Bluum Box Review: Strong Hands October 2013

This is my second box since deciding to try Bluum. Bluum‘s pricing is very similar to Citrus Lane, at $25 per box on a month to month basis, $23 per month for a three month subscription (less than CL), $21 per month for a six month subscription (the same as CL), and even less than that for a one year subscription. Also of note is that Bluum offers more ways to earn rewards and free boxes than Citrus Lane does (which is why I’m on the month to month plan at the moment, hoping to earn a free box!). I’m still pretty impressed with the box. I was told that Bluum would primarily send samples, but I believe it to be of phenomenal value.

My box this month was the Strong Hands box for fourteen month olds.

1. Slide and Sleek Safari from Melissa and Doug
Price: $5.99
Status: Pretty Great
Comments: We already have a few of these little wooden toys from Melissa and Doug, and they are all sweet. Baby Girl already likes it, but she’s a great problem solver, and something a little more advanced would have been nice.

2. Calming Cream from Circle of Friends Organics
Price: $14.40
Status: Meh
Comments: Second month in a row I’ve gotten an eczema friendly lotion in my bluum box. Definitely don’t need any more of these! I’m not familiar with the brand, but it certainly seems expensive.

3. Spill-Proof Cup from Lansinoh Momma
Price: $10.00
Status: Meh
Comments: Baby Girl is pretty obsessed with her Nuby cups, so I’m not sure we’ll get any use out of this one. The fact that it rocks on it’s bottom is interesting, but so far also annoying, as I can’t seem to set it down anywhere without being careful to set it on the tiny platform or letting it roll away!

4.  My Little Counting Bookby Priddy Books
Price: $12.99
Status: Meh
Comments: I have no picture on this one, and the price is just a guess, as I couldn’t find it on the Priddy Books website. It’s an okay book of okay quality, but definitely not the best book I’ve ever gotten in a subscription box. I feel like it’s something you could get at a discount store.

5. Carrot Cake Luna Bar by Luna Bar
Price: $1.25 each (sold in a box of 15)
Status: Interesting
Comments: I got a Luna fiber bar in my Bluum box last month, and it was a lifesaver when I was at work. I have yet to purchase any on my own, but I’m eager to try this!

6. Toddler Meal Bowl from Happy Family Brands
Price: $6.69 (Amazon)
Status: Not cool
Comments: I’m usually thrilled to get baby food in these boxes, now that Baby Girl is learning new flavors, and the things I make don’t always satisfy her tastebuds. Unfortunately, we are a vegetarian household, and they sent me the bowl with chicken in it. There is only one vegetarian option in this item, so I’m not surprised that we didn’t receive it. I guess I’ll be giving this one to my nephew…too bad.

Also included: A 50 cent coupon for more Luna Bars. May or may not be useful.

So was it worth it? I think so. The total value of the box was $51.32 (not nearly as good or impressive as last month’s box, but still alright), compared to a $25 purchase price. Even if you subtract things that I will probably regift, the value was still more than $30. We’ll see if the quality stays good, and if next month I get some different brands, as this month had many of the same ones as last month.

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Citrus Lane Review: June 2013

It’s that time of the month again! Time to review another Citrus Lane box and see if it was worth it’s purchase price!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how Citrus Lane works, it is a subscription service that sends you age appropriate items for your child aged 0-5 years every month. The cost of the subscription depends on how long you are willing to commit to. For month to month or three month subscriptions, your cost is $25.00 per month, while it goes down to $21.00 per month if you sign up for a six month or one year subscription. To personalize the box, you choose the child’s age and gender (or neutral) and receive items appropriate to those selections.

In my reviews, I can only review what my daughter receives in her box. I will always tell you what my age and gender selections were, give you a description of the items, what I think of them, pricing, etc.

This month my daughter received an eleven month old box with a neutral gender selection.

