February 2014 Conscious Box

Hello everyone! So, as I explained in my last post, I moved in March and since I actually received February's Conscious Box on March 9th (yes, very late box...), my apartment was a mess and full of boxes, so I chose not to do a video for that month's box. Instead, I took pictures of the unboxing. Sorry if you were looking forward to a video!

Without further ado, pictures of the unboxing:

Inner box with the outer shell

Flap opened

Close up of flap

Paper/pamphlet thing with list of items inside

List opened up

All the items nicely packed inside

All the items taken out

And here's the list of everything that was inside, in the order taken out:

Vintage Italia - Pasta Chips (Mediterranean Sea Salt)
Kelapo - Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Via Nature - Moisturizing Skin Lotion (Vanilla Coconut)
Via Nature - Soothing Skin Lotion (Lavender Eucalyptus)
Traditional Medicinals - Tea (Easy Now)
Salamandra Naturals - Soap (Natural Lavender Oats)
Stur - Water Enchancer (Tea + Lemon)
People Towels - Reusable Towel
Elemental Herbs - Sunscreen
Ecover - Automatic Dishwasher Tablets
Crystal - Body Deodorant Towelettes
Aloevella - Wrinkless Cream (Winter Cherry Extract)
Information Pamphlet on Crystal
Information Card on the Align Your Life Program

If you'd like your own Conscious Box, you can sign up right here.

And once I eat/drink/use these products, keep an eye out here for a review.

~Lindsay

January 2014 Conscious Box

First box of 2014! My vegan Conscious Box arrived this past Tuesday :)

You can view my video unboxing it right here. Please like and subscribe!

Picture, picture:

Everything in January's Conscious Box

And the full list:

Blue Avocado - Java Sleeve
Two Degrees - Food Bar (Chocolate Peanut)
Nature's Bakery - Fig Bar (Raspberry)
MRM - Dietary Supplement (Cram)
Bumboosa - Baby Wipes
MelanSol - Sunscreen
RawJuvenate - Vegan Protein Mix
Piggy Paint - Nail Polish
Ama.la - Gel Cleanser, Gel Moisturizer, Clay Mask
Mighty Leaf - Tea (Early Grey, Mint Mélange, Spring Jasmine)
Manitoba Harvest - Hemp Seeds
Coupon Code for 2 Degrees
Information Card on Piggy Paint
Coupon for Hemp Hearts
Information Card on Mountain Green
Information Card and Coupon Code for Health Mate Saunas
BioBag - Pet Waste Bag

If you want your own monthly Conscious Box, you can sign up here.

Like usual, once I eat/drink/use these products, I'll write up a review and post it here on my blog!

~Lindsay

December 2013 Conscious Box

Almost all caught up! Almost! Just one more box...

This post is for December's Conscious Box, the last one for 2013. Arrived right in time for Christmas!

The video of the unboxing can be found here. Please like and subscribe :)

Picture of everything I got:

December 2013 Conscious Box

And a list of everything inside:

Yes - Organic Lubricant
Ultima Replenisher - Electrolyte Powder (Grape)
Freekeh Foods - Roasted Green Wheat (Tamari)
Abundance Soaps - Soap Bar (Spearmint & Rosemary)
Berryplus - Laundry Soap
Two Degrees - Bar (Chocolate Peanut)
The Good Bean - Roasted Chickpeas (Sea Salt)
Earnest Eats - Bar (Dark Choco Mint)
Sam's Natural - Skin Balm
MegaFood - Whole Food Dietary Supplement
Numi Organics - Savory Tea (Fennel Spice)
Totlogic - 2 in 1 Wash & Shampoo
Bumboosa - Baby Wipes
Smock - Blank Card & Envelope
Information Pamphlet on Yes
Coupon Code for Soapbox
Coupon Code for Earnest Eats
Coupon Code for Two Degrees
Information Card on Nordic Naturals
Coupon Code for Fiber Love
BioBag - Pet Waste Bag

If you want to be getting your own monthly Conscious Box, you can sign up here.

Once I eat/drink/use these products, I'll be posting a review here on my blog, so stay tuned!

~Lindsay

P.S. Hope everyone had a good holiday season!

November 2013 Conscious Box

Once again, so sorry it's taken this long to post. Just got finished with the video this morning. Anywho, without further ado, my post on November's Conscious Box!

I was in Chicago on vacation when this box arrived, so I had to wait almost a week before I was able to open it. Longest I've had to wait so far!

