Incredible £10 makeup mystery box available on the high street

A tenner used to buy a month’s worth of sweets, now it barely covers a fancy coffee. When it comes to cosmetics, a ten pound note is unlikely to get you more than a stick of kohl or a fruit flavoured lip gloss. That is unless you happen to stumble upon the bargain of all bargains - the £10 makeup mystery box from W7.

While bars of chocolate shrink faster than paychecks, here is a brand determined to put the trend in reverse for beauty. If you have ever spotted W7’s £19.99 mystery box on Amazon and debated whether it's worth buying, I can help you out. I’ve found it for £9.99 LESS on the high street. 

So, what’s in the box and is it worth getting?

How many products in a £10 makeup mystery box?

It makes a change to find a deal that you can snap up on the spot without having to wait days for delivery. That is what I thought when I rushed up to a till clutching a W7 mystery box. I can’t remember the last time I bagged a bargain without having to use PayPal, Klarna or my debit card details to checkout. Tap and go was all I had to do to walk away with this steal.

While not massive - the box measures 24cm by 17cm - it certainly had some weight to it. The occasional rolling of whatever was inside during my bus ride home gave me the impression it contained more than three or four items.

In fact, it contained eleven! And all full-size!

I’ve written a lot in the past about the anticipation of opening a mystery product. I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of that again but, suffice to say, it is like Christmas every time.

I never thought a tenner, a modern symbol of dwindling purchasing power, would buy me so much and in one purchase. Because ‘cheap’ is a relative term, it is not always easy to apply to a specific product or deal. In this case, I can say with utter confidence that £10 is very cheap for what you are actually buying.

My mystery box contained:

Let’s Brunch With Vickaboo eyeshadow palette worth £6.50. The palette is presented in a branded sleeve and delivers 12 vegan and cruelty free shadows in pink, orange, nudes and gold. This collab features shade choices by viral TikToker Vickaboo. A long-time staple of the brand’s compressed cardboard palettes, it has garnered good reviews and includes a brush. A welcome find in such a low-cost mystery box. 

Legend Foundation, 28ml. This long-wear skin tint provides medium to full coverage and offers a semi-matte finish. It’s worth £5.95 and is sold in a glass bottle. The shade I received is quite a deep beige but I am sure I will use it to create a faux tan look during the spring and summer. Widely regarded as a dupe for a premium brand foundation, this product has an army of devotees. 

King Khol precision black eyeliner pencil worth £3.99 - always worth having.

Eyes That Hypnotise Liquid Eyeliner Pot, 8ml. This product is worth £4.50.

Absolute Lashes Mascara worth £4.50. This product is said to boost length and volume as well as enhance curl. 

Very Vegan Intense Créme Lipstick in a pinky-orange worth £3.96. The writing on the product is too small for me to determine the shade name.

Glamorous Gloss in Nude Attitude worth £3.95. This product has a hint of metallic, which is bang on trend, so I am looking forward to giving it a try for a night out.

2 x Nail Polish. Glitter Nail Polish in Cosmic Mauve and a Classic Nail Polish in white. Each is worth £2.95.

Glamorous Nails - a full set worth £4.95. The false nails stick on and are in red tipped with metallic silver/pink.

Self Bubbling Black Charcoal 02 Mask worth £2.99. It was nice to see a skincare item included in the box.

What was the value of my £10 makeup mystery box?

Wait for it… The combined retail value of the items in my box amounted to a whopping £47.19, representing a saving of more than £35. I essentially paid just under 91p per item. Yes, under a quid for a trending eyeshadow palette and less than a quid for a great coverage foundation some have likened to Estée Lauder’s Double Wear!

If I had to be picky, I’d say two eyeliner products and two nail polishes were a bit much. It would have been nice to see a blusher or bronzer in there. But, in all honesty, for a mere £10 that really would be nit-picking. 

This box is perfect for teenagers, those just starting to experiment with makeup or people just like me who cannot resist a good deal and can haul cosmetics until the cows come home. 

Want to know where I bought this £10 makeup mystery box? Brace yourself… I found it in The Original Factory Shop, more widely known as TOFS. While this retailer has recently installed branded W7 shop displays, the mystery box was located on a side aisle. So, if you are hunting one down, keep your eyes peeled.

The checkout assistant told me she’d bought one for her daughter and was so impressed she purchased a second. She gave me the impression the boxes contained different products, so it is very much a lucky dip. There were only two boxes on the shelf when I picked mine. I dithered over which one to choose and, now I’ve opened it, I know I went for the right one.

I’ve noticed that TOFS sells a range of exclusive gifts across its beauty range. They include collections by W7 and it is quite possible this mystery box is curated for that retailer and differs from the one on Amazon. Either way, it is a true bargain and worth buying - while it’s still available. 

I have no connection to any of the brands mentioned in this review. I calculated the value of the box contents by comparing prices across multiple platforms.