Thursday, August 2, 2018

June 2018 Sephora Review



Play! by Sephora is a monthly subscription that sends out 5 beauty/skincare/hair care items and one bonus item (often a fragrance sample) for $10 plus state tax. Sephora also gives out 50 bonus beauty insider points that can be redeemed with an in-store purchase each month. I was not impressed with June’s Sephora box but I desperately want it to be because of billing. I did not realize that the credit card I had on file had expired so I was billed late and as a result I ended up with, I’m hoping, one of the left over boxes that doesn’t match my profile. I received:






Sorry for the glare
This is the tiniest sample ever. Seriously, how the hell am I even supposed to get a brush in there. This sample did not work for me. Aside from it Bering so small that it just isn’t functional, it works against my sheer coverage Look I’m usually trying to achieve and makes me look “done-up.” The shade is also far too light for me so I get this Sammy Sosa-esque look going.


This oil based cleanser works about as well as my Target Up & Up brand cleanser. It removes eye makeup well and after a bit of a rinse I’m good to go. I do love the purple packaging though and I’m always pleased to remove another eye makeup remover but ultimately I can purchase just as efficient for a bit less. 


 

I don’t really know how I feel about Too Faced as a brand. The risqué names for products isn’t really a selling point for me since I’m not in middle school, the shades never really seem to reflect my wants or needs as a person and those two things make me feel like the brand is a bit overrated. Now that that’s all been addressed, the Too Faced Melted Matte lipstick isn’t a terrible product. It applied evenly, tastes like chocolate or fondant and is a little sweet which reminds me of Stila Stay All Day liquid lipstick and wasn’t overly drying. I’m not a fan of cake flavored lips even though I’m not entirely against it so that was another aspect of this lipstick that just didn’t sell me. The shade Queen B is borderline unwearable for me though. It is too mauve of a pink where I usually tend to lean more towards brown and gray shades. I guess there just wasn’t anything different enough about this lipstick to make me want to run out and try to find a shade that works for me.

 

This was the one item I was completely stoked about in June. I already had a sample of this, a freebie I grabbed from Ipsy about a year back and I used the shit out of this on my baby bump.* This time they sent it in a little tub instead of a tube, but the volume is still about the same. The smell is decadent and it is so wonderfully moisturizing. If every lotion forever could be either this or that fresh minty crisp scent of Clarins I would just be so pleased.

*I should note, I escaped pregnancy with only 2 stretch marks, but that is with a combination of moisturizers and I strongly believe it was only because I moisturized at all, not because of any particular moisturizer or ingredients it contained.

 

I can’t lie; I haven’t given this a chance yet. I’ve been failing trying to organize my bedroom and sample stash and it got buried in a pile of hair care and two June Target Beauty Boxes. Lizzie would be the only person who could use it anyway and the summer humidity has been so rough on her hair that I don’t have much hope for this product.

 

On to some hair products I did get to. Marajó deserves a medal for their Deep Treatment shampoo and conditioner. Holy hell, both of these were thick, thick formulae, especially the conditioner that was the consistency of a thick cream cheese frosting. It even smelled like fresh vanilla cream cheese frosting. The shampoo smelled like fondant, but not cloyingly sweet the way fondant often smells. My shower when I washed my hair with these guys was a bakery that specializes in wedding cakes. The samples were small but the shampoo garnered a great lather and the conditioner felt like it penetrated. Of course, I had to work on a smaller area of hair to get any noteworthy results.
Too Faced and (unblended) CoverFX
 
Too Faced and (blended) CoverFX
The Breakdown: Was I disappointed with this box? Absolutely, but that’s because the shades just didn’t work with me. The powder sample was too small to effectively use and it left me looking like a vampire and the lipstick is too similar in shade to others that I’ve previously purged. Were there some great things? Sure. I loved the Brazilian Bum Bum cream and the bonus shampoo/conditioner samples. The Clinique makeup remover is just an added bonus for me as it is something that I regularly use.

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