Thursday, April 10, 2014

REVIEW: Honest Company Sample Packs

I was scrolling through Facebook a few weeks ago and saw a Suggested page for The Honest Company.  I was like "Alright,  lets check it out!"and I started scrolling down the company's page when I came across and offer to try two sample packs for just $5!  Now, I loves me some deals like this!  I clicked on the offer and it took me to https://www.honest.com and I started browsing.   They have 3 options to choose from when it comes to the sample packs, The Diapers and Wipes Bundle, The Essentials Bundle and The Health and Wellness Bundle.  In the Diapers and Wipes bundle you'll receive 7 diapers and a small pack of 10 wipes.  In the Essentials Bundle you'll receive a trial size of the following: Body wash/shampoo, healing balm, face and body lotion, hand soap, and laundry detergent.  Finally, the Health and Wellness Bundle you'll receive a one day sample of Prenatal vitamins and DHA/Omega 3 or Baby and Toddler Multi-powder and kids chewable multi-vitamin.   I opted for the diaper and wipes bundle and the Essentials.

Now, when you sign up for the samples they automatically enroll you in a bundle service that will send these full sized/packaged products to your door once a month.  This is clearly stated on the page where you select which bundles you want.  They say you can cancel any time (more on that in a minute).

After choosing the bundles I wanted I was then asked to select 7 patterns that I liked.  Let me tell you they have the freaking cutest patterns ever and I'm told they're constantly adding new ones.  Then I punched in all our info and waited for my goodies to get here!

It took 4 days to arrive (which is impressive!) and the packaging was really cute.

 The Essentials Bundle


 Diapers, Essentials and Wipes


Let's start with the diaper and wipes!

I decided to try this bundle because my Pirate has really sensitive skin and most brands of diapers give him a rash.  I normally use the Up and Up brand for Target because their diapers and actually hypoallergenic.  I also use their sensitive skin wipes because they're plant based and made with cotton and are also hypoallergenic.  The Honest Company says their diapers are:

  • Natural & gentle – sustainably harvested pulp, natural odor-inhibitors, and plant-based materials – NO risky fragrances, lotions, or latex
  • Ultra absorbent – superior performance & moisture retention
  • Premium fit – cloth-like feel, contour elastics, and stretchy re-fastenable grip tabs
  • Fashionable designs – choose from a growing selection of stylish prints for your girl or boy
 The Honest Company's wipes also happen to be plant based and fabric.  

I put Nixon in the diapers twice a day for 2 days and did an overnight.  They did really well during the day. They were super soft and Nixon looked so stinking cute in them. 

Like I said, so stinking cute!

They're very absorbent and didn't leak any.  They're very soft too.  I will say that I ordered a size 4 for him because the weight range was for 22- 37 lbs and since Nixon is currently just over 22 lbs I figured they'd be a great fit.  He normally is a size 3 (16-28 lbs) but while on my quest for a reaction free diaper I learned the naturals tend to run small.  The Honest diapers fit snug and I was surprised because I had gone up a size just to avoid that.  He had one overnight diaper and that also did a great job and remained leak proof.  After the first 2 diapers and the overnight, I saw the dreaded red as we call it.  He started getting tiny patches of red on his bum and other places.  I was instantly sad because I wanted them to work out!  So, I let his rash heal up and tried again with the same results.  Frowny face yet again.  The wipes didn't cause any reaction and did Their job just fine.

All in all, I didn't see any difference performance wise for either the diapers or wipes.  Even if the diapers hadn't given Nixon a rash, I can't bring myself to spend $80 a month on them just because they have the most adorable prints on them when I spend less than $60 a month on a box of 8 packs of wipes and over 200 diapers and if I time it right, I get free $5 gift cards.  Plus, in the Diapers and Wipes Bundle you only get 4 packs of wipes while the Up and Up box of wipes cost around $12 for 8 packs.   If you kid doesn't have sensitive skin this would actually make for a good diaper bag stash!

Next, the Essential Bundle.

