Play! By Sephora (May 2016)

This month’s Play! by Sephora subscription box had the theme, “The Forces of Nature.” I was expecting to see some new all natural or mostly natural products, and was quite excited to see what was in store for me. Included in the box was:

Play! By Sephora (May 2016)

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Kimchi

I have been wanting to try the new, reformulated lipstick and was very happy to see it included in the box. My thoughts on it are that while I love the color, I find this particular tube of lipstick quite creamy — too creamy. I used lip balm beforehand, which is completely unnecessary because the new formula is ridiculously moisturizing. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I could feel the lipstick heavy on my lips. I recently purchased Molasses (review to come) and did not have that problem, though. I also did not need to use as much, however. Kimchi goes on almost opaque but not completely opaque.

Korres Wild Rose Advanced Sleeping Facial

I was very disappointed to see this in my box. For some reason, I feel like I have samples of this lying around the house and it actually broke me out when I did use it. Anyone that has shopped at Sephora in the last 6 months most likely has this as a sample. The natural product trend is peaking and I think including this in the box was a missed opportunity to showcase other natural skincare products Sephora carries.

Origins mask trio to include: Maskimizer Mask Primer (mist), Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask (to clear pores), and Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask.

At first glance, I turned my nose up at this because I thought it was something I’ve tried before but I actually haven’t. I’m not a fan of mists that don’t do anything except “refresh” or “boost hydration” because I have very oily skin; this is one of those mists. It smells like green tea to me and does feel nice on my skin after being in the humidity all day. I haven’t used the Charcoal or Overnight Mask just yet but will soon.

Atelier Colonge Orange Sanguine

I don’t like the smell of oranges or anything citrusy, but I’m not sure how I feel about this perfume. It definitely smells like oranges but it’s adult. It’s not terrible but I don’t see this being a full-sized purchase for me. Pretty bold of Sephora to include such an exotic fragrance. It does however, smell better on the skin that it does in the tester.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair Deep Conditioning Mask

I have never actually heard from this brand, so naturally — pun intended — I am curious about it. It contains “a blend of avocado, sweet almond & argan oils, and hair essential vitamins B5, D, A, E and biotin to repair damaged hair, enhance shine, and reduce breakage by up to 81% after three uses.” What bold claims they make! Looking forward to trying this out.

Tarte Tartiest Lip Pencil in Latergram

I’m one of those people that don’t use lip liner but when I do it’s like why don’t I do this more often??? Latergram is a peach-ish nude color and it stays put! I was very impressed with the swatch and it’s staying power. Hopefully it performs the same on the lips. The one bad thing is that with all the lip contouring products going around, I first thought it was a lip pencil for shading your entire lip, but that wasn’t feasible for me. Also, it is a wind-up product and once you wind it up, you can’t wind it back down. Bad because if you make too much come out, you cannot do anything but cap, break, and waste the product. Which I did twice before learning my lesson!