The Gift of Self-Care: Which Is The Best Self-Care Box?

Over the past few months, I have been testing and reviewing five popular self-care boxes in our Gift of Self-Care Series to find out which is the best self-care box on the market.

I started with Therabox, then moved to the HopeBox. Next, I reviewed Feeling Fab and the Go Love Yourself box. I ended the series with the MindWander box. (If you missed any of the unboxings check out the GenTwenty highlight on my Instagram or check out the linked blog posts!)

Why Self-Care Boxes?

There is a lot of talk about self-care, but how many people actually do it? It turns out two out of three people in the US do not take time for themselves, according to a Birchbox study. Other’s needs usually come first. Whether you are swamped with work, school, family, or a mixture of both, life can get busy. It is understandable that time to take care of yourself gets brushed off, but it is not healthy.

Signing up for a self-care box subscription box serve as a reminder each month to take some me-time. While there are many self-care boxes out there, When doing these reviews I found that they each offer something unique. In the individual articles, I gave my overall rating for each box. In this article, I’m going to do things a little differently. 

I’ve got a couple of categories, like box design, box value, and brand engagement. I’ll rate each box 1-5 and we will see who comes out on top. Because I loved each of these boxes for different reasons I’m also sharing “box superlatives” as a fun way to end this series. 

The Rating of The Boxes

Price/Box Value

In this category I am comparing the price to the value of the items in each box, Most of these boxes have different subscription options. I’ll be sharing the information from the boxes I received.

I encourage you to take a look at each of their websites to view the other options. Since the prices of the boxes differ, the value is going to be different. That would be something to keep in mind. The one with the most value getting five points, and the least getting one.

5. Go Love Yourself: I wasn’t able to get all the price information, but based on the site the value of the Deluxe Self Care Subscription Box & Community Bundle box I received was over $174. The cost of this box was $49.95, before tax, making the savings over $125.

4. Therabox: The value of the box I received was $163.99. With the box costing $34.99, the difference was $129.

3. MindWander: My box was valued at $106. With the cost being $39.99, the savings was $66.01.

2. Feeling Fab: In this box, the value of the products was $82.25. The order was $21.95, which makes that a savings of $60.30.

1. Hopebox: I wasn’t given the prices of the products in my box, but the cost was $38.99.

Box Design

I love the packaging of products like this. So much goes into it, from the physical box to the presentation inside, and the product information sheets. The box that gets five points will have a great combination of all three of these.

Here’s how I’m rating the box designs:

5. Hopebox: I loved the flowers!

4. Feeling Fab: That pink color is so fun!

3. Therabox: I loved the flowers on this one as well!

2. MindWander: The simplistic design was cute!

1. Go Love Yourself: I love the font and magazine, but the box design wasn’t as decorative as the others.

True to Self-Care

There are many different ways to classify self-care. Part of that is taking care of your skin via face masks and bubble baths. The other side is journaling and reading. Even just getting ready in the morning can be a form of self-care.

In this category the five-point box will have a good mix of these activities:

5. MindWander: I love that this box incorporates both mental health work, through a workbook, and products that are great for self-care.

4. Go Love Yourself: Another great box full of self-care products, but the best feature was a 30-minute coaching session.

3. Therabox: This was a close third because they too had great products for self-care.

2. Hopebox: I loved this box but I feel that some of the products weren’t self-care related.

1. Feeling Fab: This box struck me as more of a beauty subscription box than a self-care box.

Brand Engagement

This may not be in a typical box review category. When you majored in Advertising and Public Relations you pay attention to this side. In this category, I’m basing the score off of any customer service I experienced and engagement on social media.

The top box had the most engagement and best customer service in my opinion:

5. Therabox: They were very active in replying to my Instagram stories and posts.

4. Hopebox: I had some confusion about my shipping details, on my end. When I emailed them they were very quick to help and had my box shipped to me on that day.

3. Feeling Fab: Another account that interacted with my posts and stories.

2. MindWander: They featured my unboxing on their story.

1. Go LoveYourself: They were great at interacting with my posts and responded to my stories.

Box Satisfaction

Finally, I’m revealing my favorite box by giving it five points and continuing until I get to my least favorite box. Not to say that my least favorite is a bad subscription box – I loved them all. I just had one that stood out to me the most, while the rest closely followed.

5. MindWander: I loved everything but the tea.

4. Therabox: I loved everything but the massage ball and hand lotion.

3. Go Love Yourself: I loved everything but the tea and chocolate.

2. Hopebox: I got some great products, but ended up not using some of them.

1. Feeling Fab: There were some great products in this box, especially the lipstick, but I ended up not using some of the products.

Drumroll please…

After adding all of the categories up, Therabox takes the top spot with 20 points, followed by MindWander with 17 points. Close behind is a tie between Go Love Yourself and Hopebox with 14 points. Ending the list is Feeling Fab with 11 points. 

Self-Care Box Superlatives

Since I loved these boxes for different reasons I thought it would be fun to give them “superlatives” to give you more of an idea of which ones are best for you and your needs. 

• Happiness in a box: Therabox
• Giving the gift of self-care to a friend box: Hopebox
• You deserve to treat yo’self box: Feeling Fab box
• Empowerment in a box: Go Love Yourself box
• Most therapeutic box: MindWander box

A Final Note About Self-Care & Subscription Boxes

Before we close out this series I wanted to leave you with some final thoughts about self-care and subscription boxes. These reviews have been fun, but I don’t want you to feel like you can only practice self-care by buying all the things. You can take care of yourself without spending much at all. I will say, reviewing these boxes has helped me to remember certain aspects of self-care that I hadn’t prioritized lately.

I have stated throughout this series that self-care is more than bubble baths and face masks. I still stand by this, but I have shifted my perspective a bit. Going through these products made me realize that it has been a while since I took the time to truly relax. These products reminded me of how important rest was. I was burnt out and didn’t even realize it. 

Getting a monthly box gives you at least one reminder to take care of yourself if you haven’t made you a priority. No matter which box(es) you are interested in, I’d recommend that you try it at least once if you can. It’s a refreshing way to remind yourself of the importance of self-care.

Which box would you choose to try? Let me know what self-care box is your favorite, or if there is another box you love. Happy self-caring!

And as a fun bonus, be sure to check out this 30 Day Self-Care Challenge! 

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