Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box is a subscription box that sends you therapeutic grade essential oils paired with ingredients, bottles, and extras to make 5-6 natural recipes. Simply Earth offers a monthly or quarterly subscription option.
This is a review of the $39 monthly recipe box. According to the Simply Earth site:
Every month, we’ll send 4 full size 100% pure essential oils + 1 -2 extra + bottles to make 5-6 recipes. So you’ll have everything you need. Each month is a new theme. Plus, you’ll get more ideas and recipes on how to use the oils inside your box outside of the recipes included.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box
The Subscription Box: Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box
The Cost: $39.00/month + free US shipping or $45/every 3 months + free US shipping
The Products: 4 full-size 100% pure essential oils + 1 -2 extras to make 5-6 recipes around each month's theme. Simply Earth donates 13% of profits to fight human trafficking.
Ships to: US free shipping + Canada ($9.99 shipping)
Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box April 2018 Review
Each recipe box comes with labels for your recipe creations. (Because most recipes are made in the same amber glass bottles, these labels are helpful to keep everything straight!)
Basil Sweet Essential Oils, 15mL - Retail Value $11.99
Basil has long been used in ‘Ayurvedic’ treatment - a holistic body healing which was first practiced in Ancient India. It helps to clear the mind, uplift moods, and can also relieve nausea, gas, and head tension. I admit, I was hesitant about embracing this one, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of heavy, "herby" scents, but this one really has a touch of sweetness and spice to it!
Grapefruit Essential Oil, 15ml - Retail Value $9.99
I was a little confused by this one! The box said "Therapeutic Grade," but the bottle inside was Grapefruit Essential Oils. I looked on Simply Earth's site and didn't see any Therapeutic Grade boxes available for sale, so I'm wondering if it was a potential packaging mistake? (Especially because Grapefruit oils weren't used in this month's recipes!) Either way—I wrote to Simply Earth's customer service about it and will report back on what they say!
For now, here's the lowdown on Grapefruit: this energizing, citrus-y essential oil can be used for clearing skin, rejuvenating dull hair, uplift moods, and support mental focus. It smells AMAZING! Like pure grapefruit juice, condensed and bottled.
Thyme Essential Oil, 15mL – Retail Value $14.99
Also known as Red Thyme, this oil supports the immune system and circulation. It can also help with muscle discomfort when applied topically with a carrier oil! I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of its scent. It smells like dinner cooking on the stove, and that's always a bit of a disconnect for me when using oils. I know I should be into the more earthy, natural scents, but I prefer citrus over herbs for sure—especially when using in my diffuser!
Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend, 15mL – Retail Value $9.99
This smells even better than you'd expect! Simply Earth describes this as a blend of the "outdoors and citrus," designed to brighten your day. Its ingredients are Fir Needle, Lemon, Grapefruit, Neroli, and it's used as a natural cleaner and an energy booster! This played a starring role in one of this month's recipes, which also used...
Wool Dryer Balls - Estimated Value $8.33 (Buy a 6-pack for $24.99, found here for $15.99
SUCH a cool idea! Simply Earth's chemical-free wool dryer balls reduce wrinkles, soften fabrics, shorten drying time, and can be mixed with essential oils to make your laundry smell great. It's such a simple product, yet so effective. This month included a recipe that used these dryer balls and the Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend to aid in freshening laundry. It worked wonderfully! Check out the recipe below.
Dryer Balls Recipe
Bada-bing bada-boom! Only two steps required: place 2-3 drops of Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend on your dryer balls, then add them in with your normal dryer load of laundry. I suggest setting your dryer timer to 10 or so minutes shorter than you normally would because these wool balls certainly reduce drying time.
Next time I use these, I'm going to put 4 drops total on my dryer balls so I'll really be able to smell the Clean & Fresh Oils. I could get a whiff of it with 3 drops but would love to smell more. I definitely noticed that they reduced static! My tights were not neeeeearly as sticky and balled up as they usually are after coming out of the dryer. (I really should stop putting my tights in the laundry altogether, but that's a mission for a different day.)
Dishwasher Tablets
I knew I was in for a ride with this recipe. For starters, I had never HEARD of Borax before reading this recipe card! I was surprised to find that Giant Eagle (my local grocery store) carried it in their detergent aisles. It unfortunately only came in a big 4-pound box, but I went ahead and bought it in hopes I'd use this dishwasher tablet recipe again and again.
I unfortunately not find Washing Soda at either of two grocery stores near me, even though I was told online that it could be found in most cleaning aisles. I found a way to turn baking soda into washing soda via a very simple recipe, however–located here! Heating baking soda at 400° turns it grainy, like washing soda. It was a gamble, but it worked out okay in the end!
