March Sephora PLAY! Box

Hi guys! I recently subscribed to Sephora Play, which is Sephora’s subscription box service. It includes six samples a month (one is a perfume) for $10. Come check out my first box!

The theme:

The Gleam Team. I have a lot to say about monthly themes, but I do like this one. I’ve subscribed to Birchbox and Ipsy in the past, and because they give curated products, the products would never follow the theme unless the theme was super vague. This theme is more specific than I’m used to and has products to match it! Also, I do like dewy skin and some illumination.

The products:

Glamglow Glowstarter Mega Illuminating Moisturizer – Nude Glow
Josie Maran Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm – Etheric
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector – Opal
Urban Decay Vice Lipstick – Big Bang
Verb Ghost Oil
Atelier Cologne Clementine California

The Glamglow Moisturizer:

I just got my first illuminating moisturizer (Tarte Brighter Days) as a Sephora point perk (read my haul here). This Glamglow one is similar to my skin tone and more of a gold, unlike most of the illuminating primers and moisturizers I’ve seen before that are lighter with more of a white-ish shade. It still looks very nice on my skin, with just a bit extra glow and a tiny bit of blurring. Also, it smells like orange medicine, which is a bit off-putting. As a moisturizer it’s not quite enough for my skin for a full day, so I have to layer it with something else.

The Josie Maran finishing balm:

Honestly, this product confuses me a bit. It feels like a primer, and can also be used as a finisher, which I don’t understand. It gives a bit of shine but within fifteen minutes or so it turns into a more matte, blurred finish like silicone-based primers have. If a lot of product is used I can see the barest hint of a very pretty pink shade, but the amount of product needed for it is just too much for me.

The Urban Decay lipstick:

I love Urban Decay, and when I saw this box I got so excited! And then I saw the shade – Big Bang, which is a bright, bold fuchsia pink with sparkle, which is not my thing. It’s also in the metallized finish (side note, I don’t understand why metallized/metallic finishes are called that. Metals have tons of finishes). I normally go for cream finishes and more muted shades that I can pair with my bright red glasses. This had a lot of sparkle in it and wasn’t as opaque because of that, so it seemed at least a little bit more wearable than I’d expected. The picture below picks up more of the shimmer than the real sparkle/glitter. It also had a slightly tacky feel.

The Verb hair oil:

I always enjoy trying a new hair oil, so long as it has something nourishing like argan oil in it. A little bit of this goes a long way – this is the first oil I’ve tried where my hair felt a bit greasy because of it, which was after a few days of use. It also gave my hair a very nice shine and limited my frizz. This has a very fresh scent that also smells a bit like a household cleaner so it’s not my favorite but still decent.

The Becca highlighter:

Once upon a time, I bought a Becca highlighting duo in Opal – the Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed and the Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight. Apparently there’s also the basic Shimmering Skin Perfector, which was in this bag. It’s a thicker, moussier formula than the Spotlight, which comes with a doefoot applicator and is a bit liquidy. I swatched this alongside the other two formulas to show off the differences in color. It comes across as a bit cooler and more of a rose gold tone than the yellow gold of the Spotlight and Pressed versions.

The Atelier perfume:

The info card says this is a traditional citrus-based cologne with clementine and mandarin orange as two head notes. The citrus makes it smell very warm, but the middle and base notes include some cooler scents like sandalwood that make for a more balanced and interesting scent. I’m not particularly crazy over citrus scents in my perfumes, so this wasn’t ideal for me.

The verdict:

Overall I’m very impressed by this box! I like how it included products I haven’t really heard of as well as ones I have, even though it’s from Sephora where I feel like I know a lot of the products or at least the brands. I also like the quality of the box and products, and think that the subscription in general (not just this month’s box) is very good with the themes and everything.

-xo, Andi

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