Sephora Play! August 2017

Sephora Play! August 2017
Box Variant #122

The theme this month is Makeup Geek. I thought it was going to be something cheesy but they actually put some decent thought into the marketing materials. The periodic table of elements for beauty is well thought out and legitimately helpful with understanding products and ingredients (at least on a surface level).

GLAMGLOW
VOLCASMIC Matte Glow Moisturizer | $54

This balm-like moisturizer made from "volcanic minerals" is designed to absorb oil and mattify shiny, oily skin. Since I have relatively normal skin (leaning dry in the winter), that aspect is pretty useless to me. The other function of this stuff is for use as a primer that helps smooth skin and prep it for makeup application.

I patch-tested it on my wrist since I'm particular about ingredients (more on that below). You scoop Volcasmic balm out of the jar and massage it on like a moisturizer. It goes on creamy and melts into your skin. There is also a strong vanilla scent. Applying it felt like slathering cake frosting onto my face. Which maybe is your thing! But if it's not, consider yourself forewarned. After about twenty minutes, the moisturizer component absorbed and left behind a silky smooth, non-tacky, matte finish. Oh, and the vanilla scent lingered well into the hour. So, I can confirm that this stuff performs as advertised.

As for ingredients, this balm contains a high amount of silicones (like most primers) and there is a significant amount of fragrance. Silicone can be pore-clogging to many and fragrance can be irritating to sensitive skin. So if you're in either camp (or both like me), you may want to pass on this and keep shopping. If those two things aren't a factor for you, and you have oily/combo skin, AND you just freaking love smelling like a sugar cookie, then this may be something to explore.

Alterna Haircare
Caviar Anti-Aging Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist | $30

Did you know you should be using anti-aging products on your hair? Well neither did I. I just thought hair went grey and you either decide to dye it until you're 50 and it's awkward or you embrace it and say fuck it all. Now my world is upturned and I need to drop cash on another slew of products to reverse the clock and preserve my youth because it's the sole marker of value as a woman in society.

[pours virgin blood into a wine glass, raises a toast to the beauty industry vultures]

Anyways, the Caviar spray claims to strengthen hair, restore natural thickness, deliver volume, reduce breakage, and lock in hair color. I'm not sure what the anti-aging aspect is but whatever. It did give me a boost of volume and make my hair soft. That's cool. I didn't see any immediate results as to strength, breakage, or color protection but my guess is you'd have to use this daily for a month or so to see those kind of results. Which I'm not going to do because this stuff smells like OFF! mosquito repellent. I'm going to bring this to work and offer it up to my coworkers who might be into that backyard citronella candle vibe.

Clinique
Dual-Ended High Impact Mascara & Primer Duo | $18 and $17 respectively

This is the second time I've got one of these things in a subscription box and I still don't like it. Maybe it's because this product is designed like some Darth Maul double-ended lightsaber that promises a lot upon opening but fails miserable once it's actually put to use.

One end of this thing is a mascara primer. It's weird, white, and made of some sort of polymer that supposedly makes the mascara stay put longer. I've never needed a primer before and I can't imagine ever needing one in the future, especially since this isn't even a waterproof formula. The only thing I can think of is that Clinique is trying to get people to buy two products instead of one (these are sold as two separate products in stores). I'm not sold.

The other end of the wand is a traditional black mascara. It's on the lightweight end of the spectrum. There's no volume whatsoever and the black isn't very deep. But it did lengthen lashes (a bit), never clumped, and stayed put all day (with and without the primer, I should point out). Personally I'm a "go big or go home" type of mascara woman, so this isn't ever going to be on my shopping list. I'm probably never going to use it again. BUT if you're looking for a barely there, natural looking mascara for your no-makeup makeup look, then this would fit the bill nicely.

Too Faced
Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil | $17

Speaking of products that have no reason to exist, here's a mascara removing wand. In a desperate bid to invent a new revenue stream, Too Faced has poured makeup remover into a mascara tube and sold it to us as a solution we already had. Makeup remover oil is great at dissolving eye makeup, including waterproof mascaras. We've had it on the shelves for years. Soak a cotton ball or cotton pad in it, hold it up to your eye for 30 seconds, and then wipe away your eye makeup with gentle ease. But maybe you'd like to add a step to this simple routine and tack on a $17 product? Well then, this wand is for you.

The bristle-free plastic wand comes out coated in a slick of makeup remover. You coat your lashes with it (awkward, but whatever), wait a minute, then wipe it away with a cotton pad. Then you make a second pass because there's still some mascara left behind. Then you toss the wand aside and grab another cotton pad and soak it in makeup remover you already had lying around and go in for a third pass because the wand was a stupid, inefficient concept that should have never made it into production.

beautyblender
micro.mini | $18 for two

Most useful thing in the whole damn box and worth the price of admission. If you haven't jumped on board the BeautyBlender train, this is a great introduction. BeautyBlenders are wonderfully dense sponges that (when dampened) can apply foundation in a way that mimics skin texture. It truly looks like natural, even up close. I love them and use them all the time. So I was thrilled to get the mini!

The mini is perfect for dabbing concealer into small areas like under your eyes and and around the nose. If you use a brush, sometimes you see the brush strokes on your face. Not with the Blender. You can also use it to sponge up eyeshadow fallout from under your eyes or clean up any mistakes you make with liner. It's honestly great (I'm not a sponsor, just a fan) and the small size is very versatile. There's a lot of knock-off sponges on the market but they just don't compare. Stick with the original. If you're on a budget, grab the two-pack and split it with a friend. These sponges last for around 6-9 months if you take care of them.

Kat Von D
Sinner and Saint Perfume | $22-$85

I'm a card-carrying member of the Kat Von D fanclub but her new fragrances are boring as hell.

Saint is basically Bath and Body Works' Warm Vanilla Sugar body mist but six times the price. Which means this perfume brings nothing new to the table and that’s a huge disappointment. If you ignore that fact, then it’s a soft, sweet, white floral that plays it safe. Which is fitting for a perfume named Saint. Notes of Mirabelle, Clary Sage, Lily of the Valley, Almond Blossom, Jasmine, Peach, Musk, Vanilla, and Cedar.

Sinner is a dry, powdery patchouli, with a thin layer of musk and a scant trace of florals. If you’ve smelled Juliette Has a Gun's 'Not a Perfume' this will be extremely familiar, but with more of a vanilla dry down. Same weird chemical vibe. Longevity is nil. It becomes a skin scent after thirty minutes. And gone without a trace after an hour. Notes include Mandarin Orange, Orange Blossom, Plum, Jasmine, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Vetiver, Vanilla, and Musk.

Two positives I will point out: the full-sized bottles are stunning to behold and I want to be immersed in the neo-goth fantasy that is the commercial. The whole black and white cyber angel aesthetic is perfection. I wish Alexander McQueen was still with us so he could see how his influence lives on in the next generation. And maybe he could pass on his perfume secrets to Kat.