Spring 2014 Target Beauty Box Review

How obvious is it that I have a box problem? Can you tell yet? I actually plan on talking about other things in my life, if I reach a point when I don't have boxes arriving all the time between work, the radio show and my other blog!

But in the meantime, another box arrived today. It's the Spring Beauty Box from Target! I guess this is something they do periodically, never quite making it a subscription thing, or even a regular intervals thing. This Target Beauty Box was $5 with free shipping, and if you have a REDcard (even the debit kind), you get another 10% off, which is pretty darn cool.

Packaging

It comes in pretty heavy-duty box, rivaling Birchbox in durability and re-usability.

First look. Do you see what I see? Uh-oh.

You again!

So the first thing I see is this guy! One of my former nemeses from the Birchbox this month! Why are they so desperate to promote this item? Because that's what it's coming off as to me: desperate. Jergens is a big company, that doesn't sell it enough? To top it off, they're also giving away samples of this guy on the Target sample site. You might have to have an account to see it, but as of today, I swear, it's on there!

I should note a couple of things here though: 1) I don't hate this product, I just find it funny that it's following me. Also I'm going to give away both of these samples because they contain animal products. 2) The Target Box sample is twice the size of the one in my Birchbox. So technically, Target went above and beyond on this one.

Left: Birchbox, right: Target

The dumbest part is, Target tells you what's going to be in the box before you purchase it, but it's been a couple of minutes, so I forgot. I'm sorry, rant over.

A new mascara! That's pretty much worth the cost of the box right there! I have a mascara that I've chosen as my signature (Rimmel Extra WOW Lash), and I currently have another two or three open, so I'll probably save this one for a while, but mascara is one beauty product I always love trying!

This is a texturizing spray. I've never used something like this, but I feel like it would work with my mop-top. Disappointed to see glycerin again, but I'm the idiot who keeps failing to read ingredients before purchasing. After the boxes I have coming, I think I'm going to make an effort to stick to stuff like Petit Vour, just so I'm not as whiny. No one likes a hypocritical vegetarian who's also whiny about it.

Now this one I can get into. Herbal Essences always used to be my go-to shampoo and conditioner, they make great stuff and they're pretty animal-friendly as big pharmaceutical companies go. Also I've been wanting to try dry shampoo for quite a while (particularly on those days when my hair looks like it took up a day job as a fry cook). So I might even end up reviewing this stuff more in-depth later.

From what I can tell so far, this is a pretty rad gloss. It's not a super loud color on or off, seems to work as a moisturizer, smells great and it's also not sticky...There's no way it's this good though, that would be crazy! It even feels pretty cool on the lips. Like Chap-Stick is a winter coat, and this stuff is like a light sweater. I don't know that's how I'd describe it.

The box also came with a $3 off coupon for a beauty purchase of $15 or more. Since Target carries my favorite Pacifica lotion, amongst other things, I'll almost certainly use it.

This box is pretty cool. It's mostly useful stuff, good quality products. The downside is no surprises (unless you're like me and forgot what you ordered), but the plus side is you can decide if it's going to be worth the $5 before you buy it. But the value is still really good! The mascara alone is valued at $6.29 minimum. I'm seeing it sold all over the internet for upwards of $7. And that's just one thing, but they're all pretty cool items. I really hope they end up doing a subscription box, because it's definitely worth it.

-E.S.