Eco Emi Variety Box - February 2015 - Full Review

Hi friends,

I am glad to report that Eco Emi redeemed itself with the February 2015 box. And it is a good thing because the January box was a disaster (to me)!

Eco Emi continues to provide great organic, cruelty free and environmental friendly boxes directly to your door. Price, which includes shipping, will vary depending on the box you are subscribing to. Mine is the original box, called Variety Box, and contains an array of products ranging from skincare and cosmetics to household and food items. I could switch to all skincare and makeup but I have my Ipsy bag for that. I truly enjoy trying new products (in particular the food items) as the Variety Box provides good samples from various mom and pop brands. I am all for supporting my local economy and so, this box is right up my alley.

You can check out my open box video here:

This is what I received in the February 2015 box:

Eco Emi - February 2015 - Variety box

Let me dive right into the review as there were a lot of great items this month:

1. SweetRiot - Yummie - Candy Coated Dark Chocolate - $4.99/pack or $23.95 / 12 packs

Sweetriot - Yummies

These are very similar to the American M&M's or the British Smarties.
With no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no preservatives, these 100 calorie packs are just what I need. Not only are they delicious, they also have more chocolate than they have coated candy! So if you are in search of the right guilt free chocolate fix, you may try this as an option. 
A.







2. Sant - Superfruit Tea with Garcinia Indica -  $9.95 / pack

Sant Superfruit Tea

This is just weird. A pouch filled with dried fruits (Garcinia Indica) which boasts to have potential as an appetite suppressant,  a protector of brain health and as a cancer preventative. The way I look at it, you would have to drink this stuff all day, everyday, for a long time, for any effect to actually take place. While it has been used in Asian countries for centuries, I am really not sure whether Western diets are ready to adopt this "superfruit" as a beverage of choice.

You are supposed to grab a few dried fruits and drop them in water, steep for at least 30 minutes and drink either hot or old.
Mine took forever to turn the water red (I thought it would be something similar to Red Zinger tea by Celestial Seasoning).
The taste was just okay, it gave a hint of tart flavor to my water, nothing sweet, I just did not think it was all that great to be honest. 
I am all for promoting healthy living and better lifestyle, but I really don't see this as being an essential or something so revolutionary that it should be the basic ingredient in all our daily beverages. Not impressed. C.


3. Love Bean - Superfood Fudge Spread - $29.10 / 2 jars or $10 / 10 Squeeze pouches

It really does not take much to make me happy, just throw some chocolate in my general direction and I will follow you to the end of the world. (The preceding statement is NOT an exaggeration!)
So, Eco Emi sends me this tiny pouch of super fudge with coconut flavor, at $1 per pouch and all raw ingredients, I figured I had nothing to lose. 
The stuff is delicious! It's not a replacement to Nutella, let's be real, but it is a good and much healthier alternative.
You can add your super fudge to fruit, waffles, bread of course, anything where chocolate would simply enhance the flavor. If it was calorie free, I would probably add chocolate to steak, cheese, you name it!
Of course this is all vegan, fair trade chocolate. Their store offers one more variety (naturally raw). It's a great concept, for a great taste. And again, if you are looking for a chocolate option that does not wreck your diet, you may want to consider this one, I know I am considering purchasing a jar. It really was delicious! A. (I wish it was a bit more fluid, in that case it would be an A+).


4. Whiskey Ink & Lace Cocoa Mint Lip Balm - $5 / Tin

Whiskey Ink & Lace Cocoa Mint Lip Balm

How can one not completely fall in love here! The brand name itself is adorable, it has this feel of rough old west cowboy saloon with a dash of romantic intrigue (that's the lace part). I am real sucker for these kinds of brands. Now, I have checked the site, most of the products are for men (shaving creams, mustache wax etc.) but they have candles and bath scrubs as well. In all, I find the products not only intriguing, but their ingredients are also very interesting.
You may want to check this Cake Batter Body Butter for instance.
If you have a man in your life who is not afraid of using skin care products, these would make a fantastic gift for Father's Day.
Moving on to the Lip Balm. It's just wonderful. A bit too solid as a formula, but I will attribute that to the fact it was very cold outside and the box stayed on my front porch for a while.  That being said, if you can imagine what rubbing your lips with Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mints would be like, this is it!
Delicious scent, a bit of a tingle from the mint, a nice balm that goes on well and does not melt off right away. I am falling in love with this brand.  A. 


