Play! By Sephora April 2016 — Books, Beauty, & Buys

Play! By Sephora is a new monthly subscription box by Sephora. It costs $10 a month and you receive 5 beauty and skin 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. However, I think that for the month of May it is now completely open to the public.

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.

One of the differences between this box and other boxes is that it is not personalized. Everyone who signs up for this subscription receives the same products. The theme changes each month and the products follow that theme. This month the theme was The It Crowd.

For my first ever Play! By Sephora Beauty Box I received the following products:

Milk Makeup Sunshine Oil (Full-Size $28)- Milk is a new makeup line that has been getting a lot of buzz recently. I was so excited to receive one of their products to try. This oil is an all over oil meant to hydrate elbows, cuticles, hair, your face, and pretty much anywhere you can think of. It has a light citrus scent to it, which is probably from the Mandarin Orange Peel Oil, Grapefruit Peel Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, and Tangerine Peel Oil. I and curious to see how this works on both my body and my hair!

NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien ($26)- I own and love these NARS pencils! I own a full size of Yu (a hot pink) and absolutely love it. These pencils are not super hydrating but they’re not drying either. The brighter colors also leave a beautiful stain on the lips and they fade very nicely. This color is definitely a my lips but better shade. It’s more nude than I typically go for, but darkens the shade of my lips just a bit. I wouldn’t purchase this particular shade (just because of preferences) but I’m so excited to have it!

Sephora Collection Colorful Cheek Ink Blush Gel in Peony (Full-Size $14)- This product is pretty self-explanatory. It is a liquid blush that you can build to create the amount of pigment that you prefer. The Sephora booklet suggests applying it directly to the skin and then blending it in with a brush. I have applied a little bit to my hand, and as you can see, it comes out very bright but blends out very sheer. I haven’t had a chance to try it on my cheeks yet, but it could be a very fun product!

Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment (Full-Size $105)- This was the product that I was absolutely the most excited to try! I have heard so many amazing things about this product but it is so expensive that I’ve never been able to try it. This treatment is meant to be used similar to a serum. It is a relatively gentle acidic exfoliant meant to even skin tone, brighten skin, and reduce wrinkles. It is made with lactic acid, licorice, lemongrass, and aloe, all meant to brighten skin and reduce pigmentation. The amount of Lactic Acid is a bit higher than a lot of similar products, but as a result, you will see faster changes with this product than similar products. I can’t wait to give this a try!

Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream (Full-Size $26.50)- This is another product that I have heard about and wanted to try prior to receiving this box! I am always on the lookout for a new eye cream, so I can’t wait to try this. This specific cream is meant to brighten eyes and support natural collagen. There aren’t any claims about specific ingredients that cause these brightening effects, so I’m curious to see how well it works.

Derek Lam 10 Crosby 2AM Kiss (Full-Size (1.7oz) $95)- I don’t really like perfume samples, so to me that is the biggest negative of this subscription box. This particular perfume contains notes of salty caramel and crystalized amber. I do not enjoy this fragrance at all. I will definitely be passing it on and no one likes it, then I will be throwing it away. It’s odd because I typically like scents with amber, so I’m thinking it must be the caramel notes that I dislike.

Final Thoughts

I love this subscription box! I am excited to try every single one of these products. I enjoy that they are all brands that I know and love and they are all pretty high end. The fact that this box only cost me $10 is crazy! I feel like the NARS pencil alone is worth $10. I am looking forward to continuing my subscription for the next month and think this might become my new favorite subscription box. If you are a beauty addict, I highly recommend checking this out!