I gave up my Birchbox subscription years ago; after a while the samples became a little monotonous and underwhelming, and I never got on board with any of the other monthly beauty boxes that popped up in the market.
Until I found out about Sephora’s Play! subscription beauty box, and then I was like, “ermahgerd, take my money!!”
For $10/month, you get five deluxe product samples (think small travel size) with a fragrance bonus, a cute “collectible” bag, plenty of useful tips and tricks, and access to one-on-one tutorials in your local store.
I got my first box in the mail yesterday, and just as I expected, it did not disappoint.
This month’s theme is “effortless,” which is right up my street.
Here’s a rundown:
I’m most excited to try the Ouai Wave Spray from celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin’s new product line. I’ve seen a lot about the brand lately but it isn’t carried in my local Sephora. Ouai is all about a “streamlined selection of easy-to-use hair care for that cool-girl look.” Yes, please. I love a good beach spray, and this one smells delicious with notes of Italian lemon, amber and white musk. I’ll update you after a few weeks of use.
The full-size Beauty Blender blotterazzi retails for $20, so that alone more than paid for this month’s subscription price. A fellow beauty junkie friend mentioned that she loved hers, so I’m happy to add this to my makeup bag. It’s basically a big flat beauty blender that you can use to blot oil and shine without disturbing your makeup. You can wash it and reuse it again and again (and bonus: no greasy blotting papers smooshed in the bottom of your purse).
I can’t get enough bronzer lately — it’s become a staple in my daily makeup routine — and Too Faced usually has really good ones. The Soleil Matte Bronzer in Chocolate contains real cocoa powder so it smells like a chocolate bar [not mad at it] and from a quick swatch on my arm, it seems to have a buildable natural finish without any orange tones or shimmer. Seems promising!
A great primer is a girl’s best friend in the summertime, and while I’m loving my Make Up For Ever smoothing primer right now, I’m curious how the Smashbox Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer will hold up through the heat and humidity. A lot of people rave about Smashbox primers, so we’ll see.
I’m ridiculously picky about facial cleansers, and usually steer away from anything that foams or lathers (I love a good cleansing balm) but I gave the First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay a try last night. Although it did leave my skin a little tight, it seemed really clean, which feels good after a long hot day wearing makeup and sunscreen.
Finally, I like that the Sephora box includes a perfume as a bonus in addition to the five product samples. This month’s fragrance is Nest’s Citrine, which may be just a bit too sweetly floral for me, but I’ll pass it along to someone else to try.
What do you think?