Escape Monthly Subscription Box Review – August 2014
Escape Monthly is a monthly vacation-in-a-box subscription. Each box comes with food, beauty items, and other souvenirs from a new destination. You also get a tourist book – so this box might help you plan your next actual vacation too!
FYI – They recently introduced a mini-version of their box for $24.95 that doesn’t include the guide book, and is only 4-5 items. This review is of the full box, but I may end up switching to the mini-version subscription since I don’t usually use the books. (If you got the mini version of the Paris box, please let us know what was in it!)
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Escape Monthly
The Cost: $49.95 a month ($39.95 a month with coupon)
The Products: Each box is a destination-inspired monthly delivery of luxury products to help you relax, renew and escape.
Ships to: US only
Bonus Points: Each month, one lucky member will be selected at random to win a vacation to the current month’s theme destination. Escape Monthly will pay for the winner’s airfare from a major US hub and two nights of accommodations, up to $1000. (They announce the winners publicly on Facebook).
Check out all of my Escape Monthly reviews and the complete Vacation Subscription Box List!
Each box comes with a fold out card detailing each item included in your box.
Institue Karite Paris Shea Butter Lily of the Valley “So Chic” Hand Cream – Value $26
This hand cream was the spoiler item and I was really excited to try it. I think it’s a great moisturizer, but I’m not sure I love the scent of Lily of the Valley. (I think they sent variations of this product – let me know if you got a different scent!)
NUXE Body Fondant Shower Gel (2) – 50 ml each Value $7.50
I first discovered NUXE through Birchbox, and so far I like every product from them that I’ve sampled. This box was supposed to include one shower gel and one body scrub, but I ended up with two shower gels. I’ll use them both so that’s fine with me.
Edmond Fallot Dijon Mustard – Value $6.25
Pierre Biscuiterie French Butter Cookies with Lemon & Almond – Value $4.25
I thought these were both great food items to include for the Paris box. Both are made in France with wholesome ingredients!
Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves Sample – Value $3?
L’Abbaye De Flavigny Gourmet Candy – Value $5
Escape Monthly lists the value of this jam as $3, but it’s so tiny I think it should be more like $1. And these candies were absolutely eat-the-entire-tin delicious!
Rick Steves Pocket Travel Guide to Paris – Value $12.99 ($8.29 at Amazon)
I like the pocket guide book a lot more than the other books they’ve sent in the past. This one is actually small enough to take with you on your trip to Paris!
Verdict: I paid $39.95 for this box and I received about $64 worth of items. I’m happy with the value, and I think this is one of my favorite Escape Monthly boxes. It’s probably just because Paris is such a special destination, but this box felt a little more special and curated to me than other boxes.
What did you think of the Paris box? And what do you think of the next destination…?
Written by Liz Cadman
It’s been hinted on their Facebook page that London is an upcoming destination. Rebecca stated that there will be a 75% chance that London will be the destination for October. I’m excited about it!!!
I wonder what kind of wonderful things will be in the London box? I can think of touristy things, but am not sure what they are known for beyond that. I’m looking forward to it!!! I can’t wait for the official announcement to see if it will be in October. Don’t sign up if you are looking for the London box until after the shipping date for the September box and be sure it is London. I hate for anyone to be disappointed.
Dang. Now I’m wishing I had sprung for the 3-month subscription on Rue La La. London is one of my happy places.
I really, really wanted to love this box. This was the first box I subscribed to after receiving Birchbox as a gift from my daughter. Escape Monthly helped me to get through a terrible, awful, long, winter, but their boxes all seem the same to me. Has anyone else noticed how many hand creams they have included. Lots! I totally agree with the person who wrote that a scarf would have been nice. I’ve sent them my suggestions on several occasions, but apparently they have a different vision for what they want to include. I cancelled my subscription after this box, but I will be watching the reviews to see if their product choices change in the future.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Kathy! We hope you decide to come back soon. We’ve got some great plans for future boxes!! 🙂
This is what I got:
1. I got the Pierre Biscuiterie in Butter, I ate the cookies already
2. Hand cream in Rose, which I like
3. The mustard just plain dijon
4. The candy in rose flavor, also very tasty
5. The body scrub and the body gel
6. Strawberry preserves
7. Rick Steve’s Pocket Guidebook to Paris – I like this a lot. Better than the Moon version guidebooks.
I like travel guidebooks – which is one of the attractions of this box to me.
I do wonder if they do give out travel prizes. I haven’t seen it before.
I got the rose hand cream and it’s currently up for swap. Would love to swap out for something else like lollia shower gel or epicuren shower gel. If interested let me know.
I have had to reach out to Escape Monthly several times and I just wanted to share that they have always been very friendly and super timely… sometimes answering me within a few minutes. I’m very impressed with their customer service, with the exception of the tardiness of this month’s box.
I was wondering though… I haven’t seen any winners announced on FB and just scrolled through the page over several months and don’t see any listed. Is there still a monthly winner and where is the winner posted?
