Reviews and Other Stuff

sephora subscription box review

Sephora Play! March 2018

sephora play box march 2018 review

 

Hello Makeup Junkies! Curious about what came in my Sephora Play! Box this month? It’s been a pretty interesting bunch of some stuff I surprisingly liked and some stuff that I had mixed emotions with. There were also some minis that I’ve already tried before and have reviewed here on the blog, so without further ado, let’s take a look.

 

Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil 12 hr Wear Waterproof in 15 Flirting Game

 

Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Spray (5 oz: $20) โ€“ I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a Briogeo product before. Their stuff always smells good and is always a delight to use. This volumizing spray is no different for sure. In fact, it’s so good and it’s one of my fave in this month’s box. This totally tamed my frizzes away while giving that neatly volumized look. I’ve used this after towel drying my hair and also during the day to keep my hair well-behaved, and OMG it works and I lurve it. I normally don’t use hair sprays as they tend to be sticky, especially when the weather is warm, but this? it’s light, non-sticky, and it makes my hair look shiny and in place. Totally a keeper.

 

Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil 12 hr Wear Waterproof in 15 Flirting Game (0.04 oz: $10) – This is a shimmery metallic taupe eyeliner that glides fairly easily on the lids. It’s easy to apply and smooth to use, and it has a very good staying power despite the heat, sweat, and humidity. It is also affordable and has other shades and finishes to choose from. It’s a great reliable eyeliner if you’re on a budget.

 

Lancome Hypnose Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara wand

 

Lancome Hypnose Drama Instant Full Body Volume Mascara (0.22 oz: $27.50) – This is one of the best lengthening mascaras I’ve ever tried, but the “s” or “infinity” shape of the wand doesn’t help as much in curling the lashes, however, the formula is long lasting and it doesn’t smudge. See the whole review HERE.

 

Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm Spf 45 in 01 Light Medium

 

Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain Liquid Lipstick in 35 Bohemian Purple (0.169 oz: $14) – This has always been a very good quality matte liquid lipstick and thumbs up to Sephora for creating this very good line. The texture and finish of this are very similar to most high-end matte liquid lipsticks available at Sephora and in other stores. This lipstick sets quite immediately, it is long lasting, non-smudging, lightweight and comfortable with a slight vanilla scent. However, I’m not a fan of the shade that they sent me, it’s too violet/purple-ish for my taste. For more shades, check out the review that I did previously about this lipstick.

 

Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil 12 hr Wear Waterproof in 15 Flirting Game swatch

 

Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm Spf 45 in 01 Light Medium (1.5 oz: $39) – This is some sort of a tinted moisturizer with a light to medium coverage. On my skin, the 01 Light Medium shade kinda appears too beige at first, but it blends on my skin easily and it then matched my skin tone, making it very wearable. The formula is soft, blendable and it covers any blemishes, imperfections, and redness. The coverage lasts throughout the day and it doesn’t have any annoying scent. I like that it comes with a good Spf number too.

 

marajo hair care Nourishing Cleansing Creme

 

Marajo Hair Care:

ย Nourishing Cleansing Creme (8.5 oz: $29) โ€“ I was really disappointed with this shampoo. On my hair, it didnโ€™t lather at all, and it made my hair very oily the next day. I kinda liked the way it smells somehow, like almond butter. However, this shampoo just didnโ€™t work for me, so I don’t recommend it.

 

ย Deep Treatment Butter (5.3 oz: $29) โ€“ This is supposed to be the conditioner in partner with the Marajo Nourishing Cleansing Creme above, but this has a rancid smell. My hair didn’t feel silky at all once I applied the product on. It feels just a thick cream but it didn’t necessarily condition my hair. I still feel like my hair was not cleaned after rinsing like there was some weird soapy residue. Totally dislike.

 

sephora play march 2018

 

Overall, as I said before, this month’s samplers have been a very mixed one. I definitely like the Briogeo Volumizing Spray, the Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil, and the Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm, but I wasn’t feeling the Marajo Hair Care samples.

 

Any Sephora Play! minis you like this month?

 

 

Sephora Play! January 2018

sephora play box january 2018 box contents

 

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;

 

GlamGlow Supercleanse Clearing Cream-to-Foam Cleanser

 

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 review

 

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.

