January 2019 Sephora Play Review

I must preface this by saying one of my kids was eating Sour Punch straws near the keyboard and now my space bar is out of control so I apologize for any elementary formatting errors you may come across in this post.

Play! by Sephora is a $10 subscription that provides users with 5 samples, a bonus item, and 50 extra beauty insider points with a purchase every month. The great part about this subscription: everything offered can be found inside Sephora or online at Sephora.com. The downside: I have never received a full sized item. That said, the samples are typically large enough to allow me to determine whether or not I actually like a product and if it's worth purchasing.

 

January was a lackluster month of repeats. I received:

• Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
• Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Glacé
• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water
• Hum Nutrition Daily Cleanse Clear Skin and Breakout Supplement
• Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask to Clear Pores
• Marajó Nourishing Cleansing Crème & Deep Treatment Butter (no longer available)

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
I don't hate it! I've been using this at night around 3 or 4 times a week for about a month now. It dries down and feels almost tight, like after I wash off a charcoal mask, but when I rinse the sleeping mask off of my face the next morning my face feels refreshed and hydrated. This is the first sleeping mask I have tried that doesn't leave my face feeling like a coated mess and I love it.

Swatch in artificial light because I don't get free time until well after dark

Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Glacé
This product may have been the last straw. Up until this point I had been operating off of a profile that says I have an olive skin tone. In reality this is a bold-faced lie and I know it. Unfortunately whenever I state what my true skin tone is, medium/dark, I end up with some crazy foundation shades from Sephora. At least this way I only end up with some shit (on me) lipstick color.
At least this shade wasn't the worst, as far as entire-inappropriate-for-my-skin-tone shades go. I just have to use a very light hand a blot forever. The formula is lovely though! it's matte without being drying in the slightest. There is some transfer as this is a cream but it does have a long wear time so long as I don't eat.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water
I first tried this  long, long ago when I bought a Sephora/Smashbox Try-It-Kit for primers. I don't care for it for its intended use. I dislike setting sprays. I dislike the sensation of having my face sprayed, especially after applying makeup (I'm mad at my current toner right now which is a spray), I don't like having to wait for a setting spray to dry after use, and I don't like the look after I've used it. I also don't really use setting powders so maybe that eliminates the need for a setting spray? I just feel like they're trying to bully me into buying products now, to be honest, but I digress. What is this primer good for? Spraying on to an eyeshadow brush to get a more intense foiled look when applying my shadows! Other than that, it's a total no go for me. That and I still have the original Primer Water I bought years ago.

Hum Nutrition Daily Cleanse Clear Skin and Breakout Suplement
Oh screw off. How the hell is this not the foil packet? How can you force me to sit here and address the unintentional lie I dropped in my intro paragraph? How is this type of sample at all useful? The packet contained 3 days worth of capsules. Unfortunately it would take a full month on average for somebody to see the full effects of a dietary HSN supplement. It smelled and tasted very green though right down to the aftertaste! It tasted like Naked Green Machine but without any hint of the sweetness that is crammed into a bottle of that drink. I saw no difference in my overall level of toxins, nor did I expect to see a difference.

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask to Clear Pores
Been there, tried that. This is my third bottle I have in storage. Interestingly enough, the first time I received this it was 30 mL, I bought a 50 mL tube, and this last tube I received was only 15 mL. What I'm saying is I have enough to last me for a while.

Marajó Nourishing Cleansing Crème & Deep Treatment Butter
I received this once upon a time (reviewed here). Long story short: it smells amazing! To contradict what I said earlier, this product is no longer available at Sephora's website. In fact, it has not been available for over a year so that means they've been sending out their back stock.

Wearing the Bite Beauty lipstick

I really do feel bad complaining about my subscription boxes every month. The good items in this box were great. The bad items were unremarkable or simply not new to me. I find it amazing that for the sheer volume and variety of items Sephora has under its umbrella they just never seem to branch out and try  new things. I really hope this does change in the future. In the mean time, I think I have a charcoal mask and hair retwisting date this weekend!