Sephora Play! January 2018

Sephora Play! January 2018
Box Variant #069

First box of the new year. I've made a beauty resolution for Sephora Play! and that's to not force myself to sample skincare I know I'm allergic to. I've finally got my skincare down and nothing's going to throw that off. So, I'll either gift it to friends or donate the unopened samples to a women's shelter.

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS
Lip Gloss | $16.00

It’s a nice change of pace to get a lip gloss that isn’t clear or plumping. Shame it’s a nude shade but I understand they have to go with “one shade suits most.” This gloss came in shade “Kristen” which is a weird choice and a deviation from the others in the line with names like Butterscotch and Peony. There’s one other shade named Tara. Who are these people??? (I’m too lazy to google)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in Kristen

Anyway, this stuff is thick. Very viscous. A bit weighty on the lips, despite the marketing telling me it’s weightless. It’s somewhere in between. Creamy texture. Fully opaque, like a liquid lipstick but it doesn’t dry down. Not sticky. Semi glossy, but definitely not high shine lacquer. It’s more of a dewy lip, if that’s a thing. Which it is, I’m coining that term. And pretty comfy to wear. It does transfer and didn’t survive a meal but that’s to be expected. It lasted for a few hours before I had to reapply. So, a pretty good lip gloss. This is one of those products where I’ll try to incorporate it into my routine for a week or so, but if it falls out of rotation, I won’t make another effort. I had lipsticks in this same color and they wear a bit longer, which I like. But if you’ve been looking for a lip gloss that’s under $20, this is a good buy.

GLAMGLOW
SUPERCLEANSE Clearing Cream-to-Foam Cleanser | $32

This skincare line certainly has it’s fans and their branding is on point. For those reasons, I’m sure this would be a hit with many. It’s a miss for me though. Two reasons: First, this is a foaming cleanser ideal for oily/combination skin with acne troubles. I’m normal to dry leaning and reasonably clear-faced, so I’m not going to see much of a benefit. Second, this has a ton of peppermint oil and fragrance, which does not play well with my sensitive skin. So, I’m not using the sample. I’ve gifted it to my lovely coworker who seems to have success with Glamglow products. It works for her, and I think if you have that sort of skin type, it could work for you as well. As for me, I’ll patiently wait for Sephora to start marketing a box for mature ladies and gents who need a different sort of regimen.

CLINIQUE
Pep-Start Eye Cream | $26.50

I think I’ve gotten this exact sample somewhere between four and five times from Sephora. They really love it. Or they must have a football field sized warehouse chock full of orange tubes and no idea how to get rid of them all. Leaning towards the second one. Anyway, it’s just moisturizer with a little caffeine in it. It absolutely hydrates your eye area. Mine were dewy soft after application. It kinda brightens? But I’m not sure if it depuffs. I sampled it (again) after a late night spent playing video games (Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp) and a very early morning. My eyes were puffy and tired and blah. This did not depuff them but it did make them feel soft. And while I can’t say I was bright-eyed as a result, I suppose I could say that it lessened the dullness. If that’s a thing. Is it worth $26? No, you could put a refrigerated (and reusable) eye mask on your face and your usual moisturizer and achieve the same results. So, I’ll use this up and toss the tube like the rest of the ones before.

BOSCIA
Exfoliating Peel Gel | $34

I love that this describes itself as having “multi-fruit alpha hydroxy acids.” Basically, this is a fruit basket that wants to peel your face off. But in a loving way. Alpha hydroxy acids (AHA’s for short) are a super gentle way to exfoliate your skin without scrubbing. Scrubs and scrubby spinning brushes can be super harsh on your face. You face skin is delicate. A gritty scrub can help sandpaper off the dead skin off but it can also shred the healthy skin underneath. That’s why you might see flaky or red skin after scrubbing it, and when you see flakes you want to scrub more and you’re caught in a never ending cycle of abusing your face. Eventually your skin will become dehydrated from the efforts and you’ll wind up with a compromised moisture barrier that can’t hold in moisture.

That’s where AHA’s come in. These chemicals work to exfoliate the dead, dull skin off (by dissolving the stuff that keeps them in place) but it doesn’t grind away the healthy skin below. Once I swapped scrubs for chemical exfoliants, my face healed and I haven’t seen a flake since. I personally use Drunk Elephant’s exfoliating AHA, and I’m happy with it, so I’m not going to try this one from Boscia on my face (even though it seems awesome). However, I did give it shot on less delicate areas like my neck and chest. It’s a great chemical exfoliant. If you’re looking for one in this price range, I would check it out and grab a sample to patch test.

OUAI
Treatment Masque | $32.00 (8 x 0.3 oz treatments)

Several coworkers have commented on my hair today. They asked me if I switched shampoos or had a straightening treatment done. Nope, I just used this hair mask. My hair is silky and shiny and weightless. I can’t stop petting it. It also just looks healthier. So, instant results as advertised. I’m a fan. The smell of the mask was a little off-putting, it reminded me of OFF bug spray. A sort of citronella candle meets Avon Skin So Soft. But it washed out in the shower and thankfully didn’t linger. And my hair just shines. I might be convinced to buy a pack. There’s eight foils to a pack, which works out to around $4 per use. That’s pricey but I think I’d save these for once a week use or maybe just special occasions. I’ve had good experienced with Ouai products, so this was par for course. Definitely worth checking out.

SMASHBOX
Photo Finish Primerizer | $42

Every makeup review I write is just a broken record of “I can’t handle silicones, whyyyyy.” So, yeah. Sorry about that. I’d love to review this primer but it’s heavy on dimethicone. I’m sure it’s great and Smashbox is a solid brand I’ve purchased from before. But I don’t want my face to breakout. I’m going to put this one in the give away box. But I can say that this product is now in the running for most ridiculous marketing copy. “This breakthrough primer contains 762 sextillion molecules of water per bottle.” SEXTILLION, Y’ALL. I can’t even count that high. Wikipedia tells me that it’s a 1, followed by 21 zeroes. So that’s 762,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. How would someone even come up with that shit unless they were super super high?

Eh, this was a wonky box. Half good, half stuff I won't use. 10/10 on the hair mask. 7/10 on the lip gloss. 3/10 on the eye cream I've sampled before (dupes are bad), and two things I won't put on my face at all. Here's hoping February is full of fun stuff.