REVIEW | Bodymonth Box

About a month ago I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to review a new subscription box ... The Bodymonth Box*. This is a unique service in that it caters for both men and women and contains a selection of body care products. Basically, the bits and bobs that you need but very rarely think about treating yourself to. Their tag line is "Work hard, party hard and leave your skin cleansing to us" which I think is a really great idea and for some people I can imagine this being a really helpful subscription box. The prices start at £19/month for a basic box such as the one I've been sent and include a plethora of full-size products. 

As with all subscription box reviews (I've not done one of these for ages!), I will be going through each item and working out the value of the box on the face value. This then can help you decide whether or not you want to subscribe to this service. 

PERFUME SAMPLES

I want to get this out of the way quickly because it's always a pet peeve of mine. I really dislike it when perfume samples are chucked in -UNLESS- they are of a decent size aka, you can get more than one use out of the sample. Unfortunately for me, the only decent sample size was actually a rather masculine 'for him' cologne that has since been given to my boyfriend. I'm not entirely sure why I was sent two female and two male scents when the boxes are supposed to be tailored to male or female anyway. I would understand this if  it was a unisex box but it just seemed a little random in my opinion. 

Because perfume samples such as these can be requested free pretty much anywhere I won't be including any price behind these samples and therefore they will not add to the total value of the box. 

Unbranded Shower Puff - £1.99 (estimated)

This came without a label or brand so I have estimated the price by finding a virtually identical shower puff from Superdrug that comes in at £1.99. I don't really have anything to say about this. It is what it is. Nothing groundbreaking here just a regular ordinary (Swedish meatball... if you get that joke I love you) shower puff. I've had these in the past and they're not my favourite so this has been donated to my boyfriend who now uses it. 

Wilkinson Sword Extra2 Beauty Disposable Razors - £2.55 (now £1.69 at Superdrug)

The inclusion of razors/hair removal was one of this boxes selling points for me. I absolutely HATE buying hair removal products because they are so expensive and it's often something I will be lazy about and use a blunt razor for far longer than I'm happy to admit to. 

But I've got to say, this lets me down a little bit. I was really hoping for a nice razor that would treat my skin right but instead, I was rewarded with disposable razors that are the cheapest of the cheap. I will still use these but they will be travelling razors that I can throw away at the end of a trip.  

7th Heaven Banana & Honey Masque - £1.00

This was something that I was happy to see included. I really rate the Montagne Jeunesse face masks and this one sounds right up my street. When you subscribe to the box you are asked your skin type so I'm happy to see this has been listened to by providing me with a mask suited to Combination Skin. I will look forward to trying this baby out when my face is starting to feel the effects of the cold November air. 

I love... Mango Cheesecake Bath & Shower Creme - £2.99

This is a huge product to open up the box with and I was really pleased to see such a generous product size. I think this is one thing this box does really well. It offers you huge product sizes that will last a good long time. This smells amazing but if you don't like cheesecake you will hate it, it smells exactly  as you would expect Mango Cheesecake to smell. 

Original Source Coconut & Shea Butter Shower Gel - £2.29

Hands down my favourite product from this box. I adore Original Source shower gels and this one has got to be one of my favourite scents. I love coconut in all forms so this is a treat. I also love that Original Source are Vegan, whilst I'm not a Vegan I always prefer to pick up toiletries that are animal-friendly. 

Garnier Ultimate Blends Shampoo Argan & Camellia Oils - £2.79

I find shampoo a risky product to include with any box as everyone has different needs and preferences. I have Oily/bleached hair and a hypersensitive scalp, so this doesn't really do anything for me except make my head itch. Sadly this will be a product that is passed onto my mum as it will suit her hair type much better. I think that if you're going to include a shampoo then there should definitely be a question about what hair type/needs you have to avoid people receiving products that are of no use to them.

Nivea

Powder Touch 48hr Spray Deodorant - £2.29 (now £1.13 in Superdrug)

I'm personally not a huge fan of spray deodorant's but I know that I am in the minority here. This isn't a bad product and certainly fits the brief so I wasn't too disappointed receiving this. It will be an emergency deodorant in case my trusty Mitchum creme stick runs out before I can replace it.

Creme Care Cleansing Cream Wash - £3.59 (now £1.75 in Superdrug)

 I had high hopes for this cleansing cream wash but I'm afraid it left me a little flat. I wouldn't use this as a body wash as it isn't scented and I prefer to use scented body products. It is gentle enough for my face but I just found it a little lacklustre. I have a lot of skincare and I know what works for my skin so this didn't really fill me with joy. But I can again see the appeal if you're not quite as particular about your skin care. It is a good basic face wash and it does what it says on the tin.

Lotion - £2.49 

This is probably my least favourite product of the box. I don't really use body lotions as I favour the richer body butter's from The Body Shop. I did try this out one evening but I just didn't get on with it. I found the lotion to greasy on my skin and it felt like an oily layer was left behind that didn't want to sink into my skin... not pleasant.

As Seen On TV 5 in 1 Beauty Care Massager - £4 (estimated price sourced from Amazon)

This is a product that I was hopeful for but has left me with VERY mixed feelings. Firstly, I should probably address that this is an unbranded product. It claims to be "As seen on TV" but after a quick browse of the website they do not stock this product, so either it's out of production or its a fake. Secondly, both the packaging and quality of this product are flimsy. It's not well made and feels pretty cheap if I'm being honest. The actual heads themselves are okay but they're nothing special. I've only used the brush and the massage ball heads as the two foam style heads and the pumice stone don't particularly appeal to me. I would only use a pumice stone on my heels and I don't really want to use something on my face that has also been used near my feet (does that make sense?) 

The brush head itself is okay. I've used it to cleanse my face in the mornings and I've found it works well enough. However, it is quite harsh on the skin so you wouldn't want to do this daily. The rollerball massage head is fine, it works and I found it massages moisturiser and facial oils into my skin fairly well. Although it's definitely quicker and probably more effective to just do it with your fingertips as you normally would. 

Final Conclusions

All added together the final value of the box is £25.98 which considering I received the £19 box is pretty good value for money. Even after you take out the questionable 5 in 1 beauty care massager it comes to £21.98 so you've still got more than you paid for. However, I do think it's wise to point out that if I was to buy each individual item today (excluding the 5 in 1 beauty care massager) I could get them for £18.12 but as I say that would be without the massager, perfume samples and the complementary Cadbury Milk Tray. 

Overall, I think if you are a student, busy working non-stop or just don't have a huge interest in skincare/body care then this box is absolutely ideal. It is great value for money as I've proven above and I think with the right marketing it could do really really well. 

I would have loved to have seen more "controversial" items in the box. Things like sanitary products in the box marketed for women would have been a welcome inclusion as it's a basic need for people that menstruate and is along the same lines of body care. 

However, I did enjoy this box for what it was, it's a great service to provide you with the basics that are often overlooked and it was a refreshing change from the usual sample boxes. 

You can subscribe for Decembers box here: www.bodymonth.co.uk  

*PR Sample. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. For more details check my Disclaimer*