A Stroll Through The Soap District

The Soap District is a monthly subscription box service with a focus on natural, handmade bath & body care. The service is relatively new, shipping their first boxes out in June.  Monthly subscribers can "Spoil yourself with monthly awesomeness and get a thoughtfully crafted set of new blends each month".  Each box contains a full 5 oz bar of handmade soap, a 2 oz body lotion and a 2 oz scrub.  Monthly subscriptions are $15.00 and shipping is included.

Personally, I like what I like and I don't like what I don't like.  While I feel that subscription services are great for discovering new brands and products, I can't help but feel just a little irritated when I receive something I don't like.  Now this is not the subscription's fault, I know the hard work it takes to curate these services month after month and have first hand knowledge that you can't please all of the people all of the time.

I received boxes for the last three months at a special price in exchange for my feedback and review of this service.  

 JUNE

Contents:

•  You're Golden, Ginger Soap  5oz
• Peppermint Punch Dead Sea Salt Scrub 1 oz
• Orange Blossom Body Lotion 1 oz
• Special gift: loofah

Thoughts:  I LOVE the soap!  Smells divine.  However all products included are void of any type of ingredients lists.  The scrub is really not enough to get one full body use but the scent is exhilarating! I was hoping for a nice neroli fragrance in the lotion, but it was barely any scent to it at all.  The loofah is a single use, maybe for the face, but was included as a free gift.  

JULY 
Contents:

• Meet Me Under the Mistletoe Soap 5 oz
• All That Jazz Body Lotion 2 oz
• The Grapest Ever Scrub 2 oz 

Thoughts: A nod to Christmas in July with the soap, which seems to include real bits of mistletoe greenery (not my fav).  The lotion is nice, I like the scent combination and there is an ingredients list, but it seems to be incomplete.  Also, it is labeled as 2 oz, but is not quite an ounce. The scrub smells grapefruity, but the container is mostly empty.

How I received my July scrub

 The owner sent an e-mail out prior to receiving the July box regarding the scrub. With a bit of product making experience myself, the reason for the limited amount of product in the tin upon receipt is unclear - however, it was nice to receive some communication about it prior to receiving my package.  Subscribers were also informed that they would receive another peppermint punch scrub in August to compensate for this.



AUGUST
Contents:

• Orange You Lucky Soap 5 oz
• Whipped Body Cream 2 oz
• Matcha Green Tea Sugar Scrub 2 oz

Thoughts: LOVE the soap - smells like fresh squeezed orange juice! LOVE the body cream, this is 2 ounces of cream as labeled.  Again though, the ingredients list seems incomplete.  The scrub is nice, I'm not a fan of the cinnamon in it, but it still nice, though not enough for a full body scrub.  My promised peppermint punch was not included in this box.  There is a small note saying that starting in October, The Soap District will change all of its monthly members over to a new seasonal box which will include 9 full sized products, customized for each season.  

Overall, I feel this is an exciting concept and with some tweaking can be a great little gift to yourself.  From the distinct look of the soap, I can see it is from a popular wholesaler.  Which is fine, they are known for making high quality, handmade soap.  Most importantly, when it comes to natural products, ingredients matter!  Natural product consumers each have unique criteria for what is natural and make their product buying decisions based on what a product contains.  I think this is the biggest issue with this box, a full ingredients list should be included for each item. 

I will say that Faraz, the owner, is extremely friendly and responsive to my feedback.  Whenever I reach out to him, he responds in an acceptable amount of time (or makes apologies for being busy) and never comes off as hostile or belittling.  I hope to make it out to Northern Virginia soon to have a sit down with him regarding his company for my YouTube channel.

On anther note, Faraz made mention that the new seasonal boxes will be $39.99.  When compared to the current subscription, 3 months would be $45 so there is cost savings in those terms, but a higher up front investment.  The seasonal boxes will include 9 full sized products including 3 bars of soap, solid lotion, face mask, lip balm and more.

I'm keeping my eye on this one.  I will wait to reserve final judgment until the seasonal boxes come out.

Do you like subscription boxes?  Tell me about your favs and those we should avoid.

Later Love Buds,

Peace, Love & Lots of Lather!

A.


*Edited 8/26/15 @ 8:52am.  Correction regarding soap ingredients lists and seasonal box info.