Honest Company Essentials Bundle Review – March 2015
If you read this blog frequently you may already know that I really love the Honest Company‘s products. We use pretty much every product they make.
I get my essentials bundle full of home products like laundry detergent and soap every month, but I don’t review them every month because it’s always the same products. Whenever a new product launches though I like to review the subscription again.
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Honest Essentials Bundle
The Cost: $35.95 plus $5.95 shipping (Shipping is free on orders over $50, and you can add 3 more items to your bundle if you like).
COUPON: Use code INVITED10 to save $10 off your first bundle!
The Products: 5 Products of your choosing (update your items and shipping date as often as you like from your account).
Ships to: US and Canada
Before I get into the items, here’s how the Essentials Bundle Subscription works:
You have 8 total spots available in your Essentials Bundle. The first 5 are included in the $35.95 Bundle Subscription cost. You can also add up to 3 additional items, and get a 25% discount on those items. (If your add-on items bring the total to $50 or more, you get free shipping, so I always add on).
There are also a few items that are only available as add-ons, like this scrub:
Now on to the 8 items I picked this month:
Honest Deodorant in Bergamot Sage – Retail Value $8.95
Honest Sea Salt + Sugar Body Scrub in Lavender Vanilla – Retail Value $16.95
These are their two newest bath and body products. Unfortunately, this deodorant isn’t for me. It takes a little while to dry after you spray it on, and I wasn’t wowed by its performance either. The scent is lovely though – I hope they eventually launch a stick version.
I can’t say enough good things about this body scrub! The lavender vanilla combination is one of my favorite scents ever, and the oil in the scrub leaves your skin moisturized post-shower.
Honest Organic Lip Balm Trio – Retail Value $8.95
I buy this set every few months. It’s a great basic, and I love the Lavender Mint and Sweet Orange Vanilla flavors.
Honest Conditioner in Sweet Orange Vanilla – Retail Value $9.95
Honest Rinse Aid – Retail Value $5.95
These are both staples in our house. The conditioner is free of pretty much any ingredient you may want to avoid and safe for color treated has as well.
I use this rinse aid with their dishwasher packs, and they work just as well as Cascade or whatever else I was using before. (I’ve been using these for years now!)
Suds Up Set – Retail Value Retail Value $12.95
Honest Scrubber Sponge – Retail Value $3.95
With this Suds Up Set, you put some dish detergent in the base, and then push down with the scrub brush to get some on the brush. (There is a spring beneath the blue plastic part).
I usually add these sponges to my bundle in the Add-On section since they are so cheap, I don’t want them to count against my 7 items.
Canvas Tote – Retail Value $16.95
I’ve bought a few of these totes – they are a great size (larger than your typical tote), and they have inner pockets and two strap options. Plus I love the muted grey color.
Verdict: I love my essentials bundle, and the body scrub will be a new Add-On for me each month. The deodorant didn’t make the cut though. What do you think of Honest Company products? Do you subscribe to any of their bundles?
Written by Liz Cadman
I bought the paper towels from Target while we were shopping 2 weeks ago. I run a home daycare and we use many paper towels as DHS does not allow us to use hand towels. It’s one of their restrictions. I bought these and they are awful! They are thin, and after considering what I paid for them, paying a little more for a generic paper towel was actually a better idea. They are extremely thin and you wind up using more of them for a liquid mess. I will never use any of their other products!
I am trying to make a bundle and have hit a snag. Although I have only four items on my shelf, it is not allowing certain items to be my fifth item. When I try to add them, I get an error message stating there is not enough room on my shelf. Is there a dollar limit on what you can put on your shelf? That’s the only thing I can think of to cause this since my items for this bundle (my first) are kind of pricey. Thanks for assistance.
Do they send you an email reminder each month so you can adjust your items or do you just have to remember to log in? If you don’t change anything do they just auto ship what you got the previous month?
Thanks!
They do send an email I believe a day or two before they would ship it. This is the email subject line to look for: “Shipping Soon: Update Your Essentials Bundle!” Hope that helps!
After reading Liz’s (as usual) thorough and honest review, as well as the resulting comments, I would just like to clarify exactly what deoderant does.
We humans stink! Our natural body odor becomes quite pronounced after just a brief time away from the shower. People typically try to mask their natural scents with hefty doses of perfume or deoderants. Typical underarm products are both anti-perspirant as well as deoderants. Why? Bacteria, baby!
Bacteria chow down on all the dead skin, sweat and oil that they can. They tend to be more abundant where they can get the most food, so the smelly places with the most excretions (foot, crotch, underarm) get the most visitors. When these little buggers die, they decompose and rot, if you will. Hence, the smell.
Deoderants cover up this smell. Anti-perspirants prevent you from sweating, in essense, cutting of the bacteria’s food supply. I’ve seen people put anti-perspirants on their feet, chest and even their foreheads.
The reason why most “healthy” deoderants don’t seem to work is due to the fact that they are ONLY deoderants. Their has been some mixed opinions and varied studies showing that ingredients in anti-perspirants can cause health issues. This is open to debate and the choice is yours. Just keep in mind that all you are doing is covering up a smell, not eliminating it, which is why deoderants need to smell pretty darn good.
I apologize. That sentence in the last paragraph should read:
*There have been some mixed….
Failed to proofread.
I just ordered my first Honest Bundle thanks to you Liz. I’m in the process of trying to buy natural/organic skin care, household products and food. Reading your blog has helped me want to make better choices with products and also has provided me with my spending addiction. ( I don’t know if my husband is happy about the spending addiction part.)
Can’t wait for your possible new venture.
Thanks Cynthia! I hope you like their products as much as I do! 🙂
Same here! I’ve been inspired to buy more natural products and hope to try Honest Co when I get my own place!