 

Smashbox Photo Finish Primerizer

 

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

 

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?

 

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Sephora Play! November 2017

Hello There Babies! I got my Sephora Play November Box a few days ago and I tested them immediately. Guess what? I really enjoyed this month’s contents. Lots of new stuff to try and I’m glad that they finally focused on a few skincare goodies.

 

Ready to check out what I got?

 

sephora play november 2017 review

 

Read on…

 

Farmacy Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer

 

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Pore Extractor Mask (1 oz: $18, 2.5 oz: $35) – I’ve heard good things about this mask and I think it might still be on my wishlist, but anyways, thank god for Sephora Play minis, I got to try this and I have nothing but good words for this mask. In fact, this is an Allure Best of Beauty 2017 Winner, which I think is a deserving recognition for this product. As someone with an oily-prone skin, this mask is perfect. It has salicylic acid which controls breakouts and prevents oiliness. I love that this is very exfoliating but it’s not harsh on the skin and that there’s no strong clay scent. All throughout my usage of this, I never had a breakout whatsoever and my face feels thoroughly cleaned and smooth. My whiteheads and blackheads are almost gone and I like that this mask spreads evenly over the face while not having to use a lot. Love this thing dearly.

 

Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo (Mini: $10, 5.3 oz; $22) – I surprisingly enjoyed using this dry shampoo. I love that it didn’t leave any whitish residue on my hair while making it look clean. Though it didn’t necessarily volumize, I like the texture of my hair after spraying with this. I also use this dry shampoo to relax my fine frizzes and it made my hair shiny. The only thing that I don’t seem to like is the strong perfume smell. It can be a little too much.

 

Farmacy Honey Drop Lightweight Moisturizer (1.7 oz: $45) – I keep seeing this moisturizer at Sephora all the time, and I think I may have tried this on the back of my hand. Somehow, it just didn’t hit me enough to buy it. I wasn’t really sure what it was, I think it may be the fact that the scent seemed a little too plain for me or what, but now that I’ve tried it and have actually applied it to my face, I was like OMG! I love it! this moisturizer may be plain and lightweight, but it packs a punch. It feels like a gel, but it’s actually more like a very creamy gel, and oh my, just a little bit of this and your face gets moisturized all throughout the day or night. Impressive.

 

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara

 

Burberry My Burberry Blushย  Eau de Parfum (Mini: $29, 1 oz: $68, 1.6 oz: $90, 3 oz: $120) – Reviewed HERE. All praises for this amazing scent. For me, this is one of my best fragrance finds this year. I love the unique non-boring pomegranate scent. It’s a pretty feminine floral scent that is intriguing and riveting at the same time.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Pore Extractor Mask

Sephora Collection Rouge Cream Lipstick in The Red (0.14 oz: &12.50) – Not exactly my kind of red, but that pigment! oh, men… so gorg… This is a creamy lipstick with a satin finish, and if you can find the perfect red or the perfect shade for your lips with this line, I swear, you can’t go wrong with this because as I said before, the pigment of this lipstick is to die for. I had to use a waterproof makeup remover to remove the swatch from my skin. That shows that this lipstick means serious business, and for the price, it’s perfect.

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara review

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara (0.32 oz: $26) – I think I may have found one of the best mascaras ever. Not kidding here, I’ve been obsessed with mascaras lately and have been on the lookout for the best volumizing mascaras on the market. Just when I thought I may have gathered some of the best (which I’ll be reviewing soon), I found this one from MJ and I’m really impressed at its volumizing and lengthening power. I don’t have a lot of lashes in life, but this made my lashes looked like I applied horse shampoo on them. LOL. But yeah, you get the mental picture, this mascara really adds drama to your lashes, and on top of that, it doesn’t smudge or clump.

 

Burberry My Burberry Blush Eau de Parfum

 

With this month’s box, I think that I’m pretty satisfied with the contents, and my top favorites are the following; Philosophy Pore Extractor Mask, Farmacy Honey Drop Moisturizer, Burberry My Burberry Blush (obviously), and Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara.

 

What products did you receive this month?

 

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