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Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyAug 14, 2015 | 24 comments

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - bag

Whole Foods Beauty Bag
4.8 overall rating
17 Ratings | 5 Reviews

The Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag is a curated collection of airplane-friendly essentials selected from offerings available in Whole Foods Market stores. This was a one-time purchase, but they did a beauty bag in March and a summer living bag in June, so I hope it will become a regular thing. (It seems like they are testing product types and price points right now.)

My Subscription Addiction paid for this bag. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Box: Whole Foods Weekender Bag

The Cost: $7

The Products: Travel sizes of essential beauty and personal care items.

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - contents

Ships to: In-store only purchase at US Whole Foods Market locations starting at 10 AM on August 12, 2015. While supplies last.

Check out the Beauty Subscription Box Directory for more great natural beauty deals!

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - card

The bag came with an information card listing the items from the bag.

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - compare

ChicoBag Travel Zip – Value $3.33

This bag has a tag that says “TSA Approved.” One side is see-through. I’ve shown it next to a quart-sized zip-top plastic storage bag for size comparison purposes. All the bags I saw in the store were this same green color on the other side. It should definitely last longer than the disposable plastic bags a lot of people use (which is ChicoBag’s mission).

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - acure

Acure Repairing Shampoo (1 oz) – Value $1.25

Acure Repairing Conditioner (1 oz) – Value $1.25

I have become a fan of Acure products thanks to subscription boxes. (If you want to try some other Acure products, the Glamorganic Goddess Beauty Kit is still available.) I haven’t opened these yet because I am going to take Whole Foods’s suggestion and actually use them for travel (I have a wedding to go to out of state in early October). These are good for normal to dry/damaged/curly hair according to Acure, so they should be perfect for me.

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - soap

Alaffia Authentic African Black Soap (2 oz) – Value $0.87

Juice Beauty Nutrient Moisturizer (0.5 oz) – Value $9

This African Black Soap can be used as a face wash, a body wash, and more. Great multipurpose item for travel, especially if you want to pack light. I am not getting “tangerine citrus” from the scent, but I do find it pleasant enough.

I have had mixed success with Juice Beauty moisturizers in the past, but so far this one seems like it is working for me (have only used it at night, and only once, though, so my assessment may be a little premature at this point).

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - toothpaste

Tom’s of Maine Simply White Toothpaste (0.9 oz) – Value $0.96

Mineral Fusion Mini Nail Polish in Blushing Crystal (0.25 oz) – Value $6.66

Sadly, the toothpaste contains sodium lauryl sulfate. While I theoretically don’t have any objections to this ingredient, in practice, SLS in toothpaste gives me canker sores. So I will be handing this over to my fiancé to use either when traveling or when he runs out of his regular toothpaste. I do like that it is whitening but doesn’t contain any synthetic bleaching chemicals!

If any of you read the MSA forums or the comments here, you know my feelings about pale pink nail polish. (This was the only shade offered – it’s printed on the information card so I don’t expect any variation.) You’ll see a swatch below. It dried pretty quickly although I’ve read that it takes quite a few coats to become opaque. (Try putting it on over a base layer of white to cut down on the number of coats.) Although this may not be my favorite color, I appreciate the chance to try a new brand. And the formula is vegan and 4-free! Also, the full size is only 0.3 oz so this mini is pretty close.

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - ingredients

This is the back of the information card, listing all the ingredients in the personal care products. That is a nice touch that I wish more subscription boxes would start doing – so often, you don’t get the full ingredients list on sample containers.

In the lower left corner is a swatch of the polish.

Whole Foods 2015 Weekender Bag Review - coupons

The bag also came with a couple of in-store coupons. I am not counting these towards the overall value because I don’t know the prices of these items at Whole Foods stores. My guess is that you would almost certainly have to pay some additional money to use the coupons.

Verdict: The 2015 Whole Foods Weekender Bag had an overall value of about $23.32 if you count the samples (but not the values of the coupons). That’s outstanding for the $7 cost, although it doesn’t deliver on the promised $40 value. (The $40 value probably includes the coupons. I got the prices per ounce from the manufacturers’ websites.) I thought the curation was excellent – nearly all the items are the sorts of things that I would immediately think of to put in a travel bag, and the sizes are TSA-friendly, even if some of them didn’t quite match my personal taste.

One more thing to mention – these are all products currently available at Whole Foods. All still being made by the manufacturers. I don’t know if these are still available. When I showed up at noon, my usual store had a few out on a table near the other beauty products. I’d expect them to be there through the weekend, at least.

What did you think of the Whole Foods Weekender Bag? Were you able to get one?

