Resolutions Cravebox Review

Welcome to my first Cravebox review!  Cravebox is "the ultimate product discovery service" that "delivers themed, curated boxes with unique finds relevant to your interests, occasions, activities, and your everyday busy life." (source)  I heard about this subscription service recently, from the beautiful ladies of MakeupTalk.com, and decided to try one when I saw an ad for the Resolutions box. Cravebox is not a regular monthly subscription.  When a new box comes out, you put your name in a lottery.  If your name is chosen, then you are billed and sent a box.  The boxes vary in price between $10-15, and the Resolutions box was $15.  

My box!

I was very happy with this box, and thought it was a great value! Here's a list of the contents:

-CocoaVia Variety Sample Pack

-SunRype Fruitsource Bars in Blueberry Pomegranate (2)

-SunRype Fruitsource Bar in Strawberry

-SunRype Just Fruit & Grain Bar in Summer Berries

-Pantene Silky Moisture Whip

-Celestial Tea Metabo Balance (2 tea bags)

-Perfectly Simple Zone Bar in Peanut Crunch

-A&W "Ten" Rootbeer (1 can)

-7UP "Ten" (1 can)

-Wholly Guacamole chip clip

-Coupon for 1 free Wholly Guacamole item

-Coupon for 1 free Smart Ones item

-Coupon for Celestial Tea and Perfectly Simple bars

-Mary Kay Timewise Repair Eye Renewal Cream (*missing from my box!)

The one thing I'm not liking about Cravebox is that they didn't include a packing list of what was supposed to be in the box.  I didn't realize the Mary Kay item was missing until I uploaded a picture of my box to MakeupTalk and people started asking where my Mary Kay eye cream was! 

However, I emailed Cravebox about the missing item and they replied within one day, apologizing for the mistake and promising to ship out a replacement.  Having worked in customer service, I always appreciate it when a company takes responsibility for their mistake and offers an immediate solution.  I'm very impressed with their response and as long as I receive the replacement in a timely manner, I'll definitely continue buying these boxes!  The eye cream alone is worth $40, well over twice the cost of the box, and that was just one item.  EDIT 1/19/13 - Cravebox sent me my eyecream!  They shipped it out in a little box, and it got to me on Thursday (1/17/13).  Those who know me, know that I don't use anti-aging creams, so why was I so adamant about receiving it? Because I hopped right onto MakeupTalk.com and traded that sucker for an item I've been wanting!  That's right, a Mary-Lou Manizer from the December Birchbox is headed my way!  I'll review it when I get it.  But I wanted all of you to know that Cravebox is wonderful and legit about getting missing items out.  Fantastic Customer Service! Yay!

Here's my take on the rest of the box.

Mary Kay brochure and Pantene Silky Moisture Whip 

I'm excited to try the Pantene Silky Moisture Whip.  My hair is naturally wavy/frizzy, and after I had my kids, a LOT of my hair fell out.  It's been growing back, but my "new" hair is much more prone to breakage.  Ergo, now I have frizzy hair with a lot of flyaways.  Hooray!  This product promises to moisturize my hair, protect it from heat styling, and make my hair shiny and silky.  If this product does anything that will stop me from looking at my hair in the mirror, sighing, and throwing it up into a ponytail yet again, I'm sold. I'll let you all know if I like it!

7Up 10 and A&W Root Beer 10

These are, I'm guessing, the newest compromise in diet sodas.  Not calorie-free, but not full-calorie?  I'm confused by the ten calories.  But we'll see how they taste.  We don't normally drink soda, and I never buy it, so this will be a special treat for the kids.  Knight has already staked out the root beer, and I'll let Dragon try the 7Up, but given his unshakable milk addiction, I think I'll end up with most of it.  This is probably not something I'd purchase again, but it'll be a great treat for a Friday afternoon.

CocoaVia Supplements, Celestial Tea Metabo, and a
SunRype FruitSource bar

 I can't wait to try the CocoaVia!  I've never heard of this brand before, which is why I like subscription boxes so much.  CocoaVia uses cocoa flavanols to create dietary supplements that (they say) promote healthy circulation.  While they have done studies to support this claim, of course supplements are not subject to FDA regulation, which means they can technically claim whatever they want.  They sent me the Variety Sample Pack, with 4 single-serve packets.  The Sweetened and Unsweetened Dark Chocolate flavors are supposed to be added to milk or coffee, or oatmeal, while the Cran-Rasberry and Summer Citrus can be added to water, smoothies, or yogurt.  I'm definitely either using these for myself or giving them to my hubby to try.  You should never give dietary supplements of any kind to children without consulting their physician first.

The Celestial Tea sample is the "Metabo Balance" flavor.  Apparently there will be a "refreshing tropical grapefruit flavor".  No offense to Celestial Tea, but I hate grapefruit.  I will try this, but the tropical better outweigh the grapefruit by a long shot for me to enjoy it.

And then we come to the SunRype fruit bars.  Knight and I split a Blueberry Pomegranate bar last night, and we both looked at each other and said "Ew!" after the first bite.  It has the consistency of really, really thick fruit leather, and it stuck to our teeth.  It also didn't taste very good.  I then tried the Fruit & Grain bar, and it was even worse.  Fruit leather with oatmeal stuck in at random intervals. Gross! Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad I had the opportunity to try these.  That way, when I see them at a grocery store and think they look good for an on-the-go snack, I already know that the kids and I won't like them, and I won't waste my money buying an entire box!

Coupons!

 And lastly, the coupons.  One was for a free Wholly Guacamole item, and I'm so stoked!  I love their guacamole!  There was also a coupon for a free Smart Ones item.  Smart Ones are "healthy" frozen meals.  I generally don't buy these, because of all the preservatives and sodium, but I'll look for a good one to try and let you know how it goes.  There were also coupons for Celestial Tea ($0.75 off one box) and Perfectly Simple bars ($1.00 off one box).  There was a note from Cravebox about the Resolutions box, which would have been the perfect place for a packing list! Am I right?  Oh, well.  There was one more item in the box - a Wholly Guacamole Chip Clip!  It's so cute, and seriously, who doesn't need another chip clip?  

Overall, I was pleased with this box.  Once I receive the Mary Kay eye cream, I'll definitely order again.  They have a "Beautiful by You" craft box coming up that looks awesome!  I hope you enjoyed this review.  I paid for the box myself, and Cravebox did not ask me to review it or provide any compensation.

Want a Cravebox of your own? Click this link and sign up! I'd love it if you put my username (amagicalmom) in the Referred By box in the About Me section of your Profile.  That gets me points towards a free box! And you know me... I love free stuff!