Brand Focus: The Honest Co. + Discovery Kits Review

Like a lot of other natural companies, The Honest Co. was started by two parents who couldn't find the products they wanted for their babies and homes, so they decided to take things into their own hands and make them.  The difference here is that one of those parents is the quite famous Jessica Alba!  

The company has a great selection of natural products that includes baby products, bath and body items, cleaning products, and supplements.  Everything is covered by the company's Honestly Free Guarantee - a core commitment to safe, non-toxic ingredients and full transparency.  It also includes a money back guarantee if you are unhappy with your purchase.    

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One of The Honest Co.'s main features is a bundle system, where you receive a fully customizable monthly bundle of products at a discount from what you would pay to buy them individually. There are three bundles to choose from:  Diapers and Wipes, Essentials, and Health & Wellness.  The company also currently offers Discovery Kits as a free trial, where you pay only for shipping.  When you sign up for a Discovery Kit, you will be enrolled in the bundle service, but you have 7 days after receiving your kit to cancel your subscription, should you want to.

I recently had the opportunity to try out two of the Discovery Kits.  The Diapers and Wipes Bundle Trial* comes with seven diapers (you choose the size) and a travel pack of 10 wipes, while the Essentials Bundle Trial* comes with trial sizes of five of their most popular personal care and home cleaning  products.  

Keep reading to see what I thought...

Diaper and Wipes Bundle Trial

Since I don't have any wee ones, I passed the diapers along to someone else who could make use of them.  I don't know how they performed, but they looked pretty comparable to other disposable diapers.  That said, since they're made from sustainably harvested pulp and plant-based materials and use only natural odor-inhibitors and no fragrances, lotions, or latex, they do seem like a much better option that standard disposable diapers - both for the environment and your baby's health.

The Honest Wipes are cheekily marketed as "the only wipes you'll need from cheek to cheek," and are made with a blend of purified water, citric acid, silver, decyl glucoside, and several fruit and herb extracts.  Again, I can't speak to how they work for diapering, but I tested them out as a face/makeup wipe.  The cloth itself feels very thick - definitely the thickest wipe I've used - and the wipes, which are fragrance free, have a mild, clean scent.  I found them very gentle and they didn't irritate my face, but they also struggled to remove all my eye makeup.  If you're someone who only wears face makeup, they'd probably work, but for things like mascara and eyeliner, I either had to reach for something else or rub my eyes a good bit more than I'm comfortable with.

Essentials Bundle Trial
When you enroll in the Essentials Bundle, you get to customize your bundle with any five products from The Honest Co.'s  selection of bath and body, baby, and cleaning products, but for the purposes of the trial, everyone receives minis of the same five items.  


Organic Healing Balm - I mentioned how much I liked this product in my Post-Flu Pamper Routine and that still holds very true.  It's a great USDA certified organic balm that works well for everything from rashes to cuts and scrapes, dry lips, and irritated skin.  You really only need the tiniest dab for most things, so I forsee even the mini size lasting me a good while.

Lavender Hand Soap - A good basic soap.  It lathers well and hasn't dried out my hands.  I don't know that it's something I'd rush to buy, but it works well.  Also available in Mandarin and Lemongrass scents.

Face & Body Lotion - I've been carrying this mini lotion in my purse and I've enjoyed using it on my hands.  It's unscented - so I don't have to worry about offending anyone should I want to use it in the middle of a crowded subway or other public place - and it absorbs super quickly - almost instantly - without any greasy residue.  I tend to want my lotions a little richer for all over use, but if The Honest Co. started selling these mini sizes, I might pick up a couple more for travel or keeping in my purse.

Multi-Surface Cleaner - We have a glass table in my kitchen that I'd venture to say is one of the absolute worst surfaces to clean (food bits, dust, fingerprints, puppy nose smears, oy!), but this has done a pretty decent job.  I'm not crazy about the fact that it has phenoxyethanol in it, but since it's a cleaning product, I doubt you're getting much, if any, on your skin.

Shampoo & Body Wash - This was my favorite out of everything.  It didn't do much for my hair, but I love it as a body wash.  It's gentle, has a good lather, isn't drying, and it smells amazing.  Back when I was working in the health food store, everyone was obsessed with John Masters' Blood Orange & Vanilla products, and The Honest Co.'s Sweet Orange Vanilla scent is in the same family, but I'd argue it's even better.  If you're familiar with the JM, this one is equally sweet and delicious, but the scent is a little fresher and lighter.     

The Bottom Line
I'm really happy I had the chance to try these!  I wouldn't rush to repurchase every single product, but I found a couple new favorites and I like the company as a whole.  Whether or not you have kids, I think The Honest Co. has a lot to offer.  I've already placed an order for more Body Wash and a couple new things to try too!

You can save $10 off your first purchase by signing up with my referral link.  I also recommend making an account and signing up for emails, as The Honest Co. regularly has deals and sales just for email subscribers.  

Have you tried anything from The Honest Co.?  Let me know your favorites in the comments!

*Press sample
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10 comments

  1. I definitely want to try the healing balm! Sounds like an amazing kit though.

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    1. The Healing Balm has ended up being a product I never knew I needed. I didn't feel like I was missing anything before I had it, but now I find myself reaching for it all the time!

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  2. I really appreciate companies who sell discovery kits with a decent size! Honest company does sound like they have great essential products. If I'm not mistaken, they even have a sunscreen.

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    1. Same here! It's so great to be able to try products in mini sizes before committing to more. I think they make a couple different sunscreens now :)

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  3. Even though I don't have kids I am interested in baby products because of my delicate skin and these sound great.

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    1. Me too! I always check out the baby section in stores :)

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  4. I didn't know you could get a monthly box from them. I will have to check this out. My concern is being able to use up all of the products in a month.

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    1. I feel the same. I don't think I'd go through enough in a single month either, unless I were to start buying basics like laundry detergent and dish soap from them. If you wait to order during a sale/promo (which is what I did!), you can get just as good prices on individual products as you would in a bundle :)

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  5. Those are some nice sample/trial sizes! xx

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    1. They are! I love minis like this that give you enough time to get a real feel for the product :)

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