Hello sweet besties! It has been an incredibly long time since I have last posted, I apologize! I underestimate how much time adulting takes and overestimate how much I can get done in one day while still living an intentional, balanced life. I’m sure many of you can relate to this! One of my passions that has been bringing me joy lately is luxury eco beauty, so I had to jump back into blogging with a Beauty Heroes review!
WHAT IS BEAUTY HEROS?
Beauty Heros is basically the Sephora or Ulta of the eco-beauty world. They focus on plant-based beauty and lifestyle products and even coined their own term, Blue Beauty, for the most eco-friendly and sustainable options. They offer a monthly subscription to discover “hero” products, which are products that are special and effective enough to be featured in that month’s box. From what I’ve noticed, they typically feature new brands in the boxes or new launches from longstanding brands (like True Botanicals, OSEA, Blissoma).
One brand is featured per box and typically there is two to five full-sized products. Each box has a hero product, or the standout product, and at least one more “sidekick” product that is either great to pair with the hero, or just another special formula from the brand. I love the idea of curating boxes with new and innovative formulas, but also including preexisting products in the line that are just as special and worth trying to get a great feel for the brand. Each month’s box is also released as a stand alone box on the website that can be purchased without a subscription for $58.95.
DETAILS TO KNOW
The box can be purchased as a stand-alone box (no subscription required) for $59.
3, 6, and 12-month subscription packages offered.
The 12-month subscription is $479.70 (or $39.95 a box).
Any subscription purchased also gets you 15% off almost all products on the website!
BEAUTY HEROES BOXES
NOVEMBER 2023: Mukti Organics
November 2023’s box featured Mukti Organics’ two products: Queen of Night Creme ($88) and Age Defiance Serum ($78) for a total value of $166.
HERO: I tested the Night Creme as the last moisturizing step in my nighttime skincare routine, but I didn’t find it to hold in my hydration as much as I needed it to. I ended up using this creme on my body, which actually turned out to be such a treat. The gentle moisturizing properties would be perfect for someone with combo-oily skin who still wants the experience of a thick luxurious moisturizer, without it feeling too heavy or as a standard body butter. I ended up using the creme completely, and you can find it in my empties video here!
SIDEKICK: The second product never stood a chance in my routine, because I don’t use eye-specific products. Just entering my 30s and wanting simplicity and a streamlined skincare routine meant there really wasn’t a place for eye creams in my routine. I honestly just use all my skincare products over the entirety of my face and neck, so I never thought I needed another product for such a small area. Anyway, setting my biases aside, this was a pretty good eye serum. All of Mukti’s products that I have tried have a botanical herby scent, and this product was no different. It moisturized my eye area, but being that I don’t currently have a lot of eye wrinkles, I knew I wouldn’t see much of an effect from any product. I occasionally use this as an all-over facial moisturizer, so that’s how it’ll get used up.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Value: 7/10, Brand Rating: 7/10, Box Rating: 6/10
There was nothing wrong with this box, but it wasn’t exciting and useful for me. I do love the organic ingredients, I love the packaging, and I love value.
DECEMBER 2023: Bluh Alchemy
December 2023’s box featured Bluh Alchemy’s three products: Active Relief Body Oil ($68), Phyto-Enzyme Body Polish ($65), and Body Brush ($28) for a total value of $161.
SIDEKICK: The body polish in this box is a must try, if you need one and have the budget for it. The scent is uplifting, and gingery, with a hint of basil and patchouli. It sounds like an odd combo, but the botanical scent first shocked me and then I was hooked. Using this scrub is an experience. An experience I am willing to pay $65 for again to recreate. The scrub exfoliates with large sugar crystals that melt into a beautiful milky emulsion when mixed with water. The nourishing oils in the formula do in fact moisturize the skin, but don’t leave a thick coconut oil-like film on the skin. It’s honestly a new fave product that has earned a spot in my routine once I finish up my current inventory. If you want to see what’s currently in my beauty inventory then click here.
HERO: The second product, which is actually the hero product, is still an enigma to me. I honestly can’t decide if I like it or not, because it is SO heavily scented with deep, woodsy, campfire-like fumes that I haven’t given this oil much of a try. What I can say is that it performs like a standard body oil, and would be best to use in the fall and winter (so it makes sense that it was included in the December box). I’ll have to get back to you on this one.
