Walmart Beauty Box - Winter 2014

Walmart joined the Beauty Box mix this fall by introducing a quarterly box of samples.  The samples themselves are free, however you do need to cover the $5 shipping fee.  Unlike the Target boxes, you are able to subscribe to the Walmart service rather than order separately each time a box is released.  I did receive the fall box, and while I didn't blog about it I did open it on my YouTube channel here.  The winter box arrived a couple of days ago so lets take a look at what was included:

Loreal Oleo Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner - The shampoo and conditioner are both generous 2 oz sample sizes, which should be enough to determine if it's something I would like to repurchase.  These are for dry, damaged hair and my hair has quite a bit of damage from dying it a while back as well as daily blow drying so I'm looking forward to giving these a try.  They seem to have a light, fresh scent that isn't too strong or overpowering, and are sulfate free.  The 8.5 oz full size of the shampoo sells for $5.97 at Walmart, however I couldn't find the conditioner on their site.  I'm just going to estimate that it's the same as the shampoo and give the samples a value of $1.40 each, or $2.40 total.

Jergens BB Body Perfecting Skin Cream - I received this in the light skin tone.  This is a lightly tinted cream that is supposed to have a similar effect as BB cream for your face by moisturizing and helping to blur out imperfections.  I purchased this cream myself over the summer and really liked it, however even though I'm fair skinned I preferred the medium/dark skin tone variation because it is still very lightly tinted once blended out.  The sample size in the box is 1 oz and the full size 7.5 oz sells for $11.97 at Walmart, giving the sample a value of about $1.60.

Olay Fresh Effects Everything Off Makeup Remover Cloths - My box included a 7 pack of these wipes.  I use face wipes every night to take off my makeup before using my facial cleanser but haven't tried this type yet so I'm happy to receive these.  These contain honeysuckle and white tea.  The full size of 25 wipes is $3.97 which makes this 7 pack worth about $1.11.

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick - The color I received is Maple Kiss. which is a warm brown shade.  From the website it looks like this is part of "The Buffs" collection from the Color Sensational line.  The box included a full size lipstick, which retails at Walmart for $4.97.

Nivea Cocoa Butter Lotion and Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder - The box also included a couple of foil packet/paper card samples that each included a $1 off coupon.  I'll try out the Nivea lotion and might use the coupon at some point.  The Maybelline powder sample isn't the right shade for my skin tone but the coupon is good for any Maybelline face product so I will probably use that sometime soon.  I didn't calculate a value for these small samples, though the coupons they included do add some value to the box. 

The overall value of the winter beauty box is approximately $10.48 excluding the 2 small foil/paper samples, plus $2 worth of coupons.  This exceeds the $5 I paid for shipping for this box and I am happy about all the products I received, so I will continue to stay signed up for this box and am looking forward to seeing what the spring box contains.  If you'd like to try the Walmart Beauty box you can sign up here.  I'm not sure what the cut off for receiving the winter box is, so keep in mind that the first box you receive may be in the spring.  I also unboxed this on YouTube and have included that video below.  

Target Beauty Box and Naturals Box - Winter 2014

Target has been offering a quarterly beauty box for a while now, however unlike other beauty boxes it isn't offered as a subscription service so you have to make sure to purchase it before it (quickly) sells out so it's been a while since I've gotten one.  For Cyber Monday Target offered 3 different boxes for purchase, their normal $10 beauty box, a $5 naturals box, and a $5 mens box.  Since I recently cancelled my Allure Sample Society Subscription I decided to put what I would have spent on that towards both the $10 box and the $5 naturals box.  I passed on the men's box because while it looked like a good value for $5 my husband is very particular about the products he uses and from the preview of the box it didn't look like he would use any of the products.

Both boxes came with an insert describing the products inside and coupons.  The Naturals box had a $3 off a $15 natural beauty purchase coupon and the beauty box had a $3 of $15 beauty and a 20% off women's apparel purchase coupon as well as a $10 coupon code for dermstore.com.

Lets start with the contents of the Naturals Box, which contained 6 products:

SoapBox Argan Shampoo - This is a nice sized 2 oz sample bottle of their shampoo which contains Argan oil, and is listed on the card as a Target Exclusive.  I like that it as a very mild clean smell and am looking forward to trying it out.  The size of the sample would be enough to decide if it's actually something I would purchase, however when I went to find this shampoo online I couldn't find it anywhere except a travel kit on Target, and it isn't on SoapBox's website.  It's difficult to value because of this, but since the travel kit comes with  4 - 2 oz products for $7.99 I'll give it a value of $2.

Skinfix Hand Repair Cream - This is another Target exclusive product and is the 2 oz full size that they sell on the Target website, which is a nice purse size for a hand cream.  I liked this one as soon as I tried it because it was unscented and absorbed quickly without being greasy or sticky.  It also contains 1% colloidal oatmeal, which is supposed to help with eczema and dermatitis as well as extreme dryness.  It is pricey for a small hand cream at $14.99, but I will continue to use it and if I really like it I may still repurchase when it's gone.

