This review will be a bit different from my usual review style and the reason for that is the negative reviews I've heard about Babe Box. The first thing you may notice is that I have not hyper-linked the website and that is because I don't want to give easy access to a product I don't endorse.
When I ordered this subscription box it was under a deal to get the first box for free, just pay shipping and handling. Many of the negative reviews mention that you are required to continue your subscription for an additional month. Although this is only stated in the fine print it isn't something I'm going to complain about because to me it seems like a pretty standard deal.
It was only after purchasing the box that I started seeing negative reviews, which this is in part my fault for not doing research before buying. I have no idea what came over me because I am usually the type to read a bunch of reviews before making online purchases, but the only research I did was to see if the box was cruelty-free.
This leads to my biggest complaint, which once again could have been avoided had I done the research before-hand, but the website claims that all of the products in the box are cruelty free. Although every product claims to be cruelty-free, very few of them are actually certified by reliable sources. About half of the items actually say "Made in China" on them, for anyone that doesn't know, China has laws that require cosmetics be tested on animals so I can't see how cosmetics that were made in china could possibly be cruelty free.
Another complaint that I have seen was that the items don't actually cost as much as the box claims so I am actually going to look at this right now as I am writing this review. I didn't hyper-link the subscription box but I will make sure to hyper-link the individual products.
Mermaid - Mermaid Scales Lip Scrub
The retail value of this item is listed as $25 USD on both the card and on the website so I have no
complaints there. This product doesn't actually claim to be cruelty-free on either the packaging or the website from what I can find. It is made in the USA so there is a chance that it could be but I wouldn't know for sure without further research.
Avant - Pro-Radiance Brightening Eye
So, this one has me a bit stumped. The retail value on the card is listed as $27 USD but the website has it listed as $134 USD. My best guess is that it is a sample size as it is only 10ml but the image on the website also shows it as being 10ml so I'm really not sure what to say about that. This product however is actually certified as being cruelty-free which is awesome.
Bellapierre - Brown Eyed Girl Palette
This palette is listed on both the card and product website as being $25 USD. It is also properly certified as being cruelty-free. I did some quick swatches of the shades and I must admit they are very pretty.
Once again the retail value is accurate as being $20 USD. The problem with this is that I could not find an indication on the packaging or the website that this product claims to be cruelty-free. This is also one of the items that was made in China so I doubt that it really is cruelty-free.
Babe Cosmetics - 24k Gold Infused Eye
Sorry, no hyper-links on this one. Partially because I don't want to link to the website as I stated up top, also I couldn't find this product listed on the website. the info card lists it as being worth $12 USD which sounds accurate based on the fact that it is a pack of five masks. The website and product claim to be cruelty-free but they don't actually have any legitimate certification, just their word.
Box Two
Basic Beauty - 'Bronze AF' Bronzer Palette
This palette is listed at $30 USD on both the info card and on the official website. The product and website claim to be cruelty-free and it has certification but the product also states that it was made in China which is a bit confusing.
Mudmasky - Leave Me On Winter Mask
First off, I'm not a big fan of this website. It doesn't seem to allow you to buy a single product but instead it bundles products together so if I wanted I would not be able to purchase just this particular product alone, I would have to buy the entire set that comes with a product for every season. The info card lists this item at $44 USD the website lists it at $45 USD which isn't really a big deal. This company is certified as cruelty-free and the products actually look pretty good and have peaked my interest despite my dislike of their shop set-up.
Lower East Side - Four Color Eyeshadow Palette
This is the first product so far that actually has a big price gap between what is listen in the box's info card and what the listed retail price is online. The card lists the palette at $38 USD whereas the official website lists the palette at $19 USD. I can usually ignore a gap of a few dollars but this is literally half the price as what the card lists. This company claims to be cruelty-free but I did not notice any proper certification and it is once again one of the items that was made in China.
This item is listed at $21 on both the info card and on the official website. I couldn't find any labels claiming this item to be cruelty-free on either the product or on the official website, it is also one of the items made in China.
Elikya - Raspberry Liquid Blush
So, the website didn't seem to want to let me set it as English or convert to USD despite both being options. The info card values this item at $17 USD. The listed price on the website is 14.90 EUR. At the time if this post that is equivalent to around $18 USD. I'm not sure about the cruelty-free certification as I didn't recognize the logo but I don't really have any reason to dispute the claims.
My Impression
This box isn't as bad as I thought it would be based on the reviews. I don't feel ripped of in the sense that the products aren't worth the price of the box as the retail prices for the most part did coincide with the info card. Most of the reviews I saw were at least a year old so perhaps the company has improved since then.
I however am not happy at the lack of proper certifications for some products. I will use them as I do not believe in wasting items but this is not a box I would suggest to anyone, especially if those people are like me and like to keep things cruelty-free.
I haven't really had a chance to test out any of the items but when I do I will post reviews on some of them.
On a lighter note here is a song to listen to!
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