First grandbaby on the way, I was literally waiting to find out the sex to start ordering. I’m so excited.
I made the cutest diaper cake out of the strawberry and leopard print diapers! With an organic strawberry toy as the topper! I also included an organic strawberry tether and lots of the honest baby products! It was a big hit!
Hi Liz,
Which laundry detergent do you prefer, liquid or pods? I have been using the liquid and tried the pods for the first time and it didn’t make as much suds as liquid one. Or maybe I didn’t put enough.
I haven’t tried all the products, but I love their body wash for my toddler, body oil for both of us, multipurpose cleaner and floor cleaner so far. I am going to try shampoo/conditioner next time!
I am glad to hear you are working on “something”! Quarterly sent me an email over the weekend and told me that your boxes are no longer available. I wait-listed after your first box. I found the communication was rather “off” the timing. Just wanted to let you know. I have never subscribed to any Quarterly boxes, but now they charge shipping, I feel like they are loosing a lot of customers.
I use the liquid detergent, and sometimes add in their oxy pods as well. And I hope you like what I’m working on next 🙂
Here is a hint to people who want to use natural deodorant. Use facial cleanser – rather than soap or body wash – to clean those areas of your body that get smellier. Soap/body wash break through the oil layer on the skin and interfere with the ph palance, making it easier for bacteria to grow. Facial cleanser is more gentle and it doesn’t.
I’ve also found that you need to apply natural deodorants more often. And, of course, they don’t do anything to prevent sweating.
Count me as another who isn’t loving the deodorant. I too love the smell, but it doesn’t work. I compromise by using it on days – like Sundays – where I’m just sitting around.
I LOVE every other product I’ve tried… but sometimes I feel that the value isn’t there. Liz I’d love if you did a cost breakdown for them like you do for other boxes.
The Suds Up dish and brush set is really great! Didn’t think I’d like it at first, but now it’s a must!
Was starting to wonder if it was my body chemistry mixed w/ the deodorant…thankful you posted an “honest” review. It does not work, at all. I like the smell when applied, just wish it lasted hours later. Terrible. Thinking of sending it back & getting the lip balms. I love the multi-surface cleaner, floor cleaner & the suds up set {staples/favs in my home}.
I agree, the deodorant wasn’t my favorite as far as performance. I also wouldn’t recommend their toothpaste. Other than that, I love the laundry/dish detergents and the lavender vanilla room spray/ fabric refresher is one of my favorite things EVER. Smells soooo amazing!
Can you skip months with this sub? I buy their laundry products at Target already and would subscribe but I live alone and just don’t need 5+ items per month.
You can update your ship date as often as you want – so essentially skipping. (You can pick a date up to 2 months in advance, and continue to change it if you want to).
Do I understand correctly that you can choose whichever items you want and the cost is the same? I noticed online that there is a free trial (just pay shipping).
Yes – that’s right, it is 5 items for $35.95 – which ever 5 you want. Hope that helps!
Liz, have you tried the Dr Hauschka deodorants? They have a roll on that works very well (for me anyway). It’s expensive, but lasts a while and is my favorite natural deodorant. It comes in a sage scent and a floral/rose scent. The sage smells really fresh and neutral!
I’ve tried a few products from that brand, but not the deodorant yet – thanks for the tip!
Im so excited! I can’t wait to hear the details!
I love Honest products! Knowing that they’re free of harmful chemicals gives me piece of mind as a new mother. I subscribe to the diaper, vitamin, and household bundles (recently ordered a trial of the formula, but it hasn’t arrived yet). I’ve loved everything I’ve tried except the spray deodorant and orange cyprus air freshener (the scent just wasn’t for me).
I get the Honest Diapers (Which I LOVE LOVE LOVE) and used to get the essential bundle – but have stopped because I don’t love their household items (dishwasher soap and laundry detergent)…..
But I do love the company!!
Would you mind sharing what you don’t like about those items? Those are items that I’d want to include if I joined. Thanks.
I’ve also recently stopped buying the essentials kit but I still love them for diapers for my 19 month old and we’ve been using honest diapers for her since she was born, however, I’ve recently started buying their pull-ups too and I remember Huggies pull-ups being better than these ones are… I think the laundry detergent is fine, the stain remover doesn’t hold a candle to any mainstream brand (I went back to using Tide stain spot treatment even though I still have a full bottle of the Honest version because it just wasn’t effective at removing stains, and with two little kids, we have plenty of stains around here). I also do not like the dish washer pods, they left my glasses very spotty, like it was leaving a film on my glasses. Glass cleaner smells like vinegar, so then I ask myself why I’m not just using vinegar (much cheaper that way) because my house is going to smell like it one way or another. I personally prefer to use the Method brand from Target for my cleaning supplies over Honest. I like their intentions and mission but the products were pretty lackluster from my experience.
Hi Liz,
I love honest products! I also purchase their bundle but I wanted to let you know that target sells a lot of their items…some items such as honest toilet paper is not even available at honest.com because it would be too costly for them to ship (which is what they told me was the reason when I inquired!). I love the idea of honest toilet paper!
Thanks for letting me know – I knew Target carried their items, but I had no idea there were some items that were exclusively sold at Target. Only the Honest Company could get me excited about toilet paper and paper towels! 🙂
I totally agree! When I saw the first ingredient of their shampoo is aloe i knew i was hooked! I love most of their products. I really wish you were still curating boxes. I love all the items you chose for your boxes.
Thank you! I’m working on something! 😉 Hopefully I’ll be able to share details soonish!
That is SOOO exciting to hear!!
Eeeek! I can’t wait to hear more details. I’ll be trying to contain my enthusiasm about this subject until then…..
Exciting! 🙂