Barbella Box Subscription Review + Coupon – December 2018

Barbella Box is a monthly fitness subscription box for women. It is marketed for a CrossFit lifestyle but I think it works for any woman who likes to work out (especially if heavy lifting and/or kettlebells are involved).

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About Barbella Box

The Subscription Box: Barbella Box

The Cost: $49.99 a month

COUPON: Save $5 off with code MSA5!

The Products: Apparel, fitness gear, accessories, snacks, and supplements

Ships to: The US for free, Mexico, and Columbia for an additional shipping cost

Barbella Box December 2018 Review

I haven’t received this box for a little while so I was curious to see what was in store:

There was a card (one-sided) describing the items as well as a little bit of product literature.

Hi Love Travel Crossbody Backpack – Listed Value $58

This design is obviously exclusive to the box, but similar ones can be purchased for the value listed on the information card (see an example here). This is padded and seems like it is made to be pretty tough (although the website says don’t put anything more than 10 pounds in here). But the main thing is that it can be useful if you are doing something active like hiking or doing a lot of walking while traveling and want your hands free but want to carry a few snacks or other necessities and it’s not easy for someone to snatch away from you because it goes around your whole body.

Swolverine Vitamin D3,  (100 count) - $12.99

Vitamin D3 is popular this year; I’ve received several bottles in subscription boxes. I guess it is the season – with the days shorter during winter, and cold temperatures, people aren’t wanting to spend a lot of time outside, so our vitamin D3 levels could be low (UV light from the sun converts a D3 precursor to the active form). I am not a huge fan of taking each vitamin in a different pill when one multivitamin will do (after a point you just don’t want more pills) but this seems like an affordable and good quality alternative if your doctor specifically suggests you take a D3 supplement.

Nikki’s Coconut Butter Spread Squeeze Pack, (1.07 oz) – Listed Value $2 (buy 12 oz for $12.99)

I had a taste of this and the flavor was pleasant (it helps if you like coconut, which I do) but I couldn’t get much more than a taste because it is cold enough in my house that this is pretty solid and I had trouble with the packet as a result. The problem is that coconut oil’s melting temperature is slightly above room temperature at the best of times. But if it is something you are interested in, you can buy full jars, which are probably better for dispensing than this pouch. This has coconut, coconut oil, and coconut sugar, although it is actually pretty high in fiber and low in sugar. For me, I think this is more of a smoothie ingredient, but if you like coconut oil in coffee this may be worth a try there, as well.

Kinx Active “Squat UnTeal You Drop” Nail Polish – Retail Value $8

This brand is new for me. This color is custom for BarBella Box, in their teal logo color. This dried fairly quickly; I don’t know much about the brand because they only have a few items on their website and nail polish does not seem to be one of them, although it does look like they are expanding their product line so maybe they’ll have some polishes up for sale soon.

Here is a swatch (I’m avoiding putting polish on my fingers right now as I am working on getting my nails in better shape, but this is a fun color that will definitely get used on my toes this summer). This is two coats. I think it might look better with a layer of white underneath (the fake nail is clear).

Doc Spartan Eye Serum, (0.125 oz) – Listed Value $9.99 (buy 10 mL for $19.99)

This is not the full sized product, but it is plenty large enough to try out since it only takes a little bit on each side. I typically prefer a thick eye cream, but sometimes when I don’t get a good night’s sleep, I appreciate the help from an eye product with caffeine (this has coffee extract in it). I don’t get dark circles so I can’t speak to those, but I do think this helps with puffiness at least the few times I have tried it so far. I’ll probably be saving it to use on days when I need a little extra help looking alive.

Barbella Babe Muscle Tee – Listed Value $24.99

This is another exclusive item for the box. It is, I think, the softest piece of clothing I’ve ever received in a fitness box. It is really comfortable to wear during a workout. This is probably more of a cardio shirt for me because it is a bit loose and I tend to like more fitted clothing when lifting weights but it will definitely get worn, and often at that. Also, I’ve already washed it once without being especially careful and it came out looking just fine.

Barbella “Strong is Beautiful” Sticker – Listed Value $3

This was difficult to photograph and still really isn’t visible in this photo, unfortunately. I am not entirely sure where I would put a sticker like this but maybe I can find a good place down in my exercise room?

Verdict: I calculated a value of $118.97 for the December Barbella Box. This most definitely does meet the stated $80-120 value, which deserves mention because not every fitness box does that. The backpack, alone, more than covers the cost of the box. Anyway, this was a good box for me this month. The tee is so soft, the nail polish is a great color, and the eye serum has already proved useful a time or two. I don’t travel or hike all that much but there are times when I can see the backpack coming in handy, as well.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this was the December box, although some items not linked to above may eventually show up in the Barbella Box shop.  (Sometimes whole boxes show up in their shop so it is worth taking a look.)

Value Breakdown: At $49.99 for this box, you are paying approximately the following per item:

• Backpack $24.37
• D3 supplement $5.46
• Coconut butter $0.84
• Nail polish $3.36
• Eye serum $4.20
• Tee $10.50
• Sticker $1.26

Check out all of our Barbella Box reviews the Fitness Subscription Box Directory!

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What did you think of the December 2018 Barbella Box? Do you get any fitness subscriptions?