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Play! by Sephora Review – April 2018 – Box #401

Liz Cadman
ByLiz CadmanApr 23, 2018 | 11 comments

Play! by Sephora
3.8 overall rating
564 Ratings | 55 Reviews

Play! by Sephora is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription. Each month they send you six samples, a PLAY! BOOK of tips and tricks, and a PLAY! PASS for in-store learning.

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Every month they ship all of the samples a drawstring bag with a different design.

FYI – There are variations of this boxThis review is for the box # ending in 401.

To find out which box you’re receiving at the beginning of each month, follow these instructions:

If you log in through a browser, not the app, and go to my account > account details > online orders and open the play! Order Details (it was dated 11/1 for me), you can see the “item number” next to the image.

The Subscription Box: Play! by Sephora

The Cost: $10

The Products: Five deluxe samples plus a fragrance sample, a PLAY! BOOK of tips and tricks, and a PLAY! PASS for in-store learning.

Ships to: US

Check out all of our Play! by Sephora reviews and all of our reviews of Cheap Subscription Boxes for other similarly priced boxes!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

Each box comes with a Play! Pass, which is a card you can use at Sephora (in-store) to get 50 extra rewards points, and you can also get one-on-one tutorials and tips of products from a Sephora consultant. 

This month’s theme is “Insta Beauty.” Now, on to the items!

 

Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Peel - (2 Treatments) Value $11

Good news, it's the first item, and we're already at over the cost of the box!

This retinol peel is designed to improve uneven skin texture, wrinkles, and signs of aging. The directions alerted me that this product may cause slight sensitivity, but fortunately this was fine on my skin. (There is also an instruction to make sure you wear SPF because of the alpha hydroxy acid.)

I loved how easy this was to use (just apply to your cleanser skin at night), no need to remove anything after using it. I can't say I noticed any immediate difference, but I think this is the type of product that takes several weeks of use to see results.

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Perfector Skin Tint SPF 25 Foundation (shade #8) - 5 ml Value $6

I would describe this more as a CC cream with SPF than a foundation - it gives you sheer light coverage. The result looks like you aren't wearing makeup at all (wonderful), but the flip side of that is that you aren't getting full coverage if you need it. I love this for my light makeup days.

Urban Decay Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss in SPL - 1 ml Value $2.86

This SPL shade is described as a "holographic candy pink with iridescent sparkle." It goes on sheer, has a minty flavor, adds shine without a lot of stickiness, and the holographic shimmer is beautiful. Here it swatched above the Make Up For Ever foundation:

It's such a lovely lip topper!

Kiehl’s Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate - 5 ml Value $6.20

This serum is designed to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles and boost radiance. First, I'm happy to report that this tube is almost completely full! This sample should last a few weeks. The creamy formula is so lightweight and absorbs almost instantly, too.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Moisturizer - 7 ml Value $1.24

This is a new product from Philosophy! The formula is designed to help improve the appearance of pores and dry skin. It's a lightweight cream that is hydrating and absorbs quickly - everything I want! Plus, it gave my skin an incredibly smooth finish.

Elizabeth & James Nirvana Bourbon - 2 ml Value $4.53

Almost every Play! by Sephora box will also include a fragrance sample as the sixth item. This warm and spicy scent has notes of vanilla bourbon, oakwood, and tuberose. I'm not much of a perfume wearer, but I'm drawn to this one. I will be saving this one for the rare times I wear perfume!

Verdict: This box has a value of about $31.83. I think that's good for a $10 beauty box, especially since the box will always include high-end brands. And I really appreciate that this box featured some newly released items (almost everything in this box is new to me!)

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No. You have to sign up by the 15th to receive that month's box, so as of today (4/23), your first box will be the May box.

Coupon – No coupons available for this subscription.

What do you think about the April Play! by Sephora box? What variation did you get?

Starting at $10.00
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PLAY! by Sephora is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription box. Each month, Sephora sends you a mix of six samples (including cosmetics, haircare, skincare, fragrances, and other beauty products) personalized to match your preferences and a PLAY! BOOK of tips and tricks.
Liz Cadman
Liz Cadman
Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

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11 comments

Brandi Ransom

I still haven’t received my box and this is my first tonne im trying to be patient but its hard

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Amber M

I got this box as well. The shade was too dark for me even after going to Florida and getting burnt lol. I gave the lip gloss to my 9 year old and she loves it. It was just too sparkly for me.

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Courtney M Losiewski

This was my box as well!!! I am happy with everything in the box! The UD lip gloss to me was just okay, wish it was a light pink, light coral, or nude color. But I would def use this over another color to add sparkle.

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Kearstin

Same box and loved it!! I kinda wanted #344 for the powder but after the Nirvana and the UD gloss, I was so so happy! I already purchased the full size of the gloss and fragrance using the 10% sale 😃👍🏽

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Michelle

This was my box and I was really happy with the foundation. I really like it and the shade was perfect. That lip gloss is up for swap, I can’t do gloss, but everything else was useable and appreciated.

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Morgan

K got this box and I’m African American so the shade is just barely too light for me (bronzer helps). Sadly it’s the best match I’ve received yet in a box so I’m surprised you and I ended up with the same box. The lip topper looked great over a red liner, and I loved everything else but haven’t tried the dr Dennis gross pads yet (pregnancy and retinol don’t mix).

Probably the best Play box I’ve ever received

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Angie

I got this as well, think it’s funny Liz that I keep getting ur same box every month! 😊 anyways I loved this and was so happy most of the items were skincare. Thanks for the review! I just wish I would’ve gotten the deunk elephant but all of this is nice so I’m good 😉

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Cat

The foundation in this box was just a totally bad idea. If you can’t come up with a way to make sure a complexion product sample has enough options to be within a couple shades of everyone you send it to, why waste money on even manufacturing them to put in a box. How many people actually got a useable sample? I could have learned what I needed to from one of those foil on a card with 3 shades samples.

To be entirely honest, I may have enjoyed this stuff, but I’ll never know now. After smearing yellow brown paint on my arm and rubbing it in to get a feel for the texture and amount of coverage it might have, somehow it managed to make the product entirely unappealing.

It literally should have been a sample card with a few shades and not this hot mess.

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Kari

The fact that Sephora said they used my color id boggles my mind. The shade was way too dark.

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Sarah

This was my box. The MUFE I got (08, I think) is a bit too dark for me, but I’m happy with everything else!

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Pink5

I got the MUFE shade 06 and I’m light skin, red hair. The shade name is “Warm Sand” and it’s a bit yellow, but not bad.

The Philosophy moisturizer is nice and smells good.

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