I asked about the travel prizes and they plan on posting them in the future
Hi Saundra! We’re working on a past boxes section that will include the winners who have claimed vacations in the past. Also, this month with Puerto Rico, we’ll be unveiling a new way to win the vacation (instead of a golden ticket), to make it easier for members to see who wins and how! 🙂 Stay tuned!
I have found on more than one occasion that when I finally got an answer to a question or problem, the customer “service” people mostly just say whatever comes to their head at the time. Everyone who ordered the large box was supposed to get a gel AND scrub. Also, if anyone has gotten an email that asks you to rate the box or post on FB and you will receive a special bonus. Well, it’s the same “bonus” that everyone receives, whether they have responded to the email/FB or not. I think the mistake that many of us assume is that this will be a traveler’s version of a POPSUGAR box with a clothing or jewelry item, or just something unique. It’s never going to happen. Six months of “vacations” have left me with low expectations for improvement. BUT, I will say this month was far better than most. Now, I will end my rant and go eat the cookies (Lemon and Almond) – and probably all of them! 😉
Hi Keri! We’re so sorry for the confusion over the scrub and if we gave you the wrong answer. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can help with!
I was pretty happy with the variations in my box! I got:
– Hand Cream: Almond and Honey
– Mustard: Tarragon Dijon
– Mini Jam: Strawberry
– Cookies: Mixed Berries
– Nuxe: Gel and Scrub (happy to have actually gotten this!)
– Mints: Rose
– And, of course, the same guidebook.
Although I was hoping for the hand cream in rose, I was surprised to instead find that my mints were rose flavored! I think I would have preferred something like lemon or orange blossom, but the rose is pretty unique. I looked up what other flavors they have, and saw a violet one! I also think that the guidebook actually seems interesting this time, so I’m happily surprised that I’ll be keeping it, even though I wasn’t expecting to hold on to it (all my others from Escape are up for swap).
Would you like to trade your Almond hand cream for Rose? If so, email me at [email protected]. =)
I got rose flavored mints. I don’t really want to try them and doubt anyone would want them, sigh.
Since it was the Eiffel Tower’s anniversary….I was really hoping for a tower trinket or such and being Paris, a scarf.
I got a scrub and gel and my lotion is Rose Scented. Lotion is great but the smell…not so much…
I was a bit disappointed in this box. Just didn’t give me a feeling of Paris.
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the box as much as hoped, Sue :/ We have some really fun plans for Puerto Rico (handmade trinkets being one of them), and we hope you love the box! 🙂 Thank you so much for your feedback!
I got my box today. I definitely got a shower gel and a scrub, so I’m confused as to why they’d say the scrub wasn’t supposed to be included! I got the Ultra-Rich Hand Cream (dark blue label), which I’m hoping is unscented. I also got the tarragon mustard, French Butter Cookies with Mixed Berries, strawberry preserves, and Orange Blossom candies. I like that mix things up a little between boxes.
I was a French major in college and have spent a lot of time in France and Switzerland, so I was super excited about this box. It didn’t let me down, although my son wishes there had been more food and fewer skin products!
I’ve exchanged more emails with Rebecca at Escape Monthly and she has apologized for HER confusion about the Nuxe items, that there should’ve been a shower gel AND scrub in the box… Mistakes happen, but honestly I was getting quite angry about being told there wasn’t supposed to be a body scrub in the box when the packing list stated otherwise AND so many people were posting that they got one!
Interesting to see so many variations on the scents and flavors. My box had the exact same ones as Liz posted. Glad I got strawberry. I don’t think I’m a huge fan of the candy. It doesn’t taste very orange to me nor have much flavor. I don’t really like mustard anyway but my husband does and we’re out so the timing of getting that was good!
Hi Glenda! Again, I’m so sorry for spacing on the body scrub! Doe! Please follow up with us if we can help with anything else! Thank you so much for your understanding! 🙂
Yay! We’re so happy you enjoyed the box, Jeannie! 🙂
My hand cream was rose scented. I would have preferred the almond. I dislike rose scented products but the fragrance is mild and pleasant in this hand cream. I don’t know if I’ll ever travel to Paris but if I do, I’ll be glad I have this book. Recently I traveled to Spain. The Rick Steves guide was incredibly helpful and all of the tips were spot on. I think this sub is pricey. I’ll keep it for a couple of months but I have to say, I have big expectations
My hand cream is Almonds & Honey scented. I got 2 of the shower gels. Love the guide book!
Well…look like now they found my order and it is out for delivery!
No idea why their site says I did not order anything! Have a good day!
So sorry about the confusion with your order this month, Candie. We hope you loved the box! 😀
Ordered the Paris box on 8/3 and they charged my card. I checked the
site yesterday to see when my box would arrive. There was no record of my purchase. Emailed their customer service -finally got a response after emailing again. They say they have no record of my order. Emailed them snapshot of credit card account showing they charged me, several hours ago and no response. Not so sure about this company…so far..not impressed!
