Play! by Sephora Review for August 2017

The end of the month is still acceptable to get a monthly box review up, yeah? This time it's Play! by Sephora, a box that I was on the fence about subscribing to for the longest and I finally took the plunge if only to answer the siren call of skincare. Play! by Sephora is a beauty box curated by the Cosmetics retailer Sephora that provides 5 skincare, haircare and makeup items a month in a drawstring bag (meh) and a bonus perfume sample. Perfume is not really my thing and an easy freebie that one can get with any purchase but if it doesn't count as one of my 5 samples then I really don't give a shit. Play provides subscribers with a profile they can fill out to best "personalize" their box each month. I say "personalize" in quotations because unlike other subscription boxes I've encountered, Play only sends out relatively few items and very few box varieties (5-10 types maybe) a month and your profile is used to pigeonhole you into the closest-but-still-not-quite-right box variety.

Geeking out over makeup!

The bag is never my favorite part.

The theme this month was Makeup geek and omg, was the info sheet that was shipped so freaking cute. I loved that they had a very basic yet informational periodic table of the elements basically outlining how various ingredients commonly found in skincare (and featured in this box) affect skin, hair and makeup. I did find this theme odd considering there is a makeup line called Makeup Geek. This month's Sephora Play box was different from any of the previous ones that I've seen and the one previous box I've received in that it offered two colored beauty products and one tool.

Beauty Blender Micro.Mini - $9 or 2 for $18
Kat Von D Lock-It Conceal Crème in #33 - $7.40
Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in Golden Almond - $7.36
Clarins Body Fit Anti-Cellulite Contouring Expert - $10.14
Qhmet Biologics Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee - $2.59
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue - $2.38

I was excited about the idea of getting a Beauty Blender Micro.Mini in my Play! box but the reality did not justify my excitement. What the shit is the point of a beauty blender that is so freaking tiny? I haven't even brought myself to use it yet because I'm fully capable of turning my current blending sponge around and using the pointed end for precise application. I guess this is functional for some people but it's just an extra step and an extra item to clean.

 

 

 

Dry Micro.Mini

Wet Micro.Mini. Not much of a difference.

 
I wanted so much to love the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in Golden Almond.

The texture is great, it's medium to full coverage where a little goes a very long way and it blends out easier than I expected but I cannot provide any feedback on how well this works because well...

(Left) Kat Von D Lock-it Concealer in #33, (Right) Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish in Golden Almond in indirect sunlight

There is no fucking way I can get away with wearing this outside. It is so incredibly dark that I cannot get away with wearing it as a base but unfortunately it is too orange to pass as a contour shade. That and I just have no idea how I would even go about beginning to contour. I tried it as a bronzing shade but that was pretty offensively orange as well. I love how Play! says they sent this item based on my skin tone in my profile and yet anybody who got my box combination #221 got the exact same shade as the Kat Von D Lock-It concealer that I did. And on that note...

While Kat Von D Lock-It Conceal Crème in #33 is almost a perfect shade for my face (I know it looks out of control on my arm but that is due to my constant donning of hoodies and long sleeves), I cannot get away with wearing it out because my face and body are two completely different shades. Oddly enough, the difference starts around the neck and is so stark that matching anything to my face makes me look more novice than I actually am, and I admit I'm pretty freaking novice at applying makeup. It is a very full coverage, which looking at Kat Von D's overall aesthetic, this is not surprising. I was stunned that the shade was nearly a perfect match for me but I'm disappointed that my face does not agree with the rest of my body. Is it worth risking finding self tanners for brown girls? Probably not. Maybe if I find myself in daylight or a pool one day this can come in handy.

I got a nice but severely overpriced body lotion in my box this month. Clarins Body Fit Anti-Cellulite Contouring Expert costs an exorbitant $70 for 200mL. The claim: it reduces cellulite. I think I need to stop bitching about anti-cellulite skincare. Kind of. I will just  leave this here. This podcast/blog post show that I am an idiot for discrediting any effect caffeine may have but I also cannot help but feel a little vindicated because of it. Basically, the oils and emollients in lotions and the sheer quantities of caffeine needed to see any anti-aging effects more or less negate the effect of caffeine in a lot of skin care items. So long story short, cosmetics companies are overselling (and overcharging for) the effects of their products on cellulite and aging while preying on our insecurities and collective gullibility. If I just wanted a nice non-greasy feeling body lotion and I had a ton of money (think Emily Gilmore or Blair Waldorf loaded) I could see myself blowing money on something like this. But then I'd also have a bathroom entirely stocked in Lush products.

Or  I could just pay for liposuction

Every time I receive a hair item in a subscription box I try it on my kids. In the past this was because items often did not fit my hair type. A recently added issue is I have loc'd my hair so I'm limited on product types to use. Qhmet Biologics Qhmet Biologics Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee is no different as it markets itself as a detangling cream. Let me tell you! This stuff works magic on Livy's hair. She's got the curlier hair of the two of my kids and just a spritz of water and a small amount of this and it's pretty easy to comb through without entirely coating her head or using too much product and she smells like a little chocolate chip running around! The best part? 8.5 oz of this stuff is totally affordable so not only do I love it but I am absolutely going to buy more instead of hoping I end up with more in a subscription box down the line. This works great with the Garnier Sleek & Shine (reviewed here) but the smell mixes to make her smell like a chocolate covered fruit, but a fruit that doesn't get chocolate like kiwi.

Qhmet Biologics at work. Sorry for the frizzy Day2 Curls.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue is a fragrance actually works on me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my heart set on the Kat Von D Sinner and Saint perfumes that were offered this month but I really do appreciate this D&G sample. It is described as feminine, floral and fruity and the notes I'm catching are granny smith apples, citron and a little bit of musk. Other notes listed on the website are bluebells, jasmine, bamboo, white rose, cedar wood, amber and musk. It smells like the beach to me, really because of that clean crispness of the granny smith apples though it smells more fruity than apple-y.

Holy crap, this month was full of a lot of pissing and moaning from me about Sephora. Sorry, guys. At least the box value was pretty high at a value of $38.87 and I got to try some mid-range to high-end brands. Credit where credit's due: I got a decent body lotion that costs way too much, a pretty awesome smelling perfume sample, a decent and affordable hair product for one of the tots, and I got to try two pretty freaking awesome brands of face base. I've always wanted to try the Hourglass Vanish foundation formulas and I finally got a chance to try. I may even consider snagging one if I ever see an incredible deal come up (Ipsy had them available for almost a month at some point back in 2016, maybe it will happen again?). There are so many shades that risking ordering online can prove to be a highly dangerous game so at least this sample allows me to narrow down the field just a little bit. I had been wanting a concealer and I'm thrilled I got to try the KVD formula. It's pretty hardcore and if you want something covered it absolutely won't disappoint. I recently bought some drugstore foundations I keep saying I will review someday but I erroneously bought shades that are slightly too dark so maybe I can work this concealer with those. Little beauty blender, I don't know what to do with you. Maybe I can find someone who will love it? Ultimately the box was decent but that's just because I only started subscribing to this box for the bath, body and skincare with the occasional hair find for the kids.