British Boxes Review: January 2015 (Female)

Please note that as of March 6, I do not feel ethically able to recommend this subscription. While I gave them the benefit of the doubt for their first month, it appears they haven't done any follow through and I personally feel scammed. I am not sure if this was amateur business planning or a deliberate attempt to sucker people out of money but the only way to improve and succeed is to keep moving forward. Disappearing is reflective of poor ethics.

When I heard there was a new subscription box called British Boxes, I texted Crafty and told her I needed to sign up. Then I told my husband, and both agreed that it was definitely the box for me. I love all things British - music, TV, culture, literature, art, etc. I knew this was a new subscription box and they might have some kinks to work out, but I was willing to dive right in! I ordered both a male and female box as soon as the website went live.

This is a tough review, because I had such high expectations, and that's a lot on a brand new company. There were things that were done well, and things that maybe need work in the future. However, I am curious to see where they go with the feedback they get and with the ideas they have in place. (I also don't think they expected the reaction they received and were probably pleasantly overwhelmed!) I tend to feel like a first box from a brand new company gets a little more room for improvement than something like Loot Crate, which has major buying power and partnerships to work with when planning a box.

The box came beautifully wrapped and labeled in brown paper and string, but either my local post office or the customs people were not very careful with my package and it looked like someone has stomped all over it. This happens a lot with international shipments and I really wonder what happens from country to country, because a lot of care was clearly put into wrapping this and then... well, this:

Destruction aside, there was a handwritten thank you note on top, which was a really cute personal touch. Unfortunately, I felt like the personalization kind of ended there. Not all subscription boxes are customized and there really wasn't a place to give any personal info about yourself, so I didn't really expect this to be. However, I think in future boxes, I would like either customization or a theme, so that the items feel a little more linked than just being British.

There were definitely some traditionally British items included, such as tea (can you imagine a British box without tea?), Fish 'n' Chips snack crackers (basically like our Goldfish), a sample of Marmite (normally I would be disappointed in the size, but it's Marmite, so not this time), and a bit of Cranberry Wensleydale (one of my husband's favorite cheeses). I would have preferred some information on the teas and candles, either through an info card or with packaging, as it felt a little random. I was also slightly worried about the cheese because the packaging was bare and it's a dairy product.


The box also contained some tea light candles, and beauty products. The lotion is anti-aging cream (seriously, I am never going to get away from this, am I? I guess women must stress about wrinkles 23 hours a day or something given how many boxes warn us about aging skin!), so I probably won't end up using it, but it's a British brand. I also received a really nice color nail polish that, although made in France, is sold through Boots, which is pretty darn British.

Overall, I think it was an okay box, but I think I was expecting something else maybe? The Male box is on its way, so maybe that will be more what I was thinking. I probably expected a lot of Sherlock things and a Dalek or something, which makes no sense as British people obviously do a lot more than watch TV. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have planned for February; maybe now that Hershey's has betrayed us all and is breaking its contract with Cadbury, I can get some Cadbury chocolate through British Boxes. Or Milky Bar.

I will say, though, that I am so unbelievably grateful I was not sent prawn crisps. I don't even pretend to understand that. :)