Play! by Sephora ::: August 2016

When I opened my blog today, I realized my last post was published on Monday, Aug 8th. I have not posted anything in two weeks and for some reason my subconscious mind chose to completely ignore this fact! I really apologize for that :-(

Today, I have the Play by Sephora Subscription Box for August to discuss. This is my fourth month getting this box and honestly, it has not been as great I had hoped for. I was not at all thrilled by this month's box and hence I did not even have the enthusiasm to take better picture in better light. This months theme was "Eyes" and I like that I did not get another hair product. But I am a little disappointed as I was really waiting in anticipation for some great playful products for the eyes :-)

MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Shadow in I-544: I love this brand. It is a very professional and very artistic brand. I have a palette from them (reviewed here). Although, I don't reach for that palette often, I know that they are some great shadows. This is a nice cool pewter shade and I think every skin-tone will be able to pull it off. I like to apply this with my finger tips. These are very costly individually and this will surely last you for quite some time.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Contour Eye Pencil 12hr Wear Waterproof in Love Affair: It is a very deep plum shade; very nice alternative for black eyeliner shade. It is an average eyeliner, nothing that makes me super happy. It is waterproof but I have not really tested thatt out.

URBAN DECAY Perversion Mascara: This comes with a nice fluffy wand and it gave me a natural fluttery look. It is supposed to be lengthening and volumizing but quite honestly I don't really see much of either. I do like natural eyelashes so I am not really disappointed. However it is not something that I would go out and buy in full size.

ALGENIST Eye Renewal Balm: I have tried a very few of Algenist products in sample sizes and in general, I never had great luck. I have not tried this balm yet, but it is a very decent size jar so that is good! I will update my experience here when I use it.

LANCOME Energie De Vie Smoothing & Glowing Liquid Care Moisturizer: Now, this sounds promising. It's from Lancome so definitely a costly product. Plus, it is a lightweight moisturizer. The consistency of it is described to be thinner than moisturizer but thicker than an essence. That sounds really good especially for summer. But it is such a tiny size. That kind of irritates me a little bit.

CLEAN Reserve Warm Cotton: I typically love Clean perfumes. I try to buy the smaller gift set for emergency gifting purpose. :-) This one is not really great for my taste, It has a typical "Clean" scent however it is very powdery and it does not really last as long as my other perfumes from Clean.

As you can see, it is a decent box. But in my mind it is not up to Sephora standard. When I browse Social Media and come across other 10$ boxes like Ipsy and Birchbox, I don't see anything superb about the Sephora Box. I will keep continue getting this till the end of this year but if I still am not happy I will stop my subscription.

Are you liking your Play boxes?

By the way, I am not really for another Monday :-(

Love,

~Arrru

Play! by Sephora ::: June 2016

Today I have a review of this month's Sephora Play (check here)! It is a subscription service offered by my beloved Sephora :-)  It is $10 per month and comes with 5 deluxe products available in Sephora and a bonus fragrance sample. Every month, the box is curated with a theme in mind and they include a pamphlet describing as much as they can about the products. This month's theme was "The Minimalists"; Sephora definitely succeed in curing a box with products fitting to the theme! I have had a few of these products before and I am excited to share my views on the box :-)  

TARTE Tarteguard 30 Sunscreen Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 30: I have finished one or two sample packets of this before and I was almost ready to buy the full size. Absolutely beautiful consistency for a sunscreen! It does not feel greasy, applies smoothly and very easy to wear under makeup. And  thanks to the handy note in the box :-), I finally know what broad spectrum means :-) It’s tiny little bottle and it will hardly last me 7-10 days but nonetheless it is a good product to have.

BECCA Backlight Priming Filter: Definitely another exciting product in this month’s bag. Becca released this product sometime last year and looks like it has become a definite favorite in the beauty community. I have had this before in “Becca Blushed Radiance Set” (reviewed here) and for some reason I did not enjoy it back then! I found it thick to blend and it remained a bit patchy at some places. However, I decided to give it another try and I am totally enjoying it now! I must have had dry, very dehydrated skin during the first trial. I am using this for the last 3-4 days and I enjoy the subtle glow it provides! I have worn it underneath liquid foundation and surprisingly my skin has not looked oily through out the day The other day with this on underneath a full-face of makeup, I took a 3.5 mile long walk in additin to my daily chores :-) and my makeup stayed perfectly on! (Yes, I sometime go for exercise-walk with full face of makeup) :-) I have worn it alone as well, and I like it that way too! It smells so nice; almost spicy but very clean and fresh at the same time! Very, very invigorating! My only complaint is the pump; it is a bit difficult to control and squirts out a bit much than what I need. I hope the full size bottle does not have the same issue.

I am wearing the primer and the bronzer here.

BARE MINERALS bareSkin Sheer Sun Bronzer: I love the name “Sheer Sun”. This was the product that I was most excited about, mainly because my all-time favorite bronzer is from Bare Minerals. Sheer Sun is a quite a liquid-y product. When I drop it on the palm of my hand it looks a bit dark however upon application is blends very well into my skin/or foundation and provides a very natural warmth! Hence the name “sheer sun”, I guess! :-) personally, I enjoy a bronzer that has a little more warmth to it. I am also not very open to this liquid of a product. Nonetheless, makeup is for playing, for having fun and for discovering new products along the way! :-) I have been really liking it so far! Its quite a small sample though, if I use daily, I can see myself finishing it in 10-12 days.

BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Don’t blow it: this is the only product I have not tried out yet. I don’t style my hair per se and I don’t typically switch up my hair routine as well. But looks like Sephora Play Box has one hair product every month and that can get a bit problematic for me.

BENEFIT COSMETICS They’re Real!  Mascara: Dear Sephora, please stop putting this mascara in every little kit you can! I am so annoyed with it. Because of my love for value sets and gift sets I already have collected atleast 4-5 of theis. I don’t like this mascara at all; I mean it gives a bit of volume but it looks so spikey. I don’t like the wand and I absolutely abhor how difficult it is to wash off.

TOCCA BEAUTY Beauty Florence: every Play box comes with a bonus fragrance which is always a good thing :-) I love this brand and I have tried a few of their fragrances before! This is definitely a favorite :-) It reminds me of all the tacky fragrance from childhood but so much elegance and sophisticated in it :-)

Overall, I like this month’s box than last month's. The samples are really petite in size however I can see myself using all of these. Who else subscribes to Sephora Play? :-)

Love
~Arrru