sephora play january 2018 Archives - Reviews and Other Stuff

I finally got my Sephora Play! box this month and I couldn’t be more excited. However, I have mixed emotions about this month’s contents. I’m a bit dismayed because I feel like Sephora keeps me sending me the same one or two products over and over again. I wanted something new for a change, so I’m quite disappointed about that. On the other hand, I’m happy with the other products that I got because they’re something new, and it’s definitely fun to explore and test a product that you would never imagine trying before.

Check out what I got

Belif Moisturizing Eye Bomb ($48) – If you love Belif’s The True Cream Aqua Bomb, then there’s no reason for you not to love this Moisturizing Eye Bomb. Its got the same refreshing irresistible scent that the Aqua Bomb has, and it’s really great to moisturize the skin around the eyes. It even soothes puffiness and it’s great to layer under eye makeup. It is gel-based but its hydration can go a long way. I love that this doesn’t have a sticky residue feel once it gets absorbed by the skin. Overall, this is such a good eye cream and I really love it, so I’m planning to have this in its regular size pretty soon.

Sephora Collection Rouge Matte Lipstick in Rebel Chic (0.10 oz: $7) – I’ve tried this lipstick line from Sephora before, but I’ve never tried the Rebel Chic color. At first, it seemed too much of a dark vampy red for me, but when I applied it to my lips, I was actually quite in love with the color. It’s vampy yeah, but it’s also a sexy vampy red wine shade. It’s not too emo or too gothic and it actually works quite well with my pigmented lips. The matte texture is comfortable, lightweight, and not so drying. I also kinda love the slight berry flavor of this lipstick, on top of that, the color doesn’t even bleed or transfer. I am definitely smitten with this.

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Rose Gold (0.05 oz: $29) – I love Laura Mercier’s Caviar Stick Eyeshadows (swatches HERE), I think they’re one of the best eye contouring product you can buy nowadays, but when the mini rose gold color keeps appearing in some of my Sephora Play!, I feel like Sephora could do better at curating their subscription boxes, or at least pay attention to what has already been sent to their respective subscribers. Anyway, since I already have this Rose Gold shade in its regular size, I’m just gonna give it to someone else. I just hope Sephora would send me something new and something different next time.

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Let’s Go Crazy (0.086 oz: $27) – While I’m not crazy about this vivid pink shade, I am actually in love with the texture of this matte lip pencil. The color is so bold, so pigmented, and so staining. I love how the color remained on my lips for hours and hours and it doesn’t feather. It’s also very easy to apply and line the lips because of its pencil design. However, I don’t like the fact that I have to sharpen this all the time. It would be nice if Nars would update the packaging and make it more of a twist type at least attach a built-in sharpener at the bottom.

Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume (mini/0.34 oz: $26, 1 oz: $85, 3.3 oz: $140, 6.7 oz: $235) – This may have been a repeat product from my previous Sephora Play, though I’m not quite sure. Anyway, I’m not really a vanilla scent fan because I don’t quite like the scent of most vanilla perfume’s drydown. But this Vanille Insensee from Atelier Cologne is different. It is subtle and it’s quite fresh, which doesn’t make my nose turn up. The blend of vanilla, jasmine, and lime is enough to make this scent distinctive, warm, and sophisticated. It’s definitely not your typical sweet vanilla type of scent, but more of a sexy, elegant, and stylish type. I feel like I could wear this and not get annoyed because the vanilla tone is not overpowering, and the drydown is quite powdery.

Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx Peeling Gel (3.4 oz: 48) – I’ve never heard of this product before, so imagine my excitement and curiosity when I received this in my Sephora Play! box. This gel has a faint fresh scent that looks like any other gel cleanser in the market but once you scrub this on your face, you’ll get a different kind of impression. This literally peeled and scrubbed off dead skin cells from the surface of my face. It polished my rough skin and it makes it so smooth, and ready for any moisturizer. I also noticed some of my blackheads and whiteheads resurfacing, which makes me conclude that this product is a very good exfoliator. Oh, I’m afraid I’ll be buying this in its full size soon.

That sums up all the products that I got for this month’s Sephora Play subscription box. As you can see, there’s are interesting products that I love, but there are also a few products that I wasn’t so crazy about. What did you get for this month’s Sephora Play?

