Yuzen February - Spring Box Review

I have heard so many amazing things about the Yuzen Box.  Seriously, who wouldn't want a box that sends "Yu" a little "Zen" every few months? (How cute is that name, too?)  This used to be a monthly box, but they just transitioned to offering one box per "season", or every 3 months.  It's a pretty expensive box ($26), so I definitely wasn't going to add it to my monthly rotation.  But, I figure it's a nice splurge every few months.  Yuzen tries to send mostly eco-friendly, organic, and natural products in the boxes, and their goal is to give you things that help you create a quiet moment for yourself.

This is their first quarterly box.  Some people are calling it the February box, some are calling it the Feb-April box, I've heard it's the Spring box... who knows.  But it sure is a box full of awesomeness!

The first thing I absolutely love is that they send the box tied up in a ribbon in a large USPS envelope.  So my first view of the box was this:

I already feel more relaxed

So pretty!  And I'm totally re-using that ribbon for a craft project soon!  Inside, I found a beautiful little note that opened up to show all the products.

Pink and pretty and flowers, oh my!

It was on top of a piece of matching origami paper, also known as "yuzen" paper (noticing a theme here?).  "Yuzen is made by Japanese artisans, and is created using an intricate multi-step process that layers patterns and color." (source)

Once I pulled the note and paper aside, I found the items snugly packed in a white organza drawstring bag, surrounded by tissue paper.

Of course, the most fun is pulling everything out and seeing what we get!  The first item is actually a perfume sample that I've received before from Essence of Vali.  The description is "a warm floral, slightly citrus scent that's sensual and serene at the same time."  Wellll... maybe on someone else.  On me, it's a strong, woodsy cologne-type smell that quickly devolves into a soapy scent.  For a girl that prefers delicate florals, this is so not for me.  However, everyone's body chemistry is different... hopefully I can find a happy home for it!  It's a small sample, and doesn't even have a spray top, so I'm not assigning a value, but the full size (2 oz) retails for $60.

*sigh* not for me!

I was much more excited about this next item!  When I saw the spoiler for these Jane Iredale lippies, I thought we would be getting one of the three items described, but we actually got sample size of all 3!  In yet another adorable organza bag!  This bag is a silvery gray, with a gray and gold ribbon tie.  The Lipdrink is a moisturizer with SPF 15 and a light lemon scent, the Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain goes on clear and adjusts to a pink according to your body chemistry, and the Lip Plumper is a tinted moisturizer in "Tokyo", a sheer red.  Once again, there is no size listed on these, so I can't assign value, but the Lip Drink is $12 on the website, and the Lip Plumper and Just Kissed are $25 each.

I can't wait to try them all!

Next, and just going up the excitement scale, a moisture mask!  I have very dry skin, especially in winter, and this all-natural mask from Juara is made with avocado and banana.  I like that it's a leave-on mask, so it keeps working long after the usual 10-15 minutes you usually get from a face mask.  A full-size 2.8 oz retails for $35, making this .5 oz sample worth $6.25.

Oh, and it smells amazing, too. Yummmmm.

I definitely want to see if the Kneipp Deep Sleep Mineral Bath Salts will actually help me get to sleep faster! I don't like most "sleepy" or "soothing" herbs (chamomile... YUCK) but I don't think I've tried anything with valerian root.  I was very happy to see that they're whirlpool bath friendly, because I am turning on the jets for these! The full-size 17.6 oz retails for $19, making this 2.1 oz sample worth about $2.25.

I wonder if they know how long it's been
 since I've had "a sound night's sleep"

Just in case the bath salts take me too far into dream land, the Espresso Mud Body Scrub form Naturopathica should wake me right up!  I don't drink coffee, but I do know that the smell of it makes me more alert, and there's nothing like a brisk morning exfoliation with "rich ingredients like Coffee Arabica, Indian Sarsaparilla, and volcanic pumice and black silt clay" to get the blood pumpin'! The full size is 5 oz and retails for $32, so this (generous) 2 oz sample is worth $12.80!

Wake up, lazy! Put some coffee on your skin and
GO!

Oh, chocolate... They read my mind and gave me CHOCOLATE! Two chocolate truffle hearts from Nova Monda!  This is an "eco-ethical" treat, and they will be mine, all mine!  Nomz. This 2-truffle pack is available from their website for $4.

GET IN MY BELLY!

I recently got a Blood Orange body butter in an Ipsy bag, and I love the scent.  So I'm definitely loving my new Blood Orange scented candle from Red Flower!  It's such a warm, rich scent that takes me right out of February and straight to a tropical island.  Ahhh, bliss.  This "Little Flower" candle has a 15-hour burn time and retails for $14.

I can't stop smelling it!

And last, Marine Repair Cream from Spa Technologies.  Normally, I don't use anti-aging stuff, but it's mainly because 1) I don't need it yet, and 2) I don't like all the chemicals in them.  This, however, is a botanical product made from seaweed that is free of parabens and petroleum products.  It's also a moisturizer, and I always need those!  So I will try it, and I'm definitely excited to see the wonderful things it's supposed to do for my skin!  There's no size listed, but it's about 1/2 the size of the Juara mask, so I'm declaring it a .25 oz sample.  The full size (2 oz) is $96 (WOW!), so this sample is worth $12.

It smells like citrus, which is definitely not what I was expecting!

This was definitely a decadent treat, and I am absolutely loving that there were all kinds of different products (skincare! makeup! bath! CHOCOLATE!) to try.  The total value of these samples is over $50, not even including the Jane Iredale or Essence of Vali samples, so this box is definitely worth the $26 price tag!  I love that this box now comes out 4 times a year, as I think it will let Yuzen concentrate on including the best of the eco-friendly beauty world.  Over all, I am very pleased with this box!  Yuzen has lived up to my (very high!) expectations.  I am going to have to have an at-home spa day to start using up some of these one-use samples!  Stay tuned for an upcoming "spa" post!

Love, Leigh

Ah, disclaimers.  Yuzen did not ask me to review this subscription, nor was I compensated.  All links go directly to the companies' home pages, there are no affiliate or referral links.  All opinions are completely my own!