Sephora Play! June 2017

Sephora Play June 2017
Box Variant #042

This month’s box theme is “Summer Starters,” with the subhead reading, “stellar products are only the beginning.”

The beginning of a sunburn for the lady on the left of the booklet, apparently. Her two friends with their backs turned are hopefully realizing what shitty friends they are because they didn’t give her a heads up on the pink skin. Good friends would have maybe loaned her some Banana Boat or asked her if she wanted to relocate under an umbrella. But that clearly didn’t happen here. Maybe it’s sunburn girl who’s turning her back on them and walking away because even though she made a mistake by not applying SPF, she doesn’t have to make another by keeping these two jerks around.

IGK
Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel | $27

So…I’m currently sitting in my cubicle with my hair up into a bun because I used this stuff this morning and my hair looks WAY too horrible to let down. Like, dirty hair would have looked better than this. I followed the directions to the letter. “Apply to clean, towel-dried hair and let air dry for optimal separation and hydration.” I do not have optimal anything. I have a fluffy coif worthy of a Bon Jovi backup singer circa 1984.

“OOOOOH, SHE’S A LITTLE RUNAWAY”

This stuff bills itself as a coconut oil-infused gel to create hydrated, messy-but-chic, undone hair. Well, I am hydrated. Perhaps too much? Maybe it’s the added humidity in the air right now, but either way I’m not likely to give this stuff a second try. The good news is, it did make my hair voluminous. The coconut oil didn’t weigh down my hair and it does smell very nice. But there’s no advertised luster or messy-but-sexy undone texture. It’s just fluff. My own personal puffy little cloud. They only way I’d ever use this again is if I were dressing up as Bob Ross for Halloween. Currently I have zero plans to do so, so the remainder goes into the garbage bin. Maybe it works miracles for other people, I don’t know.

Kat Von D
Everlasting Liquid Lipstick | $20

This was the first thing I plucked out of my box. I am the current owner of eight Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks and I am THRILLED to add another shade to my collection. People, this is the best liquid lipstick out there. The color range is phenomenal. The color opacity is incredible. A single thin layer of this magic potion will stay put all day long. For $20, it’s an incredible value.

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in K-Dub

This sample arrived in shade “K-Dub”, a deep vibrant fuchsia pink-purple. It’s more lavender-leaning than Bauhau5 which is a deep, raspberry fuchsia, and one shade darker than Armageddon, which is a lavender-leaning pink. I’ve swatched them side by side for comparison. It’s gorgeous and loud and fun. Obviously not an every day color, but it will be fun to pull this out from time to time when I’m in the mood for it.

Yves Saint Laurent
Black Opium | $69-90

For someone who consumes half a pot of coffee a day, it’s really surprising how much I don’t like coffee perfumes. Or most gourmands in general, really. Anything that reminds me of a sweet shop is just too much to handle. So, while I can appreciate a scent like Black Opium on the paper test strip for all it’s textured layers of coffee, vanilla, and almonds, I just can’t wear it. It’s too foodie. Too much like a sticky flaky almond-crusted croissant pulled from the café dessert case and served up with a hot chai latte. One which I cannot eat but is lingering near me for hours, just out of reach.

So, it’s not for me. But maybe it will be perfect for someone else who loves smelling like baked goods. For those curious, the official notes are pink pepper, orange blossom, pear, coffee, jasmine, almond, licorice, vanilla, patchouli, cedar, and cashmere wood. If you’re reading this and want to try it, hit me up in the comments and I’ll drop it into the mail for you.

First Aid Beauty
Hello FAB Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer | $28

First things first, I can’t discern whether this is a water-based primer or a silicone-based primer. Generally it’s water for water and silicone for silicone when layering foundation over top (some exceptions to the rule, obviously). And when you read product labels, the higher the ingredient, the more of it’s in the formula. The ingredients for this list water first and then cyclopentasiloxane (silicone) right behind it. So…???? IDK.

