As some of you might already know, Target is thinking about starting their own beauty subscription service. Whether they decide to release these boxes on a regular basis or not will depend on the feedback received from the first wave of testers. The first box was sold at a pretty low price – only $5.00 per box, which makes it the cheapest known beauty sampling subscription service.
There were a few things that went wrong this time. First of all, they promised that we will have our boxes within 4 to 6 weeks, but the boxes actually shipped way after the 6 weeks mark. Another issue was with the shipping addresses: it seems like Target decided to ship boxes to everyone’s billing address, which can be very inconvenient. And last but not least, the boxes were all addressed to “<your name here> or Current Resident”, which pretty much guarantees that they wouldn’t be forwarded if you happened to move within the past month.
Now about the positive things. Target said that the products will come in high quality reusable boxes, which they did. The boxes were pure white, and sturdy like Glossyboxes, which does make them perfectly reusable. I would personally consider my box to be one of the items, because I actually can reuse it without having to be overly creative in hiding the logos. And of course, the value of the products in the box was way above the $5 that we paid.
L’Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream in Light
The name of the shade “Light” is very deceptive because I found it to be way too dark for my skin tone. I would even go as far as saying that it’s actually a Medium. It’s not like Asian BB creams, because it doesn’t provide good coverage at all, so if you’re a Missha or Skin79 fan, you’ll hate this one. I also found that it doesn’t really last for very long on the skin either.
Overall: 2/5
Purchase: No
La Roche Posay Effaclar DUO Acne Treatment
I love La Roche-Posay brand, and often used their products in the past while living in Europe. In fact, my all-time favorite sunscreen Anthelios is made by them! Effeclar Duo is a great moderate to severe acne treatment recommended by many dermatologists. I currently don’t require such product, but if I ever needed one, Effaclar would be the first in line I would try.
Overall: n/a
Purchase: No
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Queen of the Jungle
I’m not a huge fan of the pattern so I’ll probably use these on my toes instead of fingers. From the reviews I heard that the formula is not all that great and they don’t adhere evenly, but I actually feel fairly confident in my application techniques so I might be able to tame them after all. I’ll make a separate post with my pedicure in the future when I use them.
Overall: n/a
Purchase: No
Gillette Venus & Olay Razor + Refill in Sugarberry
I seriously have a ton of razors laying around from couponing and requesting samples via Gillette Facebook page. I’m probably set for a few years at least! But it’s not like they expire or spoil or something, so I’ll get to it eventually. And besides, I really like Venus razors, so the more of them I get from my subs, the less I will have to buy for full price in the future [albeit very distant].
Overall: 4.5/5
Purchase: Yes
Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream
I loved this glossing cream ever since I tried it as a sample several years ago! But it was pricier than I wanted to dish out for a drugstore product, so I’m super happy to finally receive such a generous-sized sample. A littke goes a very long way, and some people reported that their full-sized bottles started going bad before they were even used up. So that gives you an idea just how little product you need for soft, brilliant flocks.
Overall: 5/5
Purchase: Yes
The verdict: As you can see, the box paid for itself many times over, and we got a really nice selection of products: makeup, skin care, nails, body care, and hair. They obviously still have a few kinks to work out, but Target is such a huge company, I hope they can manage to fix them in time for the next box.
| Product | Retail value |
|---|---|
| L’Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream | $0.27 |
| La Roche Posay Effaclar DUO Acne Treatment | $4.65 |
| Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips | $9.99 |
| Gillette Venus & Olay Razor | $10.99 |
| Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream | $12.50 |
| Box Retail Value | $38.40 |
I hope they do another one soon, they seem to be all out. I’d LOVE a box of samples for only $5!
It sure was a great deal!
looks amazing for $5! The fekkai sample is well worth the entire box!
It sure is! After reading some reviews on the Fekkai product, it seems like it doesn’t work for some people, but it did wonders for my hair 🙂
I will say that the razor alone was proably almost $5.00, or just shy of it. They pack a nice box for the price. But I’d have a problem with that nail pattern too. And…how do you take off those nail strips? Is there a difference between taking off the Sally H. strips because they’re made out of nail polish, and taking off the other brands (Such as the Kiss brand you reviewed a while ago)?
KISS are just plastic strips, imagine cutting nail shapes out of duck tape. Just scrape it off to remove it later. Sally Hansen strips (and my favorite Incoco) are made of real nail polish, so you should take them off with a nail polish remover.
I was super happy with the box. I also liked the Sally Hansen nail strips. I’d never used them before, and my application was not great. However, they weren’t too hard to out on and lasted a week. My nails seem to repel most polishes, and it is rare that I go a day without a chip. So, for me they were great and I will be using them again. (I got a pink and brown argyle patterns – I like the one you got better.)
Oh that sounds good, so they served their purpose, and who cares that the application wasn’t perfect! I actually didn’t care too much for my pattern, at least not for fingers, it’s a fun one to wear on my toes though.
I loved the box, especially for the price. I wound up throwing away the BB cream sample (too dark for my skin) and the acne treatment (no acne issues here), but the rest of the products were great. I can’t believe they give us all of that for $5. I really hope Target continues to offer these boxes!
I agree, the value was amazing and the problems they had are easily fixable. Fingers and toes crossed for another box soon 🙂
All I can say is, Holy. Crap. Target just outdid every beauty box subscription service I’ve ever seen in terms of quality and value for the price paid. I hope they keep this up!!
Yep yep! Let’s hope they continue with this service and make it a regular monthly thing!!
How do you sign up for Target Beauty Box?
Target will announce on their Facebook page when the next box will become available for purchase.