The SAM & LANCE Empower-Her Box is a Canadian-based quarterly box featuring sustainable and ethical products made by and supporting women-owned small businesses (50% are BIPOC-owned businesses). Useful and usable items are carefully chosen to contribute to your life in an intentional way! For $59.95 CAD (approx. $46.52 USD + shipping) per season, each box includes 6-7 full-size products.
ACTIVE DEAL: Get $10 off your first box!
CODE: MSA10
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
Inside the Summer 2022 Box
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Welcome to this quarter's Sam & Lance Empower Her Box review! In summers past, I've felt like half my subscriptions were sourcing all the same products, and things felt a little unoriginal. One thing I love about subscribing to boxes like this, that focus on sourcing items from small businesses, that's not as much the case. Let's see what they included for us.
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Each quarterly box comes with a simple card that lists what you'll have received, and provides a short paragraph with info about both the brands and the items.
Nana + Livy Lavender Bath Tea – Retail Value $16 USD
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The peaceful lavender scent radiating from this pouch is so lovely, but I admit I was a bit closed-minded to using these bath herbs initially. Not because I didn't think I would enjoy them, but because my mind equated them to being too much work. After having my first baby, my postpartum doula told me to rest in bed while she boiled a healing mix of herbs and salts, poured them into a warm bath for me, and lit candles. It made the whole house smell heavenly! While I was bathing, she changed my bed sheets, and when I was ready to retreat back to bed, she strained the herbs out of the bath before draining the tub, wrapping them in cheese cloth and put the bundles in the freezer to be used as "padcicles." Obviously this was a very impactful form of loving care! I think about it often, but seriously, who has the time to fix themselves an herbal bath (and clean up afterward) with small kids around?
Imagine my delight that these herbs are tucked into "tea bags!" The directions say to steep 1-2 bath tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water, then pouring the whole shebang into the bath water. I love that it's all contained. I haven't tried it yet, but I can see some herbs potentially leaking out—it's just a drawstring holding it closed—but that's okay, I can see the small amount of potential leakage being easy to strain. It's also suggested that if you don't wish to use them in the bath, you can just pour the herbs into a glass jar and let the scent act as aromatherapy in the room. Great idea and more likely for me!
Net Zero Laundry Strips, 32 loads – Retail Value $17.99 USD
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The first time I tried laundry strips was when I was sent a pack in the Earthlove box. I had tried other laundry soaps that had claimed to be natural, and honestly they were disappointing in that they left our clothes—our whites especially—looking dingy. But the strips worked impressively well! It was a different brand, but I really enjoyed the experience. So far so good with these Net Zero ones. In addition to appreciating laundry strips as a lower impact laundry soap (it easily mails in a small, flat, recyclable, plastic-free envelope), I love that they don't leave a sticky residue on my hands or in my laundry room.
Fern & Petal Eucalyptus Essential Oil, 5mL – Retail Value $6 USD
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This tiny bottle of eucalyptus essential oil was steam-distilled and is not blended with a carrier oil. It's suggested to dilute before use (unless in a diffuser). I'm not very experienced with essential oils, but having subscribed to Simply Earth for a few months last year, I have a bit of an understanding—and some recipe cards, containers, and other ingredients—of types of things I could use eucalyptus oil for. Some sort of roll-on to clear congestion or a formula to keep bugs away come to mind.
Maple Tuque Reusable Silicone Bag – Retail Value Approx. $13.96 USD
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Now, this is the way to my heart. Reusable silicone bags have changed my life. They make food storage and sending snacks in kids' lunches so much easier. They squeeze into a diaper bag or beach back without taking up too much space. They're easy to wash. I have a variety of Stasher bags but this is my first time trying a silicone bag that has a slider bar for a secure closure. Both Stasher and this Maple Tuque brand are made with food grade silicone, FDA approved, and are dishwasher, oven, microwave and freezer safe. (I have found certain dish detergents leave a soapy taste behind, so be careful or ready to experiment. The good news is the soapy taste wore off quickly.) But Stasher has sort of a press-lock closure at the top, and I haven't tested out how water-tight it is. I would trust this slider bar to hold liquids inside.
I put this bag right to work storing blueberries my family had just picked at the farm. You can see that when full, the bottom widens to standing. I like how there are holes that allow you to carabiner this bag to something. I don't know what I would clip it to, but I like having the option!
Bl'eau Hydrating Glacial Moisturizing Emulsion, 3.2 fl oz – Retail Value $39 USD
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There's always one item in the Sam & Lance Box that retails at a higher price point and makes me feel so treated. This quarter, it's this Bl'eau moisturizer made from a formula combining Canadia Glacial Oceanic Mineral Water, shea butter, jojoba oil, and other botanical ingredients to offer softening and toning qualities. Before even trying this moisturizer I noticed how nice the bottle feels to hold in my hands, with its matte finish and sturdy weight. That's part of the experience, too!
The cream itself is light and smooth, and absorbs evenly and easily. Surprisingly given how the box emphasizes natural origins, I find the scent to be rather strong and perfumey. The ingredients list indicates only "parfum" and no further details on the scent, but I would describe it as floral. It put me off at first, but it's growing on me. Each time I use it I ponder if I'll make it through the whole bottle—I really like how it feels but whether I'm in the mood for the strong scent depends on the day.
Yukon Soaps Morning Elixir Bar Soap, 100g – Retail Value $10 USD
Finally, we're sent a bar of handmade soap. Tea tree and peppermint oils mean that washing with this bar is a skin-tingling experience. Vitamin E oil deepens the moisturization it offers. I'll never say "no" to a bar of soap that was made with simple ingredients (just olive oil, water, and lye at its base) and care.
Verdict
What a welcome spread from the summertime Sam & Lance Empower Her Box! The mix of home items and self-care goods offered a nice variety. My favorite thing this quarter was the silicone bag, which was immediately put to use as a home for our freshly picked blueberries. I'm also really enjoying the laundry strips, which feel good and wholesome to use as an eco-friendly washing approach to pair with line drying my laundry. The only item I'm not completely sold on is the facial moisturizer because of its strong scent, but despite this drawback I've still been using it regularly.
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To Wrap Up
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, as of the publish date of this review, the Summer box is still available.
ACTIVE DEAL: Get $10 off your first box!
CODE: MSA10
Value Breakdown: At an approximate cost of $46.52 USD for this box with 6 items, you are paying approximately $9 per item. This does not include shipping costs. I estimate that I received about $102.95 USD worth of items. Just like last quarter, that's more than twice the cost of the subscription, which I find to be a great deal.
What did you think of this quarter's SAM & LANCE Sustainable Subscription box?
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