FabFitFun's quarterly lifestyle boxes give us some welcome relief from samples. For the most part, they send full size premium products four times per year. The winter 2014 box contains only one offender. Otherwise, they sent a nice mix of items in the fashion, fitness, beauty, accessory and home decor categories.
So let's see what arrived in December's sleek black box. It weighed in at about four pounds; that's always a good start!
Inside is quite an assortment of full size products, full size single servings, one sample and several great discounts.
FabFitFun's color fold out card gives detailed information about each product and its retail price.
The reasoning for the first item escapes me. This is the Half United Fighting Hunger Necklace. Half the profits from the sale of their items goes to feed children. That I get. But what would possess them to pursue that worthwhile goal through the sale of a necklace made of three recycled bullet casings? It is well made and there is a certain cool factor but is ammo chic really the best way to fight hunger? Even a Second Amendment supporting third generation Texan like me fails to see the connection. Am I missing something? (Retail $34)
From ammo to eyeshadow...how's that for diversity in a subscription box? Next is a little box that contains two eyeshadow pots from Swedish Beauty. This box is co-branded with FFF and the shades are called Swedish Winter and Brown Hypnotic. The first one is a very sparkly winter white color that probably makes a great highlighter. The second is an equally sparkly brownish bronze color. These are long-lasting and said to mix well together. (Retail $44)
There is an 11 oz. Organic Balance protein shake from Organic Valley in "Vanilla Bean" flavor. This is a nutritionally packed drink that's good for a light breakfast or a quick meal on the go. It's loaded with protein (16g) and calcium (50% RDA) and is lactose and gluten-free. (Retail $2.99)
From Juice Beauty, we have a full size container of Green Apple Peel Sensitive, which is an anti-aging product that uses alpha hydroxy acids to exfoliate and refine. It reduces fine lines and wrinkles and reveals a brighter complexion while firming the skin. Also lightens hyperpigmentation. (Retail $39)
Next is a lovely Daniel Stone COCO Candle in Red Currant. These candles employ coconut wax for the cleanest possible burning candle. I burn a lot of candles so am quite concerned about candle "emissions". It's great that toxin-free candles are out there but unfortunately, the price on this one is prohibitive. (Retail $42)
There is a single serve package containing a Salted Pretzel Chocolate snack bar from Kellogg's. This 100 calorie snack is a sponsored product in this box. (Retail about $.44)
In the "I would NEVER pay that" category, we have a .051 fl. oz. bottle of Tibetan Goji Berry Advanced Anti-Aging Eye Serum with Retinol from Passport to Beauty. Eye creams are one of my favorite items to get in sub boxes but at a retail price of $88, the money saved by not buying just a few of these would buy a plane ticket to Tibet where I could pick my own Goji Berries! (Let's face it--one of the functions of sub boxes is to introduce us to products we are never ever ever going to buy....thank you Taylor!) (Retail $88)
The other sponsored sample is this little foil packet of Justin's Classic Almond Butter. What can I say? This one has been in almost every food and/or lifestyle box recently. (Retail $.63) The other item is a $30 gift card to be used on the Fashion Project website. I can't share the code since it can only be used once but you can get 15% off your first purchase with code FASHIONHERO15. This site has a lot of trendy pre-owned designer label clothing at great prices. At first glance, the options in my sizes are extremely limited and almost all sold out. So, I don't know about this one. (Retail $30)
There is a card that announces a free three month membership to the Salted TV website, which is the Netflix of cooking. They offer step-by-step tutorials from the best chefs in the country. The videos are organized by cuisine, certain ingredients, chefs, specific recipes and "what's new". Each video is designated with skill level (Easy, Intermediate or Advanced). I'm excited about this one and plan to try it out...the previews I watched were quite intriguing. The regular cost is $9.99/month but you can use the code FABFITFUN at checkout to get three months for free. (Retail $29.97)
A full size container of Lather's AHA Hand Creme with Evening Primrose is a very rich formula that uses alpha hydroxy acids to encourage cell renewal and help minimize the appearance of wrinkles and age spots. This ultra emollient hand cream is especially useful and soothing for the cold winter months. (Retail $30)
I don't really like getting fitness products in boxes. It's not that I don't see the value in them, just that so many of these products are highly specialized and only apply to certain interest groups. If your healthy pursuits are in other directions, these products probably won't get used. This one is a 60-minute Zumba DVD led by Zumba's creator "Beto" plus a $25 gift card on the Zumba site. None of the clothes on the site are "me" at all but I may be able to use the gift card for one of their accessories. (Retail $55)
All in all, this was a pretty great box. The total retail value $384.03. That is impressive even if many of the prices are way beyond what anyone would actually pay for these items. But if this box is only worth HALF the stated retail value, you're still getting four or five times the purchase price. That's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! (If you're laughing, I know how old you are and roughly what part of the country you grew up in.)
If you're interested in trying FabFitFun's VIP box, click here and use code TRYFFF to get $10 off your first box. Also, winter boxes are still available and you can get these for $24.99 (50% off) with code OMG.
And who knows? When nobody's looking, I just might slide that Zumba DVD in the machine and pretend like I'm 20 years old again!
Happy Holidays,
Cheryl
Disclosure: Views and opinions expressed in this blog are
strictly my own. Product discussed in this post was purchased with my own
money. Post may contain referral or affiliate links.
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