Walmart Beauty Box - Fall 2014

My Walmart Beauty Box arrived today.  I had honestly forgotten that it was coming because I ordered it when I first heard about it a few weeks back.  The cost of the box was just the shipping price - $5.00.  From my understanding there will be a box release each season, and it will have a variety of samples and full size items that can be found in the beauty section of Walmart stores.  I had previously purchased the Target beauty box which was the same price point and found a few brands that I had never heard of before.  The Walmart box was filled with familiar brands but includes several products I've yet to try.

Here's what was inside:

Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid in the fragrance "Completely Clean" 1.6 oz. (Full Size) - $7.92

Juicy Couture Carded Fragrance Vial in "Couture Couture" - $1.00?

Clear Damage and Color Repair Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner foil packets - $1.00?

L'Oreal Revitalift Triple Power Deep Acting Moisturizer .5 oz.  -$6.97

Olay Regenerist micro-sculpting cream moisturizer .5 oz. - $9.94

Covergirl Continuous Color Lipstick in 420 "Iced Mauve" .13 oz. (Full Size) - $4.94

The prices were obtained by scanning the items at Walmart.com.  Because the perfume sample and the foil packs are normally given as free items I put a minimal value of $1.00 on them.  The box was packaged nicely, wrapped in celophane with tissue inside and an enclosure card encouraging you to share your box on social media with the hashtag #WalmartBeauty.  The total value of this box was approximately $31.77 - not bad for a $5.00 shipping cost huh?

The only truly disappointing thing about this box was Walmart's failure to include any Flower Beauty products.  The Flower Beauty line was developed by Drew Barrymore and is exclusively sold at Walmart stores.  I had anxiously awaited its arrival at our local store for months since I had read about it in magazines and on beauty blogs.  I don't believe it is available in every Walmart store yet, but it has been in my local store since February and available at Walmart.com since its launch last year.  I felt its inclusion in a beauty box curated by the company was a no-brainer.  Why on earth wouldn't you want to give customers eager for new beauty products an item from a line of amazing cosmetics that is helmed by a major, well loved movie star and is completely exclusive to your store?  At the very least give me a coupon to try your owned beauty brand or put in an ad to show me the new products available (like the delightfully fluffy looking makeup brushes they showed on the Flower Beauty Instagram today).  This seemed to be a huge miss in terms of promotion for their beauty department.

I would have loved to see more cosmetics rather than two moisturizers, particularly since the box had the L'Oreal Paris logo printed on the bottom and I think of L'Oreal as primarily a makeup and hair color brand rather than a skincare label (although of all the samples of moisturizers I've received in beauty subscriptions, the Youth Code Day/Night cream from L'Oreal has been my hands down favorite and I am excited to try the Revitalift).   I haven't really had great experiences with clinical strength deodorants in the past, but the Secret product has a new formula and I appreciate that it is full size (even though I don't necessarily consider it a beauty product).  I also feel the lipstick is a flattering shade that will work on most skin tones.  It seems a nice transition color for fall.  The perfume wasn't a scent I enjoyed, but it might appeal to others.  It was strong and very woody with some floral top notes.  I'm never excited about foil packets.  I never seem to remember to open them before I'm in the shower with wet hands and I end up using my teeth which gives me a mouthful of shampoo every time.  I probably have about 40 foils packs in a small Victoria's Secret shopping bag under the vanity table in my room.  They taunt me with their impossible to open sparkle.

There was another version of the box that went out to some subscribers.  It contained travel sizes of Dove Oxygen shampoo and conditioner, a Dove hair oil in a deluxe sample size, a card with peel off foil dots of Neutragena foundations, a foil packet of a L'Oreal pore minimizer, a Nicki Minaj Pink Friday perfume vial, the same Secret product, a Covergirl Glosstini nail polish and a L'Oreal Glossy balm lip product.  (I must say I was a bit jealous of the lip product although there seems to be a lot of color variations in the product sent and I may have received a color I was less interested in so I should probably be happy with my lipstick).  This box seemed to have a slightly lower product value - the nail polish, gloss and deodorant were full sized, but the travel size shampoos were slightly less expensive.  I'd estimate the value of the alternate box to be roughly $25.  Still very good for this kind of a subscription!

I'm very happy with this box.  It was a great value, there are lots of items that will get used and it was well worth the wait.  I hope that when the winter box comes they include some more color cosmetics like eyeshadows or blush and more than anything I hope Flower Beauty makes an appearance!  I'll definitely buy this box again and it was a wonderful treat to find on my doorstep.