Burt's Bees Facial Wipes - I use face wipes daily to remove my makeup before using my cleanser but have never tried the Burt's Bees wipes before.  These wipes contain white tea, cucumber, and aloe and I received a nice travel-sized 10 pack.  A pack of 30 retails for $5.99, which gives the 10 pack a value of approximately $3.

SheaMoisture Coconut Hibiscus Smoothie - This is a curl conditioning cream for thick curly hair, and while I don't have naturally curly hair I do have thick, somewhat frizzy hair so I'm still curious to give this a try and see how it works for me.  I'm hoping it will help fight frizz on the occasional days I let my hair air dry.  It smells nice from the coconut and I received the 3.2 oz size which sells for $3.99.

Borghese Age Defying Facial Scrub - This is one of two facial scrubs that were included in the naturals box, and this Borghese one is listed as a Target exclusive.  It has a golden shimmer to the cleanser with a nice distribution of the exfoliation beads.  The 1 oz sample size I received has a value of  $3.80.

Acure Organics Brightening Facial Scrub - This is also an exfoliating cleanser and contains organic sea kelp and French green clay.  From testing it on my hand this seems like a rougher exfoliant than the Borghese so I'm a little worried it might be too harsh for my sensitive skin.  I will try it out on a small section though and may also try mixing it with my regular cream cleanser to see how that works.  The 1 oz sample in my box is worth $2.50.

Overall my Naturals box had an approximate value of $30.28, which is well worth the $5 I paid and I am looking forward to trying out all the products.  I would definitely purchase another naturals box if Target offers it again in the future.

Next up is the $10 beauty box which contained 8 products:

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen - This is a sample size and is listed as a Target exclusive.  I'm not typically a fan of pencil liners but when I swatched this I realized it is the creamiest eye pencil I think I've ever used.  It is also a very bold black and didn't seem to feather when I swatched it on my hand. I am looking forward to trying this out (but not so much looking forward to sharpening it since it's so soft) and seeing if it stays put as well as a liquid liner.  The website doesn't list sizes for the full sized eye pen but I'd estimate the sample is about 1/2 of full size so I'll give it a value of approximately $5.

Revlon HD Lacquer - I received the shade Strawberry Topaz which is a very bright coral pink with golden shimmer throughout.  In the container it is a gorgeous color, and one I would love to have in a nail polish.  As a lip color I'm not so sure that it will work with my pale skin, but it does seem to have a nice thick, opaque formula.  The applicator is also a brush rather than the traditional lip gloss doe foot applicator. This is a full size lip lacquer and the price on Target's website varies a bit by shade, with Strawberry Topaz selling for $7.99.

Clairol Hair Food Moisturizing Hair Mask - This has a pleasant honey apricot fragrance and is paraben and mineral oil free.  Since I damaged my hair by coloring it over the summer I've been a big fan of hair masks and deep conditioners to help as the rest of the color grows out so I'm looking forward to trying this.  I received a 6.3 oz full size bottle worth $11.99.

L'Oreal Butterfly Inteza Mascara - This is a new mascara for L'Oreal which is similar to their popular Voluminous Butterfly Mascara.  I've heard great things about the original Voluminous Butterfly and am curious to try this out because the brush is unlike others I've used before.  For now though I'm keeping it in the package as I work through quite a few other opened mascaras I have.  Also a full sized product, this mascara retails for $7.99.

CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Kit - This is a quad of shadows and I received Daring Nudes.  While I have other Covergirl products I like (their Clump Crusher mascara is pretty much a holy grail product for me) it has been a long time since I had any of their eye shadows.  The Daring Nudes set contains 4 shades, a charcoal grey/black, a dark brown, a bronzy lighter brown, and a shimmery cream color.  I swatched them without primer and they are decently pigmented and not too powdery.  The packaging appears to be an updated new version from the previous blue packaging.  The set I received doesn't have an online price listed but some of the other sets are selling for $4.49 so that's the value I'll use for this box.

ChapStick Total Hydration Lip Care - I received this in Sweet Peach, which is a clear balm.  It is listed as a Target exclusive but I think that may just be the Sweet Peach version because I've seen these popping up in the drugstores and in various subscription boxes.  I'm a lip balm junkie so I am looking forward to trying this.  I do wish it contained an SPF, but it claims to moisturize for up to 8 hours so it may end up being good for a night balm.  The value of this full sized balm is $2.99.

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask - I am intrigued by the idea of a sleeping mask, though at first glance it seems very similar to just a regular night moisturizer.  Also a Target exculsive, it is supposed to be used for deeply moisturizing dry skin so should come in handy for the winter, because while I can get oily around my nose my forhead and sometimes the side of my face get very dry this time of year.  This has somewhat of a perfumey scent to me (the website describes it as orange flower, rose, and sandlewood) so I'm worried it may irritate my skin though, so I'll try a small section for a couple of days first before I use this on my whole face.  The full size of this mask is $23.00, giving my 0.6 oz sample a value of approximately $5.

