Toppbox is a monthly box of men’s grooming and skincare supplies. They source products from great brands, and send a selection straight to your door. It costs £19 per month plus £3.35 P&P.
I’ve been very lucky to try out all kinds of wonderful skincare, but now it’s my gorgeously debonair husband’s turn! Big C has been kind enough to give me his opinion on these lovely things. (Don’t fret, I’ve got opinions too.)
The box is actually delivered in a jiffy bag, but that looks very boring. The box itself looks very classy.
It’s all packed up nicely inside. On the other side of the larger card is the menu.
The menu provides details about each product, along with the RRPs. I’ve checked all of them with their websites, and they are all accurate.
Toppsocks x Rockbottom Men’s Combed Cotton Socks. £6.95 RRP.
Big C absolutely loves brightly coloured socks. He thought the pattern and the colours were wonderful. They are also beautifully soft. An excellent addition to his wardrobe!
Skin & Tonic Calm Clean with 100% Organic Cotton Cloth. £11 RRP.
Organic. Contains Grapeseed, Carrot Root, Chamomile, and Jasmine Sambac oils.
To use: massage a small amount into the face and neck, soak the cloth in warm water, place it over you face for a minute ‘to steam and activate the essential oils’, then rinse the cleanser away.
It has an interesting smell, pleasant in a Neal’s Yard-y kind of way. I think that was the essential oils. Big C decided to try this out straight away.
Debonair, yes?
The overall verdict was that it was refreshing and his skin felt pleasantly soft. The one thing he noted was that the cloth was too small to cover the face and neck area at the same time. The cleansing process is sufficiently involved to make one reluctant to do it twice, once each on the face and neck. But it certainly seemed to work.
I also tried this out. I agree that it makes your skin feel great after use. But I didn’t like the cloth-over-the-face thing. It actually made me feel like I was suffocating, which was not at all pleasant. I’m assuming Big C didn’t have this problem because his beard kept the cloth far enough away from his mouth so he could breathe. So forget the cloth thing for me, but I certainly would use the cleanser itself.
Good Day Organics Rough and Tough Hand Balm. £9.99 RRP.
Organic. Contains shea butter and hemp oil, among other wholesome things.
Big C isn’t that much of a hand cream guy, though he will occasionally borrow mine when it’s cold and his hands are particularly dry.
No girly fruit or flower scents here; the hemp oil has a very distinctive, though still pleasant, smell. It gives the impression it’s for use after spending all day doing manly things like chopping wood and fixing cars. The balm is rather thick and rich, and you can definitely tell from the consistency that it’s made with shea butter. It starts out quite grainy and takes a little while to warm up and smooth in. This is definitely a treatment-type balm, and I think it would be great for use just before going to sleep.
Flint + Flint Lip Hero. £15 RRP.
Contains natural peptides and Baobab Oil.
Big C definitely likes this. Quite aside from the fact he’d never seen that kind of applicator tube before (‘that’s genius design!’) he thought is was absolutely lovely to use. I also thought it was lovely, and feel slightly miffed that I can’t justify pinching it, because I have plenty of my own lip balms.
Pure Skincare London Black Face Mask and Applicator Brush. £2.79 RRP (on sale).
Contains Water, Aloe Vera, Charcoal, Amino Acids and Rosemary Leaf Extract.
Black face masks are all the rage at the moment. This one is supposed to nourish your skin while removing impurities and blackheads. We haven’t yet tried this out, though I have every intention of doing so because I love peel-off masks. Big C has never had a face mask so this will be a new experience for him!
The only slight reservation I have is that Big C has a rather splendid beard, so we are going to have to be very careful with application. I think that it will just be a t-zone mask for him, to be on the safe side. There is also a brush included, which I think is extremely useful. I tend to prefer sheet masks because they are easier to use, but I suspect this brush is going to be a game-changer when it comes to applying liquid masks.
Oh, and if you’re really lucky I might post a mask picture on Instagram!
Well, I’m really very impressed, and more importantly, so is Big C.
First of all, the value is great. The (legitimate) total value of the products is £42.68. Then there are the socks, which are lovely, but as they’re not available anywhere else I’ll take the RRP with a pinch of salt. But who cares, they’re great socks, and you’ve still got over forty quid’s worth of lovely skincare for less than £23!
The products are terrific, with a really nice balance of different items. The weather is still cold (yet more damn snow is melting outside) so lip and hand balms are really good in this kind of dry chilly weather.
Two of the items are actually organic, which is pretty cool. All the items are from British skincare companies, so I think this is a great way to discover and enjoy skincare products you otherwise might not know about.
As an aside, the packaging and design of the box itself is excellent. Big C thought it looked very stylish, and everything was packed safely and efficiently.
Finally, I can vouch for the fact that, while the branding is all macho and monochrome, the products themselves are totally suitable for women. So ladies, if you’re going to buy this as a gift for the man in your life, rest assured that you’ll be able borrow them too! After all, lip balm and face masks aren’t just for men, eh?
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At TOPPBOX, we’re here to simply introduce you to great products from top brands at the comfort of your own home. Each month, we select 4-5 grooming products and deliver them directly to your door, helping you discover products you love!
Our mission is simple. To find the right products for your routine so you can look good, feel great and smell even better!
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A different version of this review was first published on allsubscriptionboxes.co.uk.
