but I honestly think that Escape Monthly provides one of the highest quality boxes available.  Their monthly collections are meticulously curated, interesting and full of useful, tasty and fun products. And you just can't beat the concept...who doesn't need a little escape every month?

Dude....I'm outta here!

Cheryl