I’ve never been one of those people who celebrates their birthday for an entire month. Or an entire week, for that matter. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love birthdays and do not fear growing old. I collect each year like a badge of honor and wear it proudly. How lucky am I to have made another trip around the sun! But, typically my birthday comes and goes with little to no fan fare. This year I decided, what the hell, let’s give this “birthday month” thing a try. Just kidding – I’m actually just trying to come up with a valid justification for buying myself a present 25 days before my actual birthday. In this case: a Wild Woman subscription box.
Surprise! It’s a Box!
Subscription boxes are a very polarizing topic. Not on the same level as politics or religion, but perhaps more in the same realm as the “does pineapple belong on pizza?” debate. Some people absolutely love subscription box services, and the element of surprise they bring every single month. Others hate the lack of control of the items they are paying for, or find that the box contents are just too unpredictable to justify the money spent.
I fall somewhere in between. While I definitely consider myself an “experiences over stuff” kind of person, I’ve had a lot of luck in the world of outdoor subscription boxes in the past. Our Cairn box subscription of 2016 gave us a number of quality items that we still use – frequently, at that – to this day. Hammocks, camping cutlery, backpacks, and more. It definitely felt like you were not only getting your money’s worth, but ended up with quality, functional products.
Further, we don’t have an REI, EMS, L.L. Bean, or any of those massive outdoor retailers (or, even any local, small outdoor retailers that aren’t solely focused on fishing) here in Myrtle Beach. I never really have an opportunity to peruse new gear for our camping and outdoor adventures. So I’ve found it’s fun to have someone else – someone “in the know” – pick out the good stuff for me.
This time, however, I wanted to try something new. I reached out to Instagram friend Kierra / @hammock_momma for recommendations of a subscription box similar to Cairn. She recommended Wild Woman. I checked them out online, liked what I saw, and figured I’d give it a try.
About Wild Woman Subscription Box
Wild Woman is an outdoor subscription box created for women, by a woman. I reached out to Wild Woman to get the scoop behind this subscription box, and hear back from the founder, Alexandra DiRuscio. Alexandra, in her words, is a mom of two, cyclist, archer enthusiast, hiker, writer, voracious learner, and a seeker of anything that makes her feel like a kid again, with a major case of wanderlust.
In my email, I asked Alexandra why she created the Wild Woman box. This is her response:
“I launched the Wild Woman Box in January 2018 (just crossed the 2 year mark!) and it was essentially because I didn’t feel like the other outdoor boxes were a good fit for me. I felt like I would never make use of the gear included because it was for more “serious” outdoors people. While mine is outdoor focused, I also wanted to focus on really touching on the soul of the wild woman. Because a wild woman isn’t just the strongest hiker or the bravest explorer – it’s a woman who feels free to be whatever the hell it is she wants to be.”
“I hope my subscribers feel empowered to explore all parts of themselves, to prioritize their desire to get outside and get moving, and to feel a little bit of inspiration each month to stay connected with who they are and how they feel when they’re in the outdoors. “
What’s Inside the February 2020 Box?
I truly had no idea what to expect from my first Wild Woman box. What I received was exactly what founder Alexandra mentioned above: a combination of products for your body and soul.
Here’s what was inside my February 2020 box:
Keep Nature Wild Beanie
Keep Nature Wild is a company founded by brother-in-laws Cameron and Sean who are on a mission to build communities by picking up trash outside. For every item you purchase, one pound of trash is physically picked up from the wild (you can read more about how they do that here)
As a former Vermonter, I have no shortage of winter beanies. Which, for the record, here in the South they call them toboggans. But a toboggan is a sled, the long wooden one with the curved front, and you’ll never convince me otherwise. Regardless, this hat is actually really comfortable, and as a bonus, fits my abnormally large head and actually covers my ears.
Fleur & Bee Vitamin C Face Serum
Confession: my immediate reaction when I pulled this face serum out of the box was “ugh, cosmetics”. My current face care routine includes soap and water in the shower, and that’s it. Once, my amazing older sister who is a consultant for a skincare line brought me a entire regimen, and I got overwhelmed. I work my ass off for a lot of things in life, but when it comes to “beauty”…l’m lazy. I don’t even own makeup.
BUT…then I reminded myself that one of the reasons I wanted to subscribe to a “box” was to find new products, step outside of my comfort zone, and try something new.
The Vitamin C Serum from Fleur & Bee is all natural, dermatologist tested, and cruelty free (the most important thing for this rabbit mama). Plus, it has raving 5 star reviews not only on their website, but on Amazon as well. So, I’m actually going to give this a shot, see if it brings a little radiance to this weathered (though not ashamed by it) face!
ProBar Bolt Chews & Meal Bar
I love trying new endurance nutrition. But I HATE that so often, samples or items included in subscription boxes are peanut or peanut butter flavored. I know, I know, everyone loves peanut butter, especially in the endurance world. I am the oddball, and this is my problem. But when fruit flavored (or, not nut butter) options show up, I am incredibly grateful
I’ve had ProBar meal bars in the past. They are hearty, filling, and actually quite delicious. The Bolt organic energy chews were new to me, however. So the youngest and I shared a couple during our mini-hike today. The flavor was not bad (though not overly sweet), and the chews contain electrolytes and B vitamins for sustained energy.
Knock Knock Crush Your Goals Deck
Another unexpected, not necessarily “outdoor” product. I personally am a huge fan of positive affirmations, and this deck of cards is full of them. 40 cards, to be exact, with inspiring quotes from writers and artists. The box also included a tiny stand for desktop display of your favorite card.
I won’t lie, SOME of the cards are a little cheesy (even though the website claims zero cheese, haha), but hey, that’s just my opinion. However, on a quick glance through the box, this one spoke to me, and my current modus operandi:
Wild Woman Sticker
Yes, there’s still space on my rocketbox for this.
Is the Wild Woman Subscription Box Worth It?
The regular cost of a Wild Woman subscription box is $37.95, plus shipping. For my first order, I was able to use the coupon code “WILD” to save $5. So, I ended up paying $32.85, plus $5.95 for shipping (which came 3 day priority). For a grand total of $38.90.
The retail cost of the products inside the February 2020 box comes out to a total of $67.49, plus whatever you would have to pay on shipping for those individual items. That’s a difference of $28.59 savings (again, not factoring in potential shipping costs).
The contents felt carefully curated based on the premise of the box. I’ve definitely received other boxes where the contents felt like samples/”freebies” or overstock a brand was trying to get rid of, at best. That was definitely not the case with Wild Woman.
Other important info…
The subscription can be purchased monthly, or in a 3 month pre-pay (which gives you a bit of a discount). For the month to month option, you are billed on the 15th of each month, and you can cancel your subscription at anytime. As mentioned above, shipping is NOT included in the price. Boxes ship on the 5th of the month. I received my box on the 7th of the month, so I was definitely pleased with the shipping method.
OVERALL:
While a couple of the products took me a second to warm up to (the serum and the goal quote cards), I am pleased with my Wild Woman box, an will continue my subscription to see what’s next. Stay tuned for the March box review.
Visit www.wildwomanbox.com/ to learn more, or to subscribe for yourself!
Those Bolt chews are really, really good!!