Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box is a monthly subscription box that sends you therapeutic-grade essential oils paired with ingredients, bottles, and extras to make 5-6 natural recipes.
This is a review of the $39 monthly recipe box.
According to the Simply Earth site:
"Every month, we’ll send 4 full-size 100% pure essential oils + 1-2 extras + bottles to make 5-6 recipes. So you’ll have everything you need. Each month is a new theme. Plus, you’ll get more ideas and recipes on how to use the oils inside your box outside of the recipes included."
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box
The Subscription Box: Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box
The Cost: $39.00 per month + free U.S. shipping
The Products: Four full-size 100% pure essential oils + 1-2 extras to make 5-6 recipes around each month's theme. Simply Earth donates 13% of profits to a charity.
Ships to: The U.S. for free
Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box Review
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Each box arrives with a variety of recipes offering ideas of how you can use the oils that came in your box. On the reverse of the recipe cards is various info including a list of all the items in the box and the extras that were sent. You'll also find a welcome note from Katie (the curator and aromatherapist behind this box), info on where to find more details about the recipes, a sneak peek at next month's box including extras you'll want to obtain for upcoming DIYs, and info about the nonprofit this month's box benefitted: Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition, to which 13% of my purchase was donated.
This sheet is printed with stickers that you can use to label your homemade projects once complete.
Here are the four oils I was sent this month:
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Amyris Essential Oil, 15 mL – Retail Value $15.99
From Simply Earth:
Amyris Essential Oil calms, cleans, boosts immunity, supports skin care, and soothes. The woody & vanilla-like of this aroma will put you in awe!
I've never heard of Amyris before, but it's an instant hit. Its woody description feels true for me, similar to cedarwood in some ways. I find these types of scents to be instantly calming and remind me of how easily nature can be accessed and enjoyed when in need of a break from it all. This scent puts me right in that space.
This bottle has a different type of dropper insert than I'm used to seeing from Simply Earth. It looks similar but doesn't release drops of oil as readily. I'm not sure if it's because of the dropper or the nature of the oil, but the scent is very subtle.
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Palmarosa Essential Oil, 15 mL – Retail Value $13.99
From Simply Earth:
Often used as an adulteration of rose oil because of its similar aroma at a much lower price, Palmarosa offers a variety of benefits for the skin and emotional well being.
This is my first encounter with Palmarosa oil. Upon early sniffs, I agree with the above statement that it has a rose-like scent to it, but also has what I would describe as a citrusy side, making it distinct and unique. It's said to be calming and I can see that—though not in the way that lavender is so decidedly mellow; Palmarosa is brighter and lighter. I look forward to working with this one.
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Tea Tree Essential Oil, 15 mL – Retail Value $12.99
From Simply Earth:
Tea Tree Essential Oil is one the best known and loved oils around the world. It has been affectionately known as “First Aid in a Bottle” as it is amazing for skin care, natural cleaning, and respiratory support. It can also be beneficial for those in need of confidence.
Ahh, good old tea tree oil. Tea Tree was my first foray into essential oils many years ago. I didn't know much about it but I loved its potent, earthy scent, and wore it straight out of the bottle as perfume, especially in the summer. I'm so fascinated to read that "it can be beneficial for those in need of confidence" because I do have memories of feeling empowered by its scent during that time of my life.
I also noticed on the Simply Earth site that it's suggested as blending well with bergamot, cypress, eucalyptus, grapefruit, juniper berry, lavender, lemon, marjoram, nutmeg, and rosemary. Because I'm newer to essential oils I'm a bit timid about making my own blends, but tea tree is one I'm familiar enough with that it might be a good place for me to start experimenting. I can't wait to see what I can come up with using these recommendations as a guide.
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Beauty Within Essential Oil Blend, 15 mL – Retail Value $16.99
From Simply Earth:
Regain the youthfulness of soft, smooth skin naturally. Beauty Within will help reduce the effects of time on the skin by combating fine lines and dry, dull skin.
Oh my goodness does this blend of myrrh, frankincense, rosemary, and lavender smell heavenly. I would gladly douse myself in it directly from the bottle. The combination of floral herbs and musky oils make for an aroma that I'd imagine a forest-dwelling goddess exuding. So good!
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Vegetable Glycerin, 5 mL – Retail Value $4.99
From Simply Earth:
Attracts water and binds it to the skin, helping to keep it hydrated and moisturized. The hydrating properties means that it smooths and softens the skin, and can give skin a plumper look, improving the appearance of wrinkles.
