FabFitFun Spring 2018 Subscription Box Review

FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription. It puts out one box per season. Boxes have over $200 in value. The items are always full-sized and include products from: beauty, wellness, fashion, and fitness lines. Subscribers can either pay $179.99 for an annual subscription ($20 off when buying 4 boxes up front) or $49.99 for a Seasonal subscription. Shipping is free, but sales tax gets charged (in certain states). There is usually a code to receive $10 off your first seasonal box. Those codes are fffa2p6 or FAB10. Members can select add-ons at deeply discounted prices to include with their boxes. All subscribers get to customize choice options, but only Annual Subscribers (select members) can select colors or designs on select products.

There are box variations. The one I received has a $347 value.

Every box teams with a philanthropic cause. This box supports Girl Rising. Subscribers were also able to donate during the add-on window.

Unless it is your first purchase, you can customize some options. Annual subscribers get to customize four items, and seasonal subscribers get to customize two. First time subscribers get a randomly selected box from the current season or an editor’s box is the seasonal box is sold-out.

Everything comes on top of white crinkle cut paper wrapped in white tissue and is sealed with a sticker. Each box comes with a magazine (using newspaper).

It goes over all the available products available for this box.

There are tips on how to use them, descriptions, and advice. Some products get more magazine space than others, and it is usually the products that need more tips.

The features spotlight the brand, the products, the founders, and more. This issue focused on the creator of the hand bags, Rachel Pally, and the collaborator on the lip palette, Alex Garza. There are other features, but those are the most prominent.

There are 9 full size items and a bonus foil in this box. The bag (which I forgot to include in the picture above but is below) definitely screams spring to me. I can see the lip palette, the light moisturizer, and the nail treatment working well with spring as well. All the other items really work with any season.

All (except new) subscribers got to select between two choice options.

The first choice was between the Ettika Day Dreamer Tassel Earrings ($58) in peach (option 1) or black (option 2) OR

The Maya Brenner Love Bracelet ($65) in white (option 3) or rose (option 4). Those who wanted both could pay $10 to select one color of each item. I do not wear jewelry often enough to pay an extra $10, even for a bracelet worth $65. It is beautiful though.

I actually wore these last night. One of the things I dislike about tassel earrings is they are too heavy. These were not too heavy and looked nice. They did occasionally get caught in my hair, but it was never painful to remove them. My ears did itch as I wore them. They are 24-karat gold-plated, but I might have a slight allergy to whatever metal is underneath the plating. It was nothing too bothersome where I would avoid them in the future.

The second choice was between a 5-pack of KNC Beauty All Natural Collagen in a Zippered Pouch ($25) OR

A 4.23oz KORRES Guava Body Butter ($24). I already own samples of these lip masks from Birchbox and purchased a different scent of the Korres Body Butter from Sephora. There was an option again to pay $10 to receive both of them. Until I try the lip masks, I just could not justify buying more. Even though the body butter I own is a different scent, this is technically different enough for me to select it over the other untried item. This 4.23oz size is not available at most places and seems to only cost $18 at the places it is at. It is possible they used to retail for $24 so I will use the retail price FabFitFun provided for valuation.

I need to get better at reading ingredients before selecting things though. It turns out one of the items inside this body butter is avocado oil. Avocado is a product I usually have trouble with. If I have an allergic reaction to this, I will pass it on.

Annual subscribers got two extra choices.

The first extra choice for annual subscribers was to select a fragrance from the Anderson Lilley Sunset Collection Candle. They come in Super Bloom, Fresh Linen, or Manhattan Beach.

The full-size 8oz Anderson Lilley Sunset Collection Candle retails for $45. This rich copper holder is stunning, and I am definitely going to repurpose it after the candle is gone. It has hand-poured coconut wax blend and a cotton, lead-free wick. That wick aids in allowing the candle to burn evenly. So far, it is burning evenly. A 7-hour burn time seems low for a soy candle, but I am guessing that is a proper estimate based on how much is already gone after two uses. I am not overly impressed with this candle. While it does smell nice when you are very close, there is almost no throw. For the price, there are candles with a much more impressive effect.

