The Pacific Northwest is a part of this country that is pretty much unexplored by me. I've been to Oregon and Washington but usually just for a brief visit or on my way to somewhere else, like Alaska or Canada. So I was really intrigued when Escape Monthly decided to focus on Portland for their January box.
This month's big aqua box is full of artisanal products that provide a nice taste of the "Jewel of the Northwest". Escape Monthly did their usual meticulous job of curation and I suspect this will be one of their best received boxes yet. Here's the group shot:
The travel brochure provides some interesting tidbits of information about Portland and gives a color photo and brief description of each item in the box. (Did you know that Portland has been called the best city in the world for street food because it is home to more than 700 food carts?)
Popcorn is always a good thing to include in a subscription box as far as I'm concerned. This is a bag of Saffron Rose Popcorn with Jacobsen Salt from Masala Pop. I didn't know what to expect from that name (a floral taste maybe?) but it's just good popcorn with a slightly sweet coating...nothing too strange. It is flavored with rose water and saffron but those tastes are almost undetectable.
"Keep Portland Weird" is the name of this candle from Vance Family Soy Candles. The scent IS a little weird; it's an interesting mix of orange, patchouli, coconut, spices and lemongrass. I would say the orange and lemongrass are the dominant scents in this one. Like popcorn, candles are always welcome in my subscription boxes!
This cute Rose City Pepperheads Berry Trio contains Marionberry, Strawberry and Huckleberry jellies. These are "barbeque, dipping and cooking" jellies accented with a bit of heat from peppers. The marionberry and huckleberry are on the mild side and the strawberry has medium heat, according to their website. The site shows all sorts of interesting ways to use these besides just putting them on a bagel. (Top off a baked potato, mix with olive oil & vinegar for a tasty dressing, mix with refried beans and put on nachos, mix with melted butter and put on corn on the cob, etc.)
When I opened this box, a wonderful minty scent emerged. The responsible product was this bar of Rise and Shine soap in Oatmeal Mint from Molly Muriel. I really like the scent of this but it is not the one mentioned in the brochure, which was "Warm & Woodsy". I checked the Molly Muriel site and found not only that one but many other lovely products as well. I see a Molly Muriel order in my near future!
I love bath products in subscription boxes! This one contains a 12 oz. box of "Magickal Mineral Bath Salts" with natural sea salts and pure essential oils from Habit Breaker. This one is in the scent "Sweet Orange, Cedarwood and Lavender". These are "specially crafted to help beat your bad habits"! Yep, that's what it says. If it works, I'll be ordering buckets of this stuff.
The travel book in this box is a Moon Handbook for Portland. This is the quintessential city guide with 258 pages of information on hotels, restaurants, sights, activities, the arts, shopping, etc. These Moon books are so tempting; it's hard not to go reserve my flight right now!
The bonus item in this box is a nicely scented lip balm from Portland Bee Balm in "Oregon Mint, which is a blend of organic coconut, olive oil and just a hint of peppermint oil. This is quite moisturizing and the scent is light and refreshing.
Bravo Escape Monthly! Every item in this box is useful and/or enjoyable. I particularly like the inclusion of the bath salts, soap and candle but all of these were great choices. The box must be a total success when you're inspired to actually consider a trip to the featured city!
The cost of the full size Escape Monthly box is $49.95 but you can use code NASHVILLE to get 20% off for the life of your subscription. That means the monthly cost is $39.95 for as long as you keep your subscription. The average retail value per box is around $100 so you always get well over what you paid.
There is also a smaller version of the box called Escape Mini. It is half the size of the regular box and contains 4 or 5 products plus the brochure. The Mini does not include the travel book. Cost is $24.95 per month.
As you might have guessed, Escape Monthly's next destination is Nashville. There's no telling what the box will include but since Nashville is known for music, I'm guessing that's a pretty good clue!
Thanks for reading,
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 does not contain referral or affiliate links.
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