Too Many Target Beauty Boxes (Pt. 2): July2018

 

  

Every month Target releases at least one beauty box that ranges in cost from $5 to $10. Let’s be honest, they are usually pretty underwhelming and as a result, I'm only intrigued enough to buy one every 2 to 3 months. The good thing about these boxes is that they are stuffed with generally useful items you can find in Target stores or online (think deodorant, toothpaste, etc). The downside is that they can be entirely underwhelming because they are not innovative in the slightest.

This is the second of two Target catch-up posts, this one covering July boxes. The first was more of a personal pampering box and had:

• Clean & Clear Jelly Mask - Full Sized
• Up & Up 3 Day Whitening Kit - 3 Strips
• Shea Moisture African Black Soap & Charcoal Body Scrub
• Tresemmé Repair & Protect 7 Mask - No longer available at Target.com
• HASK Coconut Dry Shampoo
• Acure Brilliantly Brightening Facial Scrub
• NIVEA Foaming Silk Mousse Body Wash - Full Sized, No longer available at Target.com

The Clean & Clear Jelly Mask was exactly that. It was a floppy jelly mask (not unlike under eye gels) that covered only the top half of my face. It was cold and very hard to handle-I managed to drop it in the sink before using it. I believe it is supposed to be soothing before bed but I don’t find cold slimy things overly relaxing, plus the annoyance of trying to handle what feels like an insubstantial decaying carp of negligible weight. Stayed on but getting to that point was pretty difficult.

I had been toying with the idea of getting my teeth whitened for a while now but I forgot that my teeth are basically made of those mints you get at weddings. I was reminded of this fact when I tried using the Up & Up brand whitening strips. The strips boast visible results in 3 days (I found this to be untrue). Having used these in the past from other brands I thought, what’s the harm? I’ve never experienced sensitivity in the past so it can’t be that bad (also untrue). After two days my teeth were sensitive to heat and cold and I was seriously debating trashing day 3. I stupidly decided to man up for the review, went through the third set of strips and was afraid to chew for about a week and a half afterward because of tooth sensitivity. Imagine binging on War Heads and trying to chew anything after all the enamel has been stripped from your teeth. Yeah... kind of like that.

I had high hopes for the Shea Moisture body scrub but I think I was a bit let down. There is no actual scrub to this... wash? It seems better suited as an ineffective face scrub that is really nothing more than a Tootsie Roll scented charcoal paste with soft kiwi seed-type texture scrubbing particles in it.  I wonder how it would fare as a face scrub.

Tresemmé Repair & Protect 7 Mask was pretty alright. The mask was thick and hydrating and smelled like vanilla. Sorry for the lacking review here but that’s about as memorable as the experience was.

I did not get to use the HASK Coconut Dry Shampoo because well, it’s a dry shampoo. And it didn’t smell a bit like coconut so that was a bit of a misnomer.

I love the Acure Brilliantly Brightening Facial Scrub. Love. It has that perfect texture that a face scrub should have. It has some grit but it doesn’t actually hurt. For reference, a shirt run with St. Ives can begin to hurt after about half a minute. When I use this scrub in the shower I actually lose myself in the act of washing my face. Where 60 seconds often feels like a chore when washing my face or massaging product onto my skin I actually lost 3 minutes in the shower just scrubbing along. There is a slight licorice scent which is far from being a favorite of mine but I can overlook that just because of how amazing it feels.

Target keeps including NIVEA in their boxes and I just keep having to decline. I have yet to be impressed by a Nivea product. This is a foaming mousse that is supposed to hydrate as it cleans. It has that standard Nivea scent so beware if you are sensitive to fragrances. It was somewhat hydrating but good lord, I feel so dirty after using it. It is a foam that just sits on top of my skin but there is no real lather or soapy texture. It washes away easily but I never feel like it attracts dirt as it washes off. Cute concept, poor execution.

The second July box was the Multicultural Hair box and really, this was more of a functional box than it was fun. I absolutely loved the sizes of all the samples though; they were huge! This box included:

• Cantu Leave-In Conditioning Cream
• Aunt Jackie’s Don’t Shrink Gel
• Shea Moisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner
• Scünci Thick Hair 4pc Elastics
• Secret Clinical Soft Solid Light and Fresh
• Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Shampoo
• Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Repairing Conditioner

I already own a (mostly empty) tub of Cantu Leave-In Conditioning Cream. I find that it is a bit too heavy for child #1 with the baby-fine hair but boy, does it work wonders on child #2 who has thick, almost kinky curls. I also loved to use this when I still had my Teeny Weeny Afro over 3 years ago. My hair felt so healthy, hydrated, and it was soft as a cloud. Sometimes I miss those days.

 

Aunt Jackie’s Don’t Shrink Gel worked well enough with curl definition but left hair a little crunchy so I ended up using it to tame flyaways on child #1. It had the texture of flax seed gel: not too stiff of a gel and really almost more slimy than sticky. It was also very lightweight so that was nice. It’s hard to find something for child #1 that is both effective but not too overpowered.

Shea Moisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner was gone in about a day and a half between the two girls. I typically spray water in their hair while combing just to make it more workable (man, I wish we knew that back when I was a child, the damage we could have prevented) but sometimes it’s nice to switch it up and use a spray leave-in conditioner instead. I would say this works as well as Ouai Leave-In spray or It’s a 10 or Briogeo but at a much better price point for me. This will definitely be a future purchase when/if I wander into a Target in the near future.

My favorite item in beauty boxes is usually the most basic and Scünci Thick Hair Elasticss were no exception. These are the thickest non-scrunchie hair elastics I’ve ever seen and guys, they’re made of pure magic! Finally, I found something easy to work with in super thick, curly, easily matted toddler hair. The hair elastics don’t get easily lost in the tangles, it was easy to grip, and super secure with zero slip. Guys, I had a cute ponytail! These I have not found in stores yet but I’m on the hunt.

I had been using natural deodorant for so long that I forgot how good dementia/cancer deodorant smells and how effective it is at curbing day stank (medical term). That’s why people avoid traditional deodorants, right? While I recently tried a natural deodorant that contained body odor by masking it in lavender scent, Secret Clinical Soft Solid has a very light scent and uses your standard chemicals to control sweat and odor. At least I was able to wear perfumes without having them clash with the scent of my overpowered deodorant. In the long run though, I will probably end up sticking with the surprisingly affordable Schmidt’s deodorant (thanks Birchbox for that discovery!)

The final two things I received in the multicultural hair box were the Palmer’s Coconut Oil Formula Shampoo and Repairing Conditioner. I love how Target sends out decent (or equivalent) sized conditioners to go with shampoos. I found this duo to be hydrating and thick but workable. They also smell amazing. Really, this led to the best wash day I’ve had in a while. I still have some left (I’ve been cycling through a lot of shampoos lately and I also dyed my hair black) so I will definitely revisit these in the coming week or two.

That’s about it for the super old boxes. I toyed with the idea of including the October Target Beauty Box but seeing as how this post is about as long as Santa’s list, it might be best to call it here.