5.  Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC) - Daily Benefits Shampoo and Conditioner - $9 / each

 

BWC Daily Benefits Shampoo

I am fairly familiar with the BWC brand since Eco Emi tends to send quite a few of these each year. 
If you are looking for hair products (or any other skincare products for that matter) that are sulftate, paraben, chemical etc, free. BWC is for you.
This is a no-nonsense line of products that is as pure as can be. Generally I find their shampoos to be too volumizing for my thick hair, I always end up with a ball of fluff on top of my head. So if you have thinning hair, this Daily Benefits line is a good option. For thicker hair, I would recommend their Moisture Plus line. 

Overall, this one did the job as a shampoo and conditioner duo, they are clarifying without stripping your hair of all its essential oils. A good option when traveling since I have noticed that my hair tends to stay cleaner longer when I use their products. B.


6.  Love for Humanity - Eye Serum - $50/ 0.5 oz

Love for Humanity - Eye Serum

 Let me start by letting you know that this is cheaper on Amazon ($41.77 instead of $50).
The sample I received was just too small for me to notice any kind of benefits though.
Their website lists the following claims and ingredients:

• Ultra potent eye serum
• Immediately revives puffy skin around the eyes
• Brightens dark circles
• Helichrysum reduces skin discoloration & fine lines
• Blue Chamomille calms and heals delicate skin
• Pumkin Seed naturally exfoliates and encourages cell turnover for a youthful glow

Overall, I would say these are all excellent ingredients for an eye serum. I did find it to be too fluid, it is almost liquid, more like an oil. It did absorb very well and did not leave a greasy film on my skin. I think one would have to use it for an extended period of time in order to see any difference on dark circles, but the reviews on this product are phenomenal. So you may want to check it out if you have dark circles, creeping eye lids and fine lines. I simply have too many eye products at the moment to consider this hefty purchase. But, take this into consideration, since it is fluid, a little goes a long way and it may be worth the splurge over time. It has a nutty scent that is barely noticeable, I did not care for the yellow color though. B+.

7. Colorganics - Lip Tint in Wine - $11.50

Colorganics Lip Tint

I am really not sure about this lip tint. I have always liked the concept of tinted lip balm, but to be honest, this one does not have much of the "balm" factor in it. I found the formula to be too dry (it may be the sample I received). It goes on okay, and me be applied to your lips throughout the day if you need a hint of color but do not want to carry a full lipstick with you.

Adds a rich sheer tint while protecting and moisturizing your lips with organic castor oil and moisturizing organic hemp seed oil. (quoted from Colorganics website)

 I am not in love with this. C+.




8. Bioterra Herbs - Boing Energy Supplement - $4.99 / 10 caps

Boing Energy Supplement

There has been a lot of talk in the past few months about false claims and false ingredients in drug store supplements. To be honest, I am really not sure who we can trust anymore these days when it comes to our health. I tend to forget to take supplements all the time, I much prefer watching my diet and ensuring that I add a scoop of Green Vibrance to my morning smoothie, that seems to be working for me. 
If you have lousy energy and feel fatigued all the time, you may want to consider these as the reviews for it are generally very positive. 

 Their website reports the following ingredients:

 Asian Ginseng (root), Astragalus (root), Ophiopogon (root tuber),

  Schisandra (fruit), Grass-leaf Sweetflag (rhizome)

And that it is Vegan and organic of course. Back in my college days, I used to take Ginseng vials for energy every morning and that seemed to work. 
I tried these, the pills (which are filled with a slightly brown powder) are a tad too big to swallow, you may need a big gulp to get the stuff down. I am naturally energetic so I cannot say that I noticed any difference, I can tell you however, that these did not give me jitters. I am not on the market for supplements, so this is not something I would consider purchasing in the future, however, you may want to consider these for its energy boosting properties. B.   

And that concludes my February 2015 Eco Emi Variety Box Review. It was indeed a good box, Aside from the weird dried fruit, I did enjoy sampling all of the items in this box.
 


You can get your own box here.

You can view all my Eco Emi open box videos here.
Check out my other subscription boxes here.


 

Thank you so much for reading my blog and watching my YouTube videos! Share the love!

Sophia, NJ


Connect with me:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

YOUTUBE

Want to send me a product for review? Have a product request?

Mailing address:

My Great Challenge
PO Box 402
519 Pompton Avenue
CEDAR GROVE, NJ 07009-9998



This blog contains affiliate advertising, this is how I support my blog and YouTube Channel.  I was not solicited to advertise for the products mentioned above, all opinions are my own. 

My Advertisers:



Too Faced - New Chocolate Bar (#2) is here!


















Visit My Great Challenge's profile on Pinterest.