February 2019 Sephora Review

Play! by Sephora is a $10 subscription that delivers 5 beauty items, a bonus sample, and 50 extra Beauty Insider points that can be redeemed with purchase every month. What I love about Sephora is all of the items offered can be found in store or online at sephora.com. The only disappointing aspects about the box are the fact that I have never received anything full sized in a box (I don't believe it  is even an option) and the boxes aren't nearly as customizable as subscriptions like Ipsy. Every month Sephora offers anywhere between 4 and maybe 11 box variations. People are assigned to box groups based on their profile, but rarely will a box address all of the concerns I have listed in my profile. (Apologies, I accidentally deleted individual item photos before I was able to upload them.)

February's theme was Lovestruck Beauty and the items sampled were:

• Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation in 7W1 Deep Spice
• Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Ebony
• Wander Beauty Baggage Claim Gold Eye Masks
• Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet
• Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask
• Stella Mccartney Stella

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation
Remember when I was just complaining about no longer wanting my profile to think I was olive skinned and wanting to be more honest about my medium/dark skin tone? You see what happens when you're honest in life? This shit! So um, yeah. I wasn't able to try this foundation on because... well, yeah. At what point is a foundation too dark to the point where it's essentially just parading around in costume? Fortunately I have a lovely friend who I saw in March and I was able to pass this on to her.

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense
I quickly went from "Ugh, another black eyeliner" to "Oh my god, this is so creamy!" It does transfer to my lower water line and it tends to wander a bit by the end of the day. This is due in part to my oily eyelids and my current enjoyment of eye creams, of which I have tons of.

Wander Beauty Baggage Claim Gold Eye Masks
Ah, the should-have-been-foil-packet of the month. I won't complain further about this sample's one-time-use qualities though. I love that these eye masks are not the gel types nor are they the wet slimy kind. They are cellulose based and actually stayed quite warm under my eyes. I did not notice any brightening or depuffing of my under eye area but These were very relaxing! I hid from the kids for a full 20 minutes the night I used these. They're $25 for 6 pair which I cannot get behind but I'm sure they're a good fit for somebody out there. Fortunately I've received Wander Beauty eye masks about 2 times in the past so I was able to recycle product shots from previous posts.

Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet
Yay! I tried this in the past when I received it with an order from Sephora for my birthday gift. This moisturizer hydrates wonderfully. A little goes a long way but without leaving me feeling like a ball of grease. I'm certainly excited to have more.

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask
I used this mask for about a week straight. It smells like a watermelon jolly rancher, which can be pretty cool if you enjoy scented skincare. I like the results I see in the morning when I rinse it off. My skin feels fresh and hydrated, even though it takes some time to fully wash it off. However, I dislike the sticky, coated feeling it leaves on my face when I'm sleeping in it at night. It's pretty intense and might make a mess of your pillow cases, if that's a concern. The texture is pretty neat though, it reminds me of ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze. Of course the first TMNT was better, it had Casey Jones and Sam Rockwell, for God's sake.

Stella Mccartney Stella
This is a pleasant daytime fragrance. It's a light, modern floral, not the heavy floral that would elicit memories of some grandmother's vanity with abalone shell containers. Once the perfume has had a few minutes to develop the scent evolves into a fruity smell, not unlike peaches and citrus.

Swatches of Estée Lauder Foundation and Clinique Eyeliner

Overall this was a decent box. Of course there's the foundation shade I couldn't use but I was able to pass that on to my friend. I enjoyed the eyeliner and the skincare though and the perfume is light enough to wear for work. As I've mentioned before I changed profile up again so I will (hopefully) be receiving foundations that match my skin tone and (unfortunately) receiving lip colors that do not.