Had I chosen, I would have selected the one I received, Fresh Linen. It really smells like fresh linen, too. As a huge fan of the Clean Fresh Linen fragrance and similar scents, this is perfect for me. There is something about fresh laundry that I love. I love it even more when I can get the scent without doing actual laundry.

The second extra choice for annual subscribers was to select a design from the Rachel Pally Reversible Clutch line. They come in Zahara, Bloom, or Paradise.

Once again, I actually was lucky enough to receive the one I would have selected, Bloom. All three are beautiful to me, and I would have been happy with any of them. Bloom just seemed like the most universal. I figured I could carry this with more outfits thanks to the beige backing. When it is fully extended, it is a large bag.

I like it the best when it folds over and only a little of the floral design peeks through. It almost looks like a classic clutch.

When I fold it the other way and the floral design is the star, it looks like a beautiful spring bag. I really like this. It is something I never would have considered purchasing, but I am really happy to have it.

The other items were in every box and there were no more choices.

The full-size 0.48oz ISH Lip Statement Palette retails for $42. As I mentioned in my Beautylish Lucky Bag review, I would never buy a lip palette. That does not mean I am not happy to give them a try.

At 0.04oz per pan, this is like getting 12 mini lipsticks. While lipstick palettes are a pain for on-the-go, I like the idea of creating a custom shade mixing these together. There are so many shades in this that it would probably make a great palette to travel with.

There are 11 pigmented shades and the first shade, which is hard to spot on the far left on the photo, is a tinted lip topper. It adds shine and moisture. The ingredient list is impressive with a lot of moisturizers, but I am unsure if it pertains to all shades or just the topper. I will edit in pictures of me wearing this and my review once I’ve tried it.

The full-size 1.7oz Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion retails for $40. I am always willing to try moisturizers that claim they are lightweight. With my dry skin, they usually do not give me enough moisture though. Despite my dry skin, I do get acne. This claims to help blemish-prone skin, minimize the appearance of pores, refine texture, and sooth rudeness and irritation. Those are all things I’d really like if this moisturizes nicely.

The Physique 57 Massage Roller retails for $20. This reminds me of the massage rollers you see at discount stores, but this one is a lot more sturdy. It comes in blue, grey, orange, and purple. What color each person received was random. I would have preferred the grey one (so it blends into the background more when it is not in use), but getting it in orange does not bother me. I’ve already tried this and think it is okay. While it feels nothing like a real massage, it feels nicer than rubbing some random item on yourself for relief. When my muscles are sore or aching, I will see if this makes me happy. There is no way I would ever use this for the 5-10 minutes it recommends. That is too long to contort my body and even when my ex and I were together, this is not something he would have done for me.

The full-size 0.4oz Dermelect Cosmeceuticals Makeover Concealing Ridge Filler retails for $18. I found this for $11.20 at Ulta marked down from $16. As I do see it elsewhere for the $18 advertised value, I will use that amount for valuation. If you want to buy this though, get it from Ulta on sale. This filler promises to keep nails healthy, smooth, and glossy. The pink hue conceals nail imperfections while treating them with protein, vitamins, and moisture. My swatch spoons are still at my ex’s house. Although I am unsure when I will see my stuff again, I will eventually add a picture of this swatch here and into my Nail Polish Swatches Treatments, Base Coats, and Top Coats article.

The Free People x Understated Leather Starry Eyed Travel Eye Mask retails for $40. Subscribers received one of three shades at random, mint, pink, light gray. Mine is gray. It is vegan leather. This might not have been the best material to make an eye mask from. Granted, it could be amazing, but it does not feel as soft as other eye masks I own. There is a removable, non-toxic cooling insert, which is the first mask I own to combine a sleeping mask with a cooling mask. Those are both masks I enjoy separately so I will probably enjoy that this one has both. The elastic strap is adjustable, which my small head appreciates. I really like the metallic patchwork.