Anyways, you can watch the unboxing video on YouTube here. Please like and subscribe :)

Only one picture this time:

November 2013 Conscious Box

And everything I received in my box:

YogaVive - Apple Chips (chocolate)
Fiddlebump's - Healing Salve
Abike Natural - Black Soap (alata)
Ivre de Fleurs - Lip Balm (blood orange & juniper)
Harmony Acres - Soap Bar (happy face)
Mighty Leaf Tea - Tea (earl grey, mint mélange, spring jasmine)
MRM - Relax-All with Phenibut
Better Botanicals - Eye Therapy (apricot)
Rebootizer - Dietary Supplement
Information Card and Coupon Code for Align Your Life Program
Information Card and Coupon Code for Postography

As always, once I eat/drink/use these products, I'll post a review here on my blog, so stay tuned!

If you want to get your own monthly Conscious Box, you can sign up here.

~Lindsay

P.S. Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! ^_^

October 2013 Conscious Box

Sorry it's taken this long to do, but I've been busy with an internship. Finally had time though today to edit the video. So, without further ado, here's my post on my October Conscious Box.

The video, which just finished uploading, can be found here. Please like the video after you've watched :)

As per usual, here's a few pictures of this month's (or rather last month's) box:

It was a Halloween theme ;)

This month's message

Everything I got :)

And here's the list:

PopChips - Chips (original potato)
Goddess Garden Organics - Lotion (grapefruit bergamot)
Eat Green Tea - Edible Green Tea
Outer Spice - Spice Blend (himalayan sea salt)
Gardenbar - Bar (italian savory)
Wean Green - Snack Cube (blueberry)
CrumCreek - Mini-Breadsticks
The Honest Company - Shampoo + Body Wash
Auroshikha - Incense (frankincense)
Information Card on Goddess Garden Organics (with coupon code)
Information Card on Outer Spice (with recipe ideas and coupon code)
BioBag - Compostable Waste Bags

Once I eat and use these products, I'll write up a review then post it here on my blog. Stay tuned!

And if you want to sign up for your own Conscious Box, you can do so here :)

~Lindsay

Review: Parma! Cheese (and Eco-Gecko Wooden Spoon)

I was looking forward to this the most in July's Conscious Box as I didn't like the taste of Go Veggie's Parmesan cheese (you can read that review here).

Cheese and spoon, perfect fit!

Although this one didn't taste or look like dairy Parmesan cheese, I actually sort of liked it. The fact that it only has 5 ingredients (organic walnuts, nutritional yeast, organic sunflower seeds, organic hemp seeds, and Himalayan salt) was a very nice bonus (smaller ingredient list, the better in most cases).

Since the sample came in a small plastic bag (instead of some kind of shaker, like with Go Veggie's sample), I figured I should use a spoon, otherwise it'll all come out at once. So, I decided to use the Eco-Gecko wooden spoon included in the same month's box. The small spoon worked well for the small bag. Now that I've used up the entire sample, I'm not sure what I'll use the spoon for as it's quite tiny. For now, it will stay in my cupboard until I can find a use for it.

Parma on my pasta :)

As for the "Parmesan cheese", the sample was used up after just a few plates of pasta. Since I liked the health benefits (omega 3's, B12, protein) and the taste wasn't bad at all (I'm sure after awhile, I'll actually prefer it over the dairy version), I decided to buy a full bottle of it (my first time actually buying a product after sampling it from one of the monthly boxes!). I looked on all the sites that sold it and found that the cheapest (including shipping) was on Amazon (not to mention I have an Amazon Visa card, so triple the points).

7oz bottle

Nutritional facts

Once I finished my last bottle of dairy Parmesan cheese, I started to use Parma! cheese (in conjunction with finishing up Go Veggie's Parmesan cheese, which I still have some left!). I'm about to open my third bottle Parma cheese. This is definitely a winner in my books for an alternative to Parmesan cheese, even though it doesn't taste cheesy at all. I highly recommend it!

~Lindsay

Review: Organic Flavrz (Revive)

So, I finally got around to trying one of these flavored drink mixes from my very first, June Conscious Box. I was at home working one day when I got thirsty, but wanted something a little more exciting than just plain water. So, I filled up my Blender bottle with water, then dumped in the entire contents of the Revive, Superfruit Sports Drink mix, and then shook the bottle to mix it together.