Oh! I’m from Puerto Rico so I kinda really wanna get next month’s box
My full size box arrived today. I received the mini box yesterday. This will be the only time I will order both sizes unless there is another amazing location.
The two things that differ from what Liz posted are:
1. I received a scrub and a shower gel
2. Hand cream is unscented.
I love the pocket guide especially since the pictures are in color. It is a fun book that I can sit down and read. I am very pleased with both boxes. I can’t wait to try the delicious foods and use the products. I’m going to keep the tins to display. I think the boxes are worth the delay.
Next month I am trying the minibox only for Puerto Rico.
This was probably my favorite Box so far. The Guidebook is a “cute” size, and is actually in color– the other books always seemed so “dry”… I also received two Shower Gel tubes, my preserves are Strawberry (which I prefer over the orange), my cookies were Pure Butter, my tin had Lemon Candies, my hand Cream was Perfume Almond and Honey, and my Mustard was Tarragon Dijon– quite a few differences!!
Almond and honey sounds like an amazing combination. It must smell delicious.
Does the coupon code not work for the mini boxes? I’ve always wanted to try this subscription but didn’t want the guidebook. But it says invalid coupon code when I try subscribing for the mini box with that code.
I think that I remember reading on their FB page that the coupon code is not valid for the Mini Box.
Dang that’s too bad, thank you!
I was under the impression that the “mini” version of this box just didn’t include the travel guide. I can see there’s more of a difference between the mini version and the larger version, so that’s kind of a bummer. Do all sub holders get entered into the monthly drawing or is it just those who sub to the original box?
There were a few differences, olive tapanede over mustard, no scrub or second gel, no cookies, and no guide book.
Question for anyone that has tried the candies: Do they have a licorice flavor to them at all? I’ve always associated anise with licorice flavoring , so just wanted to check before I open them!
I got the candies in a lemon flavor and they are delicious. I hate licorice so if there was any taste of that I wouldn’t have eaten them.
These candy has a single anise seed at the center of each (so they function a bit more like a mint).
They sell that jam at Targets in the Bay Area, I bought some the last time my in-laws came to visit. It was maybe $3.50 a full jar. That’s odd it would be included in this type of box.
Here is part of what I posted under the spoiler.
Also received the Paris mini-box today. Tomorrow my regular Escape box will be arriving. I couldn’t resist ordering both since it’s Paris themed. I haven’t tried anything yet.
***SPOILER***
1. Institut Karite Paris Shea Butter Hand Creme – rose scented. Beautiful packaging.
2. L’abbaye de Flavigny Gourmet Candy – Candy flavored with anise is one of the oldest treats in France. It’s in a beautiful tin that I will be keeping.
3. Nuxe Shower gel – 100% plant-based soap-free shower gel.
4. Moulins de La Brague Provence Olive Tapenade – Family own. Olive-based food.
5. Bonus – Bonne Mamam Orange Preserve – My husband is going to love this.
I haven’t tried anything yet, but I am sure everything will be wonderful. Can’t wait for the regular box tomorrow!
Mini box:
Institut Karite Rose Hand Cream
L’Abbaye De Flavigny Candy
Nuxe Shower Gel
Moulins De La Brague Provence Olive Tapenade $10.00 Retail value
Bonne Maman Orange Preserves
I got the mini box and got the rose scented hand cream
What else was different? I’m thinking on switching to the mini box but wondering if Ill be missing something good, dont care much about the travel guide though.
mini had the tapanade versus the mustard, the big box had a scrub in addition to the body wash, the cookies and guide book were not in the mini. I switched.
Shana, did you actually look at your Nuxe products? As Liz posted above, they sent two shower gels and not the shower gel and body scrub as listed in their packing list. In an email to me, Rebecca from Escape Monthly stated there was no body scrub included this month.
Yep, and even used it in the shower last night. Brownish thick with what appeared to be ground almond shells as the exfoliant, took a bit to get the stuff off the tub floor afterwards… Not a bad scrub though.
This looks so much better than previous boxes. I think it’s because of the luxurious beauty items.. I can’t wait for mine to arrive.
Liz have you switched to the mini sub?? I’m curious to see how the items compare from the two.
Check the spoiler post for this box, there is a listing of what someone received in the min box.
I contacted Escape Monthly because I too got two shower gels instead of the body scrub, which was listed and pictured in the brochure. The reply was that a scrub was not supposed to be included, which is quite odd since it was listed in the brochure (I personally would rather have the scrub…)
My hand cream was Lily of the Valley scent as well. I’ve not opened it yet to smell it. I was kind of expecting the rose scent that was in the spoiler photo.
The scrub is not included in the mini box, according to the post under the spoiler for this box. But both were in my larger box. My box was the same as this one, just some flavor variations.