I have only been into subscription boxes for three months now, but I’ve already gotten to experience one of the negative aspects of this “hobby”: unsafe products.
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French Box’s substitute products were also old.
Last month, I subscribed to French Box after a very positive review on their January box. Even before my box arrived, however, it had become clear that it was a bust. Commenters on the MySubscriptionAddiction box review blog – the most popular forum for subscription box addicts – had figured out that the two most expensive items in the box, a serum and a nail polish, were actually old and discontinued products. After the companies who produced them warned consumers to not used them, French Box was forced to apologize to its subscribers and promise that it would send replacements. It did so earlier this month, but it turns out that the substitute products are also old. The La Sultane de Saba hand scrub was discontinued in 2011 while the Les Notes de Lanvin shower gel was originally part of a three item kit which was discontinued in 2013. French Box sent the lotion from the kit in their December 2014 box.
I disputed the charges with my credit card, I’d recommend everyone else do the same.
(See also Subscriptionista’s post on this subject).
Image may be NSFW.
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I am, however, very appreciative of how Kloverbox handled an issue with an item in their March box – which I got. The box included a Rosewater Toner by Urban Oreganics, an etsy store. The toner only had four ingredients: rosewater, alcohol-free witch hazel, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. Alas, the lack of preservatives quickly turned this toner into a bacterial soup making it unsafe. I’ve had the toner for about ten days now, and you can actually see the bacterial cultures floating around in the bottle.
Upon discovering this and without prompting Kloverbox immediately wrote to its subscribers letting them know they should stop using this item and saying that they will mail a new item with their April box, or separately to those not subscribed for April. I am sure I’ll be happy with whatever they send.
Still, this incident made me aware of how it’s probably not a good idea to trust any “natural” product that contains water but no preservatives. While acids like vinegar and lemon juice have antimicrobial faculties, they are not good enough to prevent bacterial growth in watery substances.
