Today I have my review of Sephora Play! for the month of May 2017! I know this is really late, but I was busy in May….lol
AND this is actually going to be my last Sephora box review, at least for a while…because I CANCELLED my subscription!!! 😮 I know, it’s shocking! I’ll explain all about why I made that decision later in this post. But for now, here’s this month’s box!
I noticed that the inside cover of the box had a little message on it this month – I see you stepping it up with the little details, Sephora.
Sephora Play!
- Cost: $10
- Frequency: Monthly, automatically renews at the beginning of each month
- Type of products: 5 deluxe samples of skincare and makeup (more makeup than any other box I subscribe to!) and one fragrance sample
- Reviews from my previous boxes here!
So as usual in our box, we have our six products, a bag, and a pamphlet with all the info on the items. The theme this month is “The Rising Stars”, which I take to mean…new products? New brands? Who knows anymore. These themes are all very arbitrary to begin with anyway lol
Moving on to this month’s products!
Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Clay Cleanser
$10.71 value
Sunday Riley is a brand I’ve heard people RAVING about, but it’s extremely expensive so I’ve never tried anything from them. This is a cleanser for “pore-perfecting” and removing excess oil and impurities. The ingredients include French green clay, Moroccan rhassoul lava clay, and essential oils. It smells very earthy and fresh, and the consistency is a thin clear gel ( kinda swatched it below). I have to use this for a bit before I have a real opinion, but I like it so far – but I don’t think I’ll ever buy the full size because $$$ haha
Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt
$8.59 value
This is the second Christophe Robin product I’ve gotten in a box, after a hair mask a few months ago that I really liked. This is a scrub/shampoo meant to “detoxify” your hair and reduce product buildup. The consistency reminds me a lot of “Big” Shampoo by Lush. It smells AMAZING – like the ocean in a little tub. It made my hair smell really great and feel pretty smooth also.
trèStiQue Highlight & Perfect Multipurpose Stick in Maldives Luminescent
$5.57 value
TrèStiQue is not a brand I’ve heard of before, and Sephora bills them as being “up and coming” so they must be relatively new. This product is meant to be multipurpose, not unlike the Bite Multistick I got in February’s box. I am not really sure how much I’d use it as anything other than a highlighter though. It’s a really pretty shimmery champagne pink color and applied very smooth (swatch below). The packaging is cute too – at first I thought the pencil tip was the applicator and got all mad that it was missing a cap but it’s meant to be that way haha
Nudestix Magnetic Matte Lip Color in Greystone
$21.42 value
NudeStix is another brand I’ve never heard of! Lots of unknowns in this box – I guess they really are trying to push new brands this month. This is a matte lip color that is listed as a three in one lip stain, liner, and color. The color is a kind of mahogany brown with warm undertones, and I think it’s pretty nice – it’s swatched below. However, this formula was HORRIBLE for me. It somehow became immediately drying the second I put it on. I had to scrub to get it off my lips and it was just really not good. I hate throwing out makeup but I don’t think I’ll be keeping this.
Grande Cosmetics GrandeLIPS Hydrating Lip Plumper in Clear
$4.00 value
Yet another new brand, and this one was apparently started by Ariana Grande – I never knew she had a makeup line! I’m not a big lip plumper person though, and I probably won’t get much use out of this. The plus side though is that it didn’t sting my hand when I swatched it like one we got a few months ago haha. This is also a ridiculously small sample size – you can see in the photo below it’s the same size as the perfume sample!
Speaking of the perfume sample –
Maison Margiela ‘Replica’ Beach Walk
$1.42 value
This scent is (obviously from the name) supposed to be reminiscent of the beach, with notes of “bergamot, pink pepper, lemon, ylang ylang, coconut milk, heliotrope, musk, cedarwood, benzoin”. I actually do get beach vibes from this one, and it seems like a good summer scent. It smells beachy without the Coppertone sunscreen and body odor that usually accompanies the beach in real life. Which is a definite good thing.
Here’s the swatches from this month:
You can’t really see those first two because they’re…clear…but they’re there haha. Below, this month’s info card (click for larger):
The pamphlet also has a little section that boasts “7 things you didn’t know you could do at Sephora”. These 7 things are:
- Show your “Play pass” (the little detachable card on the front of this info pamphlet) to get a one-on-one tutorial on how to use the items in each month’s box
- Get matched with Color IQ to “determine scientifically precise color matches for your skin tone”
- Ask a Sephora employee for a free sample of almost any product in the store to try. I’ve done this a LOT and highly recommend it!!
- Attend a PLAY! date with a friend to learn about each month’s products
- Find up-and-coming brands in Sephora by looking for the “Scouted by Sephora” sign in-store. This seems a bit lame to put on this list but it’s fine lol
- Stop by the “Skincare Studio” for a free mini facial. I didn’t know this was a thing, but I never go out without makeup so I probably wouldn’t take advantage of this service unless it’s a special occasion or something lol
- Redeem your Play! pass for 50 bonus points on any purchase at Sephora!
The bag this month is definitely a difference from their normal ones!
It’s a clear plastic with a snap closure, and “Play!” is printed in different fonts.
Adding up all the values, the total value of my box this month is $51.71! Pretty good – one of my highest values yet, and definitely not bad for $10.
So – as to why I cancelled my subscription.
Essentially, I started to feel like I have an overwhelming number of samples that I can’t possibly go through them all. I have MORE than enough makeup and I just haven’t been able to use and appreciate everything the way I want to. I have also felt like Sephora Play has had more misses than hits lately – I loved the February box and enjoyed March, but hated January and wasn’t crazy about April. I first considered cancelling after April’s underwhelming box, but decided to sleep on it and see how I was feeling this month. Considering I have only used each of the April items 1-2 times each – I feel good about my decision. And finally, since I subscribed to Sephora last June, this May box marks one year of boxes. I think I’ve gotten a good feel for what the box offers in that time. While I do think they have definitely improved a lot since I first subscribed and are still improving now, it’s time for me to take a break for a while. I might resubscribe in a few months if I have a change of heart – but we’ll see!!
So, that’s all I have for this month, and for a while for Sephora Play! Like I said, I may resubscribe in the future but for now this feels right for me. For now I’ll still be getting Target Beauty Boxes so be sure to check back for those if you like beauty box review posts! Thank you for reading as always and hope to see you next time 🙂
<3 Kaela