1. Sun Protection Hat from iPlay
Price: $12.00
Status: Useful
Comments: This is one of those times when I’m really glad I designated gender neutral. I received a solid white hat, but there are many colors and patterns offered, and I’m sure had I chosen one gender or the other we would have ended up with one of those. We already had a sun hat, but this one is sized larger with a larger brim, so there’s a good chance we’ll be able to use it next summer when the one I purchased back in May has been retired. It’s also always a good idea to have spares of certain things. As far as the company as a whole, we own a few iPlay brand items, and we are pretty happy with them overall. I wish they were a little sturdier (one of the swim diapers I purchased started to lose it’s elastic casing after only one wash), but they’ve been useful and comfy for baby, so I can’t complain.

2. Water Toy Set from Haba
Price: $6.00 (approximate)
Status: Nothing Special
Comments: It’s times like this that the way Citrus Lane does things can sometimes be a bummer. While the water toys we got were great, both of them are part of a larger set that would have been more fun, and more valuable, to receive as a whole. We received a boat from the Joining Boats set, which is cool, but a little sad when it has no boats to join to, and a squirter octopus from the Water Fun Set, and with the popularity of squirters right now, we have seven of them already in the bathtub, and six of them in just her normal toys that we were talking about putting in her wading pool. The octopus is certainly a cute squirter, it could have been worse, but I don’t feel like it’s anything to be excited about. The reason the price I’ve listed is approximate is because the items I received aren’t available individually, so I guessed at the value based on the price of the full sets. Mild disappointment aside, the toys are of a high quality and will make good wading pool/bath toys.

3. Stage 2 Homestyle Meal from Happy Family
Price: $1.79
Status: Not Useful
Comments: I have to say that I wasn’t thrilled with the size of three out of four of the items in this month’s box. This is another one. I really hate it when they send us a single food pouch. They aren’t worth much value wise, and I make a lot of Baby Girl’s food, so I just keep them in case of emergencies. This one I will be giving away though, as it is made with chicken broth. I’m a vegetarian, and while I’m not going to force that choice on my daughter, I’m also not going to give her meat until she is old enough to ask for it. It’s a personal choice, which coincidentally makes this food pouch useless to me. Maybe my nephew will like it. But what if it wasn’t chicken and she loved it? She would eat that entire thing in one sitting and then it would be gone. I hate that.

4. Sunny Sunscreen SPF35 from Episencial
Price: $8.34 (approximate)
Status: Nothing Special
Comments: I am actually disappointed in this item for a couple of reasons. One is just a little silly, and that is that I was hoping to get some baby sunscreen in last month’s box before it got hot outside. As a consequence, I had already purchased some sunscreen. The other major reason is because I would have been over the moon that this was in the box if it had been a full 2.7 oz. tube. It is not. It is a 2.7 oz. tube filled with only 1.5 oz. and marked as a “Citrus Lane Exclusive”. Annoying. 1.5 oz. of sunscreen certainly doesn’t get you very far. It feels like they’re just trying to bait you into buying more, which annoys me since this box is supposed to be worth $25 or more, and I’ve already purchased Episencial products as a result of trying the ones sent to me by Citrus Lane. This item makes me feel a little gipped to tell the truth. I love Episencial products. I wish they had sent me a full tube.

Final Thoughts:
This may be the most disappointing box I’ve received so far. Usually I receive one item I’m crazy about (or more), one or two nothing specials, and one I’m not a fan of, but the quantity of product in this box left me a little sad. Half a tube of sunscreen? Lonely toys from sets that have been picked a part? A single food pouch? Not exactly impressive.

I should also mention that Citrus Lane did give me the option to purchase additional Episencial products at an additional cost to be added to my box this month at a discount. They do this occasionally. I didn’t take them up on it this month because I didn’t need any of the products they were offering, having already purchased them a couple of months ago from Episencial.

By the Numbers:
Total value of the box items: $28.13
Total value of items I will use: $26.34
Is the value greater than the cost? YES

Just a hint to Citrus Lane, as a loyal customer I think you should know that “value” is not just a game of numbers, but one of perception. While I looked up the dollar value of the items in my box, not everyone will do that, and the perceived value of this box was much lower than the ones we have received in the past. You may be better off splurging on a full tube of sunscreen (or at least putting the 1.5 oz. exclusive in a 1.5 oz. tube rather than a half full 2.7 oz tube with a sticker over the volume…) in terms of building brand loyalty. Just a suggestion.

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