Instagram told me to buy it: Smol Laundry Capsules Review

How’s your week going, readers? I thought I’d try to start a short series of posts trying and reviewing things I’ve bought off Instagram adverts. I’m sure there are people who know much more about all the algorithms that social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook and youtube use to figure out what demographic you belong to and as such what products you may be interested in purchasing.

I do think it’s pretty cool that the adverts are tailored based on who you follow and the content you consume so no two people are guaranteed the same adverts. I would imagine Mr Reviews would get a whole different set of adverts, probably coffee based!

As a stay at home mum, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that I was marketed with cleaning products. I mean, some may be a bit miffed to be placed firmly into the ‘boring adult’ category, but as you may have realised from some of my other cleaning product reviews, it’s something I lowkey enjoy these days. The first time I saw the advert for the Smol laundry capsules, I clicked the link and purchased them straight away.

Smol offer a cruelty-free laundry capsule that is apparently more environmentally friendly. They are also posted out to you in a recyclable box. The lure of the Instagram ad was that you could get a box of 9 capsules for just £1 to cover postage. Of course, if you’ve signed up for similar subscription services such as this, you do have to sign up with your bank details and you will be charged £3.85 for a subsequent 24 capsule pack which is automatically sent out to you unless you change the date or cancel the service. I didn’t set any date, so I was charged and received the 24 pack fairly soon after the trial pack, which I am still working my way through. You can set the dates quite far in advance, so you could receive a new box in a number of months time depending on your laundry routine.

I am a bit of a laundry capsule convert, to be honest. I haven’t purchased them too often as I had read in the past that they’re not the best for the washing machine itself. As well as this, our preferred washing powder is Fairy Non-Bio for the whole family and their capsules are a bit pricey at around £5 for a box of 25 pods. I did once use Lidl’s own Non-Bio capsules and whilst I found them convenient, they were a bit overpowering and artificial in smell. Smol claims to offer a quality product at a competitive price by cutting out the middleman and sending to the consumer directly. Even at £3.85 for a full pack of 24 capsules, it is relatively cheaper than high street alternatives.

On to the product itself, laundry capsules are definitely easier to use and less of a faff than washing powder, if you’re like me and have a habit of spilling the powder over as you pour it into the detergent drawer. It has a light but clean scent and I have had no issues with residue that sometimes gets on clothes if you use standard washing powder. Also, I will admit it’s pretty handy to have the product posted directly to you. The most common way you’d be able to do that with supermarket alternatives would be with an online shop which requires a minimum £25 spend at the cheapest end. 

The only annoying thing I have found is that it is not easy to cancel the service. They have no button on their website where you can quickly click unsubscribe, as you might do if you were trying to cancel your Audible trial, for instance. Instead, you have to email them with your details and reason for cancelling. I guess it wouldn’t be an issue if you’re looking to long term continue your subscription, but I do feel that if you’re trying to entice people to sign up to a subscription service with an attractive deal and it’s quick and easy to do so, it should be equally quick and easy to cancel the service. Especially if you’re pitching yourself as a serious product that is high quality and eco-conscious. Otherwise, it comes off as a bit of a trap, like a bad gym membership you can’t get out of or those survey websites you sign up to and they always bombard you with junk mail afterwards.

I am still working my way through my current box of laundry capsules so not sure when I will order my next batch but as someone who is looking to adopt a less toxic and eco cleaning lifestyle whilst also looking for the convenience of buying such products, it is definitely something I would purchase again in future. 

Smol Laundry Capsules

8.3

Value

8.0/10

8.5/10

Pros

• Comes to your door
• Better quality then most other laundry capsules

Cons

• Subscription service is not easy to cancel