Father's Day spa box - thoughts?

[dixiedragon]

Of course, haven't had a chance to test how the sales of my Mother's Day spa box might go, but I want to get the soap made now. The men's spa box is tougher.

Soap Man Hands (coffee grounds) $5
Soap Man Feet (pumice) $5
Soap Vanilla Bacon Milkshake $5
Beard oil (glass bottle) OR heel salve $8 (they would pick)
Back scratcher $8 (mom is going to make the handle on the wood lathe for me)
Lip balm $2
Lip balm $2
Big lip balm $5 (1 oz)
Sachet $2
Sachet $2
Luffa $5

These are a sort of estimated value. The box will sell for $50, with $40 of that going to the dog rescue I work with and $10 to me for shipping costs. My rough plan (for now) is to offer 2 different boxes a month, with a qty of 20 or 25 each. May will be the Mother's Day box (going to try to make 50 of those) and a box of all no-scent-added things. There will be the natural scents from beeswax, cocoa butter and coconut oil, and possible a sachet made with cedar shavings and lavender buds, but no FOs or EOs.

I'm making my sachets out of coffee filters, b/c I have a lot of those. Usually I use one filter and tie them into a little pouch, but I'm considering using 2 filters and sewing them into a flat circle. I figure then people can lay them in the bottom of the drawer and they won't get in the way, but will provide a good surface area? Again, probably cedar and something.

 

[dixiedragon]

Bumping b/c I'm talking to myself, lol. Wondering if I should offer some whipped body butter and/or lotion? Men seem to like lotion when I give it to them, but I don't usually see them seeking it out. OTOH, this would be bought by somebody (probably a woman since the majority of our organization's members are women), for a man?

 

[shunt2011]

I think putting together a gift box for guys is a huge task. I can only speak from my experiences etc..... I don't have a lot of men that purchase lip balms, and not sure on the sachets either (though if the wife or SO was buying). Guys for the most part are pretty basic, at least the ones I see and hang with. I would do soaps, beard oil, shave soap, back scratcher, luffa (though most guys I know use the soap bar or a wash cloth) maybe soap dish, aftershave. Lotion may work. It's so hard to know what guys would use. I just think of the guys in my life and I think they are pretty no muss, no fuss. My husband does give himself a mani/pedi every few weeks (ha ha).

I would certainly give it a try, but I would keep it fairly limited until you knew if it's going to be a hit. I've not had good luck with gift sets though.

 

[Zing]

Looks great! Feel free to send me one if you need a focus group. At Christmas, I gave the men in my family lotion bars (fir needle and cedarwood EOs) -- a new thing for them and they love them. My brother-in-law is a man of very few words/syllables (mostly just "Yup" ) but has gone on and on about how it is a miracle cure for his tough heels and he's tried every product on the market. The others say their finger tips no longer crack and bleed in the Midwestern winter. That's my 2 cents.
SUPER cool that purchases support the pups!

 

[dixiedragon]

In my experience men really dig lip balms. I give my co-workers gift baggies every Christmas that contain 4-5 soaps, 4-5 lip balms and 1 other thing (lotion or a candle) and they always comment on the lip balms! Had a neighbor who saved his tubes for me to refill, and also brought me dozens of empty Chapstick brand tubes to refill. He likes to put lip balm on his dog's nose.

The sachets are sort of a "filler". I'm using the Regional A box which is 10x7x4.75, which is much bigger than you think! I have SO MUCH stuff I've accumulated over the years - i'm trying to use what I have and not buy a lot of extra stuff. We get way more coffee filters than we need at work, so I take them home every so often.

 

[JanelleTrebuna]

Mmmm... vanilla bacon milkshake....

 

[amd]

I've noticed among the men in my family when they've been gifted these types of baskets, that the more stuff in them, the more fussy they feel it is and are less inclined to use it. (Or maybe my guys are just butt heads...) I'm inclined to think less is more for guys - have a fewer high quality high price items in it. I like your idea of a big lip balm - I might borrow the idea! I don't know if guys are gonna use a sachet though (you mean the little potpourri type bags, right?) so it might be a frou-frou item. Guys buying for themselves may not buy it if they don't think they will use everything in it. I know my guys would laugh if they got a scrubby soap labeled for hands and a scrubby soap labeled for feet - they'd use both everywhere - so maybe just label them as a scrubby soap for hands, feet, and other unsensitive body areas. The more uses guys get from one item, the more they seem to like it. There's a lot of truth in this meme!

 

[dixiedragon]

I love that meme! It is so true!

I also enjoy that there's no comma between "body" and "carpet", so it reads, "for hair, face, body carpet, car and dishes."

So, tweaking my list a bit, there will be a beard oil OR an aftershave, a heel/elbow/knee salve, and "cedar drawer liner" instead of a "sachet". I'll do the coffee bar (with grounds), and the regular lard bar with Vanilla Bacon Milkshake FO.

I'm tempted to call my big lip balm Big Balm for Big Mouths or something humorous.

I'm thinking of using a flavor oil vs a fragrance oil to scent the beard oil and aftershave, so if their SO kisses them on the cheek it won't taste weird/chemically.

 

[shunt2011]

That’s a great idea. Very smart.

 

[Obsidian]

The vanilla bacon milkshake just sounds so weird, is it actually nice? Sounds so gross lol.

I know very few men who use lip balm or lotion but I would be more inclined to add lotion. If I did include lip balm it would only be one and simply flavored.

I would stick to FO for the beard oil and aftershave. I like a nice scent that sticks around and I'd rather smell DH's beard as opposed to nibble it.
I actually got DH beard oil for the first time for xmas and he loves it. Its sandalwood and has been well received. Other guys like the scents too.

Honestly, I would skip the sachets. I really think they are too fru fru for men.

What about a body spray or body splash?

 

[amd]

I'm tempted to call my big lip balm Big Balm for Big Mouths or something humorous.

Love it!

I'm thinking of using a flavor oil vs a fragrance oil to scent the beard oil and aftershave, so if their SO kisses them on the cheek it won't taste weird/chemically.

Interesting. My husband uses beard oil once or twice a week. I notice a scent but not a taste. His is purchased, so I'm not sure if it is made with FO or EO.

 

[dixiedragon]

@Obsidian - the vanilla bacon milkshake FO isn't bad - the vanilla is pleasant, the bacon is pretty understated OOB, but is there and noticeable. I don't love it and I probably won't re-order it. I've acquired a ridiculous amount of stuff over the years so I'm mostly building the boxes from what I have, vs buying more and new stuff. I think the novelty of it might do well, and that's why i'm doing it in soap VS in lotion where they would smell it all day.

I'm open to a body splash - maybe a bay rum / lime combo? Do men use body splashes?

Or maybe step away from B&B and do a spray for the car? I have a leather FO that's pretty good "new car leather".

 

[dibbles]

My SIL loves the beard oil I made a year ago, and asked for more. I used bergamot EO. If fishing is popular in your area and if you have anise, that is supposed to attract fish. If hunting is popular, maybe a camo soap. I like the idea of a car spray - or use your coffee filters filled with something that will absorb the FO and use that as a car freshener.

The guys in my family tend to not use lotion. What about a pumice soap for working/gardening/dirty hands. Both of my 30ish aged guys use hair product.

 

[Obsidian]

Bay rum and lime sounds awesome. I'm not sure if guys use body splash but they use cologne so I don't see why not.

A car spray or a baggy of those scent beads for a car would probably go over well. Everyone like a nice smelling car.