Causebox Intro Box

After Popsugar decided to leave me (sob!) I looked around for a replacement. I don't need one but I enjoy getting things in the mail. The beauty box message board I visit was keen on Causebox and I liked a few of their past boxes. They have a different vibe than Popsugar but I decided to try out a year's subscription (so four boxes) to see how I liked it. 

My first box was the (second?) intro box for the summer season. There was a discount for the box (as it has fewer items than the normal box). It was fast shipping, which I note because it seems to be the main complaint about the box (late shipping). I received the second box fast as well but it's under a few more books I need to photograph, so I'll get to it eventually. 

An annual subscription costs around $200 (with the discount from the first box) and you get to customize the box as you see fit. Doing a season by season deal, it costs around $50 but you don't get to pick your items. They have a general focus of companies or items that are green/"good" for the environment. There has to be a "cause" basically. 

​Overall, I'm quite happy with my first box. I'm keeping four of the items for sure. I gifted one already to a friend and I'm debating on the last to keep or gift (it would make a nice gift). 

Everything seems to be a good quality and arrived well packaged. 

The boxes are different every season, so Summer's box had these roughly sketched out, colorful icon designs. It reminded me a little of Matisse. While I prefer his blue figures overall, he played with color and rough designs a bit that is reminiscent of the design of the box. I doubt this is intentional, I just picked up the box and went "Oh! Shades of Matisse today?" 

The actual artist (not Matisse) has a feature in the pamphlet, which is great. I'm really enjoying that some of my sub boxes are looking at artists to create bookmarks or boxes. 

The booklet included talks about the mission of the subscription box, the cause that they're focusing on, the items included, the artist featured, and other articles about interests. 

For the intro box, there wasn't a choice of items (other than color on the PMD device), so everyone who got this box (#2 I believe) received the same items. 

The artist (with shades of Matisse in my mind only) that decorated the box is Anna Kovecses (website | instagram). Her bio has her listed as a  "contemporary minimalism with an appealing retro-modern illustration style." I think that's a fairly good description. It's not my style of choice, but it's very popular right now and I do love the colors she plays with. I love fun colors with design and decor.  
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The first item was a set of silicone stretch lids. I love these because I have assorted containers and have lost some lids (and some of the bowls don't have any lids). I've only used the big one as of today but it worked quite well. I'm pleased as punch with this item. 

​The company that makes them is called AltCooking Hub and they have some super cute reusable storage bags. I've got a few sets in general (snacks/sandwiches) and then one 1-gallon one. While not from the same company, I'm a big fan of reusable storage bags/cooking bags. 

​The second item was a pink clay konjac sponge from wyld. I have this in my shower (I have a container for konjac storage). I find konjac sponges to be gentle exfoliants about once a week on my face. I use them more frequently on  my arms and upper chest area. 

A hyaluronic acid serum was the third item. I gave this to a friend who desperately wanted hyaluronic acid in her skin care, so I can't say much about it. 

Grace and Stella is a private labeling company that produces their product in China. I don't think they sell it in China so it's not tested by the Chinese government (which tests on animals). I don't know much about the company other than that. They were on Dragon's Den in Canada (aka, the original Shark Tank, Canadian version).

While I haven't used this product, I have used some of their others. They were fine but not outstanding for me as there was some fragrance in the one item I used that was too intense. It probably wasn't intense for a normal person but my head is dumb. 

​The fourth item was a postcard with original artwork. I joined a pen pal group over quarantine and I've been enjoying writing to people from different parts of the U.S. and the world. I would say over the ten people I've written, about four have written back. 

While not my normal art pick, any postcard is a positive as I can use it for the pen pal exchange. 

One of the "big" items was the PMD cleanser. I have the Clarisonic (which has shut down) and a Foreo already. This is closer to the Foreo in method but shaped like the Clarisonic. It's louder than the Foreo and a bit more exuberant with the vibration. 

If you told me PMD made vibrators in their spare time, I'd believe you 100%. The types of vibration and level of output are...familiar. Just saying. 

I will say that it is amazing on my jaw (the trigeminal nerve, which follows the jawline to the ear more or less) after a migraine or right at the tail end. The vibrations seems to confuse the pain signals in my brain. Fun little discovery. 

I don't know if it cleans ~scientifically~ but it does a nice job emulsifying my cleaners and massaging the serums/oils. So that's just fine. This was the item we could customize. I choose the dark blue color. 
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​The last item was a bag from Altru. It has tassels. 

Fucking tassels. 

I don't think it's for sale on their website, but it is available on Poshmark. It's a nice size, not too big or too small. It would be a good size for a farmer's market or small beach outing (drinks, sunscreen, book, wallet, sunglasses, etc.). 
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