Front of the drink mix

Back of the drink mix

Close-up of the back

Maybe it's some kind of placebo effect, but knowing that it's vegan, organic, and non-toxic (compared to like Vitamin Water), it tasted so yummy! I'm excited now to try out the other flavors I got.

All mixed together

Added some ice to make it colder

I can definitely see myself buying these in the future :) Two thumbs up, I definitely recommend it!

~Lindsay

September 2013 Conscious Box

Last Monday, my September Conscious Box arrived. You can view the unboxing video here. Please like the video and subscribe :)

A few pictures:

Inside the first flap...

The little card posted on the second flap

Everything inside

And here's the list of everything I got:

Sticker and Coupon Code for All 'Bout Trees

Good Boy Organics - Potato Chips (sea salt)

Squarebar - Bar (cocoa crunch)

Loads of Love - Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent

Coastal Scents - Soap Bar (african black)

GreenShield - Laundry Detergent

Zabana Essentials - Soap Bar (pomelo patchouli)

K-Pax - Energy Booster x5

Celestial Seasonings - Herbal Tea (goodnight grape)

Aquatowel - Water-Based Hand Towel

BioBag - Compostable Sandwich Bag

Information Card and Coupon Code for Blade Buddy

Information Card on Sustainable Kidz eBooks

Information Card on GreenShield Products

According to my packing list, that sandwich bag (which initially I seemed to be confused about in the video) wasn't listed. There was also an item listed that I didn't receive in my box (it was baby wipes though and I don't have a baby, so no big deal, lol). So, not sure what happened this month! Previously, I always had the exact items as the packing list found online. Oh well, not a big deal at all for me.

Once I eat, drink, use these products, I'll post a review up, so keep an eye out!

If you'd like to sign up for your own monthly Conscious Box, you can do so here.

~Lindsay

August 2013 Conscious Box

Sorry this took so long to put together and post! I've been quite busy as of late, but finally had some time today :)

Without further ado, you can see my August 2013 Conscious Box unboxing video here. Please like and subscribe :)

And here's a few pictures:

Conscioux Box, first flap opened

Conscioux Box, second flap opened

Conscioux Box, everything I got

And here's the list of everything I got inside:

Postcard
MRM - Veggie Protein Mix (Chocolate)
Barbara's - Snackimals Cereal (Vanilla Blast)
Aroma Naturals - Candle (Citronella Plus)
Acure - Moroccan Oil
Goody Good Stuff - Sour Fruit Salad
Barney Butter - Almond Butter
Simplecare Products - DIY Face Mask and Conditioning Oil
Quick Response Seeds - Heirloom Seeds (Immunity Garden)
Glu6 - Craft Paste
Doctor's Best - Suntheanine L-theanine Supplements
Smock - Stationary Card and Envelope
$1 Off Almond Butter Coupon
Contest Card for Barbara's Snackimals Cereal

Once I eat/drink/use these products, I'll be sure to post a review, so stay tuned!

If you'd like to sign up for your own Conscious Box, you can do so here :)

~Lindsay

Review: Skout Bar (Apple & Cinnamon)

This was the second Skout bar I had received in my first Conscious Box. You can find the review of the first one here.

Skout Bar, apple and cinnamon

So, the second flavor I received was apple and cinnamon. Comparing the two bars, I definitely preferred this one over the cherry and vanilla. Something about those chewy dried cherries (or whatever it was that was chewy) just threw me off. Although this second bar was also chewy, it was definitely not like the previous one.

Skout bar, unwrapped

Even though I did like this flavor more, I don't think I'll be buying these in the future as I still didn't "love" it. Perhaps I'll get another flavor in a future box that I will love. Only time will tell...

~Lindsay

July 2013 Conscious Box

My July 2013 Conscious Box arrived this morning!

If you want to watch the unboxing video, I just finished uploading it to YouTube. You can find it here. Please watch and like the video. And subscribe for future videos ;)

And here's just a few pictures I took after making the video:

First flap open...

