Ophelia's Apothecary July 2013 Review

Well, better late than never, I finally got my Ophelia's Apothecary July box last week. Apparently a few people accidentally got shipped 2 boxes while a few others (like me) didn't get one. I ended up emailing the owner on August 1st to ask about it, and she got back to me right away and apologized and promised it wouldn't happen again. That sounds fine to me. Besides, I absolutely loved June's Ophelia's Apothecary box, so I was so excited for July's.

Opening the box

Info sheet

Ok, so before I get into the review, there's something I have to get off my chest. Since my box arrived later than most, I had already seen 3 other people's reviews for July and there was one item in particular I was so looking forward to - a linen and pillow spray with a lavender/vanilla/musk scent. 3 of my favorite scents - which, by the way, were in my intro quiz. Beyond the fact that it seemed that everyone else got the same stuff this month, even if there was some variation, this should've been a shoe-in for my box based on my answers to that quiz. Plus my sleep lately has been abysmal. I've been stressed out by one thing after another these past few months, so I could use something awesome to lull me into a peaceful slumber. When I opened my box, my eyes quickly scanned everything and I was sooo disappointed to not see it. Like, really sad. To make matters worse, the item that seemed to have replaced it was a lip gloss. Nooo!!! And I got a lip gloss last month, too, so while this was a slightly different color, I really would have preferred something else to try. At least it was in a better container this time - the tiny jar sample worked just fine in June, but the rollerball sample still hasn't deposited out ANY color. Bah. And I looked on her website - the linen spray doesn't seem to be available for me to buy myself, so I don't know how I can ever try it! :'(

I also had one other replacement item - a small sample of Lemony Meringue Hand and Cuticle Cream (which I got a bigger jar of last month, mind you) replaced a bigger sample of Honey and Shea cuticle salve. :( These 2 substitutions just bummed me out a bit. I can't help but feel like she maybe made only enough of the regular July samples for exactly as many subscriptions as she had and now the few people out there who got 2 boxes have 2 of those nice, new samples while I got repeats. That's a bummer after loving June's box so much. But anyway, onto all the product reviews.

This month, I got 7 items:

• Aphrodite Lip Tint sample - I mentioned this above as the product I got instead of the linen and pillow spray. It feels nice on and the color is ok because it's a bit sheer (though it's a little orange for me) but again, I'm not a lip girl. Sadly, this went into the lip box of doom (till I find a home for it).

Lip tint (and bonus kitty foot!)

Swatch of Aphrodite lip tint

• Sugared Strawberries Lip Scrub - Ok, this was amazing. My lips looked and felt great after I used it, and I may have followed the directions to wash (or lick) off.

Yummy Sugared Strawberries Lip Scrub

•  Lemony Meringue Hand and Cuticle Cream - small sample. This product smells great, but wasn't my favorite product in last month's box (it's a little thick), so it isn't my favorite again. 

Lemony Meringue Hand and Cuticle Cream

•  Blueberry Limon Face Cleanser - this smelled great and had little bits to exfoliate a little, but left my face feeling a tad tight. I think following up with a nice moisturizing lotion would help that. 

Blueberry Limon Face Cleanser

•  Green Tea and Cucumber Mineral Rich Bath Salts - I look forward to using these if I get a chance to take a bath, but I didn't really get much of a scent from it. Oh well. 

Green Tea and Cucumber Mineral Rich Bath Salt

•  Vanilla Mint Shea Butter Lip Balm - Definitely my favorite product in the box. This balm is fantastic. It smells great, feels great on, and leaves my lips so soft! This is a lip product I can get behind! Balms are so much more my style. Eyes - gimme all the color and drama you've got, but lips, meh - I want basic. Like this.

Vanilla Mint Shea Butter Lip Balm

•  Exfoliating glove - I think this was considered an extra since it's not made by her. I don't have one, though, so it's certainly nice to have.

Exfoliating glove

July 2013 Ophelia's Apothecary box

<sigh> It pains me to say I'm not entirely happy with July's box. It was ok, but I loved June soo much, so I had high hopes and expectations for July. Really, my biggest problem was the substitutions. I do truly believe this was a one time problem - from her Facebook fan page, it seems like the owner has some stuff going on right now that may be a tad distracting, so I'm willing to overlook it. But I really hope next month is back on par with June again. I'm mostly hoping for no repeats. And that linen spray would be nice... ;)

And anyone joining me for the first time, Ophelia's Apothecary box is $15/month (or less if you go with a 3- or 6-month subscription) and you get 4-6 handmade bath and body items (everything is paraben- and sulfate-free). When you sign up, the owner sends you an email with a survey asking about fragrance preferences, allergies, style/personality, etc to allow her to customize your box a bit. Again, I think, hopefully, my experience this month was not quite the norm, and I do still recommend it. If you're interested in looking into it, her website is here.


(And just a disclaimer: I bought this box myself and was not compensated for this review in any way. All opinions are my own.)