Goodbye February, Hello there March!

Nothing starts the new year makeup resolution like hydration, hydration, and hydration. Sephora’s January 2018 Play box is all about skin prepping and the practice of moisturization. So definitely my box has a couple of skincare stuff, primer stuff, and even haircare stuff which I haven’t tried before, and I had quite a lot of fun playing and testing these;

Fresh Rose Floral Toner (8.05 oz: $40) – Smells like a freshly plucked rose, this toner is very refreshing to the skin, and I love that it never gave me any irritation all throughout my usage with this. It can be used as a makeup setting spray, as a primer, or as what Fresh recommends, it can be placed in the refrigerator and use it to cool down the skin on the summer days. I really like this and I would like to have this in its full size because it has a sprayer. This would be really good as a face mist/toner right after washing the face post-workout at the gym or even at work to freshen up the skin and clear those pores.

GlamGlow Supercleanse Clearing Cream-to-Foam Cleanser (5 oz: $32) – This cleanser is surprisingly good. I thought this was gonna be like meh, but actually, this feels really good on the skin. It doesn’t have that strong charcoal scent which I thought it would just like the GlamGLow Supermud Mask (reviewed HERE), instead, this is quite soothing, a bit like menthol and herbal blend with slight charcoal in it. Surprisingly, it’s not gritty, it doesn’t sting, and it’s not irritating to my skin. I love how creamy it feels being a charcoal cleanser, and this foams really well. It does a thorough job of cleaning my oily-prone skin, but it didn’t dry it. It’s quite impressive.

Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream (0.5 oz: $26.50) – Seen this eye cream a lot. It’s everywhere and I’m glad that Sephora Play sent me this. It doesn’t have any strong scents, in fact, I don’t think it has any scent at all. It’s really moisturizing and quite refreshing once it comes in contact with the undereyes. I love that the packaging allows for an easy glide around the eyes, and it has kept my lid and undereyes moisturized for hours. I haven’t seen any lightening or any dramatic result yet, but I seem to like this cream. Just be careful upon application though, try not to squeeze too much while applying this around the eyes or else it’s gonna squirt right into it.

Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer (mini/0.5 oz: $15, standard/1 oz: $42) – Hmmm, didn’t know Smashbox made something like this. It’s a primer and moisturizer love child, a primerizer. Cool name, huh? this doesn’t have any strong smell, and it contains hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, which felt really nice on my skin. It’s very moisturizing and it’s true that it holds my makeup for several hours. It’s great for this chilly season, and it gives that nice dewy look. Hmmm, I might switch my favorite primer for this.

Lancome Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base (0.19 oz: $25.50) – I already have a few of this because I’m a fan of lash primers. I use this and the Dior one, which are both so good, and they add further volume and length to your eyelashes. This really makes me look like I have full lashes no matter what time of the day. It also works with any mascara, and overall it just takes your eyelash drama to another level. Further reviewed HERE.

Alterna Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner (mini/1.35 oz: $10, standard/8.5 oz: $34, value/16.5: $52) – These caviar-infused shampoo and conditioner are very interesting. I’ve seen them a lot in Sephora, just didn’t pull the trigger on them because I’ve always been a Living Proof, Kerastase and Drugstore haircare fan. They smell a bit like Kerastase Aura Botanica (reviewed HERE), but a bit stronger, in my opinion. The Shampoo doesn’t seem to lather much, it took me three washes to get a good clean even though my hair wasn’t really that oily when I washed it. But it did clean it well after that. The Conditioner, on the other hand, is very creamy and I only had to use 1/2 of the sachet to coat my hair. It noticed a very faint smell of vinegar on this, but hardly noticeable. No worries because this conditioner still has a nice fresh scent to it. Overall, I like the effect that these two products did to my hair. It felt really clean, soft, and bouncy. I had no frizz or dry strands, and it just seemed to relax my hair quite well without looking oily and heavy. Hmmm, these are really promising.

Aren’t these products cool? I had a great time testing them, so far, I seem to love all the products for this month. They’re very useful and I hope February’s box will be as fun as this.

What’s your fave from this month’s products?

Follow moi in my IG: @reviewsandotherstuff

Reviews and Other Stuff

sephora play january 2018

Sephora Play! February 2018

Sephora Play! January 2018

reviewsandotherstuff