Second flap open. Theme was fireworks :)

Everything I received in my box

Here's what I received (in order presented in the video):

Information Pamphlet
Postcard
Similasan - Computer Eye Relief
Blossom Organics - Moisturizing Lubricant
Ultima Replenisher - Electrolyte Powder (Lemonade)
Hydration Factor - Drink Mix (Citrus)
Good Nature - Fruit Tea (Cranberry)
Parma! - Vegan Cheese [Review here]
Beanfields - Bean & Rice Chips (Salt N' Pepper)
Herbamare - Sea Salt (with $1 off coupon)
Organic Flavrz - Drink Mix (Fruit Punch)
Organic Flavrz - Drink Mix (Superfruit) [Review here]
Stash - Herbal Tea (Lavender-Tulsi)
Stash - Herbal Tea (Chocolate Orange)
Last Round - Hangover Support
Bambooee - Reusable Bamboo Towel
Eco-Gecko - Reusable Wooden Spoon [Review here]
15% Off Voucher on True Natural Self-Tanning Lotions
$20 Voucher for Mineral Hygienics

And of course, if you want to subscribe to get your own Conscious Box, you can do so here. As with my previous two monthly boxes, once I eat/drink/use the product, I'll post a review here on my blog :)

~Lindsay

Review: Skout Bar (Cherry & Vanilla)

Another bar from my Conscious Box that I brought to work. This one was definitely chewier than the Larabar I tried.

Skout bar, cherry and vanilla

Similar to the previous bar though, I didn't like the taste. I only ate half during my break at work, but, as before, I managed to finish it over the next few days. Hopefully the second Skout bar I received (apple and cinnamon) will fare better...

Skout bar, unwrapped

~Lindsay

Review: Larabar (Peanut Butter)

I decided to bring my Larabar from my Conscious Box with me to work so I can eat it while on my break. I was a little nervous as I'm not a huge peanut butter fan. I actually can't remember the last time I had any!

Larabar Alt peanut butter bar

I only managed to eat half of the bar as the peanut butter was a little too overwhelming for me. I'm sure it tastes great to others though who actually enjoy peanut butter.

Larabar unwrapped

Although I finished the rest of the bar later over the next few days, if I were to buy one of the Larabars in the future, it wouldn't be this flavor! I did enjoy the texture though and all the nutrition packed into such a tiny bar :)

~Lindsay

Monthly Subscription Boxes

Last month or so, I came across a couple of vegan monthly subscription boxes. If you haven't heard about these, it's basically a box that comes monthly to your door, loaded with different products inside for you to eat/drink/use. The products can be food, supplements, personal/beauty care items, etc etc.

After searching around, I came down to two that I liked: Conscious Box and Vegan Cuts' Snack Box. Earlier this month, I signed up for the Conscious Box. I was originally just planning on getting one of them, but soon found myself subscribing to Vegan Cuts' box as well about a week later.

My Conscious Box arrived last Saturday and my Vegan Cuts Snack Box just arrived today. Now that I've received both, I can give an overview of both, as well as a comparison.

Conscious Box

They have a couple different tiers for subscription, and the higher you go, the more money you save. Here's their present system:

One month - $19.95

Three months - $56.85 (save $3)

Six months - $107.70 (save $12)

One year - $203.40 (save $36)

Since this was my first box, I decided to just get the monthly subscription, to see if I'd even like it. Another thing with Conscious Box is that you get to choose a "diet" option: vegan, gluten-free, or simply none (called their "classic" box). I went with their vegan option, obviously.

One thing I noticed right away about Conscious Box is that they award points for every month you're subscribed to a box, as well as answering polls, reviewing products, etc. You can these use these points to redeem as cash for the products they sell. Those products being the ones sent out in the boxes. So, it's a nice little deal.

Looking at their Facebook page, they also seem to run a lot of contests for free months, or other free gifts. They definitely seem to have a strong social media presence, which I like.

For more information about them, visit their website here.

Now, onto the box itself!

Conscious Box

I didn't realise how TINY this thing would be. As a comparison, here's the box on top of a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper:

Conscious Box on top of a piece of paper

But, don't fret about the size. There was PLENTY of stuff packed into this tiny little box! After opening the flap, I realised this was a box within a box.

First flap opened

Time to open the second flap...

I really liked this idea as I was worried that if for whatever reason, the outer box would be damaged, then it could affect the products inside. This gives it a little more protection :)

Upon opening the second flap...

Second flap opened

Beneath the tissue paper

I just have to say, I was blown away by the beautiful packaging of this little box. Not only the box within a box, but also how wonderful something as simple as tissue paper can be.

Here's everything that was inside:

Everything inside my Conscious Box

Like I said, there was a LOT of stuff packed in this tiny box. And let me tell you, it has to be put in JUST right for it to all fit. It took me a couple attempts to get it all back in so the two flaps could close again! If you want to see the products closer up, click on the above picture to maximize it, so you could see more detail. If you have questions about specific products, just comment below and I'd be glad to answer.

