Play! By Sephora February 2017

Play! By Sephora is a monthly subscription box by Sephora. It costs $10 a month and you received 5 beauty and skincare samples plus a perfume sample each month. Previously, you needed to put yourself onto a wait-list and wait to receive an email before you could subscribe, as they were rolling it out to limited quantities.

In addition to the products, Sephora includes a booklet that includes information about the product, the brand, and then tips of how to use the products. Also at the back of the book is a Play! PASS. This Pass gives you a complimentary one-on-one session with a Sephora artist as well as an extra 50 Beauty Insider points when you scan the pass at the register with any purchase. If you have the Sephora app, you can also scan the images of the products to learn more about them.

Previously, everyone received the same exact box. They had a few months where they had two different boxes that went out, and this month it seems like they have a variety of different boxes that went out following their theme of The Soft Side.

As a heads up, the boxes are a little bit larger and will not fit into a small apartment sized mailbox. For reference, a Birchbox box is able to fit almost perfectly into my mailbox, but this one has no chance. Therefore, I’ve started having it shipped to my parent’s house so I don’t have to go to the Post Office.

Also, sorry for the bit of delay. My box came a little late this month so I didn’t have time to get the review up in a shortened month.

The products I received this month were as follows:

Clinique Pep-Start Hydroblur Moisturizer (Full-Size $29.50)

This is a lightweight moisturizer that is oil-free. It is also said to work as a primer, which to me means it must have some sort of silicone in it. When I tested it on my hand it did have the feeling of a silicone/primer. I prefer cream moisturizers, but I’m sure I’ll use this one and see how it works. Hopefully it won’t clog my pores as some of these types of products tend to do.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream (Full-Size $30) 

This eye cream is infused with coffee beans, ginseng, and magnolia extract and includes a brightening property. I have been wanting to try this eye cream out for so long so I feel like I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. I will warn that it’s a bit shiny so it definitely gives you that illuminating look under your eyes. I’m curious to see how this works under concealer, or if it’s one that I’ll just end up using at night.

Marc Jacobs Divine Decadence (Full-Size $97) 

This perfume came out right around the time of my wedding. I remember smelling it when I was trying to find my wedding day fragrance and not liking it. I decided to try it again and see if I was remembering it incorrectly or maybe my scent preference had changed. Nope. I still do not like this. It smells a bit masculine for my tastes. The notes are described as champagne extract, orange blossom, bergamot, gardenia, hydrangea, honeysuckle, amber, vanilla, and saffrod.

Sephora Collection Lashcraft Length & Volume Mascara (Full-Size $12) 

The unique selling point for this mascara is that the brush is flat on two sides. It is said that this brush shape helps to create more drama for your lashes. It is also formulated to be easy to take off. I’m a little curious about this because the notes say that you can remove it with just warm water. How will a mascara like that last in the summer? My eyes are also a bit sensitive to mascaras, so I wonder whether the easy to remove formulation will irritate my eyes or if they will actually respond better!

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in Bound (Full-Size $26) 

I absolutely love Nars. It is my favorite high-end brand and I always find myself going back to them. These liquid lipsticks are so nice! The formulation is really smooth and creamy; definitely lives up to the name of velvet. The color is the dusty rose shade that I always go for that, unfortunately, never shows up on my lips. However, I think this shade is ever so slightly darker than similar colors and it does give me a little “your lips but better” look. If I wanted a lipstick that didn’t look like I was wearing anything but just makes my make-up look a little more polished, this would be the one I pick.

Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in Milkshake (Full-Size $22) 

This gloss is a lip-plumping formula that is also hydrating and softening. The notes say that if you apply it every day for a month, that you should notice an improvement in the softness of your lips. In theory, this seems like a cool product, but in application I’m not crazy about it. It’s a clear/gold color that is glossy and glittery. I’m not into wearing gloss everyday as a clear look. I like glossy lip colors, but I wouldn’t put on a clear gloss instead of a chapstick. To me, this feels a bit more like a product targeted towards teenagers, so I will be passing this on.

Top Swatch- Too Faced Bottom Swatch- NARS

Overall, I'm a bit on the fence with this box. I'm curious about the mascara and excited about the Nars gloss and the eye cream. I'm meh about the Too Faced gloss and the moisturizer and not crazy about the perfume. It's not the worst box I've received, but definitely not up there as one of the best.