SIDEKICK: I’m going to be honest, I haven’t used this brush once yet. I tend never to remember that I have beauty tools, so it’s not Bluh Alchemy’s fault. I can tell you that it appeared to be of excellent quality, so I’m excited for when I finally get around to trying it.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Value: 8/10, Brand Rating: 8/10, Box Rating: 8/10
I love the scrub so much and found a new favorite, hence the high scores. I love the ingredients, but I’m perplexed by the scents. Overall, I liked this box and was happy to try another new-to-me brand.
JANUARY 2024: de Mamiel
January 2024’s box featured de Mamiel’s two products: First Fix Stress Response Serum ($216) and Multi-Active Hydra Mist ($24), for a total value of $240.
HERO: This serum, and the brand in general, is very new to me. I found this serum to be very typical of other hydrating, calming serums, but nothing overly special. The scent was an okay botanical green smell and the texture was nice to layer with my other products. I don’t see this as a true hero product though, it was not life changing and it’s super pricey.
SIDEKICK: I really liked this creamy hydrating mist in my routine, but the bottle only lasted me about a week. I was honestly shocked at how fast I went through it. Even though I liked the the nourishing formula, I probably wouldn’t pick this up routinely. In the box, however, it was fabulous!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Value: 9/10, Brand Rating: 6/10, Box Rating: 7/10
I liked the box, but didn’t love it. The sleek black glass packaging was lovely, the scent was okay, and the formula was good – but not revolutionary. However, it was exciting to try and it felt like a luxurious experience.
FEBRUARY 2024: Free + True
February 2024’s box featured Free and True’s three products: Tansy Bi-Phase Essence ($68), Ramblin Rose Soothing Hydrating Serum ($68), and Nurture Pure Guava Seed Oil ($52) for a total value of $188.
HERO: The tansy essence is a lovely bi-phase toning step that is perfect for hydrating and adding in moisture. When you shake the bottle, it turns into a beautiful milky blue color and features a useful stop plug (inside the top cap) that keeps the product from leaking. I personally like the way blue tansy smells, so if you do too, then you’re in luck! It’s not overpowering, but it is detectable. I find myself opting for spray toners over a milky essence product in general, but this is a great essence for me to have on hand.
SIDEKICK: Unfortunately, the serum bottle I received was broken. I still can’t get the pump to work two months later, so I always have to open the product if I want to use it. It is highly inconvenient, because the serum flops out like a glob of aloe, but I’ll use it until it’s gone. It has a slight rosey aloe scent, which makes sense given the color and texture. It’s a nice serum that is soothing, and I prefer the texture and ingredients over the de Mamiel one, but I won’t go out of my way to purchase this.
SIDEKICK: This oil is honestly the standout product for me! When I first opened it, the scent was really strong – almost artificial and it scared me. However I quickly grew to love the intensely sweet and fruity guava scent and have been using it almost every night since as the last step in my routine. With the scent profile, I feel like it’s more of a morning skincare or body oil, but I still use it at night as an uplifting finisher. It hydrates and nourishes my skin and doesn’t break me out! I would buy this again after I go through my entire inventory of oils, which is going to take a while.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Value: 8/10, Brand Rating: 9/10, Box Rating: 9/10
Free + True was a pleasant surprise and a joy to use, minus the faulty packaging. The oil is fabulous, the essence is luxurious, and the serum is standard. The brand uses lovely ingredients and is at a more accessible price point than the other brands.
MARCH 2024: True Botanicals
March 2024’s box featured True Botanical’s three products: Ginger Tumeric Cleansing Balm ($48), Phyto-Retinol Sleep Serum ($90), and At-Home Facialist Peel ($65) for a total value of $203.
HERO: The cleansing balm worked really well for me and was probably the best item out of the box. I don’t normally purchase cleansing balms on my own, but this one did remove my makeup and sunscreen and was a great first cleansing step. I prefer other cleansing methods to this one, but it was fun to try and the packaging is very visually appealing.
SIDEKICK: The sleep serum is something that I would never purchase on my own, because it contains a plant based retinol and I don’t use any form of retinols in my skincare routine. However, the texture, color, and scent are all lovely. I wish this serum featured another special ingredient instead of the retinol so I could use it in my routine, but I will end up just using it on my body. My body tends to be a little more accepting of an ever changing product line up, so any skincare I’m not a huge fan of goes directly into the body care pile, just like this serum did.
