Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I admit. At least for a subscription. For a box or two and even for gifting purposes, it can be great entertainment. I feel like I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the issues this box has in a review, though. So keep in mind that the boxes rarely ship on time (never expect it to arrive when you want it), there are variations that can make one box worth hundreds more than another (although they really are working on changing that), and repetitions occur (not quite exact products but the same brands appear with too much regularity).
The Cost: $150/bi-monthly (except not bi-monthly)
What You Get: A unique selection of full sized French products. In addition to all of the hand-selected gifts, your parcel will include the latest issue of our own “Et Voila” magazine. Explore deliciously simple French recipes, exclusive interviews, style tips, lifestyle pieces, and discover the full range of current products that were distributed across America.
Value: $135
Les Petites Paris OuiPlease Exclusive Paris Scarf- This is 100% viscose scarf designed by Isabelle Benichou. It's blue, red and white and is square with a short fringe. This really isn't my style at all so while I'm happy to have an exclusive item, this one just doesn't work for me. Sad! But since when is rayon so expensive??
Value: $120
Oliv' La Claree Eyes and Lips Smothing Gel- Oliv' is once again in this month's box and instead of a facial oil, it's a gel for softening your lips and plumping up your fine lines under your eyes. This has a lot of aloe and glycerin in it and it's not a bad product at all. I'm tempted to use it! If only I didn't have fifty thousand other things waiting in the wings to be used!
Value: $45
Nuxe Gentle Exfoliating Gel- I've had this brand pop up a lot in Glossybox but here it is in OuiPlease. Again. This time it's an exfoliating gel for your face. Exfoliate twice a week to slough away dead skin and reveal the brighter skin underneath.
Value: $24
La Fare 1789 Intense Night Cream- The fourth repeat brand so far (Les Petites being the first), we received a foot cream in this brand. It was apparently highly coveted. This cream is for your face and contains jojoba and macadamia oils, edelweiss and hibiscus extracts and sounds like a pretty good moisturizer!
Value: $18
Le Chocolat des Francais Chocolate Bars- These chocolate bars are made in a small village in France from globally sourced cocoa beans. They're 70% cocao which means it's dark and heavenly! Yum!
Value: $15 (for 2)
VERDICT: This box seems light on product compared to other boxes but that could just be my particular box. The promised value is at least $300 and OuiPlease delivered in that respect. The box has a retail value total of about $350. Granted this is including a scarf with a value of $120 that feels like it can't possibly be worth that much but whatever! OuiPlease is still a fun way to get French goodies and I can't help liking it. Liking it but not loving it. All my feelings about OuiPlease are a tangle and difficult to sort out.
What else do I have to say about OuiPlease? Hm. My subscription is up with one more box and I don't think I'll be resubscribing. I bought an annual back in December. Why won't I be resubscribing? Well, for one, I'd like to see fewer repeat brands (and, yes, in some cases, repeat products). Seoond, it's expensive. Third... well, customer service can be very, very difficult to deal with if something arrives damaged. Shipping doesn't really bother me but if you must have your boxes shipped on time, you're going to go nuts waiting for one of these boxes. Let's say the shipping times are... very fluid.
If you would like to sign up for OuiPlease, you can do that here. Use coupon code OUICANADA to get 20% off your subscription (including annual!).
Yes, that's right! OuiPlease is shipping to Canada!
If you're on the fence about subscribing, it's a tough choice. On one hand you get really fun, French products that you will likely never see anywhere else. On the other, it's pricy with scanty customer service and ship times are variable. I do think, though, that if you're wanting to just get one box or two, you should do it. One can only hope they improve as the months go by. :D
What are your thoughts on OuiPlease? I'm so torn.
One thing I will give them credit for is that they seem to have standardized some parts of the box this time (i.e most subscribers boxes are similar). I think most people got the same beauty items and chocolate. So I think that will help them improve.
ReplyDeleteI think they really have been listening to the complaints about the variations. This is the first box where I've seen a large majority of subscribers with similar items. The last one was a step up, too, but this one makes it very apparent.
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