My Review of the August OOTB Sampler

One major perk of sending in 100 samples to the Out of the Box Sampler is that you're gifted one of the standard sized boxes. :D Mine came on Monday and I couldn't wait to tear into it. The following is my thoughts and reactions to the goodies inside.

Please note: I am brutally honest. If someone takes offense to that, I'm sorry. If anything I'd rather you walked away with thoughts on how to improve and really wow people next time. I have not been compensated for this, these are my own, stubborn thoughts.

Part of the fun is just opening the Priority Mail box to see how Michelle dressed up the boxes this time. Seeing as this month's theme was Sand in Your Shorts, I expected thoughts of beaches...and she didn't disappoint.

One pretty box and the separate food stuffs

First peek inside the box!

As always, there was a treasure trove of goodies awaiting me inside. Soaps, candles, and other treats all nestled together. I always love seeing the care that most companies put into their packaging and choosing something to match the theme. Yes, I said most...some I look at and go 'this is great, but what does it have to do with the theme? Nothing? Sigh.' Anyway, back to the goodies!

Food stuffs...yum!

Sneaky Cakes sent a delicious-smelling spice rub and Kline Farm was back again, this time with honey sticks. This is the only evidence I have that there were honey sticks...soon as my husband saw them, they were GONE! Only problem here was that the rub had a slight leakage problem in mine. No problem, nothing was ruined and that's why the food is packaged separately.

I separated everything out as I went and the piles wound up like this:

Bath Goodies

Tart Warmer Candles

Paper Crafting Goods (no, I did not get my own card)

Other; earrings from Kyote's Kreations

Overall, a very nice box of goodies. I still have more soaps than I know what to do with (I'm not even through the ones I got in June & July!) but at least I don't have to buy any for a while, right? ;)

There were, however, some items that I found disappointing. First and foremost, the sample from Lost Lemonade.

Ok, I give up...what IS it??

I have no idea what it IS! I'm surmising that it's a bath product as that's what the label says they make, but what IS IT?!? Yes, obviously I can go online and find out from their store, but why should I have to? A little label on top telling me what to do with it would go a long way. I did browse their store; looks like it might be the tea foot soak.

Here's what I consider the other disappointments, for various reasons:

My personal offenders list

Lost Lemonade is in there for not describing what their product is. Recherche I found guilty of the same thing, though I do believe it's soap. I also have no idea how it's beach related. Queen Vanna's Creations and Creations by Johnny Leigh also weren't beach related and I thought Better Body Better You was pushing it with the foot detox. Creations by Johnny Leigh sent the quilled photo mat, and honestly, I find it poorly done. If I saw it at a craft show, I wouldn't buy it. Queen Vanna & Better Body Better You also disappointed me further; these are the exact same samples that were in my box from them last month. I would have liked them to send something new for me to get excited about.

Ok, enough about the items that bummed me. Everything else I'm excited to try, and I really adored the packaging and creativity on these:

Soap wrapped like taffy, pretty packaging, and watermelon soap!

I love it when people get creative. :)

There are two different boxes to buy next month - the Think Pink box and the Golden Ticket, both of which have portions donated to charities. I'm not in those personally, but I'll be back again in October for the Halloween box! There are still a few boxes available this month if you want one of your own!

Until next time,