I Tried Walmart’s $10 Skincare Kit and, You Know What, It Was Pretty Good
So, Walmart made skincare. Not just that, but they made four-piece skincare sets that cost less than $10. And as it turns out, they’re actually pretty good.
The first thing that caught my attention from Walmart’s new Earth to Skin collection was its Honey Manuka Calming Starter Set. A gentle-yet-effective natural ingredient that’s been co-signed by celebs including Kourtney Kardashian, Manuka honey is even used in the medical field for its well-documented antibiotic and humectant properties. I was impressed to see it at Walmart, which many still don’t see as an authority in the beauty space, make an effort to include the ingredient in its affordable product lineup.
The set includes deluxe sample sizes of four key products from its Honey line — a Manuka Cleanser, Manuka Day Gel Cream, Manuka Night Cream, and Royal Jelly Eye Cream. Not included in the kit, but available as full-size products on Walmart.com are the Honey Manuka All Over Serum, the Honey Manuka Calming Face Toner, and the Honey Royal Jelly Sheet Masks Four Pack, all of which retail individually for under $10.
The cleanser is somewhere between a gel and a foaming wash. It pours a little sticky, and has the satisfying consistency we’ve come to expect in traditional cleaners, but when applied to damp skin, it doesn’t get quite as sudsy, which tells me it’s not loaded with detergents. Indeed, when I washed my face with it, I wasn’t left feeling tight or dry. With a slightly sweet smell, the experience was surprisingly pleasant.
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Next, I applied a knuckles-worth of the Day Cream. Also delivering the set’s signature honey scent, the gel moisturizer delivered immediate hydration to my skin, and then dried down cleanly, fast. My face didn’t feel tacky or thirsty, and the Day Cream alone would have probably been enough to wear on its own during the summer.
Because I’m a moisture junky, though, I followed it up with the Night Cream. A richer, more emollient version of the gel cream, this product was formulated with additional occlusives that help retain moisture over longer periods of time, like while you sleep. The substance sank deep into my skin and made my face feel immediately quenched. Impressively, though, it didn’t feel greasy nor did it appear shiny.
Lastly, I dabbed a fingertip’s worth of eye cream along my under eye area and on my lids. Unlike other eye creams, the Royal Jelly Eye Cream had a slight firmness to it. I’m used to eye products being quite runny, which means they’re mostly water — expensive water, at that. This bouncy cream applied beautifully to my eye area, immediately plumping out dehydration lines that had formed throughout the day.
Aside from its Manuka Honey kit, Walmart is also selling four-piece skincare sets in Super Greens, for nourishing skin, and Tea Time, for anti-aging.
Shop the kits for just $10 at Walmart.com.