Sephora Play May 2016 Unboxing

After months of waiting, I finally got an invite for the Sephora Play box in April and my first box arrived yesterday! It costs $10 a month and includes 5 samples (plus a fragrance bonus) The May 2016 theme is "Forces of Nature"...here's the official description:

Earth to Beauty: This month, discover products that are high performing — and good for you, too. Take your beauty back to its roots with hardworking formulas like a brightening facial treatment for petal-soft skin, an antioxidant-rich lipstick made with organic ingredients, and more products that prove that looking beautiful is only natural.

It came in a really cute black and white striped box, and inside, there's a guide to all of the products, including tips on how to use them. The products themselves came housed in a cute little drawstring bag...I really appreciate the extra attention to detail instead of just throwing the samples into a box loose (I've had several subscription boxes over the years that do that!).

This month, there were two makeup samples (both lip products), two skincare samples (really four if you count each Origins mask separately), one hair product, and one perfume. Play also comes with a card that you can bring in to Sephora and get 50 extra Beauty Insider points with any purchase. So basically, if you go in and spend $50, you'll get those 50 points, plus 50 more using the card. 100 points gets you another deluxe sample, so it's a pretty good deal.

The first product I saw was the new Origins Maskimizer Skin Optimizing-Mask Primer ($22). You spray this on before applying a mask and it's supposed to improve the way your mask goes into your skin as well as hydrating, soothing, and boosting your skin's radiance. Also included are two Origins Masks to try...Clear Improvement ($26) which is a charcoal mask to clear your pores and Drink Up Intensive an overnight mask to quench dry, dehydrated skin.

Also included is a deluxe sized tube of Korres Wild Rose Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial ($48). I've been wanting to try this overnight mask because it has a high dose of Vitamin C to help brighten your skin and fade dark spots in 14 days. I'm not sure if this tube will last that long, but it might, depending on how much I have to use to cover my face. I'm looking forward to trying it!

Next up is the Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask ($36). I've tried this treatment before via Birchbox and Ipsy and I do like it....but I'm not in love with it. It's a conditioner that hydrates my hair and doesn't weigh it down, but I didn't see results like I would from a deep conditioning mask, which is what this is supposed to be. I am happy that Sephora is giving this sample in a tube because my previous samples of this were in a tiny jar, which wasn't as easy to use.

The two lip products in the May box are Tarte's Tartiest Lip Crayon ($18) in Latergram (which is described as mauve, but I found it to be a little warmer than your typical pinky cool-toned mauve) and Bite Beauty's Amuse Bouche Lipstick ($26) in Kimchi (described as a shocking pink). The Tarte lip pencil is really creamy and I like the nude pinky brown shade. The Amuse Bouche lipstick is a beautiful formula...very creamy and hydrating but also long-lasting. I'm not a fan of the bright color and can't really see myself wearing it but I like the formula so much, I'll probably get one in another color.
Both lipstick samples were nice deluxe sizes that'll last quite a long time.

The fragrance bonus was a sample vial of Atelier's Orange Sanguine Absolue Pure Perfume ($120). This perfume is at a higher price point than I would normally pay for perfume so I've never tried any of Atelier's fragrances. That being said, when I first opened this vial, I smelled oranges right away, and while it was pleasant I wasn't sure I wanted to smell like an orange. Still, I wanted to be able to talk about it on the blog so I put a little on my wrist and after a few minutes, it morphed from straight-up orange into a really beautiful, fresh citrus scent with a bit of warmth to it. It made me think of sitting in the warm sun in the middle of an orange grove that's near the ocean. I immediately dabbed some more on my neck and was impressed that it lasted most of the day. This isn't a scent I would normally go for, but it was a really nice discovery!

Overall, I really like the Sephora Play box but I'm not 100% sold on it just yet. I cancelled my other subscription boxes because they were always sending the same products over and over again and including brands that I wasn't interested in. So far, I like the brands that Sephora included in this box but I'll have to give it a few months to see how I like the subscription overall.

Have you gotten a Sephora Play box yet? What do you think of this subscription so far?

Sign up for yours at Sephora.com/play

 Affiliate Link Subscribe to The Budget Beauty Blog by Email