With most of us approaching our second or even third months in lockdown or quarantine of some description, it is evident that we could all do with some TLC (tender love and care). Many of us feel under pressure to "make the most" of this time we have but too many forget the importance of maintaining decent mental wellbeing and not being too hard on ourselves - self care is a huge part of that.
The ultimate self care subscription box should make pampering yourself an effortless and fuss-free affair, leaving you feeling cared for and ready to take on the world.
I found two boxes in particular that I would recommend for teens looking for something all-inclusive yet wholly affordable to use at this time and I reviewed them based on factors I consider important: consideration of the user, price and quality. In no particular order:
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Who it's for:
So you want to buy yourself a gift, but don't quite know what... something aesthetic... a cheeky touch of mystery... and you don't want to spend a fortune on it - Selfcareboxes have got you covered!
Selfcareboxes curate beautiful all-inclusive boxes to a range of themes, their best seller being the Pink Skies box which I tried out.The beauty is that customer service is so great that there is such high flexibility with themes and new ideas for listing on their Depop page.
Some of my favourites on browsing were their personalised horoscope mystery boxes and their flower themes including sunflower and lavender.
Price:
£12 so nothing that will break the bank!
The box I received:
Content:
X5 Strawberries and Cream Lindor Chocolates
X1 Pink Butterfly Iron-On Patch
X1 Pink Velvet Scrunchie
X1 Dark Flower Necklace
X1 Pair of Cute Cloud Earrings
X1 Rimmel London Quick Dry Pink Nail Polish
X1 Pink Rose Clay Mask
X1 Garnier Sheet Mask
Fairy Lights
User Consideration:
I was so impressed by how thoughtful the whole thing was from the packaging onwards, everything was so well put together and also environmentally friendly! The cotton balls were really sweet like clouds the gifts were floating in (which I intend to use to germinate some cress in the future).
I had a label with my name on it and a handwritten and painted note with a beautiful quote which made me feel really special and pampered, after all self care is about working from the inside outwards.
Quality:
Given all the thought and consideration that was put into the box and the quality of the products provided, I would say that these self care boxes are well worth the money. Everything was true to the theme of "Pink Skies" and customer service was immaculate from start to finish.
The surprise of opening the mystery box only to have it exceed my expectations was such a nice feeling! There was a good level of balance, not too much of one thing and a solid mix of products to keep you satisfied. Switching on the fairy lights with everything in the box made the whole thing feel so exciting!
The products were enough to facilitate a number of fun projects - ironing a patch onto a denim jacket, painting my nails, doing a facemask and indulging in my chocolates all in the comfort of my fairy-lit room. Now that's what i call all-inclusive.
Overall:
Overall Selfcareboxes does exactly what it says on the tin. All you as the user have to do is pay a small amount of money and the rest - careful selection of products, curation into a theme of your choice, packaging to make you soul sing - is done for you.
To buy your own go to:
Depop: @selfcareboxes
Instagram: @_selfcareboxes
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2) Hello Calm
Who it's for:
Is life taking its toll on you? Are your stresses continuing to pile up be that schoolwork, your job, or even coping day to day through this pandemic? Do you have that one friend that checks up on everyone and takes too much upon herself?
This is the perfect gift to show appreciation to that friend or just as importantly to yourself. It can be bought as a one-off or a subscription for effortless pampering year-round.
Hello Calm, owned by teen herself, Emily Jones, was created to “soothe some of this pressure, where teens could support teens”. So whether that is by checking in on your friends, or supporting Emily’s company there are always ways we can support eachother.
Price:
£14 (on Facebook and Instagram)
£22 (on Etsy)
Here is the box I received (though I would like to emphasise it was packaged beautifully with scented tissue paper!)
Content:
X3 Soft Hairbands
X2 Bath Bombs (one in "Ruby Red" and the other in "Very Berry"
X2 Postcards
X1 Pink Tealight Candle
X1 Small Long Notebook
X1 Cherry Flavoured Lip Balm
X1 Candy Kitten Watermelon Vegan Sweet Bag
X1 Cute Pink Air Freshener
X1 Belgian Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate Stirrer with Marshmallows
And tons of quotes, recipes and lists for extensive mentally nourising self-care!
User Consideration:
The amount of consideration that went into this box was probably my favourite thing about it! It isn't all about the material items that come in the box.
I was so impressed by the number of personalised elements, recipes, quotes, mental health tips and more that came with the adorable products and have stuck them around my room as some helpful reminders to take care of myself. Having vegan sweets as opposed to gelatinous, I felt, was a really considerate touch especially as I only eat halal sweets.
Quality:
The number of different products was astounding and what it didn't have in conventional value for money as the products were all very affordable it made up for in consideration, care and a feeling of thoughtfulness.
There was a huge variety in products with notes explaining some of them such as in the notebook and plenty of edible gifts to sweeten up life for me! The level of professionalism in the branding, given that Hello Calm is a business by a teen for teens, I found extremely inspiring.
Overall:
Overall, Hello Calm is something I have loved, so much so that I decided to send my best friend a box too! It is perfect for showing someone how much you appreciate them, and puts kind words that we find hard to express into a sweet package.
To buy your own go to:
Instagram: @hellocalmboxes
Facebook: @hellocalmboxes
Etsy: @hellocalmboxes