Here are all the ingredients I needed for this project:
Baking soda (or preferably Washing Soda, if you can find it!), apple cider vinegar, fine grain sea salt, Borax, Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend, and Blood Orange Essential Oil Blend.
First, mix all dry ingredients together—making sure there are no clumps.
Add 75 drops of the Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend.
Then, add 25 drops of Blood Orange Essential Oils. (Which I received in the Big Bonus Box!) I added 30 drops for good measure—'cause I love me some citrus!
Adding the Apple Cider Vinegar is where things get tricky. You have to add your two tablespoons quickly, as the dry mixture begins to bubble the moment vinegar is added.
Bubblin' action-shot!
Stir it completely, making sure all dry ingredients are mixed in and there are no lumps. This mixture smelled wonderful. The citrus scent was bursting as I stirred—it smelled so refreshing!
Finally, put it in your molds. The recipe says you can use 1-inch x 1-inch molds or ice cube trays, so I went with ice cube trays. I just spooned heaps of the mixture in and patted each mold down until they were firm and filled. I had just enough mixture to almost fill an entire ice cube tray.
Once the tray was filled, I placed them in the freezer for an hour to firm up more, then I took them out and covered them so they could harden and solidify overnight.
By the next day, the squares, unfortunately, had not hardened. They crumbled as I tried to scoop them out of the ice tray, so I ended up basically scooping a mushy powder into my dishwasher slot before turning on the load.
Not too, too shabby of a result! I do wish the squares had hardenend—I wonder if it was because I didn't use quite enough liquid, or perhaps it was the baking soda substitute that altered the desired texture! Either way, this dish detergent worked WONDERFULLY. I was so pleased! The scent of citrus lingered on my dishes, and they felt smooth and clean to the touch.
I don't think I would use this dish detergent for ultra-heavy loads, but it would certainly do the trick for pre-rinsed dishes! I'm so excited to keep using this recipe. It's definitely a money-saver, especially seeing as I have enough Borax on hand to make more and more batches!
Bathroom Poo Spray
This was a really innovative addition to this month's recipe collection! Bathroom sprays are always appreciated, and I was excited to see what a natural alternative would work compared to the leading PooPourri brand.
The combination of Basil and Blood Orange Essential Oils is GREAT. Sweet, citrusy, and slightly earthy! The addition of rubbing alcohol in the spray mixture gives it an effective power-boost that could definitely cut through odor. I'm excited to keep this on-hand in our bathroom!
Night Night Diffuser Blend
I didn't love this combo. (As I wrote above, I'm not a huge fan of Thyme Essential Oil.) I combined these two oils in my diffuser and turned it off shortly after. I'd rather not have my bedroom smell like wafting, heavy herbs—especially not while I'm sleeping! Lavender is my go-to nighttime essential oil, and I think I'll stick to that. For those that love deep herbal blends, however, this diffuser could be extremely calming.
All-Purpose Cleaning Spray
This was a fun and easy one! Here are all the ingredients I needed for the cleaning spray:
The instructions were a bit vague, only saying "1 Part Distilled White Vinegar" and "1 Part Distilled Water," so I played it safe and did two tablespoons each of vinegar and water, along with 30 drops of the Clean & Fresh Essential Oil Blend.
I shook it up well before spraying on my kitchen counters for a quick clean-off and it smelled great! The vinegar scent wasn't overpowering, allowing the Clean & Fresh Spray to really take the spotlight. I'm a little skeptical about its anti-bacterial powers (because as much as I'd like to avoid chemicals, I do want to make sure my kitchen is clean-clean.) I would definitely use this after wiping counters down with anti-bacterial soap for an added, uplifting refresh.
Verdict: I was so pleased with the results of this month's recipes! It was a bit of a hassle having to go out and search for added ingredients for some of the recipes, I admit. Now that I know there's a chance of some items not being included in the box, I'll be more mentally prepared for it next month. I really valued the recipes and the products they made. The dishwashing detergent was my favorite recipe, hands down! In terms of the oils themselves, I can't get enough of the Grapefruit (even though it may not have been fully intended to be included in this month's box!)
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No—if you subscribe today, you'll receive the May box.
Coupon - Use code MYSUBSCRIPTIONADDICTIONFREE to receive a $20 gift card towards future purchases!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $39.00 (with free shipping) so you’re paying roughly $7.80 per item included in the box (two dryer balls counted as one item.) The added value of all the household products created from the included recipes is huge, and definitely makes this box even more worthwhile each month!
Check out all of our Simply Earth reviews!
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