Vegetable glycerin is a very curious substance—it's so light the bottle almost feels empty, and it's extra slippery. In herbalism, it can be used as an alternative to alcohol. In the context of beauty products, it's smoothing and hydrating for the skin.
Beet Root Powder, 0.1 oz
How great is the color of this beetroot powder? I love love love natural plant dyes and will never stop marveling at the colors of nature.
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Castor Oil, 1.6 oz
Castor oil is a vegetable oil that's used in skincare products, medications, as industrial lubricants, and more. I had to chuckle seeing this arrive in my box at 7 months pregnant because it's actually something that can be consumed to induce labor. (Don't use Simply Earth castor oil to DIY your labor, friends!)
Lip Balm Container x 2 — Retail Value $0.49 each
I love that Simply Earth can really be a one-stop-shop for all the supplies you'll need for their recipes. They sell these twist-up lip balm containers individually. You'll see both in action below!
My DIY This Month:
Shiny Pink Lip Balm
This month's beauty theme brought with it some really nice DIY options. I'm really intrigued by the hair mask (it calls for raw egg! And honey! And you leave it in for an hour!), but it sounds like something I'll need to allow extra time for, so I went for something simpler. I've heard tell of brunches and birthday parties that involve DIY lip balm as a fun activity with a take-home component, but I've actually never partaken myself. So I was pleased to have the opportunity to check it off my list!
1 of 8 | My first step was gathering all my ingredients—thanks to last month's Big Box, I had everything I needed.
I'm sure most of you are seasoned DIYers who go into their projects with intention and preparedness. But for those of you out there who are like me and find themselves wandering into projects when they have a few spare minutes, I recommend grabbing an apron and some paper towels for this one! This was my first time working with beetroot powder, but beets themselves have a tendency to stain clothing. And, the step where you use a spatula to fill the tubes is an imprecise one, so I found myself needing to wipe my fingers off frequently.
*I have Amyris essential oil pictured above, but I actually ended up making a last-minute switch. I couldn't figure out how to get the drops of Amyris oil out of the bottle! The dropper insert is a little different from the usual and no matter how vigorously I shook it I couldn't get anything to come out. I could've removed the dropper insert altogether and poured some into the lip balm blend, but that felt risky since time was of the essence. I ended up using a few drops of lemon essential oil instead!
Here's how the lip balms look when complete. I snapped this photo, then stuck them in the fridge for a half-hour or so to speed up the cooling time. The process of filling the tubes got a little messy, so if you plan to gift your lip balm, you may want to do some more diligent wiping up of the edges. Mine are just for me, so I didn't worry about detailing them. I also didn't push my beetroot powder through a sieve so it's not as smooth as it could be—again, for my own personal use it works just fine. Finally, the tubes were a bit too oily for the provided stickers to stay on. I may have tried a little soap and water were I determined to get them to stick.
Much to my surprise, the lip balm didn't add much pigment to the natural pink color of my lips. I was actually fine with that! I have a collection of lipsticks for when I want that type of look, but for day-to-day, my natural color is what works best for me. Plus, my two-year-old always wants in on a little lip balm when she sees me apply it, so this way I won't have to worry about a pink mess all over her face. In terms of how it feels? Wowza, this is top of the line! It's so smooth and moisturizing and stays soft-feeling for a long time. My favorite part is that it doesn't have any unnecessary ingredients—it's just pure natural goodness.
Verdict: My intro to Simply Earth was a nice experience. I don't have an extensive stock of essential oils in my home, so everything I was sent was new to me. (By the way, I'm open to essential oil storage ideas if anyone has a setup they recommend!) I loved being able to do two of the provided DIY recipes right off the bat, and I plan to store the recipe cards for when I'm in the mood to buy supplies and dig into a project in the future. I like that the projects can be kept and enjoyed or given as gifts—some of my favorite gifts this past holiday season were homemade, and it felt like a hurdle to gather enough supplies and recipes to make my own, but this box offers a great jumping-off point.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No—if you subscribe today, you'll receive the April box as your first, as well as the big bonus box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $39.00 (with free shipping), so each of the 8 items in the monthly box (counting the 2 lip balm containers as 1) has an average cost of $4.88.
Check out all of our Simply Earth reviews!
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