Out of the tube, it certainly has the slippy silky feel of silicone. But it then blends in and seems to absorb fully like a water-based moisturizer. SO I STILL DON’T KNOW. I threw some foundation on it to see what happens (Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation, applied with a dampened Beauty Blender).

For the first ten minutes, everything looked fine. Skin was smooth. Tone was even. A hint of dewiness. No strong fragrance. I don’t really have huge pores or lots of imperfections, so I can’t really address performance in that regard. But it appeared to be working as advertised. Twenty minutes later, however, my foundation is desperately trying to escape from my face. There was visible separation and a few places that were flaking up and off. My skin’s pretty normal in the summer, so it’s not a dryness issue at all.

So, I’m not sure if this is a case of silicone/water conflict, or the fact that most silicone-based primers just don’t like my face. WHATEVER SILICONE, I DON’T NEED YOU. I really don’t. I just slap makeup right on my bare skin and it stays just fine. Look at me, saving money!

Ouai
Rose Hair & Body Oil | $32

This is one of those multi-purpose deals that you can supposedly use all over your body for all the things. The marketing says this oil will moisturize dry, dull skin and hydrate hair. Since I already played science lab test monkey with my hair and that coconut gel, I decided to spray this on my skin instead. I did a test spray on the back of my hand to sniff the fragrance and patch test for allergies. I’m not overly sensitive to things but a body rash in the peak of swimsuit season would royally suck, so I’m being careful. With no sign of a reaction, I went full spray on my legs after showering and shaving.

This oil is actually very nice. It’s a dry oil, so it absorbs very fast and doesn’t leave you feeling greasy. Just a dewy, healthy glow. Dewy legs are the next big thing. There’s also a slight, soft rose scent during application, but it fades to nothing after about 10-15 minutes. So, great if you’re not a fan of the smell, but kind of a bummer if you liked it? I guess the upside here is I don’t have to worry about my leg fragrance conflicting with my body lotion conflicting with my deodorant conflicting with my perfume. Which is actually something I contemplate when getting ready. Because I am insane.

But anyway, this stuff is a-okay. I will enjoy using it up on my legs after shaving for that smooth-as-two-baby-dolphins-cuddling-together feel. But I don’t think I’ll purchase the $32 full size because I can get the same 3oz bottle of dry oil rose spray from Acure Organics for $12 and save that twenty bucks difference for something actually worth splurging on. Which is most certainly not primer, because I HAVE THEM ALL NOW.

Benefit Cosmetics
The POREfessional Face Primer | $31

This is one of the best-selling primers on the market and people love this stuff. It spackles your deep pores and fine lines like it’s trying to get its security deposit back at the end of a lease. Your skin becomes smooth and even, the perfect canvas for creating your next makeup masterpiece. And it goes on perfectly matte, so those with oily skin will adore it.

I bought a full tube of this years ago based on the rave reviews and much to my dismay, discovered that it doesn’t work for me. It feels sublime and really makes my face look flawless, but my makeup will simply not sit on top of it. Even the silicone-based kind. So it’s a huge bummer. But I think if you have the right skin for it, this stuff can be phenomenal, like people say. That's why it's great to get samples and experiment.

My coworker’s going to give this one a try and in exchange, she traded me for her sample of a sunscreen setting spray. So there’s a pro-tip: make friends with other beauty box subscribers!

Overall Thoughts:
I have one lipstick I absolutely LOVE. I have one spray I'll enjoy using but not purchase. And I have four samples I tried but won't be using. So, while this box was mostly filled with things I won't use, I really love two of the samples and plan to use them a lot. The lipstick alone is worth the box cost, so I'm cool with that. My main critique would be the doubling up of product types. Two primers is 1/3 of the box. Two hair styling products, same thing. More variety would really be appreciated. But I'm still having fun with it, so hopefully next month's box is awesome.