Thanks to the 1oz foil of the Dove exfoliating body polish crushed macadamia & rice milk there were 5 beauty samples in this box. As someone who loves beauty products the most, I appreciate the bonus item. I do not place value on foils, even large ones. FabFitFun must agree, because this freebie is not calculated into the box value. If they ever place a deluxe sample in a box, I place value on those. Granted, I used their price for product valuation even when my research found different pricing so I guess we will see.

I selected 8 add-ons. My total was $76 for $191.46 in value.

The 5oz Whish Almond Shave Cream in a Tube was $7. FabFitFun lists a $16 value, but I cannot find a place that sells the product in a tube to verify the price. Nordstrom sells this size in a bottle for $16. I love Whish Shave Cream. All of the samples I’ve received in the past came in tubes. That never seemed to alter the product and seemed to work the same whether in a tube or a bottle. Based on my inability to find this product in a tube, it might be discontinued. This scent is new to me, but I have not noticed a difference in the shave from fragrance.

The Karuna Brightening+ Face Mask set had 4 sheets for $11. This set retails for $28 at Ulta. I’ve never sampled anything from Karuna, because I could not justify paying $8 for a single sheet mask or buying a set for $7 a sheet without knowing how they work. Paying less than $4 a sheet is my entry to finally try this brand. Starting with a brightening mask is perfect right now, because my skin is not anywhere near as bright as I’d like. That is common for the winter, but spring is just around the corner.

The Bodipure Keratin Gloves and Socks were available for $5. I had never heard of this brand, but $2.50 a treatment for my hands and feet was worth the gamble. FabFitFun lists this with a $9.98 value. This set is available for $3.50 so not knowing anything about the brand resulted in my overpayment for the product. In the future, I will actually research pricing on products I am not familiar with so it does not happen again. If the products are decent, I will not mind that I slightly overpaid.

Another product I had never heard of was the Solefog Shoe Odor Eliminator in Fresh. It was available for $5 with a list price of $10. My oldest son has the worst smelling feet on the planet. I do not even know where he gets it from, because neither his Dad nor I really have that problem. When I saw this, I decided to get it for him. This 1.5oz bottle is very small so I will not purchase it again unless I notice some real results. We’ve already sprayed my son’s shoes twice (once yesterday and once today). The smell does seem lessened, but it was masked more than eliminated. This product promises to kill the odor causing bacteria, and I really hope it starts working soon. Being in the room when my son removes his shoes is awful for everyone, himself included.

When I told my brother about the Solefog Shoe Odor Eliminator I was getting for my son, he asked me to pick one up for him. I selected the Citrus scent, because I already grabbed the Fresh Scent for my son. It was also $5 for a $10 1.5oz product. For those of you thinking maybe my son gets his stinky feet from my brother, you’re wrong. My brother’s feet do not really smell that bad. He just has no clue how bad my son’s smell, thankfully. If this works for my brother, I will let you know. Again, on a stinky scale, his feet are not as bad as my son’s so working on his is not a sign that it can work on the worst odors.

The Living Proof Restore Shampoo & Conditioner Duo includes an 8oz Shampoo and an 8oz Conditioner for $19. These products usually retail for $29 each. Getting both for less than the price of one almost seems too good to be true. While researching pricing, I noticed that Target sells this. I also noticed that Target is not an authorized retailer. It makes me wonder if this is the Target version of this or the legit version on the Living Proof website. After sampling a Living Proof shampoo in February and mistakenly purchasing this thinking it was the same, I would not even know if the product I purchased from FabFitFun is legit or not. This is one I’ve actually never tried. Oops.

The 8.1oz Sol de Janeiro Açaí Body Power Cream was available for $19. This is a $45 product. I enjoy the regular Bum Bum cream from this line, but it is expensive. As such I only purchase it when I get it for 20% off or in a set. Paying a lot for body products is just something I do not usually do. When it comes to skincare, I prefer to invest in face products. Since I have not tried the Açaí version, I will not know if this is the real product when I try this either. It would be nice if it was.

