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.