This month’s PLAY! box is themed “Happy You Year” and is curated to help you “welcome the new year with a beauty routine that puts hydration first.” I received products from Briogeo, Clinique, Glamglow, Lancome, Olehenricksen, and Smashbox. Before you get too excited over this box, I’m going to take a moment to air out some pent up annoyance directed towards Sephora.
According to my online PLAY! summary, one of my five products was supposed to be a Rose Floral Toner by Fresh. Instead I received this dinky little Smashbox “Primerizer.” My coworker, whose also subscribed to PLAY! by Sephora, received the Fresh Rose Floral Toner. Ugh. My best guess is that since my box ships the third week of each month, by that point they ran out. This is the second time this has happened.
I’m probably going to send them an email. Moving on, I think the bag this month isn’t very noteworthy, so we’ll just go right into the products. Within my PLAY! box I received a cleanser, a mask, a mascara base, an eye cream, a face primer/moisturizer, and a hair bonus (a deep conditioning hair mask).
- Olehenricksen Hygge HydraClay Detox Mask – I got really excited when I saw that I had received an Olehenricken skincare product. Olehenricksen is a legendary brand and I’ve yet to try any of their products. According to my PLAY! pass, this is a “gentle clay mask that removes impurities and restores moisture with five botanical oils.” I have high hopes for this mask, which I already love the concept of.
2. Glamglow SUPERCLEANSE Clearing Cream-to-Foam Cleanser – This box is exposing me to a lot of highly acclaimed brands I’ve never tried, so I’m loving that. This cleanser by Glamglow is a “unique foaming cleanser” that “uses a blend of three charcoals to draw out toxins without stripping essential moisture.” I’m partial to my Philosophy cleanser but when that runs out, I’ll be giving this a try *is skeptical.*
3. Lancome Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base – Anything that claims to volumize my lashes I am more than happy to experiment with. This conditioning primer by Lancome claims to “prep lashes for smooth mascara application and a boost of drama.” Hopefully, this has the same technology as their mascaras because Lancome’s mascaras are top rated.
4. Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream – They threw in this *tiny* eye cream into my box, but let’s pray that it’s potent enough to require just a little of. This product by Clinique is said to be a “powerful under-eye cream that brightens and moisturizes with peptides.”
5. Smashbox Primerizer – Finally, this is the product I received instead of the Fresh Rose Floral Toner. I’m not excited to use it. Primers have never improved the longevity or wear of my foundation, including the Smashbox Photo Finish. I feel like they’re just trying to reinvent the wheel with this one.
Hair Bonus: Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask – I love that they’ve rethought what the bonus should be, and I’m not just getting perfume testers. This mask by Briogeo is described as “an intensive weekly treatment to restore essential hydration and enhance hair’s resilience and strength.”
RATING: B+
For the month of January, this was a promising box. If I had received the Fresh Rose Floral Toner I would give it an A, but unfortunately, I didn’t and feel slightly wronged, so a B+ it is. I have reservations about the Smashbox Primerizer. Other than that I liked all my products (although I will say this is the third box I’ve received with Briogeo product in it). I have high hopes for next motnh, so don’t forget to come back for February’s box!