Here's the list of what I got (roughly in the same order as when I originally went through the box):

Information Card on Conscious Box

Information Card about Included Products

Postcard

Information Card on Amanda Russell

Beanfields - Bean & Rice Chips (Seasalt)

Skout - Bar (Cherry and Vanilla) [Review here]

Skout - Bar (Apple and Cinnamon) [Review here]

Larabar - Alt Bar (Peanut Butter Cookie) [Review here]

Nature's Baby Organics - Shampoo and Body Wash (Vanilla Tangerine)

Son for Men - After Shave Gel

Lotus Moon - Lotion (Hibiscus Flower) x2

Organic Flavrz - Drink Mix (Citrus Hibiscus)

Organic Flavrz - Drink Mix (Superfruit) [Review here]

Herbal Zap! - Herbal Supplement

Mountain Green - Laundry Detergent (Lavender)

Me & The Girls - 3-in-1 Beauty Bar

$50 Naked Wine Gift Card

Thank-You Card

$25 Voucher for Paper Culture

I haven't yet tried anything from this box, but as soon as I do, I plan to do a mini review on each, so stay tuned!

Overall, I think I got some really great products. I might not use everything (for example, the wine gift card, as I'm not fond of wine, plus it seems that they don't cater to South Dakota, where I'm located), but I'll try to use as much as I can, to get my money's worth and all.

Vegan Cuts Snack Box

Onto the next box!

As I said earlier, I wasn't planning on getting this box, but that changed rather quickly when Vegan Cuts posted on their Facebook page a sneak peak of one item coming in the June box: dairy-free grated parmesan cheese. I had actually been looking into this very item as I'm still using regular cheese, full of dairy which I want to cut out. So, as soon as I saw this, I signed up to Vegan Cuts a few hours later.

Unlike Conscious Box, they don't have multiple plans to subscribe to. It's simply a month by month basis, for $19.95. You can check it out here. No options with these boxes. All products are automatically vegan, and from what I've seen from my first box, a lot were gluten-free as well.

Yesterday, I got an email from Vegan Cuts informing me that they've got a little contest going on where you have a chance to win your next 3 boxes free. How to enter? Make an unboxing video! So, since I like free stuff, decided to go for it.

Without further ado, you can watch my unboxing video uploaded to YouTube here. Please give my video a thumbs up! I'd appreciate it :)

And here's a picture of everything I got in my box:

Everything inside my Vegan Cuts box

Here's the list of everything I got inside (in the order presented in the video):

Beanfields - Bean & Rice Chips (Nacho) [Review here]

Snapz - Grilled Zucchini Slices

Go Veggie! - Grated Parmesan Topping [Review here]

The Good Bean - Sweet Cinnamon Chickpea Snacks

Ultima Replenisher - Electrolyte Powder (Grape)

MacroLife Naturals - Macro Greens

Michy's - Cookie (Cran Rustica) [Review here]

The Fanciful Fox - Lip Balm (Peanut Butter)

Salba - Chia Seeds

Graw Bar - Bar (Banana Coconut) [Review here]

Information Card

Coupon for Go Veggie!

Coupon for Califia Almond Milk [Review here]

Magazine Cover Card of Naked Food

I just wanted to note something. Although this box was tiny also (seriously, when I first imagined a monthly subscription box, I was thinking it'd be HUGE), it was about 3 times bigger than the Conscious Box. You can tell by the amount (and the size) of products I got.

As with the Conscious Box, once I try something, I'll review it.

Summary

Both boxes have pros and cons. I think the Conscious Box was lot more pleasing to the eye; the presentation was absolutely superb. On the other hand, although the Vegan Cuts came in a simple USPS Priority Mail box, it was also much larger, thus packed with more full-sized products inside.

The Conscious Box has more of a variety of products (which I completely knew before hand, but wanted to mention this). They not only include food, but also personal/beauty care items, whereas Vegan Cuts is primarily food.

Both included coupons/vouchers.

Right now, only after receiving my first box from both, I can't really say there's a "winner". But, we'll see how the following months' boxes go. Thankfully, $40 isn't too bad per month for the two boxes as I am getting a variety of products to consume and use!

So, stay tuned for next month's review of both boxes, as well as the reviews for all the products included in this month's boxes!

Does anyone here subscribe to one of the above boxes, or even a different monthly box? Tell me in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you! :)

~Lindsay