Play! by Sephora is a monthly subscription that sends out 5 beauty/skincare/hair care items and one bonus item (often a fragrance sample) for $10 plus state tax. Sephora also gives out 50 bonus beauty insider points that can be redeemed with an in-store purchase each month. I was not impressed with June’s Sephora box but I
desperately want it to be because of billing. I did not realize that the credit
card I had on file had expired so I was billed late and as a result I ended up
with, I’m hoping, one of the left over boxes that doesn’t match my profile. I
received:
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| Sorry for the glare |
This is the tiniest sample ever. Seriously, how the hell
am I even supposed to get a brush in there. This sample did not work for me.
Aside from it Bering so small that it just isn’t functional, it works against
my sheer coverage Look I’m usually trying to achieve and makes me look “done-up.”
The shade is also far too light for me so I get this Sammy Sosa-esque look
going.
This oil based cleanser works about as well as my Target
Up & Up brand cleanser. It removes eye makeup well and after a bit of a
rinse I’m good to go. I do love the purple packaging though and I’m always
pleased to remove another eye makeup remover but ultimately I can purchase just
as efficient for a bit less.
I don’t really know how I feel about Too Faced as a
brand. The risqué names for products isn’t really a selling point for me since I’m
not in middle school, the shades never really seem to reflect my wants or needs
as a person and those two things make me feel like the brand is a bit
overrated. Now that that’s all been addressed, the Too Faced Melted Matte
lipstick isn’t a terrible product. It applied evenly, tastes like chocolate or
fondant and is a little sweet which reminds me of Stila Stay All Day liquid
lipstick and wasn’t overly drying. I’m not a fan of cake flavored lips even
though I’m not entirely against it so that was another aspect of this lipstick
that just didn’t sell me. The shade Queen B is borderline unwearable for me
though. It is too mauve of a pink where I usually tend to lean more towards
brown and gray shades. I guess there just wasn’t anything different enough
about this lipstick to make me want to run out and try to find a shade that
works for me.
This was the one item I was completely stoked about in June. I already had a sample of this, a
freebie I grabbed from Ipsy about a year back and I used the shit out of this
on my baby bump.* This time they sent it in a little tub instead of a tube, but
the volume is still about the same. The smell is decadent and it is so
wonderfully moisturizing. If every lotion forever could be either this or that
fresh minty crisp scent of Clarins I would just be so pleased.
*I should note, I escaped pregnancy with only 2 stretch
marks, but that is with a combination of moisturizers and I strongly believe it
was only because I moisturized at all, not because of any particular
moisturizer or ingredients it contained.
I can’t lie; I haven’t given this a chance yet. I’ve been failing trying to organize my
bedroom and sample stash and it got buried in a pile of hair care and two June
Target Beauty Boxes. Lizzie would be the only person who could use it anyway
and the summer humidity has been so rough on her hair that I don’t have much
hope for this product.
On to some hair products I did get to. Marajó deserves a
medal for their Deep Treatment shampoo and conditioner. Holy hell, both of
these were thick, thick formulae, especially the conditioner that was the
consistency of a thick cream cheese frosting. It even smelled like fresh vanilla
cream cheese frosting. The shampoo smelled like fondant, but not cloyingly
sweet the way fondant often smells. My shower when I washed my hair with these
guys was a bakery that specializes in wedding cakes. The samples were small but
the shampoo garnered a great lather and the conditioner felt like it
penetrated. Of course, I had to work on a smaller area of hair to get any
noteworthy results.
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| Too Faced and (unblended) CoverFX |
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| Too Faced and (blended) CoverFX |
The Breakdown: Was I disappointed with this box?
Absolutely, but that’s because the shades just didn’t work with me. The powder
sample was too small to effectively use and it left me looking like a vampire
and the lipstick is too similar in shade to others that I’ve previously purged.
Were there some great things? Sure. I loved the Brazilian Bum Bum cream and the
bonus shampoo/conditioner samples. The Clinique makeup remover is just an added
bonus for me as it is something that I regularly use.