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Deluxe samples of natural and ingredient-conscious makeup, skincare, and haircare. In-store only purchase at US Whole Foods Market locations starting March 18. Available while supplies last.

Ragan Buckley
Ragan Buckley
Ragan stumbled across My Subscription Addiction in late 2013 and immediately subscribed to way too many beauty boxes. She's now focused on boxes for her cats and dog, vegan/vegetarian food boxes, and craft subscriptions (and she didn't give up beauty boxes entirely).

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24 comments

Janet

I’m visiting family in Colorado and happened to be near a Whole Foods. It was a long-shot but I figured I’d stop in to see if any were left – I got the last one!

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Miccarty

I wasn’t able to get to my WF until Sunday, but they still had lots of these left. I wanted the bag for travel, as I’m flying next week, and I figured I will use/try everything else, so with the $5 Juice Beauty coupon I figured it was win-win.

I have gotten every single one of these WF bags, since they started offering them, and I’m so glad they’re doing it. I really try to use more natural brands, but it’s expensive to try them if something doesn’t work out, so it’s nice to get to try these things at a discount.

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Ann

I wish the Whole Foods in my town was open. I would love that little travel bag!

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Kay

After seeing your review, I decided to check out nearby WF during lunch break and I got one. I had to ask. My least favorite item is the nail polish as I don’t wear very often, but I can use everything else. I will be camping in about two weeks, and I am excited to try Acure hair products. I will save the bag for carry-on air travel. I won’t be using any or all of the coupons, so if you want them, please comment here with your email. I am not on the swap board. If you can mail me the return envelope with the postage, I can mail them to you.

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Holly

Just wanted to point out that the card says 2 oz for the African black soap, and the bottle label states the size is 1 oz. I picked one up today and was wondering why the bottle was so small. Very pleased with my purchase regardless.

Will definitely be making a point to purchase any others they come out with. The travel bag alone is worth half the cost, and was my main reason for getting it!

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Ragan

You are right. I was looking at the card rather than the photos/items when I did the values. It only makes a difference of about 44 cents in the price. But thanks for pointing it out.

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Kim W

I got one in DC, too. They weren’t in the health & beauty section, though. They had them by the cash registers where they thought they were more likely to be noticed. I had to ask where they were as I didn’t notice them 🙂

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laura

I picked one of these up Wednesday around 4pm. There was no signage but they were at the front of the vitamin aisle. Great deal, I will use everything. I almost bought 2, but the nail polish stopped me. Though I suppose I could just gift the extra one.. If they still have them next time I swing by.

I’m going to use the Juice coupon on their green apple peel since I’m almost out- assuming WF sells it.

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Rachel

I hope this does become regular offering! A Whole Foods is being built the next town over. I can’t wait!

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PA Anna

I need to check with my local Whole Foods to see if there are in yet. The promotion goes to the 24th or 25th. My WF says it is nationwide. They had an internal upcoming specials sheet taped up near the computer where they special order vitamins etc. The woman helping me is in charge of the beauty department and had to check the sheet because she was unaware of the promotion.

I’ve used Mineral Fusion base and top coat before and liked it. Thank you, Ragan, for reviewing despite the pale pink nailpolish 🙂

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Amy

My wholefoods beauty/vitamin person wasn’t aware of this either and I’m in a very large metropolitan area (Houston). I showed him a picture from the MSA post, he’d never seen it before. He even went to the back to look, but nothing. Kinda annoying since that was my entire purpose for going all the way over there…

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anna

I went to buy one yesterday and couldn’t see them. I asked stuff and they brought one for me from the back. Apparently they even didn’t took them out yet!
I think I saw there was sale on Juice Beauty in Whole Foods, I must check it again. Then it would be a great opportunity to use $5 coupon

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Judy

I’m in New York and went to my local Whole Foods. They didn’t have it. When I asked she said that usually they just send them. She hadn’t received any information on it. Come to find out it is only a Midwest offering and not available everywhere. I wish they would have made that clear somewhere.

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TriedNTruReview

I was able to get one in NJ today! I was nervous they would all be gone, but there were nearly 2 dozen out on a table. Phew!

merry

I’m in NYC and there were plenty of these bags here in the city.

chris

My California store had them too. I think this is a nice bag for the price and the $5 off Juice Beauty–which is one of my favorite brands–is a high value coupon. 🙂

Thanks for the detailed review and extra tips, Ragan!

Ragan

I live in the Atlanta area — definitely not the Midwest.

Lori

I picked mine up in Scottsadale, AZ yesterday so not just in the Midwest.

Mary kate

I found one in South Florida. :). I really love this because it gives me a chance to try products before I buy full sized! 🙂

Emily

I had no trouble finding these in the D.C. area. Not a Midwest only offering.