Rubybox Scentsational box

Note:  I am still here, still blogging.  I just had an insanely busy time.  Internet at home was slow and would not upload pictures and work was too busy to write blogs at work.  Between all of that I never managed to post anything.  This post is long overdue, but I think still interesting enough to put out there.

I was driving down from Johannesburg and checking facebook (yes, you have fairly good internet reception on the N3 these days).  I was a passenger in the car if you were worried.  And then I saw a notice for the SCENTsational  box from Rubybox.  It promised one 5 ml fragrance or 75ml body lotion and 10 fragrance sample vials.  All of this for just R100. I ordered it immediately.  Imagine, buying something while stuck in a car driving down the highway for hours.

 

I have written a blog post previously about my inability to choose a perfume in a shop and how much I enjoy the sampler boxes you get at some shops around Christmas time.  This box is therefore precisely what I needed.

 

It arrived a few days later and this is what was inside:

Small vials (1.2 to 1.5 ml) of Acqua di Gioia, Armani code, Euphoria and Latin Sensation from Avon.   Two sachets each of Madly Kenzo and Kenzo flower tag.  A larger vial of Elie saab (4 ml) and Arpege as the 5 ml sample.  It also included two men’s fragrances; Armani code men and David beckham men in small vials.

The box is good value for money.  If my sums are correct I received about 22 ml of fragrance.  If we assume that fragrance cost R689 for 50 ml (the sale price for Forbidden Euphoria on the Rubybox site) then the box was worth R303.  Even if I threw the two male fragrances away it is still worth R262.  (Roughly, plus minus:  I was too lazy to find the prices for each of the perfumes, and I used a sale price.)

My complaints: 

I received a duplicate of Armani code, therefore I only got 10 different perfumes and not 11 as I thought I would get.  Since Armani code smells really nice and might actually be my favourite from the box I am not complaining too much. 

I received sachets for the two Kenzo samples.  The little spray samples are so nice to use and carry everywhere and sachets are just a  pain.  The sachets are also smaller, but they made up for this by giving me two sachets of each, so in the end it is about as much as a vial would have been.

My main complaint.  The men’s fragrances.  I do not want men’s fragrances.  I am married, but my husband dislikes all men’s perfumes and would never wear it.  I sometimes wear the male samples I get.  In this unisex universe of ours you can get away with it, but I do not really like it.  There was absolutely no indication when I bought the box that there would be men’s fragrances in it.  (They also did not state that it would be female fragrances only.  I just kind of assumed it would be.)  And judging from some complaints online I was lucky.  Some other Rubies got half men’s fragrances.  Rubybox, please, if you do this again leave out the men’s fragrances or tell us up front how many of the fragrances would be men’s fragrances.

Three of the fragrances I received were fragrances I have had samples from in the past, mostly from Rubybox.  I was less excited to get these.  I guess it is not their fault and it would be really difficult for them to figure out who have had what in the past and only send me ‘new’ samples.  But, in a perfect world it would have been nice to have received a box with 11 fragrances I have never tried before.  Heaven!

There were some complaints about the box online.  Some people complained about the men’s fragrances, which I think is a very valid complaint.  Some people complained about getting duplicates, which I also think is a valid complaint.  And then some people complained about getting bad smelling perfumes.  This is just a ridiculous complaint.  Perfumes are so subjective.  Just because you do not like it does not mean it is not a good perfume and it would be impossible to pack 11 random samples in a box and have everybody like all the samples they receive.  The whole idea of the box is to receive new scents and see whether you like them or nor. 

This box was really nice, I like it and I hope Rubybox does it again soon.  I would definitely buy it again (and hope that I do not get the same fragrances I got this time!)  Please leave a comment telling me what was inside your scent box.