After months of terribly disappointing boxes, I can't say that I was very excited when my Sephora Play beauty subscription box showed up at my doorstep. Did this month's selection convince me to finally cancel my subscription or did Sephora redeem themselves? Keep reading to find out!

If you want more info about how the Sephora Play subscription works, take a look at one of my older posts, like this one. In a few words: the subscription costs $10 a month plus tax, and there are 6 beauty products in each box (one is supposed to be a "bonus", usually a fragrance sample). I also do a video unboxing of my Sephora Play every month in my Instagram stories, follow me and keep an eye on my stories if you want to watch the next one!


The theme of the April 2018 box is Insta Beauty, which I thought was promising. After all, I subscribe to the Sephora Play to discover new and exciting products, many of them hyped on Instagram. Unfortunately the content of the box has nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, to do with the theme. Let me show you what I got first and we'll get back to that issue.


- Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Perfector Skin Tint in shade 6: for the first time in months, I'm actually getting a new and intriguing product in my Sephora Play box. Hallelujah! This new tinted moisturizer/lightweight foundation is a recent launch by MUFE, whose Ultra HD foundation is a cult classic. But, of course there had to be a but, I received it in shade 6 which is about 3 tones too dark for my skin tone. Even though it's sheer, it's way too orange for me so I can't possibly wear it. That's really sad because MUFE makes the best shade match I've ever found in a foundation (Y235 in their Ultra HD formula)!

- Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Celeste: I couldn't help rolling my eyes when I found this one in the bag. I JUST spent 100 points to get a reward during the Spring sale which happened to be a Buxom Full-on Lip Cream. I realize that this is a different formula, but the coincidence shows that Sephora doesn't offer exclusive samples in the Play box. You can get pretty much the same, if not better deluxe samples from their "Rewards Bazaar". Seeing that most shades are sold out on Sephora's website (including Celeste), and that the first reviews on there are from 2008, I think it's safe to say that this is an old deluxe sample Sephora is trying to get rid of. Also to be noted, this is a very small sample that doesn't qualify as "deluxe" or "travel-size" in my book. I know some people got a new Urban Decay Hi-Fi lipgloss instead. I would have loved to try that one.

- Philosophy Purity Made Simple Moisturizer: the Purity line from Philosophy has been around for ages, but apparently this particular moisturizer is new. Can't say I'm particularly excited for Philosophy skincare but I'll try it. At least it's supposed to contain good stuff like plant oils, vitamins and antioxidants.

- Dr Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Peel: I was confused by this sample at first since it came in a flat leaflet, but it turns out that the packets contain a peel wipe. I'm a firm believer in retinol so I'll be happy to try this product, although 2 wipes is not a very generous amount in a box I pay for...

- Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate 12.5% Vitamin C: Kiehl's arrived at Sephora just a few months ago and I'm happy to see them in a Play Box for the first time. Like retinol, vitamin C is a potent ingredient in skincare and I'll definitely try this serum - in fact I use a vitamin C serum everyday so this one could become a new staple in my routine if it's good. But wait, did Sephora just send me two products specifically for wrinkles? Something they want to say about my skin??

- My Burberry Blush: I typically put the fragrance samples I get in my subscription boxes in a drawer and never try them. But the description of this fruity floral with top notes of pomegranate and lemon is intriguing, so I'll give it a try.



I don't think my box is too bad this month - or at least not as bad as I feared, I guess I have low expectations now. There's a lot of skincare, but two of those products are right up my alley. The MUFE Skin Tint is something I wanted to try, too bad the shade I received is not at all a match. But what do a face peel, a vitamin C serum, a moisturizer, a tinted moisturizer and a sheer shimmery lip gloss have to do with Insta Beauty, the theme for this month?



The leaflet I got in my box mentions "a selection of beauty products [that deliver] quick, camera-ready results" - hmmm nope, not at all what I got. There's even picture ideas to post on Instagram and a to-do list to get "selfie-ready". Ironically, this list includes a red lipstick with blue undertones, highlighter, using face powders that don't cause flashback, and adding extra mascara and blush because photos wash out colors. Sooo.... why didn't they send me anything from their own list of suggestions? I think it's absurd. They thought about a theme and designed the leaflet, but what they threw in my box is completely unrelated and feels very random. Scratch that, when I think about it it's actually not random at all. Looking at the products themselves I can say that there's a clear antiaging/mature beauty theme going on here! Which is as far from Insta Beauty as you can get, isn't it?





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