SIDEKICK: I wasn’t super thrilled when I saw this peel product in the box for a few reasons. I have super sensitive skin and don’t use at-home peels, I get monthly hydrafacials so I don’t need extra intense exfoliating treatments, and I also tend to not use facial masks (I forget I own them and never think to use them). I tried using this as a flash-mask in the shower and it was perfect for that application. On wet skin I applied the mask, left it on for thirty seconds to a minute and then washed it right off before it had a chance to burn. There was an ever so slight tingle, but thankfully the flash-mask method worked great. I could see this being a great product for someone who doesn’t have sensitive skin and also has the bandwidth for extra masks and steps in their skincare routine.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Value: 8/10, Brand Rating: 6/10, Box Rating: 5/10
This box didn’t start off strong because I don’t use these kinds of products in my routine regularly. The formulas were nice for what they were and I liked the botanical ingredient inclusions, minus the phyto-retinol. The packaging is GORGEOUS and I really want to try products from this brand that I would regularly reach for, to actually get a better grip on the quality.
APRIL 2024: Oio Labs
April 2024’s box featured Oio Lab’s three products: Fulvic Ionic Mineral Face and Scalp Toner ($60), All In Eye Serum ($60), and Supercharged Glow Facial Serum ($35) for a total value of $155.
HERO: I love the idea of a scalp toner. Is it necessary? Probably not, but I do love me some mists. There is a 100% chance of me liking a product more if it comes in a spray-bottle format. I haven’t had very long with this product, but I have been using it on the sunburn on my scalp. It’s been refreshing, soothing, and gentle on my healing skin. I’ll have to report back with future findings.
SIDEKICK: This eye serum is the first and only product from the past six month’s worth of boxes that I have actually already heard of and tried. I ended up getting two full sized bottles for free as a gift-with-purchase from Niche Beauty. As I have already discussed, I don’t use eye-specific products, so I used this on my body as a body serum. It’s a wonderfully light texture and is hydrating. It has a high concentration of pentylene glycol in the formula, which is an ingredient I don’t buy if possible. It’s not as nourishing as other plant-based extracts and botanicals that brands can use.
SIDEKICK: I have yet to use this facial serum, as I have so many in my inventory queue, but I have swatched it! It’s a beautiful peachy pink hue, slightly shimmery, and feels nice and cooling on the skin. I could see this being a great daytime serum option from the texture and appearance alone. Again, I’ll have to report back on this when I have used it more.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Value: 8/10, Brand Rating: 6/10, Box Rating: 7/10
This brand has a clinical take on botanical ingredients that comes off a little sterile to me. I like the idea of high-performing skincare that is nourishing and backed by data, but this brand is leaving me with a little more to be desired. I like the packaging, some of the ingredients used (like fulvic acid – it’s new to me), and I like the price points for the products.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This subscription is such a joy and a treat in my life. I LOVE discovering new eco-beauty brands that focus on using plant-based ingredients to improve the skin. I also love trying new beauty products frequently, and this is the perfect way for me to do it. The curated brand boxes are fun, a great value, and help me pace out my consumption of trying new brands. This allows me to use up my current inventory, get some use out of my tried-and-true favorites that I know work for me, while still partaking in my hobby of eco-beauty discovery. I love that the box can put new brands on my radar, so I can pick out items that are well suited for my routines. After the past six months I can confidently say I am excited for the next six months of boxes and I will be repurchasing my subscription when this one runs out.
Average Value: 8/10
Average Brand Rating: 7/10
Average Box Rating: 7/10
Overall Experience: 9/10
BEAUTY RAMBLES
As you all know, I LOVE testing beauty products and I also love sharing my findings with my besties. So it isn’t surprising that I have a long standing history with beauty subscriptions boxes. I started in high school with the $10 Birch Box in 2009, where they only gave 5 sample sachets. This was the only way I could afford to test a bunch of new brands and products each month and figure out what I could save up for to purchase the full size of – good memories. I remember loving The Beauty Shop around that time as well and having an interest in the “clean beauty/eco beauty” space. During my undergraduate degree adventures I subscribed to Petit Vour, the now-discontinued Teri Miyahira box, and then the Detox Market box. It’s fun seeing how my education and personal development has evolved over the years, but I still have an attraction to elevated beauty formulas. As I slow down in life to enjoy what is around me, I’m glad I have Beauty Heroes to look forward to still. I am someone who thrives with consistency, but craves variety in life, so something as simple as a luxury-eco beauty box really adds value to my days.
As always, I will talk to you soon and I hope you give yourself a little extra love today!
