Play! by Sephora Review September 2017

Sephora has come into the beauty box scene nearly two years ago with their own Play! by Sephora box and of the three months I've received so far I can't really complain much. The cost is $10 a month plus tax and like Birchbox and Ipsy, Sephora sends out a number of box variations each month. Unlike Ipsy and to a lesser extent Birchbox, Sephora does not have a very broad range of boxes, even though they state boxes are tailored to your personal profile you set up upon applying. What they're really saying is "We have 3-9 pre-curated boxes each month and whichever box you hit the most benchmarks for is the box you're getting." Unfortunately, this means if skin tone was rated as most important by Sephora that month than you may end up with a box that is tailored to your skin type (based off of what you fill out in the profile) but the skin type (oily/combination/dry) may be completely off. It's a gamble I'm willing to take (so far) with this box because I do love that the samples, while not the largest, are not foil packets and all samples are from brands that can be found in store or online meaning the labels range from mid-range to high-end. This month's box was one of the stronger ones. Items included:

• Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow in 5 Deep  - $8.00
• Ciaté London Liquid Velvet Moisturizing Matte Lipstick in Diva - $5.85 V, CF
• Sephora Collection Contour Waterproof Eye Pencil in Black Lace - $4.00
• Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream - $6.30
• DevaCurl Melt into Moisture Matcha Butter Conditioning Mask - $4.57
• Living Proof No Frizz Nourishing Oil -$3.20

V = Vegan
CF = Cruelty Free

 

 
Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow in 5 Deep is a repeat from last month's Birchbox, which due to a shipping error on their end I ended up with two of these making this my third Gimme Brow. Unfortunately my woolly brows are still quite untamed so I have not been able to take full advantage of this product. I did enjoy the product though, I'm just far off from needing it at this time. This third sample is probably going to be passed on to a friend back home for Christmas along with some other stocking stuffer items she would enjoy.

The Ciaté London Liquid Velvet Moisturizing Matte Lipstick in Diva is a nice product. I got the shade Pin Up from a friend back in December 2016 and loved the formula so I'm glad I got a different shade. The bright, true red shade is almost garish on my skin tone (think of Desi Perkins wearing one of Lustrelux's red shades then stab me in the eyeballs for referencing influencers who are about 15 years younger than me). I would prefer a bit of a more blue-toned red however this true-red is passable if I'm going for more of a statement look. I do love that the brand is ingredient conscious though.

Sephora Collection Eyeliner in Black Lace (top), Ciate London Liquid Matte in Diva (bottom)

My favorite item of the bag, hands down, has to be Sephora Collection Contour Waterproof Eye Pencil in Black Lace. "What is this?" you say. I know I'm frequently complaining about getting another black eyeliner but this little guy does. not. smudge. This is the perfect formula for tightlining and oh my god do I love it. I will most likely buy a full sized one in black and possibly another color even though I do not wear statement eyeliner. This eyeliner is a little trickier on my lids and lower lash line though. Since it is waterproof it is susceptible to oils. This prevents me from being to effectively use it on my oily lids. It is a very rich, creamy and black formula so it's difficult for me to use it on my waterline without looking like a throwback to the late '90s/early '00s bro ho.

Because I just DGAF.

I also feel that dark liner on my waterline makes my already-beady eyes look even smaller.

The weather has been changing quite a bit lately so I've actually gotten quite a bit of use out of the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream. It's not too thick of a formula so I don't worry about that feeling of clogging my pores that I usually get from face creams. This cream is thick enough though where I only use it in the evenings. It has a pretty strong scent that reminds me of lemon grass and chamomile tea and I'm not really into either.

I received a hefty 1oz tube of DevaCurl Melt into Moisture Matcha Butter Conditioning Mask this month. It smells amazing, like a green tea frappe and is actually a little minty green in tint. Unfortunately I have not had any time to use this yet. I keep forgetting to drag it into the shower with me whenever I wash my hair. I am looking forward to giving this a whirl though.

Wearing the Sephora Collection Eyeliner and Ciaté London Liquid Lipstick in Diva

Closeup of the Sephora Collection Eyeliner

Sephora tried to do something a little different this month. Instead of sending out a fragrance sample as the bonus 6th item they sent a foil packet. This poor, dinky little 4mL Living Proof No Frizz Nourishing Oil did nothing for me. It was a nice hair fragrance but the sample was too small to get an idea of how well it hydrates hair. I never thought the day would come where I would say I would rather a fragrance sample but I guess Hell must have frozen over somewhere.

Last month's bag had brands that I was thrilled to try but unfortunately it was too makeup heavy and the base shades selected for me were way too dark. This month fared far better with less exotic brands but I can see myself using everything in this box at some point. My total box value was $31.92 which is about average for me. I do occasionally wonder what the value of other peoples' boxes are but ultimately what matters most is whether or not I will use the items, not how much each item is valued at.