Boots No 7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum - This serum is a 0.1 oz foil packet but it is the only foil packet in this box so I'm not bothered by it at all.  This is supposed to be a hypoallergenic serum which is great because I've had a bad reaction to a serum in the past and am now a bit of wary of them.  I haven't seen the consistency of this since I don't want to open the packet until I'm ready to use it, but since a little usually goes a long way with serums I think there should be at least enough for a couple of uses in my sample, which has a value of approximately $2.29.

Overall I calculated a value of $47.74 which falls just shy of the $50 Target said it was, but I think the difference might be in the Covergirl eyeshadow quad because only the price for the older packaging is listed online.  Regardless of that though I am very happy with everything that I received in my box and as with the Naturals box would definitely buy other Target beauty boxes in the future.  I do wish they would do a subscription service for it like Walmart does with their quarterly beauty box, but if you want to increase your chances of knowing when they go on sale make sure you're checking up on the Nouveau Cheap blog.  I've mentioned this blog in other posts but I find out about so many great offers from her posts that I can't recommend it enough.

As usual I opened both of these boxes on my YouTube page so if you're interested in seeing more about them check it out here or I've embedded the video below.

Allure Sample Society - October 2014

I unboxed my October Allure Sample Society Box on my YouTube Channel the day after it arrived, but I'm really late getting up this post.  It's also been really overcast and rainy here so I've started using an inexpensive light box for my photos versus natural light; I'm hoping as I get more used to this method my photos improve some.  October's box technically had 6 items since I received both a shampoo and conditioner sample from Loreal.

First up was an Estee Lauder Enlighten Dark Spot Correcting Serum.  This is a 7 ml sample worth $14.46.  The Allure mini magazine included in the box says that this is a redness and sun spot fading serum, both of which are problems I have so I'm excited to try this out.  I was also happy to find that the serum isn't heavily scented or perfumey, because I've had a bad reaction to serums that contain a heavy fragrance.

The second item in my box was the Bond No. 9 perfume sample in the scent Highline.  The mini magazine lists this scent as a mix of bergamot, purple love grass, rhubarb, red-leaf rose, tulip, grape hyacinth, sea moss, bur oak, and musk.  That's a whole lot of scents in one perfume and unfortunately I don't love the scent.  I'm not a perfume person in general though, so it's very rare for me to find one I like.  This sample did come in a cute little package wrapped up like a piece of candy.  Bond No. 9 sells this size in an 18 pack sampler "Bon-Bon Box" for $260, which gives this single sample a crazy high value of $14.44. 

Third and fourth in my box were the Loreal Paris Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Restoring Shampoo & Conditioner samples.  I was a little surprised to see Loreal in a Sample Society box since they usually stick to high end products.  However I'm happy they sent both the shampoo and conditioner so I can test out how well they work in conjunction with each other. These are supposed to counteract weakness, roughness, dullness, and dehydration, so I'm hoping they help with my thick and somewhat frizzy hair.  Since the full size varies in price and you can buy these travel sized bottles in stores for around a dollar, I'm going to give these a value of $1 each or $2 total for the set.

Next up was the Emi Jay Hair Tie 3 Pack.  I love fabric hair ties but have never tried the Emi Jay brand so I was very happy to get these in my box.  They feel like good quality ties and I will get plenty of use out of them.  This three pack is sold for $6.60.

Finally I received the Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara in Black.  I definitely groaned a little at another black mascara sample, but I've also never tried any Bobbi Brown products before so one positive is that I get to try a new-to-me brand.  This has a good sized fiber bristle wand and Allure calls this a "safely dramatic" mascara that is good for everyday. The mascara is a 3ml sample worth $16.80.

Overall this was a decent box and for my $15 subscription price I calculated a value of $54.27.  This is a great value, but I do think it's inflated by the high price of the perfume sample.  If you'd like to give Allure Sample Society a try visit the Beautybar.com link here.  As I mentioned above I unboxed this on my YouTube Channel and also reviewed the products from the September box after the October unboxing.

August Favorites

As with July I put a video up on the Makeup Miscellaneous YouTube page talking about my favorite beauty products from the month of August.

Here are links to all the products I talked about in the video:

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette
Wet & Wild Color Icon Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana
Elizabeth Mott Tints & Sass Lip & Cheek Stain in Cherry
Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
Loreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Julianne's Nude
It Cosmetics Lab Sample Vitality Lip Flush Butter Gloss in News Anchor Blue
Real Techniques Contour Brush (From their Core Collection)
Real Techniques Detailer Brush (From their Core Collection)
Benjabelle Sunflower Brush Tree
Badger Cuticle Care Soothing Shea Butter