Tuesday, November 20, 2012

November Conscious Box Review

I was really excited to receive my November Conscious Box because they advertised on Facebook that it would be packed with lots of items, from beauty products and balms to bamboo toothbrushes.  So to my dismay, I opened up my box and found that it contained none of those things: it only contained food items.  After an email to their customer service department, I learned that there was a mix-up where their marketing person confused the packing lists and that all of those fun items were actually only in the vegan box, to which I'm not subscribed.


November marked Conscious Box's one-year anniversary, so I had high hopes for this box.  I have to be honest and say that I was really disappointed with what it turned out to be.  I've mentioned in past posts that sometimes they'll have boxes that are mostly food, which is fine every few months or so, but I've noticed that recently there have been more food items than anything else.  I actually sent them on email to cancel since I figured that by now I've seen all that CB has to offer, but they convinced me to stick around for December.


But aside from that, Conscious Box has been one of my favorite subscription services.  They've had some hiccups recently with political posts on their Facebook, shipping delays (mostly USPS's fault), and recalled items, but overall I still enjoy them.  I'm also getting the hang of video unboxings, check it out below (and please subscribe!):



If you'd rather read than watch, keep scrolling.



  • Simply Organic Minced Onion - I was craving a cheesy snack the other night, so I sprinkled some of this onto some garlic bread I made.  It was good.  Pretty standard onion, but good.
  • SweetLeaf Sweet Drops Sweetener in Vanilla Creme - No matter how hard I try, I do not like stevia (or any sweetener that isn't sugar, for that matter).  This is a liquid stevia product and it didn't have a terrible flavor, and I'm sure it would be really yummy to those who like stevia, but I just don't like the weird aftertaste I get from these types of products.
  • Justin's Organic Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups - These little guys caused some controversy!  Some people (myself included) received items that were included in a recall of Justin's products for potential salmonella exposure.  I'm not mad at CB about it, nor do I care to have them send me a replacement.  It's not worth making them pay the postage; I know I can pick these up at my local grocery store so I'll grab some the next time I'm out.


  • Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix - This mix is gluten-free and contains 8 grams of whole grains per serving (the package itself is one serving).  I love pancakes and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how this tastes.
  • Lush Nuts in Dark Cocoa Chili - I haven't tried these yet but I think they're going to be delicious.  They're chocolate-coated peanuts, and I love when dark chocolate is paired with chili.
  • Teeccino Herbal Coffee - There were three Teeccino products total, but the one in this photo is a bag of the 75% Organic Mocha flavor.  I don't really understand what this is supposed to do -- it's "naturally caffeine free," but is supposed to replace coffee.  I drink coffee for the caffeine, so I'm hoping that this gives me the same boost.  Oh well, I'm willing to try it.


  • Freekeh Grains - How fun is that to say?  According to their package, it's pronounced "free-kah."  I've never heard of this grain before, but apparently it's similar to quinoa.  I'm not in love with quinoa but I'm willing to try this.  It's the Tamari variety.
  • L'Ecuyer's Gourmet Caveman Rub - This rub sounds suuuuper yummy.  I'll probably put it on some chicken.
  • Organic India Tulsi Tea - There were two packets inside, one Green Tea and one Original.  I'm up to my ears in tea, so whenever I get more it doesn't really stand out to me anymore.
  • Bloomers! Snow Peas Seeds - The packaging on these is so cute.  I'm going to save these for if I ever start a vegetable garden.  I keep saying I want to, but I just never end up doing it.


  • Teeccino - Lastly, we have the other two Teeccino packets.  One is Hazelnut and the other is French Roast.  These are in tea bag form, which is interesting.  Also USDA organic.
Bottom Line: In the past I've said that I never planned to cancel my Conscious Box subscription, but recent boxes have only been so-so.  If December's really blows me away I might stay on for a few more months, but as of right now I plan to go on a hiatus after December to try out other services.  November's box didn't have the variety I was hoping for, but my past boxes and interactions with customer service have been great.

*Disclaimer: I purchased this box with my own money and was not asked to review it.  I was not compensated for this post in any way and the honest opinions here are entirely my own.

5 comments:

  1. I got the vegan box. thanks for the video was curious what came in the non vegan box.

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  2. the vegan box this month was really great. and so was last month's. maybe you could switch? it seems they seem to be picked out with more care.

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    1. I'm so jealous of the vegan subscribers this month! Switching might be a good idea, I haven't thus far because I usually don't care for vegan foods (soy, etc) but if they keep getting better maybe I will.

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  3. I actually really liked the November box -- I'm liking conscious box more consistently than eco emi right now. The teeccino is really good, I try to stay away from caffeine so they're perfect for me and they taste just like coffee.

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