The Schmidt’s Signature Deodorant & Bar Soap Duo was available for $5. It included 2 products for $5 with a $14.48 advertised value. The 3.25oz Schmidt’s Rose + Vanilla Natural Deodorant retails for $8.99 and the Schmidt’s Naturals Bergamot Lime Bar Soap retails for $5.49. Target sells a smaller size of this for $4.99, but I would get less product and forgo trying the soap. When it comes to bar soaps, I am not a huge fan. I got this set for the deodorant and hope the soap does not leave a film on my skin like other bar soaps. This is a natural deodorant that I’ve wanted to try for a while. I’ve purchased other natural ones, but I am trying to use up the others in my stash before I get to them. Sadly, the deodorant got moldy before I used much of it. I wrote an article on this product if you want to read about it.

It also came with a $50 off coupon for Hello Fresh.

I am not going to use the coupon so the first person to claim it can have it.

Some important dates for this box. Annual subscribers got to shop add-ons starting on 02/05/18. Everyone got to customize (the 2 choice options for seasonal subscribers or 4 for annual subscribers) on 02/10/18. Selecting add-ons opened to seasonal subscribers (me) on 02/12/18. By the time seasonal subscribers got to select add-ons, most of the better ones were gone. It took a lot of patience and a lot of checking, but I was eventually able to select all the add-ons I wanted before the window closed on 02/18/18. Customization closed when add-ons closed. Some items never went back in stock so I was happy those were items I was not interested in. To avoid having to check non-stop or stress, I can see why having an annual subscription is preferable for add-on selection. My charge for the box and add-ons processed on 02/20/18, and my box shipped on 03/03/18. It arrived on 03/07/18.

This box has a $538.46 value ($347 subscription + $191.46 add-ons). That brings the average box value for the year to $347 (because it was the first box of the year). My personal value is also $347, because I will keep everything in it. Other than the Korres Body butter, which I have purchased in a different scent, there is not an item in this box I would have purchased before receiving them in this box. Now that I know about the avocado oil in the body butter, I would not purchase it again (until after I try it, hoping I do not have an allergic reaction). Trying new items is the biggest appeal of subscription boxes to me. After I try them, I could find items I want to purchase (again).

While I definitely think this box was more than worth the $49.99 plus tax I paid, I am still unsure what the future holds. Personal value is always in the eye of the beholder, and I have not been impressed by a lot of the past box reviews I’ve seen. That said, I always see at least $49.99 in items I’d keep. I feel like I’d always get my money’s worth. While I liked this box, I did not like it nearly as much as I liked the winter 2017 box. A box with a full-size Exfolikate for less than the cost of the scrub itself will be hard to top. The add-on section for subscribers makes this an extremely valuable subscription to those looking to sweeten the deal. Getting products I hand selected for at least 50% off felt like a steal. For $76, I received $191.46 in products I would have paid full price for. For $125.99, I got $538.46 in products. They are all products I am keeping, too. This was a great deal.

FabFitFun is having a Refer-a-Friend promotion from 03/07/18 through 03/27/18. The new subscriber gets $10 off (there is always an offer for $10 off somewhere so no one should ever pay full price for the first box or be urged to join sooner than ready to save the $10). Those who refer new subscribers get a mystery bundle worth $75 in their next box for the first friend and a $50 shopping credit for the next box for each friend after the first. That is a pretty cool perk given how much I got for $76 on this box. If you want to use my referral code, I appreciate it. All subscribers have a referral code so you can use yours to refer your friends, assuming you are already subscribed. Log in to your account and click on the person icon near the top right of the screen to find your referral code.

Ready to subscribe? Visit my FFF Page for more information about this subscription and shop purchases for subscribers. All available offers get posted there as well as everything I know about the retailer and links to helpful sections of the site. See all FabFitFun articles. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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