I've had a Sephora Play! sample subscription for three months now, so I think it's time to post a quick review. I liked the selection I received in May, my most recent box, quite a lot. The first two months, however, left me with some doubts. I was convinced to keep it going for another month, and I hope this is the beginning of a positive trend. You can see my March bag here (which was just ok) and my April bag here (which I found really boring). I do like this subscription so far more than I liked Birchbox, particularly at the end of my year of that subscription. The sizes of the samples here are generous, and if you're judging by the prices of the full-size versions, you're certainly getting your $10 worth. (You can decide for yourself if you think those prices are reasonable.) No hotel toiletries!!!
The theme of May's box was The Rising Stars, which may explain why I enjoyed it so much. It contains some brands that I'd heard of, and some that I hadn't, but nothing here that I'd tried before. I haven't used every sample in this box yet, but I'll give you my thoughts on those that I have. Here's what I got:
Grande Lips Hydrating Lip Plumper: Full size $27. This seems to be a sort of lip serum that does the usual thing that lip plumpers do, i.e. irritate your lips so that they swell up a bit. I haven't tried it, and I'm not sure that I will, because products like this tend to make my lips worse in the long run. Have any of you used this one? If I try it, will I regret it?
Maison Margiela Replica Beach Walk Eau de Toilette: Full size $126. I'd been wanting to try one of the Replica fragrances. This stuff smells really interesting when I first apply it, but it dries down to a one-note coconut sunscreen scent on me, unfortunately.
Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt: Full size $53. This is a shampoo with salt in it. I've used it two or three times so far, and I have at least that many uses left, so the sample is a great size. It smells fantastic and works well to clean the build up from dry shampoo from my scalp. My hair feels a little rough when I rinse it out, just like it feels after it's been in salt water. Conditioner fixes the texture just fine. But instead of buying this scrub, I'd suggest just mixing a lot of salt into your regular shampoo.
Nudestix Magnetic Matte Lip Color in Greystone: Full size $24. Sephora calls this "greige" for some reason. You can see from the swatch below that it is in no way either grey or beige. It's a dark, neutral brown. It's not a particularly great color for me, but I applaud Sephora for including a more adventurous option than the typical red or nude. The formula is light and comfortable.
Tréstique Highlight & Perfect Multipurpose Stick: Full size $34. I haven't used this highlighter stick on my face yet, but it feels similar in texture to Benefit Watt's Up. I swatched them together below. If Watt's Up is too warm or dark for you, you might prefer this (though there are a million cheaper ways to highlight).
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| Left: Tréstique. Right: Benefit. |
All in all, May was an interesting month. I should get my June bag before too long, so fingers crossed for another winner!
