Trouble Maker launches blind-box lip gloss in Australian

Adam and Sally Minto have launched their Trouble Maker cosmetics brand in Australia with a Feral Teddy lip gloss sold as a mystery bag. The product, priced at A$7 and available in nine possible shades, conceals its specific colour until the package is opened, mimicking the 'blind box' collectible model popular in toy retail.

Kmart has given the product prominent placement, with co-founder Adam Minto telling Inside Retail its stands are "the first globally to have a full wall" of the mystery lip glosses. Target's online listing describes the purchase as a "game of chance," encouraging customers to collect the full set or trade duplicates. The Mintos are established mass-market beauty operators; Adam co-founded Revolution Beauty in 2014, and the couple launched Trouble Maker in Britain last August before its Australian debut last month.

The retail collectibles phenomenon

Trouble Maker's launch intersects with a broader retail trend where products are sold as sealed 'blind boxes.' This model offers one item from a larger set, with rare variants and the chance of duplicates turning a single purchase into a collecting hunt. The format has proven highly lucrative; Pop Mart's Monsters family, which includes the Labubu character, generated over A$800 million in revenue in the first half of 2026 alone. Australian retailers have heavily promoted such collectibles, from Kmart's Kuma Paw figures to Woolworths' recent revival of Disney Ooshies.

Beauty embraces the hunt

The psychology of collecting, driven by the thrill of the hunt and anticipation, is now being applied to cosmetics. Dr. Christina Anthony, a consumer psychologist at the University of Sydney, explained the appeal, stating, "It's an emotional lottery similar to what gamblers experience when they're chasing the next win." Other beauty brands are adopting similar tactics. The Australian website for viral makeup brand P. Louise has a dedicated category for makeup mystery boxes, while Kmart also sells Dr. PawPaw lip balms with collectible charms. In prestige beauty, Coty's relaunched Marc Jacobs Beauty line describes its products as "collectable objects."

The environmental cost of repetition

The blind-box model is built on repetition and the desire to complete a set, which can lead to consumers buying multiple items to find a specific variant. This occurs alongside compressed social media trend cycles that encourage rapid product manufacturing. An estimated 80 percent of all boxed toys eventually end up in landfill or are incinerated. The waste issue was highlighted in 2023 when toy company Funko recorded a US$30.3 million inventory write-down under a program that included physically destroying excess stock.

For the Mintos, the key test is whether consumer interest lasts beyond the initial novelty. Adam Minto expressed excitement about defining a new category, saying, "We know this is a category defining a new brand for a generation so we are excited to see how much viral Trouble we can cause in Australia." The brand's success will indicate if the collectible model can drive repeat purchases of cosmetics like lip gloss before existing products are used up, potentially opening a lucrative new market for the blind-box boom.