Honest Hand Soap in the Organic Lemongrass scent - I really like the scent.  It's crisp and almost smells like a hospital grade soap.   It is a bit runny for hand soap but that's no big deal in the long run. The sample bottle has lasted a week so far and that's impressive for bottle size given that I am a super stickler for hand washing.  Be warned, it doesn't get very sudsy. 

Honest Laundry Detergent in Free & Clear-  The bottle says its ideal for High Efficiency washers (I don't have one haha) but it pulled out all sorts of stains from food and juice.  The bottle says to use the entire bottle for one use, but I got two medium loads out of it (I try not to use too much detergent in general because all my kids have sensitive skin and eczema and I've learned that too much detergent leaves soap residue on clothing that later acts as an irritant).  I tested it on Nixon's clothes and then really put it to the test for my two school aged children clothes.  I was impressed with how well it did on my girls clothes because the are basically feral children when it comes to outdoor playing.  Although it has no scent, the clothes did smell clean with no lingering stinky ;)

Shampoo & Body wash in the scent Sweet Orange Vanilla-  Oh man-o-manowitz did I freaking love this stuff!  It smelled so great and wasn't overbearing,  it lathered like nobodies business, and it didn't dry out anyone's skin or flair up anyone's eczema!  We didn't use it as a shampoo, well, the baby did but he's just got peach fuzz.  I'm just a big fan and actually really thinking about buying this full size!  From the sample we got 3 baby baths, and 6 showers using loofahs and washcloths.  That's a lot from that bottle!

Honest Face + Body Lotion in unscented-  This one was just okay.  I'm not a fan of face and body lotion combos.  Both of those things require such different forms of moisturizing and I've always thought that the face and body combo lotions will always leave BOTH areas lacking in what they fully need.  Now that I'm off my soapbox, as just a lotion it was fine.  It was runny, but that was probably to compensate for the fact that it can go on your face (see what I mean?!?).  It absorbed quickly and didn't leave any sticky or greasy feel on the skin.  We will definitely be sticking to our current lotions and oils though.  I will say that it also was eczema friendly.  Still have plenty in the jar and we've all used it on arms and legs.  Because it's a bit runny, a little goes a long way.

Honest Healing Balm-  Really liked this!  I will say this one held up on all its claims EXCEPT the diaper rash.  Nixon tends to get rashes from most diapers and we do a mix of nipple cream (I KNOW!  Sounds completely bonkers but I swear it works like a damn charm!) and coconut oil.  So when the Honest diapers gave him a rash, I slapped it on there and got diddly squat results wise.  I was kinda stunned that it didnt work.  It's good and humid here in Florida and being sweaty tends to make Sonnie Bunny get eczema flair ups on the insides of her elbows and behind her knees.  So when I saw her racking at her elbows I slapped a light coat on and a few hours later the red was gone and she said she felt "comfortable".  My oldest fell at the playground giving herself a nasty scrap on her hip, elbow and shoulder.  I put some on before bedtime so that the scab wouldn't snag her pjs and also applied under bandages and it again took away the red and made her skin feel less tight.  Its gone through multiple uses and I still have loads in the jar so it stands to reason that the full size one will be worth the price!


Finally, I mentioned earlier that you can cancel the bundles anytime.  That is true but its damn near impossible to do online.  I had to call the company directly.   The customer service line has some weird hours, but once I called during the right times or days, it was easy and no pressure.   They did ask if I was satisfied or had any issues and also offered to extend my next delivery date incase I wanted more time to think about it.  I was sure I wanted to unsubscribe and told him so and that was that.  Easy peasy.  

I definitely think these were worth the $6!  We got a lot out of the bundles and also got to sample a brand I would have otherwise played no mind to.  They seem to have great, quality products and you've  got to love that mission statement!  Highly recommend you try them out and please be sure to share your experience with me!  Be sure to ask me any questions you might have!

Hugs til later,
Domesticated022


REMEMBER:  IN ORDER NOT TO GET BILLED FOR FULL SIZED BUNDLES,  CANCEL WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE ARRIVAL OF YOUR SAMPLE BUNDLES.