Play!
by Sephora is a $10 a month subscription box that provides sample
sizes of skincare, hair care and makeup from brands that can be found in
Sephora stores and online. It’s a great way to try out brands that are mid
range to high end without breaking the bank or risking buying a full size that
turns out to be a poor match. Yes, I know Sephora allows returns but I hate returning
items that didn’t work out. The way I see it: I gambled, I will commit to that
choice I made. I guess to a lesser extent that philosophy can also apply to
subscription boxes. My gamble in August included:
ABH is one of those brands that is cool to own but I would never
drop the kind of money necessary to buy anything. I’ve also let my brows fall
into a state of total disrepair so I need to first get them threaded and shaped
and then start filling them in and setting them with this ABH’s
clear brow gel. I can say that when I did use this just to get a
feel for the product texture it felt pretty nice. The gel isn’t too wet but it
isn’t crunchy either. My beasts also managed to stay in place until I rubbed my
face. This, however, is just a reminder that I need to start filling in my
brows and that I need to get them groomed way more frequently.
I like lip plumpers, I don’t need them, but I like them, so GrandeLIPS
was a nice treat to receive in August. It’s a clear gloss that can be a little
sticky and it plumps through irritating the sensitive, thinner lip skin. It
really didn’t burn, given the mechanism for how it works; there was just a more
than slight warming as tingling. It also looks great alone, slightly plumped,
slightly pinker natural looking bare lips are great for an “I didn’t even try
this morning” look for a run to the grocery store. The last effective lip
plumper I tried was the Too Faced Lip Injection and I had to make sure I want
on fire with that one. I want to argue that Too Faced was more effective but
that could have been more due to my unwillingness (inability) to relax my lips
from a perma-pucker due to discomfort. Bonus: it smells like white birthday
cake with sprinkles!
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| Looking exhausted wearing only Laura Mercier foundation and GrandeLIPS plumping gloss. |
I keep receiving
lipsticks that I just can’t wear. At least Make Up Forever wasn’t dry and broken off at the
base but the color is that rosy nude color that works great on more fair skin
tones (or Alyssa Ashley who can wear whatever the hell she wants). It is
actually extremely creamy, almost to a fault. It can get a little slippery when
applying but it firs to adhere to the dry patches on my lips and really just
glides and sets beautifully. It is slightly deeper so it would look more of a
deep nude on light colors. I on the other hand feel washed out whenever I wear
a pinkish shade. This one isn’t as light so I have that going for me,
I’m just never overly comfortable in pinks; I’ve been loving the brown/greige
trend and I hope that never dies, along with maxi dresses.
 |
| Shaky swatch of Make Up Forever lipstick in C112. |
I like a good clay mask and I like Origins.
I can’t say I see any difference in skin texture-I still look like 3 miles of
bad asphalt after a few rough storms and several caravans of semis. The pink
clay does a great job of extracting oils without over drying my face and the
texture of the beads made for some great exfoliation. My pores felt great but I
don’t think anything outside of a dermatologist can sand down the bumpy texture
on my forehead.
Moroccanoil
Dry Texture Spray was just another dry shampoo. It smells great,
your typical Moroccanoil scent, but nobody in my household has a need for this.
It will find a home with a coworker.
Amika
Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner was a neat find.
I used this shortly after dyeing my hair black so it’s pretty much the opposite
of its intended purpose but at least I could get the benefits for color treated
hair. The shampoo and conditioner were a beautiful, ultra dark indigo. The shampoo did a good job of lathering even though
the sample was on the small side and the conditioner was too small to form a
real opinion on. The tub was purple for a while though; it took tons of water
to wash the color off. I actually I thought it was my hair color running at
first. I will definitely try to find a deluxe size of these if I ever follow
through and dye my hair a dark blonde a la Kim Fields.
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| Kim Fields. Image via Google. |
There wasn’t much in the way of color cosmetics in this box but I
did find a potential new shampoo and conditioner and I love the look the lip
plumper gives me. There’s also the bonus of skin care, good lord do I love
receiving skin care in boxes. I can learn to love the lipstick. It’s super
creamy and I need to step out of my comfort box with colors.
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