January 2018 Play! by Sephora Review

Sephora Play is a $10 a month subscription that sends out sample and sometimes deluxe sized samples to subscribers. Items found in Play boxes can be pre-existing items and cult favorites found in stores or newly released items. Sephora also includes a card for 50 bonus Beauty Insider points with any in-store purchase made during that month. While I love the fact that all of the items sent out in Play boxes can be found either in store or online, I really do wish Sephora would send out larger sample sizes. The foil packets are nothing less than infuriating and many of the samples only provide 2-3 decent uses. That might be why it been so hard to find the motivation to type this. Sorry about the shitty lighting. These were taken in a hotel room at night, and that sounded way shadier than I ever expected. I unboxed these while I was traveling for work, basically.

NARS Lipstick in Orgasm - $11.67

GlamGlow Supercleanse - $3.20

Alterna Haircare Anti-Aging Caviar CC Cream - $2.46

Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer - $4.00

Clinique Pep Start Eye Cream - $5.30

L’Occitane Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Milk Concentrate - $5.00

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January’s Sephora box wasn’t bad. It also wasn’t great. Really I’m just glad most of the items were relatively useful. So far the only thing that remains in my stash from January is the NARS lipstick in Orgasm. The shade is a very sheer, shimmery peach that barely shows up on my lips, almost like a natural flush well suited to the name. It’s a very fresh, springy color. Unfortunately this formula did not agree with me. All it did was accentuate the flaky dryness and patchy texture of my lips. I don’t think my lips were designed for bullet lipsticks since this isn’t the first time I’ve had this problem.

From my limited experience I have little affection for the brand GlamGlow. They seem to get the job done for the most part but the results I’ve seen don’t live up to the price tag and the hype. GlamGlow Supercleanse was no different. Ok well, I have to back up a moment here. This foaming charcoal cleanser has some of the qualities I like for in a cleanser: it foams and it did seem to leave my skin liking brighter after washing though most cleansers do that anyway (a result of the warm water and agitation). It was a little difficult to rinse off and did not appear to reduce my blackheads in any way. There is also nothing special about this product in the way of ingredients except maybe the potential irritant peppermint oil which I’m sure most people can do without on their face.

So what’s my true grievance? The smell! Jesus Horacio Christ, that smell. This product easily difficult for me to use because it smelled like a combination of eucalyptus (win), peppermint (eh...) and a field of anise-licorice hybrid plants set to destroy the planet. Like bell pepper in any dish, the licorice managed to overpower the scent of anything else involved in Supercleanse and bear it into submission. Unfortunately for me it is a smell by which I cannot abide. I managed to kill off this sample but I questioned every life decision I’ve made up to that point as I did it. 

The foil packet bonus this month was the Alterna Haircare anti-Aging Caviar CC Cream. I hate foil packets (especially haircare) and would much rather skincare foil packets, which seem like they’re never offered, or the more traditional perfume sample. This little foil packet smelled nice but was ultimately too small to do anything for my freshly shampooed hair beyond serve as a hair perfume of sorts. Really I just wish there was an “African-American” option or something similar that would be considered in these profiles. Not mixed race, not “curly” but a legitimate understanding of the prominent African-American phenotypes. 

I finally found a Smashbox product I don’t overly care for, the Photo Finish Primerizer. The sample size was just microscopic and the tiny Barbie-sized mayonnaise jar did not come with any semblance of an applicator, I just had to dump this stuff on my fingertips and roll with it. An eye dropper applicator would have been preferred. The full sized comes with a pump that hopefully won’t clog easily. The Primerizer didn’t make for a bad moisturizer. I ended up using this as my primary face moisturizer when I was out in SLC for work. I cannot say I cared for it at all as a primer though. I tend to enjoy primers that are pore filling and mattifying (see the original Photo Finish Primer) bit the Primerizer added a bit too much radiance for my liking. My 12 in the afternoon I felt like I rode a pat of butter into work when I used this as my primer on my combo/oily skin. Glad I got the opportunity to try it though, I guess, even if just to reinforce my previously held beliefs. 

Clinique’s Pep Start eye cream was one of the few samples I thoroughly enjoyed start to finish in January. The sample was pretty small but it’s just an eye cream so I ended up getting quite a bit of mileage out of it. It had no scent to it and was quite refreshing and moisturizing. There was no tingling like with the Origins GenZing Eye cream and no pearlescent brightening but it was still a nice treat all the same. Effective, probably not but I just thought of it as more of a preventative measure, not corrective.

 

My bump’s favorite item from January’s box was the L’OccitaneAlmond Smoothing and Beautifying Milk Concentrate. That’s a whole lot of words for “almond-scented lotion.” It smells nice, though it’s more of a muted scent that is quite refreshing. It did a wonderful job of moisturizing and absorbing without leaving a greasy residue, perfect for both hands and baby bump.

All in all not a bad month, but then I say that every month. I just wish my lips were in better condition to wear bullet lipsticks. Overall though: cleanser (win), lotion (win), Smashbox (technical win), 3/6 isn’t the worst score, is it? At least when it costs $10 a month? Ugh, I have a problem, I just need to come to full terms with it and start cancelling subs. But the FOMO is real, guys.